Marnie Fitzpatrick flinched when she heard the dismissal bell ringing loudly in her ears. It was 2:57 P.M. on the day when she and her best friend, Nola James, had their first fight – not the average “I can’t believe you lost my favorite cashmere scarf!” type of fight (which would have been bad enough), but a colossal, volcanic, “If I ever see you again, I will scratch your eyes out and spit in your face!” type of fight.

As her classmates filed out of the room one by one, Marnie gripped her Earth Science textbook and took a deep breath. Posture, she said to herself. Think strong, confident posture. She rolled her head forward and touched her chin to her chest, then rolled her head back until she heard her neck make a small cracking noise. Then she loosened her shoulders and brought them back so she wasn’t slouching. When she was finished with her relaxation routine, Marnie grabbed her things and stood up, remembering to smooth out her black-and-red pleated plaid miniskirt and adjust the barrette fastened in her wavy blonde hair.

Even though she’d been on edge all day, Marnie knew she had to look cool and composed once she walked out of this room. Everyone in school was still whispering and gossiping about her and Nola’s showdown. If Marnie’s older sister, Erin, were here, she’d remind Marnie that she couldn’t risk losing the stellar reputation she had built at her birthday party two days ago. So no matter what happened from here on out, Marnie had one resolve – to show that her newly found almost-a-Major (a.k.a. popular) status was well deserved and hard-earned, not a fluke.