"Barbie Roberts' daughter? I never knew she had a daughter," I muttered under my breath—thankfully, only Chloe heard me.
"Can you keep your voice down? And you know why you don't know who she is? Because you're a freaking art nerd," Chloe whispered sharply. She smelled like mint gum.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed to life.
"Attention students," the principal's voice echoed, "Barbie Junior will be joining the 10th grade. Please give her space as she locates her class."
"Okay, everyone, back to your activities. Barbiee, come with me," our form teacher, Miss Wendel, said as the crowd parted and students scurried back to their classes.
"I should go," I told Chloe and trailed after them.
They stepped into our classroom, and everyone lit up with smiles. God, I wish they'd smile at me like that. I slipped in through the backdoor just as Steven waved at me.
"I'm sure you all know who she is," Miss Wendel said. "She asks to be treated like a normal student. Barbiee, introduce yourself and choose a seat."
"My name is Barbiee Roberts—spelled with two e's, pronounced with two e's. I'm not my mum," she said confidently.
The class chuckled, and she gracefully walked to the only empty seat—right next to me.
"Um, Barbiee, you can sit with us," Nikki offered, flipping her hair and shooting me a glare. The two girls beside her nodded eagerly.
"I prefer sitting at the back, so I'll stay here," Barbiee replied politely.
Nikki's face fell, but she forced a smile and went to her seat.
"Hi, I'm Barbiee. You are?" she asked, turning to me.
"Griselda Willows," I said softly and opened my biology textbook.
"Do you mind being my tour guide?" she asked, flashing a charming smile.
My eyebrows shot up. A cool girl asking the class duckling for a tour? Was she just looking for attention? Because she already had plenty.
Nikki, clearly eavesdropping, cut in.
"It's fine, Barbiee. No one asks the duckling for a tour. If you want a proper one, just ask Nikki."
Barbiee looked confused. "Who's the duckling? And who's Nikki?"
Everyone laughed—including Nikki.
"Oh, dear Barbiee," Nikki said dramatically, "I'm Nikki. And next to you is our honored ugly duckling."
Barbiee turned to look at me. Her expression seemed to ask, Why won't you say something? Then she looked right back at Nikki.
"Well, I want Griselda to give me the tour. Is that a problem?" she asked coolly, then turned to me with a smile.
"Sure," I said quickly, thankful for the interruption when Mr. John, the biology teacher, walked in.
"Everyone, open your textbooks to page 50," he announced.
After school, I said, "Why don't I give you a quick tour before I head home?"
Barbiee smiled and nodded.
I showed her the library, the bathrooms, and pretty much every spot worth knowing. Honestly? She was fun to be around. I didn't expect that.
As we wrapped up, I turned to leave.
"Can I go with you? We can take my car," she offered.
I agreed, and we walked to the school's garage.
And there it was—fire. Her car.
Not pink, surprisingly—blue.
But still fire.
"Like the car?" she asked.
"Yeah. Honestly, I expected you to be a pink girl," I admitted.
She laughed. "Truth is—I'm nothing like my mum. Pink's kinda childish."
She got in. I followed.