Tunnel of the Rat Woman


I was on my way to meet Kelly Pratt after school to discuss our upcoming speech assignment, when I spotted her across the quad with a group of other students. They were clustered together in a tight circle, like a huddle before a big play during a football game, and their attention seemed to be fixed on one person in particular. As I drew closer, I cringed as I realized Amanda Turner was at the center. That was typical when it came to Amanda. She came from a wealthy family, which was true of most students at Brampton Academy, but she could also be very demanding and pushy when it came to her friends. She had a tendency to demand total loyalty from them, but didn’t feel it was necessary for her to do the same in return. That reality, along with the differences in our backgrounds, was the main reason why we rarely crossed paths at school. I wasn’t interested in playing her games and I figured she probably viewed me as lower class compared to her. Although I didn’t agree with it, I understood it. Such was the way of things at Brampton Academy, where some students came from modest backgrounds and others came from big money.
As I approached the group I took a moment to account for everyone in attendance. Besides Amanda and Kelly I also spotted Winter Summers from junior class who clung to the skirt tails of Amanda hoping to improve her own reputation. She was a plain girl with dark hair, but always seemed to have just the right amount of makeup on to bring out her positive traits, namely her deep brown eyes. Then there was Judy Trimble, a light blond like Amanda, but not quite as elegant. Her eyes were blue instead of striking hazel like Amanda’s, and she often had a suspiciously similar hairstyle to Amanda’s, with the makeup to match.
Kelly Pratt was more down to earth, a dark haired girl with a pleasant demeanor, although she could sometimes get caught up in the whole Amanda-worship nonsense, which almost caused me turn away. But I had business with her and needed to get it out of the way. Leaving things to the last minute could ultimately result in my grade suffering, especially if my partner didn’t take the assignment seriously.
Once I was within a few footsteps of the group, Amanda glanced at me followed by the rest of the girls. Her lips curved downward, into a pout. “Well, look what the cat dragged in: Little Miss Boo Wu,” she said as the rest of the group smiled.
I decided just to ignore her. I knew what she was up to, trying to pull me into some type of verbal catfight where she could impress her devoted followers. But I didn’t plan to play her little game.
“Kelly, do you have a minute?” I asked as I avoided looking at Amanda.
Kelly nodded her head in acknowledgement.
“Oh,” Amanda said, as if she had been wronged. “I guess Little Miss Boo Wu is too good for the rest of us? We don’t seem to exist to her.” Apparently she didn’t like it when someone else was showing more maturity then she was or obviously blowing her off.
Unsure of what to do at first, Kelly eventually moved towards me until Amanda spoke up again. “You know, Kelly, I find it extremely odd that someone like Boo Wu would believe herself to be beyond the rest of us. I guess the school must have a grant program that several of our families pay into, they would have to, in order to let some of these wandering ingrates into our fine institution. It’s a real downer if you ask me.”
My temperature level began to rise as Amanda spoke. I gave her a sharp glare as she smiled back at me in triumph, realizing that she had finally gotten me where she wanted me. Against my better judgment, I decided to speak up.
“Well ,I guess the rules must be pretty slack around here as they seem to allow some ingrates in, as long as mommy and daddy can pay up,” I said as all the other girls opened their mouths in shock.
Amanda tensed up, then she struck back. “Well it seems to me that someone here has a mother who works as a beautician,” she said. “In fact, I believe my mother had her hair done there the other day. That lady worked so hard washing my mother’s hair, serving her hand and foot, kissing up. I guess she really needed that tip. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I think it probably paid for those shoes you’re wearing right now,” Amanda countered. All the girls in the group chimed “Oooh!” in unison.
I felt like lashing out at Amanda again for talking about my mother, but she was such a pro at these types of exchanges, that even if I were able to get in a couple more shots, she would likely find a way to push me down again, way down. I wouldn’t stand a chance against her and I knew it.
I glanced at Amanda with ice in my eyes. She smiled back, as if taunting me to try again. Instead, I turned back to Kelly, who seemed to be sympathetic to me, but I knew she wouldn’t dare speak up to Amanda; that would be like asking for a death sentence.
She walked towards me again when Amanda’s expression changed to one of annoyance. “So you’re going with Boo Wu?” she asked in disbelief.
Kelly stopped and turned back to Amanda. “We have an assignment together,” she replied, as if she had to justify her actions.
“Oh, I guess that’s extremely convenient for you. You can just Boo Wu all the way home with her now then,” Amanda teased.