The Mean Girl Mantra

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am...

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

Paige repeated the phrase over and over, just like the popular girls had just done.

*****************

She had been in the girls bathroom as Sara, Chloe and Jessica had come in to gossip about something vapid or touch up their make-up. Or at least that was what Paige assumed as she lifted her legs so they didn't notice her presence and prepared to hide out in the stall for the long haul.

What she overheard seemed insane, the three of them just stood there and chanted the same mantra over and over for about 10 minutes.

"This mantra is the fucking best" Sara said pulling out her lip gloss.

"I know, I can't believe what losers we used to be before we found out about it." Jessica replied.

"Urgh, don't remind me! I can't think of anything worse than being a dorky band geek again" Sara said, wrinkling her nose with disgust.

"There's no chance of that now babes, 10 minutes a day of our little mantra and we get to stay as school royalty. No-one even remembers the losers we used to be." Chloe interjected as she fluffed her hair. "Now, let's go find some nerds to bully, I want to make sure I'm looking hot for my date with Steve Miller tonight."

With that they left, their stiletto heels clacking on the hard floor as they went, leaving Paige to process everything she had just heard.

***************

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

Paige kept repeating those words, over and over.

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

She only said the words aloud to get her head around the truth she had discovered. But as she spoke the words aloud she found she enjoyed their cyclical nature, there was a certain rhythm to them.

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

They just kept coming out of her mouth, time and again...

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

The words just felt so comfortable, so right... So true...

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

She couldn't help herself but repeat them, letting them wash over her in her trance like state.

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

Brrrrrriiiiiiinnnnngggggg

She snapped back into focus as the bell rung. Shaking her head she looked at the time and realised that an hour had passed and she had inadvertently skipped class.

All thought of the weird mantra pushed to one side, she grabbed her things and rushed off to her final class of the day.

Rushing through the corridor, desperate to not be late after uncharacteristically skipping class, Paige managed to run straight into someone, sending them both to the floor.

"Watch where you're going, Idiot!" she shouted completely ignorant of who she had collided with and the fact that it was completely her fault.

As the words left her mouth she felt a tingling sensation in the tips of her fingers, Paige looked down at her hands. Her formerly grubby, bitten nails were clean cut with a subtle coat of polish.

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The thought crossed her mind.... Did the mantra really work?

She pushed it out of her mind, dusted herself off and headed to class.

*********

"God, Mrs Graham is such a bitch giving all this homework" Paige thought to herself later , feeling a tingle in her lips as she had the thought.

At that moment her younger brother barged into her room to let her know dinner was ready.

"Get out you stupid brat! How many times do I need to tell you to knock!" she yelled at him, with a little more venom than usual.

The tingle again, this time she felt it all over her face like hundreds of tiny, ever so slightly pleasurable pinpricks.

Passing the mirror on her way to dinner she did a double take. She hadn't worn make-up today had she? She shook her head, clearly she had but it didn't matter either way, she looked hot.

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....

********************

After dinner, she couldn't focus, instead she kept glancing at her reflection in her mirror every few minutes. She did look good today, really good actually. Without thinking she pulled out her phone and fluffed her hair, pouted and began taking selfies for her insta. Did she even have an insta?

Her phone pinged, interrupting her moment of self worship, it was a message from her friend Rachel,

"Urgh, what does SHE want!" Paige said out loud, with palpable distain. She picked up her phone and read yet another message complaining about her boyfriend Jason.

"If all she wants to do is whine about her boyfriend then maybe she shouldn't have one..."

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

She opened up another text window to Rachel's boyfriend and started messaging him, feigning concern over his latest falling out with Rachel. She felt the tingle almost constantly as she effortlessly manipulated her friend's unsuspecting boyfriend and sending him selfies that she knew he couldn't resist... after all... who could?

Paige stopped noticing the tingle after a while, it just became normal, she didn't notice how dramatically she was now changing either. Her school books were tossed off her desk which had become a vanity unit as she found herself drawn to watching make-up tutorials and putting her hair up in rollers. She went through her skincare routine and planned her outfit for tomorrow, oblivious to the fact that her en-suite and walk-in closet hadn't existed only a few hours ago. Her room had been changing around her the entire time and she hadn't noticed at all.

****************

The next day Paige strutted into school like she owned the place. Everyone stopped and watched her, as she walked down the corridor, the clack of her expensive high heels causing everyone to look up and take notice. Everything about her was perfect, flawless makeup, pristine manicured nails, outfit on point and not a strand of her long brunette hair was out of place.



As they entered the third floor bathroom for their daily ritual, Paige was already there waiting, she didn't let them get a word in before launching into conversation

"So... You know that loser girl Rachael Aaronson, you know... The dorky one with the glasses. I had this idea last night to embarrass her, because...well... she's such a loser. So I started messaging her boyfriend and making him think I'm into him. Which of course I'm totally not, because y'know... Ew. But anyway, they had already had this big fight, so I'm totally going to get him to break up with her so he can be with me. But I'm going to reject him in front of everyone."

"O.M.G Paige! That's sooo mean! I LOVE it!"

"That's totally hilarious, you're such a bitch!"

"I know right!" Said Paige with a giggle as she touched up her lip gloss.

The four of them stood in front of the mirror and began reciting their mean girl mantra...

The meaner I am, the hotter I get...

The hotter I get, the meaner I am....