Plan B?

"He bought it."

Olena rolled her eyes as Veronica read the text message from Beyza. Of course, they heard Sean Tarver readily accept the lie that Beyza didn't hold any grudge against him. What kind of fool believes his ex-girlfriend wants to help him screw other girls?

"She wants to know what she should do next," the black-haired sidekick read from her phone.

"Tell Beyza that I'm sorry for what she went through. Hold tight and enjoy herself. I'll be in touch later," Olena passed on, not feeling sorry one bit.

Turning to face the large vanity mirror in her bedroom, Olena stared at her reflection. Placing the fingertips of both hands together, she spread them apart, locking in the steeple posture. That alerted Veronica not to disturb her as she contemplated the latest development.

Minutes passed by as Olena hatched plans, worked them multiple steps ahead, most often discarding them with a mental frown or curse for even considering that route. Some elements of a plan would be set aside, eventually to be worked into a larger stratagem. During the course of this formulation, the white-haired girl's face never so much as twitched.

Accustomed to this behavior and being ignored, Veronica passed the time with her favorite activity: gossip. Quietly scrolling through Nosy Nectar, she performed her own method of research and entertainment.

"Excellent idea, Veronica."

The black-haired girl nearly dropped her phone at the utterance of rare praise.

"An unexpectedly enlightening development from your suggestion to use Beyza. I was barely aware that they had broken up," Olena continued before snuffing out part of her praise. "Still, you never anticipated the news that she would learn from Tarver."

"Oh, it wasn't big news around school, but I overheard that Beyza thought that Sean had a thing for another--"

"Nor did I ever consider Beyza as anything more than a mere pawn. Yet, she showed a level of quick thinking and deception that I didn't think she had in her. Mildly impressive."

"Huh?"

"I'm discussing how Bezya reacted to what Sean told her. She concealed her true feelings by misdirecting her fury toward Ramsey Swift. Not that she doesn't hold true anger for our meddlesome reporter, which should be useful," Olena explained.

"Maybe she learned how to act by helping Aurora practice for school plays," her friend speculated.

"Perhaps. But rage can cause a new side to emerge in a person. And this is the ultimate nightmare for a girl our age."

"Nightmare?" Veronica's face showed confusion.

With a sigh, Olena clarified her point. "Imagine what Beyza must be feeling right now. Her first relationship didn't work out because her boyfriend liked another girl. Then it turns out the other girl doesn't even know his real name. Stunning, humiliating, and enraging. Add in that Jayden Cooke turned her down because of loyalty to the same ex-boyfriend."

"Oh, wow."

"The anger should continue to fuel a desire for ****. We need to observe how Beyza handles the humiliation once this news spreads. She may falter before I can use her to her full potential. "

"Nosy Nectar doesn't have anything about Sean, Beyza, and Ramsey. They should've by now. It's weird!" Veronica exclaimed, holding up her phone. "Well, not the Sean part. He's never talked about on Nosy Nectar. I wonder if something is wrong."

Veronica's fretting swiftly vanished as Olena slammed her palm down hard on the vanity.

"Wrong? What's wrong is that Nosy Nectar still exists outside my control."

"Yeah, whoever runs it is sooo good at keeping it a secret."

Olena did not care for the awe in her friend's voice.

"That gossipmonger should be used for my bidding. Then, my plans wouldn't have suffered from setbacks. And this one needs to work."

"Do you have a new plan?" Veronica asked, glancing over at the dent in the wall. The same dent caused several days ago by Olena's exploding phone when she learned of Whitney's near-**** experience.

"Of course, I have a new plan," Olena scoffed. "Plan B is under construction."

Afraid of Olena, Veronica held her tongue as she considered what number/letter this plan might actually be. It's probably in the LMNO range, not B. As often as Olena's schemes to ruin Whitney Diamond failed or had 'setbacks' as Olena called them, the sheer number and variety of them amazed Veronica.

"But I thought you called Whitney bulletproof after almost dying."

"That's why I'm going to chip away at the protection by targeting her closest friends. Once I've broken them, Whitney will be ripe for ruination, once and for all," Olena boasted.

Smirking and sounding like a cheesy movie villain didn't stop Veronica from feeling impressed by her friend. She immediately asked which friends would make the list.

"Caterina is the easiest and simplest. All I need to do is expose her involvement in my aborted plan. Jealousy for Whitney isn't hard for our classmates to understand. Nor will they be happy to hear that Cat conspired to replace Whitney as cheer captain," Olena began. "That should splinter the cheerleaders."

"What about the sex tape?" Veronica inquired, blushing.

"I have yet to decide if that hurts or helps Caterina," Olena admitted. While not a virgin, her limited sexual experience left that area as a weakness or blind spot.

"Are you going after Lacey?" Veronica felt a little guilty if they did. Lacey couldn't be anything but nice.

"Of course. The perky one lifts all their spirits up," Olena stated, eyes narrowing at her friend. Yet, she agreed that everyone liked Lacey. "Although I won't attack her directly. The risks of blowback from exposure are too great."

"So how are--"

"By pushing Austin Rusk toward his true nature. If I place enough seductive and willing girls in front of him, he can't resist forever. Hmm, perhaps a few Bumble Girls might tempt him to do what Bianca could never pull off. No, no, I need to be careful to keep my connections limited. We should look into college girls as temptresses. With evidence of multiple instances of cheating, poor little Lacey will be heartbroken," Olena declared. "And to further her depression, I think that I'll escalate my anti-matchmaking. Lacey won't be able to use that to soothe her feelings."

"Um, that's going to cause a lot of collateral damage," Veronica pointed out, thinking of the couples that Lacey helped put together. She also immediately regretted that point.

"So what?! Those peons don't matter," Olena snapped before calming down. "Not that they will care when A scandal rocks The Buzzy Bee."

"What scandal?"

"The one I'm going to create around Ramsey. Clearly, I overestimated her skills if she couldn't remember Sean Tarver's name. Hell, even I know the insignificant twit's name," Olena derided.

"I don't know. Ramsey is sweet and innocent. What would people believe?" Veronica queried.

"People will believe whatever nonsense you tell them to believe. An aspiring journalist faking stories is believable these days. Repetition is key," Olena stressed as another possibility arose. "As is a salacious subject. Maybe Ramsey isn't such a prude. What would people think if she's presented as a slut like Caterina?"

"How in the world would you do that? You better not...remember the rule!" Veronica emphasized.

"I know the rule!" Olena hissed. The one rule dealt with criminal exposure. Veronica had insisted for years that Olena never put her in jeopardy of going to jail. Sure, a few of Olena's plots had crossed that line, but always with plausible deniability or multiple cutouts. "I'm not going to **** or have her ****. Geez, Vonnie."

Olena pondered the problem for several seconds until she found an unlikely source of information.

"I think it's about time that Mom visits her old friend, Triana, down in Blackbridge. Maybe a hint or two will lead them to play matchmaker for me with her nephew."

"Who? Oh! Micah Taft."

"Yes, Ramsey's ex might provide needed insight."

Olena's going to get her hands dirty this time? Wow, this must be the ultimate plan. Veronica knew that even scarcer than praise for herself was Olena doing the grunt work for her plan. That stuff and directing Olena's other agents usually fell onto herself.

"And then there is the boy who made this whole idea possible," Olena paused. "Who the hell is Sean Tarver?"

"Uh, he's this nice guy from our--"

"I know that, but who is he? What makes him tick? What skills or desires does he have? What skeletons doesn't he want exposed?" Olena questioned. "What did you say that Nosy Nectar has on him?

"Practically nothing so far. His relationship only got a brief blurb when it ended."

"That's not shocking. He's one of those bland guys who fade away in the background. However, it is surprising that more details have not surfaced about what happened up at Wasp Lake. Why is Nosy Nectar dropping the ball?" Olena questioned the gossip expert in her bedroom.

"Because it happened at Wasp Lake?" Veronica responded with a shrug.

"That's never stopped Nosy Nectar before. If anything, the sordid vacations up there have been covered extensively in the past." Olena pondered what she considered an anomaly. "Besides Jayden Cooke, who else is Sean friends with?"

"JoJo Gibble and Newt Denton are his best friends," Veronica supplied.

"Ah, yes. Denton should be easy to manipulate. Everyone knows that pretty girls frighten him. JoJo's timid personality should also benefit the plan."

"Have you ever seen JoJo play soccer? Oh, right, you haven't," Veronica answered her own question. Olena never went to any sporting events. "She's not timid during that time."

"That's hardly a concern. Now, what is interesting and weird is his mother's plan. Playing the pimp for her son would scandalize most of Honey Hollow. However, it could line up nicely with a honey trap strategy," Olena proposed.

"Why is Sean even on the list? He's not friends with Whitney or most of her clique."

"Sean's the vital cog to my plan for that very reason. His addition is the wildcard. And he will surely be added to Whitney's friends. Knowing that bitch, she'll want to reward him for saving her life. Owing anyone your gratitude opens up a weakness," Olena explained. "That's why we need to keep Beyza around as a spy and agent. Sean's guilt over their failed relationship is his weak spot."

"Okay, I guess."

"Still, if Bezya's anger subsides, she might back out as she's too nice a girl. It might be best to gather leverage on her," Olena mused. "Send Daphne a message. I want her at the Witzler before we arrive."

"Daphne? On this short notice? Olena, it is New Year's Eve. I'm sure that she has plans," Veronica reminded. "Or she might be down in Muskie Harbor."

"She's in town, and she'll drop any plans for this assignment. If she protests, remind her that the event tonight is for Finn Singer's mother."

"Huh? Oh! The Buzzy Bee," Veronica said, once everything clicked in her mind.

Two years older than the girls, Daphne Garrow had once been a reporter on the school newspaper. However, her ethical standards aligned closely with those that Olena wanted to fabricate about Ramsey. Toward the end of her sophomore year, Finn exposed Daphne's creative and fictional articles to Mrs. Brass, then the advisor to The Buzzy Bee. Although fired from the newspaper, Daphne's photography skills landed her a plum position on the school yearbook. She also proved adept at getting the best shot possible. A skill that Olena had paid handsomely for with money and favors in the past. Sometimes, the Breakwater University student would travel back home for an assignment.

"No one is better at capturing dirt with a picture," Olena praised, smiling. "As for information: we'll need Geoff. His grudge against Ramsey will come in handy. Of course, he'll require a personal meeting."

Veronica held back a smile. Olena detested how Geoffrey Inch viewed himself as Olena's equal. The funny part came from how alike the two were in so many ways. The chime alerted her to the photographer's reply.

"Daphne said that she'll be here within thirty minutes. Uh, she thinks this is about Finn Singer," Veronica relayed.

"And let her think that until she arrives," the white-haired girl responded. "Send Alfie Fewings a message as well. If he's coming tonight, I would like to discuss a project."

"A project?"

"Yes, similar to the Caterina project. I think Alfie needs to top that production with one that rocks Honey Hollow High. Oh, and let's set up Prudence Goodley's annoying purity group for the outraged reaction," Olena added.

"Uh, okay." Veronica's face blushed further as she wondered how they could top Cat's sex tape. "Anyone else?"

"If we're going after Austin, we'll need an unwitting ally. Let's see, Marcus would never go along with his cheating on Lacey. But Oscar and his temper might if a girl is dangled for him too. Put together everything we know about him."

Veronica nodded as she added the name to the list on her phone. However, she noted that Olena never considered Max. Ever since his crush on Whitney became widely known, she considered Max to be dead or nonexistent.

"Also, alert our secret mole on the cheer squad that a new deal is being offered. I'm sure that she'll be open to helping. Fucking cheerleaders," Olena spat.

Veronica's head automatically swiveled to check the doorway. Olena's mom had been a cheerleader, and her daughter's attitude toward them was one frosty topic between the two Oleskys. The subject of family brought another question to the sidekick's mind.

"Regis will be there tonight. Could he help?"

"My pompous buffoon of a cousin? You've been saving that joke all winter break, haven't you?" Olena issued a rare chuckle.

"So she wants me to meet more girls to gauge my interest?" Sean asked, getting pushed across the ballroom.

"You wish, sweetie," Gabriela forewarned. "Nope, your momma has been boasting with pride about your exploits to Honey Hollow's finest doctors and other work friends."

"Great. I'm a human specimen," Sean grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure a few haven't heard about your chatty ways while in the hospital," Gabby teased as they reached his mother.

"Hey, honey! I have a few friends who want to see you," Bridget said, all chipper. Taking over control of the wheelchair from her friend, she leaned down to ask quietly in his ear. "How did things go with Beyza?"

"Really good! Not only is she no longer mad at me, but Bey also wants to be friends like we used to be," Sean recounted. A significant weight felt lifted off his shoulders as the slightest amount of guilt washed away.

"That's wonderful! I guess an event like out on the lake puts life into perspective," Bridget replied, happy for her son.

"That girl is far more forgiving than I would be," Gabby remarked, her eavesdropping skills showing no sign of slipping. "If that happened to me..."