A brief flashback

Before Vanessa English, the scheming billionaire with the fake curves, was humbled by two middle schoolers, her big rival growing up was a girl named Kitty Van Look.

During that early time Vanessa was belle of the class. Which class? Every class. Every year. Always on time, always polite, always impeccably dressed, Vanessa won the hearts of her teachers and the young boys in her private school. She was that girly girl in the dress with a bow and patent leather shoes that boys would instantly get a crush on and not understand why. Vanessa knew why though.

On the other hand, Kitty was a tomboy. As a kid she liked getting dirty and loved wearing bright colors. She wore everything under the rainbow. Hair was usually in a ponytail. And Kitty was basically friendly to all. Certainly not the brightest in the class, but the most outgoing.

Boys that Kitty liked tended to have a thing for Vanessa and Vanessa tended to not have a use for them after about a week or two. Broken hearts piled up and by the seventh grade the resentment between the two had built up. Kitty was over Vanessa and her prissy ways.

The girls were both just 13 years old and it was when Kitty started to go through a change. She was less interested in playing baseball and being dirty. Kitty now favored having her hair done (after she was a billionaire) to a simple ponytail. She wasn’t becoming prissy like Vanessa but starting to become a woman. She had sprung up two inches over the summer and ditched her tomboy persona for something more feminine.

Vanessa rolled into seventh grade expecting to dominate everything. That year she been gone for most of the summer and had come back with something unexpected. Breasts! Vanessa’s dresses had filled out a bit on top and she loved the attention she was getting.

When Kitty would try to strike up a conversation with a boy, Vanessa and her friends would magically show up. Vanessa would stick out her chest and say things like, “Oh look, if it isn’t Itty Bitty Kitty.” It was a nickname she loved to use, and it always had an effect.

It was also the year that Angie Turner showed up at school. Another 13-year-old, Angie was whip smart, pretty, and happened to be black. It’s not as though she was the first black girl to ever show up at school, but it was rare to see one there.

On the first day of seventh grade Angie walked into her new school. Kids in designer clothes were scurrying about everywhere, hustling to catch up with friends and hustling to get to class.

Once Angie got her schedule, she headed off to hear first class of the day, English. As she walked into class she passed by Vanessa, who was standing with a couple of friends. Seeing the new kid come in all three faces showed different levels of surprise. Vanessa shook her head.

“I tell you they’ll let ANYONE in here these days,” Vanessa said. Her friends giggled as Vanessa rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t spoken under her breath either. Angie heard it as did most of the other people in class, including Kitty. Angie sat down and lowed her head.

The next couple of weeks was more of the same for Angie. She made friends. Most of the kids in class were nice to her. But there were a few holdouts, mainly led by Vanessa. She frequently made comments about Angie. Never to her face, but always close enough so that Angie could hear. And Angie had had about enough.

At lunch Vanessa was in the cafeteria when she noticed her friends sitting at their usual table, one table over from where Kitty and her friends sat. Except today Angie was sitting with them as well. The nerve! That was HER table. She decided who got to sit there and more importantly who didn’t!

Vanessa walked to the edge of the table and looked down at the girls sitting.

“Angie, I know you’re new here and all but you happen to be in my spot. Please move,” she said.

However, Angie wasn’t going anywhere that day. She looked Vanessa in the eye and said, “I don’t see your name written here.”

Slowly the other kids started to pay attention to the drama unfolding. No one said no to Vanessa.

“Really Angie, this is my table. You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“I said NO.”

Vanessa was really taken aback. She had always gotten her way at school and here was some NOBODY standing up to her. What was the world coming to?

“Listen Angie, I know you’re… new. And maybe you’re slow to understand how things work around here. But this is MY TABLE. I’m sure there’s a… more fitting table for you over there,” Vanessa said gesturing toward the tables closest to the garbage cans.

"Or maybe I'd let you stay..." Vanessa said feeling powerful, "but you'd have to kiss my feet."

"What's wrong with you, I'm don't have to listen to you and I'm definitely not kissing your feet."

"You either kiss them or I'll haver those boys over there pick you up and move you where you belong."

“That’s it,” Angie said. She grabbed the closest thing she could throw, a cupcake off her tray, and hurled it at Vanessa. The cupcake sailed through the air and hit Vanessa’s chest with a PLOP. The cupcake stayed stuck on Vanessa’s pastel blue dress for a moment. Everyone fell silent. Then the cupcake fell off and onto the table. Vanessa looked down and saw the big chocolate stain now on her favorite pastel blue dress. And freaked the hell out.

“Look what you did, you stupid…,” Vanessa said but then a thought popped in her head to give her pause. Then she smiled. “You know what? You just made a huge mistake! I’m going to get you suspended for this!” Vanessa said.

This had turned out better than she hoped. She could now get this stupid girl out of her table and out of her life, at least for a week or two.

“My daddy is friends with the principal, I can get it done! I am so telling on you. You are so getting suspended.” Vanessa said.

And without hesitation she spun on her heels and started to head for the door of the cafeteria. Angie grew worried. She shouldn’t have lost her temper. Now she was going to be trouble because of that stupid snob. She got up to follow Vanessa. Maybe talk it out. Reason with her.

Before Vanessa reached the door she was stopped by Kitty. Angie was walking up behind them.

“Hey Vanessa, where are you going?”

Kitty had seen the entire incident and knew she had to stop Vanessa.

“I’m going to the principal to get that… that… that girl suspended!”

“Oh yeah, I saw what she did.”

“Yes, and she’s going to pay.”

“Oh sure, but you know. I don’t think she’s the one getting suspended today,” Kitty said. “I am. I am definitely getting suspended.”

“What are you talking about? She’s the one who ruined my dress. What are you getting suspended for?” Vanessa asked.

“This!”

Kitty punched Vanessa as hard as she could. POW! Everyone in the cafeteria heard it. Vanessa’s head flew back, her arms flew up, and she spun around on her patent leather heels, falling and landing on the floor, her face landing on Angie's shoes.

Everyone got up from their tables to see, well except for Vanessa who was dazed on the floor. Everyone was silent for a second. Until Angie broke the silence.

“Oh my God, look at her panties!”

Kitty’s punch had knocked Vanessa hard enough that when she spun and fell her dress and petticoat blew up and the now bent over and dazed pre-teen’s underwear was available for all to see. It was a normal pair of pink panties, but it had emblazoned on the seat something that Vanessa would regret.

It read “PRINCESS VANNY”. Princess in small letters. Vanny in big ones. There was a little crown over the V. And they had two rows of frills. In a word they were embarrassing.

“Princess Vanny? Are you kidding?”

“Princess Vanny has a big fat fanny!”

“Fat Fanny Vanny!”

“Princess Fanny!”

The kids were all laughing and jeering and Vanessa’s reign at the belle of the school ended with an embarrassing nickname she would be teased with all throughout school.

Vanessa lifted her face off Angie's shoes and stood up crying. She ran out of the cafeteria as fast as she could with the kids still laughing behind her.

Kitty was right though. She did get suspended. Vanessa made sure of that. Two whole weeks. But Angie was never bothered again.

The next day Vanessa showed up at school with an embarrassing black eye that lasted for weeks. She insisted the panties were a gift from an aunt and she only wore them be to be polite. Never mind that she had a drawer full of similar ones or that she'd continue to wear them.

It was here though that Vanessa and Kitty became bitter rivals. It lasted all throughout school and into adulthood.