The Mystery of Popularity
by
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PROLOGUE-The definition of popularity (for reference as things get complex in the story, readers.)
From the notebook of Elizabeth Rivers,
(The FAKE) Definition of popularity (n)
• pop•u•lar•i•ty
• [ pòppyə lárrətee ]
1. fact of being well liked: admiration, approval, or acceptance of somebody or something by people in general or by a group of people
Synonyms: admiration • approval • acceptance • fame • status • reputation
(The REAL) Definition of popularity (n)
• pop•u•lar•i•ty
• [ pòppyə lárrətee ]
1. The fact of prancing around the school like you have a crown on your head, with a group of minions around you who have the job of excluding and making people feel bad about themselves. Also skipping class and dancing around the school like it’s a personal catwalk.
Synonyms: snobby, stuck up, airhead, bully, cruel, hurtful, rule breaker, famous for being snobby, stuck up, airhead, bully, cruel, and rule breaker.
So, I just sat there. Really, slept there, well it was more like lay down there. I definitely wasn’t asleep, and wasn’t going to be anytime soon. I looked at the watch on my bedpost. 2:53, it proclaimed it nighttime. I’m not tired. I couldn’t POSSIBLY be tired. Tomorrow was the first day of middle school, as in 6th grade. I’d spent a whole half of yesterday practicing locker combinations. You might call that kind of lame, but I have zero idea of what to be prepared for. Plus, I can’t sleep while I’m in the middle of a book, can I? I just can never find time to read in the day, so I do it by flashlight at night. I look up into the mirror in front of me. The girl staring back has brown hair, medium length and slightly stringy, with a nose that is slightly turned up and a small mouth. Hazel eyes that are almond shaped. I’m pretty regular, not pretty or ugly, just somewhere in between. So I play sports, I sing and dance, I’m good in school… You don’t care, do you? You don’t want to know that nonsense. Truthfully, these days, someone’s social status determines how important they are. And yeah, I’m your average kid, not popular or anything. Of course not. I’m regular. But middle school? I wonder what it’s going to be like, I mean, everyone says it’s when school gets tough. Homework piles, yelling teachers, accusing F’s stare at you from a report card. But kids? We know better. I’m not worried about that. I bet there are other kids like me stressing out, because we know that middle school is actually when you really start getting the whole popularity thing, where some people rule the school, the 3 years of major drama in an innocent kid’s life. And most of all, there are rules you have to follow, and people who are really going make it hard. Like, by middle school, you should know some simple rules. Not, “walk in the hallways”, and “Raise your hand when you speak”. No, it would be “Don’t ride your bike to middle school” and “Skip French class and hang out in the hallways”. And I had a bad feeling that there were going to be a LOT of rules.
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About the Book
She would never admit it, but Elizabeth (Lizzie) Rivers has always wanted a blond ponytail that sways when she walks. Instead, she winds up with a stringy brown clump of hair that can only end up in a messy braid. She’s always wanted a perfectly coordinated outfit, with cute accessories, but she always ends up a few steps behind the latest fashion. She’s not a wannabe, but Elizabeth just doesn’t get this popularity business.
One fateful day Lizzie, who is perfectly happy with her current friends, winds up palling with Mackenzie, a new student from L.A.! At first Lizzie gets suspicious, but then winds up doing things she would NEVER otherwise do. Such as skipping class, or changing her style. She starts liking it. But not stopping there, Mackenzie has other plans. She’s ready to go extreme- and won’t hesitate to get others (including Lizzie) in trouble in the process. Will Lizzie’s reputation as a good student, and worse, a good friend, be ruined, all thanks to this one girl? Was this a big mistake? Is she still out to solve the mystery of popularity?
About the Author
Cherie Anne Fernandes is 11 years old, and she lives with her parents, sister and Nana, but spends most of her time at school. She can’t wait for middle school, which is why she wrote the book The Mystery of Popularity. She spends her free time reading, writing, playing, writing, singing, writing, drawing, and of course, writing. This is her first book that she has published, and she is completely thrilled and can’t wait to write another:)