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When Cordelia walked through the halls of Sunnydale High that morning, her reception was a major improvement than what she had received the previous day. The news of her apparent transformation last night at the Bronze had reached the ears of many of the students, and they looked at her today with more curiosity than scorn. There were still some who thought that Cordelia Chase would never be able to shed her barely-seen, barely-heard-of image, but others were not sure. Watching her confident, unselfconscious stride showed that she had, if nothing else, lost her shyness. The guys realized that Cordelia was way more than the sorta-kinda pretty they had thought she was before, if they had noticed her at all. The girls eyed her with a little suspicion, some jealousy, and a determination to find out what was going on. This was Cordelia Chase! She had one of the highest GPAs in the senior class! She was not supposed to be competition for the attentions of the “sadly few number of Bens and Brads” that Willow had once commented on. But Willow Rosenburg, Homecoming Queen and leader of the sheep, seemed to be sliding into the pit of losers now that she had dumped Xander Harris for that Oz guy. Why anyone would dump one of the most desirable men in the school was beyond the understanding of Harmony.
Harmony, as the self-appointed replacement for the position of Most Popular Girl in Sunnydale High, decided that Willow was not fit to be seen with them anymore. As it was, there was an opening for a spot in her highly exclusive flock of followers. Cordelia was showing potential. And Harmony was not about to give up on the elusive Xander either.
“Come and sit with us over here, Cordelia,” called Harmony as she saw the brunette walking casually to her locker. Cordelia turned her head and smiled slightly at Harmony. She changed directions and headed towards where the group of girls was sitting at their usual spot.
“I’ve decided to forgive you for running out on me like that last night, Cordelia,” Harmony said benevolently. “You can have one more chance. But if you really want to be cool you have to listen to what I say. We’ve been watching you, and you’re not doing too bad on your own, but you’re still new at this thing, so take my word for it and stop hanging with that Buffy girl. She almost killed Willow on her first day here, you know. She’s a bad influence, not to mention a psycho. You can hang with me.”
Cordelia was learning that the best way to deal with this conceited Harmony was to nod and smile at everything she said, but she was not, and could never be a sheep. Besides, she had no intention of abandoning her friends this time. She had begun ignoring Buffy and the Scooby Gang after her breakup with Xander, but she was not about to do so now that she had this second chance. Buffy was being so nice to her, and besides, Xander hung with Buffy, therefore Cordelia would hang with Buffy. The only real problem with that setup was the whole Willow issue, but she was sure she could hold her own against that evil double of the sweet, shy, (boyfirend-stealing!) Willow she knew. Still, it would be pointless to explain any of that to Harmony, who was still waiting for an answer. Cordelia sighed, and decided to try anyway.
“I know that my group is way down on the social ladder from where you are, Harmony,” she began. Harmony nodded in agreement, waiting for the inevitable declarations of gratitude at her generosity. “But I’m not going to leave my friends, even with the whole popularity thing at stake. Buffy is not a psycho, and strange as it may seem, I like her.”
Harmony listened, dumbfounded, as once again her efforts to mold the former dork were politely declined. “How can you want to hang with losers when you could be popular like me? You know, you’ll never mean anything without my help,” she said loudly, feeling snubbed.
Cordelia laughed and shook her head at the ridiculous statement. “I don’t need your help, Harmony. I know I can be popular without having to follow you around and pretend I’m interested in what you’re saying. Like these girls do,” she said, waving a perfectly manicured hand in the general direction of the sheep. They looked offended, but didn’t say anything to refute what she said. Harmony glanced at them in annoyance.
“Is that true?” she asked. They remained silent. “You’re supposed to back me up!” she said shrilly. A few of them looked away. Some of the others smiled weakly and shrugged their shoulders. Harmony scowled as she turned to face Cordelia. No more Ms. Nice Girl.
“I thought Willow was crazy when she dumped the cutest guy in school and started going out with that weirdo boyfriend of yours. You’re just as crazy as she is! You’re giving up a chance to lose your non-existent image because of Buffy and Oz? You’re more of a geek than I thought.”
Cordelia was getting tired of Harmony and her silly bleating. Forget being meek and polite. No one called her a geek and got away with it. “Harmony, you are so pathetic. You are such a slave to your popularity that you can’t see why someone would want to have real friends instead of pretending you like someone just because they’re in the right crowd. You forget, Xander is part of ‘that group’ too.” She wondered idly if he was in the swim team again. “And you said so yourself, he’s cute. And he’s hardly a loser. In fact, he’s probably more popular than you are! If he can be popular and still be seen with ‘that psycho,’ then so can I.”
With that, Cordelia tossed her hair over her shoulder and began walking away. She could feel Harmony glaring at her, but somehow, the realization that she may have totally ruined her chances of gaining back her rightful Queen C status did not freak her out so much anymore. She could also feel the approval of the students that had gathered around them at some point. For some reason, that mattered more to her than Harmony’s displeasure.
“Way to go, Cordelia!” shouted someone. Harmony spun around to find the culprit, but she could not identify the voice. Cordelia just smiled to herself and waved mischievously at the crowd. One or two started applauding, and others hooted at the sight of the hacker walking away from the well-known, but not necessarily well-liked, blonde cheerleader. Harmony seethed, and Cordelia basked in her little victory. She was aware that she had probably made an enemy out of Harmony, but she was riding on a high, and such things did not worry her. she thought, and excused herself from the crowd.
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