The tears had long since gone. Now, all that remained was a redness of eye, the occasional sniffle and an emptiness inside which seemed as though it would never allow itself to be fulfilled. Her stomach hurt, too, although admittedly that could derive from the fact that she had had no more than a couple of bites since dinner the night before - and over 12 hours had elapsed since then.
'That is not healthy, Katherine darling', she could hear her father say inside her head. In her mind's eye, she visualised his stern, yet concerned expression as he went on to add that she had a bout this weekend, and that it was no time for such silliness. Katherine knew he was right - if she was to defeat Roxi Johnson and Electra Styles, and to be useful to her partner, Zuri Justice, it would not do to go without nourishment for such long periods of time. And yet, could she help it if she was not the slightest bit hungry?
In her mind, the sound of her father's voice as he scolded her was suddenly replaced by another one, one that brought a pang to Katherine Kensington's heart. A French-accented voice speaking words which, while never actually uttered out loud in her presence, the young SCW superstar could still clearly hear inside her head:
'...a little more mean...sensitive to a fault...'
After a moment, this voice merged with another, which Katherine recognised as belonging to her cousin Nigel:
'...a little more assertiveness would not hurt you, love...'
Katherine screwed her eyes shut and flung herself sideways, burying her face in a pillow to stifle a scream. After a moment, she was slightly embarrassed to feel the taste of tears touch her lips again. 'Oh, marvelous', she thought. 'This is why nobody wants you in their circles, Katherine!'
Forcing herself to stop crying, she fumbled around for her mobile phone and called Nigel, only to find that he was in southern Spain with one of...them! Letting out a groan of frustration, she proceeded to call another trusted friend, entreating her to meet her in town. The meeting having been arranged, Katherine stood and walked over to her vanity to try and make herself presentable. As she appraised her hair critically, pulling it up with one hand to see how it would look in a bun, only one thought crossed her mind:
'No more Miss Nice Katie. I shall show them all.'
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St James's Park is buzzing with activity at this time of day, even though it is the middle of the week and this is early August. Mothers trail by the hand of their excitable children, tourists snap photos, couples walk hand in hand and the odd pensioner sits on a bench people-watching as they feed the squirrels, ravens and waterfowl that inhabit the shores of the pond.
In the middle of this hustle and bustle, we find Katherine Kensington, plain yet stylish in a simple sleeveless blouse and understated make-up, her long dark hair framing her face perfectly. The Kent heiress's only concession to vanity is the too-red lipstick she wears, which jars oddly with the rest of her sensible, well-appointed ensemble. The reason for that particular choice soon becomes clear, however, as Katie suddenly, and with no explanation, swats a snow-cone out of a small boy's hand, stamping on it for good measure. A horrified gasp comes from off-camera, but Katie pays it as much heed as she does the boy's tears, which is to say, none. Instead, she snaps at the bawling child to 'grow up!' before stalking away.
At length, a swan idly waddles across the path in front of Katherine's feet, venturing from its lakeside nest to explore further regions of the park. A moment later, it is scrambling away in a flutter of wings, the SCW signee having aimed an attempted kick at it. Still seemingly not satisfied, the heiress then turns around and pops another young girl's balloon, once more causing a flood of tears and a glower from a distinctly upset mother. All of this, however, seems to affect the brunette not one whit, as she is perfectly composed when she addresses the camera:
'Good afternoon, KatieKats! How smashing of you to join us! As you can see, I already have a bit of a head start on the fun...you shan't hold it against me, shall you?'
Katie's already insincere hands-to-heart gesture has a malevolent edge this time around, which seeps over to the girl's words:
'You see, certain people within our promotion seem to believe that I am, as it were, too kind. Too pleasant. 'Sensitive to a fault', I believe the expression was. I have decided, my dears, to prove these people wrong. You see, I can be precisely as unpleasant as anybody if I set my mind to it, and this weekend, Delia and the others will hopefully become aware of that.'
The heiress pauses for a second, then resumes:
'And who shall I demonstrate my wickedness on, you ask? Why, there shall be two perfectly good subjects just across the ring from me! Roxi Johnson and poor, poor Electra Styles. I feel as though I oughtn't abuse the poor girl, given her struggle with a condition...but a true Mean Girl does not think that way. A true Mean Girl cares little about the struggles of others! And indeed, why ought I to be concerned with Ellie's...socially debilitating...dis...order...'
Feeling her voice falter with compassion, Katherine quickly overcompensates by speaking rapidly and in a higher pitch than usual:
'...as I said, why ought I care? Besting her and her partner in our bout Sunday next is beneficial to me, and a true Mean Girl looks out, first and foremost, for herself. Just ask Elizabeth-darling.'
The brunette pauses a moment to take a seat on a nearby bench and fish into her purse for cigarettes. Lighting one, she continues:
'As for the other two women in this contest, my KatieKats, you shall think me a liar if I tellyou that they both fancy themselves superheroes!'
A shrill laugh precedes the heiress's next point:
'Indeed, my dears! While I find it admirable that SCW goes to the trouble of doing charity work with the local mental facility, I must confess I am puzzled with regards to my placement in this match. Perhaps to offer a modicum of mental imbalance...? Or perhaps they have heard about my nurse training and wish me to assist with patient removal once the bout is concluded? It does fair baffle me! ...But where was I? Oh, yes, Roxi and Zuri. You two darlings feel free to test your, ahem, superpowers on one another...I promise I shan't interfere!'
Katherine has a vague little dismissive gesture to go with the word 'superpowers' before continuing:
'But I digress, my dears. The point I was attempting to make is that, this Sunday, Delia and the Mean Girls shall realise just how wrong their perception of me was. Effective immediately, please bid your farewells to pleasant, self-effacing, perfectly polite, astonishingly silly Katie K; for she has given way to the strong, fiery and determined Miss Kensington. And Miss Kensington shall sit at the Mean Girl table.'
With this, the Brit imperiously gestures for her friend to turn off the camera, which she promptly does. Only when the device is safely tucked away inside one of the girls' purses does Katherine drop her haughty posture, her shoulders sagging and chest deflating as she once again becomes dear old Katie K, sweetheart of SCW. Immediately rising from the bench, she stubs out the rest of her cigarette and motions for her friend to follow. At an inquisitive glance from the other girl, she explains:
'I shall attempt to find that poor darling boy from earlier. I do, after all, owe him an ice-cream...'
