Chapter Two

I stepped outside and walked through the front gate of my school. I was usually the first one in the building and ever since everyone turned against me, I made sure I was the first one. It was strange to see all the other students walking to the building, talking and laughing with friends. The glares that many of them gave me were nostalgic now, the last little bit of interaction I received from them. There were others that ignored me and continued with their conversation. Some of them seemed to laugh louder as I passed them. It was all typical by this point and time, the reminder that no one was happy with me, and that no one cared I was there to begin with.

I headed towards the second-floor stairs through the right hallway, focusing on how the ceremony ahead of me would play out. The teachers would call my name and have me recite the speech they asked me to write. I wrote it a long time ago, when I knew, I was going to finish as number one. I thought about accomplishments I’d share, the hopes I wanted to achieve, and the little jokes I sprinkled throughout it. But I didn’t bring it with me. It wasn’t an accident. I just knew that it wouldn’t do me any favors, and that it would only be another nail in the coffin in my isolation from the students I shared all those years with.

When I reached the stairs and climbed up, I saw her. The girl who started everything. Dawn. She stood straight, which she only did when she thought she was alone. Her face was free of any makeup, revealing, and at times accentuating her imperfections. It was a shame too. Though I would consider myself much more pretty without makeup, with it, Dawn stole the show. She really enjoyed putting it on too. I remember seeing the smile on her face in the girl’s bathroom whenever she decided to do a touch up. But once she decided to hate me, she wanted to be the every-girl. She wanted to be the one everyone can relate to, the one that stood for the poor and tired, according to her.

Her dark brown hair was styled into two braided pigtails, and she wore big, rounded glasses. I knew for a fact that she didn’t need glasses, but she needed everyone else to believe she did. She told everyone that she used to wear contacts but decided that glasses were a lot better. She was the one below me, number two. She did everything to try and catch me and take my number one. Athletics, academics, and even charity work was a battleground to her. After she changed her image, and start to isolate me from everyone else, I’d sometimes celebrate in front of her, feeling happy that I was better than her, and that I didn’t need to lower myself to her level to achieve it. I stood there, waiting for her to notice me. I could’ve tried and walking past her, but it would have only given her more reason to yell at me.

She had her hand on her hip as she watched me reach the top step. Her familiar glare shot through me, trying to burn my insides.

“Haru,” Dawn said with a scowl. The words flew by me, trying to cut my face open. “There’s the spoiled brat who’s gonna be honored today.” She knew no one else took this path to the classrooms so she went all in. “All the work I put in to be number one, and it was taken away by the two-bit princess who always gets it all, just like every time before this. Except, I don’t get any more chances after this time. We’re graduating, and I have to live the rest of my life with the fact that I lost to someone who doesn’t deserve the life she was given!” She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down to the floor, standing over me.

“Get off me,” I said, shooting my glare back to her.

“Go ahead, hit me,” she said with a smile. “I can’t wait for everyone to come rushing in and see you assaulting me and proving me right.” She let out a laugh. “I held it in all this time. I knew I couldn’t hurt you in front of others. I knew I had to keep my image pristine by keeping yours clean. But now, who cares?! I’m going to do what I always wanted to do to you.” She turned me around, keeping me pinned with her legs, and began to bound my hands with rope. My eyes shot opened as I started to move away.

“Stop! Someone, help me!” I screamed, trying to fight my way out. Dawn pushed her knee into my back and put duct tape over my mouth.

“I almost forgot, I can’t have you saying anything now,” Dawn said with another laugh. “Not that anyone would come for you.” I could feel my heart exploding out of my chest. The breaths I took were burning my nose and I could feel tears down my cheeks. I kept trying to move around but Dawn had finished bounding my hands and was moving towards my legs. I kicked her shin and tried to stand up with the small window of time I had created.

“You stupid–!” Dawn yelled at me. She grabbed my ponytail and slammed my face into the sparkling white floor. The faint smell of cleaner was drowned out by the scent and sight of a pool of my blood. My eyes were squinting on their own, trying to focus on anything else beyond the sight in front of me. Dawn began to drag me away from the stairs in front of us. I could see the posters on the wall about graduation day, along all the congratulations written by the teachers. The walls were adorned with blue, white and gold decorations along with small bouquets of fake flowers. Though the pain on my face was sharp, I felt the drop inside my body much more. I wasn’t happy about the circumstances that arose because I was going to take the number one spot, but I was proud of my accomplishments. It didn’t matter what Dawn or the rest of the students thought. I worked hard to reach the top. It wasn’t my fault that I was born with more. It wasn’t a guarantee for success. But now, it was being dragged away from me, at the same rate Dawn was dragging me.