One Popular Idiot Recalls Her Past

Leaning back in her seat, Reina cracked her neck back before sitting back up.

"Hope you all are ready to hear a much better story than the last one."

Nikko didn't like hearing his story slandered.

"Hey! Hurry up and tell your story, it's gonna be a waste of time anyways."

Reina stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, it all started in my first year of high school. I was somewhat popular in middle school, but my family moved away after I graduated. So when high school started, I had no friends or anything, and I was even struggling to get to school through the unfamiliar streets. But I was a sociable girl, and a few people started to talk to me on a daily basis. Eventually, I attracted the attention of a group of girls in my class. The "head girl", if you will, was a stylish and pretty girl named Mayumi Ritsushima. She offered to show me around town, and I quickly befriended her and the others. The three other girls, who I won't name, weren't exactly interesting people. The best way to describe them would be that they were Ritsushima's posse. I didn't mind them much, but Ritsushima became a good friend to me."

"I know it sounds a bit pretentious, but I was Ritsushima's favourite. She always talked to me first, asked for my opinions, and would even invite only me to hang out. I enjoyed spending time with her, as she offered such a different perspective on things. She tried to teach me about things about boys and fashion and whatever else that makes a girl popular, and soon I was with her in the upper echelon of the class. However, everything wasn't that simple. Jealousy became a problem, and it was especially hard for me to deal with the comments and slander. I wasn't used to attention, so suddenly being flooded with hateful treatment hit me pretty badly. Even the girls in Ritsushima's posse were getting sick of me. But Ritsushima was used to dealing with criticism, and she helped teach me to ignore our classmates' resentment. Before long, I had a similar mindset to Ritsushima: one of superiority. I started to look down on many of my classmates, thinking that they didn't like me because they knew that they could never be me. My ego was inflated, but it eventually got shot down."

"I thought that me and Ritsushima were seen as the class princesses, but I started to notice that Ritsushima was given a different kind of attention. The boys seemed to worship her, in a way. If she spoke to any of them, it seemed that they would fall under her spell. They obeyed her commands and would bring her food, or drinks, or sometimes even gifts. But I got none of that. The boys seemed to not really care about me. It confused me for so long: why did the boys not like me the same way they like Ritsushima? I even acted much nicer to them, treating them with respect and kindness, instead of as servants or dogs like Ritsushima. But looking back, it should have been obvious the entire time. If one compares the looks of me and Ritsushima, there is a considerable gap. Ritsushima looked like a princess, but I just looked like a normal high school girl. Maybe by myself I would seem attractive to some guys, but beside Ritsushima, I was basically invisible. Slowly, I began to realize that Ritsushima was living in another world, and that I had been brought into it. But I knew that I didn't belong, so I came back to earth. I couldn't be a princess like her, but I had no problem just being myself. I started seeing Ritsushima in a more objective view, and I realized that she wasn't exactly a good person. She was using the boys in our class like slaves, manipulating their feelings for her benefit and entertainment. It was terrible to see, but I was scared to tell her off."

"However, one day she told me that she was in a relationship with ten different boys. That crossed the line for me. I guess the fact that she was taking advantage of those boys sexually made me completely disgusted. The next thing I remember doing is slapping her and yelling that she was a whore. The disbelief in her face made it seem that she'd never had anyone get angry at her before, which probably was the case. Obviously, Ritsushima freaked out on me, saying that I was nothing without her, and that my reputation would be destroyed. I thought she was exaggerating at the time, and I naively thought that her reputation would be the one that crumbled. The next day at school, I planned to tell our classmates of Ritsushima's scandal. By the time I walked in the class, though, everyone turned to look at me. The atmosphere was haunting; everyone stared and mumbled to each other as I walked by. Something bad had happened, so I confronted Ritsushima at lunch break. She just laughed when I asked what she did, saying that I should've never disrespected her. She never gave me an answer, so I asked around the class. Almost no one even acknowledged that I was trying to talk to them, but I eventually got an answer from one boy, Kunio Ogara. He told me that Ritsushima came into class crying, saying that I tried to blackmail her into convincing some of the guys she was friends with to sleep with me. It was so stupid. She was too dumb to come up with something herself, so she made me look like a whore instead of her."

"It didn't take long for the shock of Ritsushima's rumour to wear off, and the entire class just started insulting me constantly. It even spread to the other classes. Any time I was somewhere in school, I could hear someone gossiping about me. It was so bad that I wanted to switch schools, but my parents said that I wouldn't achieve anything in life if I gave up so easily when people caused problems. They didn't care; if anything, they were upset that their daughter was slandering their name. By the time second year started, not much had changed and people still saw me as the class whore. I was about to threaten my parents that I would drop out if I couldn't switch schools, but then some strange boys asked if I wanted to eat lunch with them. I said yes, but fully expected them to try and get me to sleep with them. But they didn't. They could relate to my struggle of being outcasted by classmates. Before long, they became my best friends, and since then, I've stopped caring about what someone I don't care about thinks about me. I guess that's it for my story."

Shinobu was on the verge of tears.

"Those people were so terrible to you, Reina. I'm happy you were able to make friends and be here now."

Toshiharu nodded along.

"Yeah, you showed some real toughness getting through that. I don't think many people could."

Nikko didn't hesitate to point out his part.

"The story was fine, but the best part was the ending when those two badass guys saved you. They saved the entire story, really."

Reina glared at him.

"Say what you want, but my story had a more emotional impact than yours. Therefore, I win."

"Oh ho, is that what you think? You must be foolish to think…"

Juzo interrupted everyone.

"Your stories are over, so stop talking. I know I gotta tell mine now, so just let me go now so we can go home afterwards."