Junior High

Chapter 4

I woke up to my alarm clock and got out of bed. I made my bed, drew the curtains, and opened my closet to pick my third junior high outfit.

I ate breakfast, climbed the school bus, and went to school. The day flew by, and there wasn't really anything special that happened during the day. Until lunchtime.

I piled the cafeteria food onto my metal tray and made my way over to my usual table with Katie, just like always. I spotted the Hollywood girls at the popular kids' table, just like always. Everything was normal. Until the time when I went to the front of the cafeteria to get some juice and dessert.

I was just casually making my way up to the front of the cafeteria. Just then, I heard a tiny snicker from somewhere around me. Huh? I thought. But when I turned around slightly, everyone was just minding their own business, chatting with their friends. I shrugged, got my juice and dessert, and started walking up to my table, where Katie was waiting.

Just then, I unexpectedly tripped over something long and hard. My feet helplessly stumbled as I fell, face-down, towards the floor. The tray flew out of my hands, shot through the air, and landed right on top of my head. The ice cream and the sticky apple juice smacked right onto my blonde head and oozed down my face. Barely being able to see, I looked around for the STICK that had made me trip. It was then that I realized that it hadn't been a stick that had caused my fall. It had been the leg of Isabella of the Hollywood girls.

My jaw almost dropped open. My brain wasn't working. ISABELLA?! Of ALL people?! I mean, she hadn't been MEAN. She had just been a little snobby. But what she had done to me now was just . . . PURE EVIL!!! I was a complete mess. My hair was undone and all tangled up, and my clothes were all soaked and sticky. Nearly everyone in the cafeteria was staring and laughing at me now. I glanced over at Katie. She had her hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes widened in utter disbelief.

I HATED Isabella. But I was not going to let her bring me down. Oh, she thought that my reaction would be that I RAN out of the cafeteria, SLAMMED the doors, and cried in the bathroom for the whole day? Well, PLEASE, in her DREAMS. The battle was ON. We would see exactly WHO ran out of the cafeteria, slammed the doors, and cried in the bathroom for the rest of the day in the end. But the only thing I was sure of was that it wasn't going to be ME.

Keeping my calm, I dusted myself off, gritted my teeth, and said only one word.

"Typical."

There was a snicker of laughter from the crowd. Isabella turned as red as a hot-fried tomato. She TOTALLY deserved it.

"Bree, or should I say HIDEOUS BEANIE GIRL, do you really think you're THAT smart?! What's 'TYPICAL' supposed to mean, anyway?!" She yelled.

"Oh, you know, when someone just does and says random mean things to another person just because they think they're losing in an argument," I said matter-of-factly, pretending to be bored with the conversation.

Isabella was steaming with rage. "Awww, your life is just SO miserable. You better stick to your OWN little bubble. Because you're never gonna be as good as US anyway," Isabella pointed at her and the Hollywood girls, smirking like she was the Queen of England or something.

"You know what, Isabella? At least I'M not the one who suddenly turned into some self-obsessed DIVA over the summer," I said point-blank.

Isabella's snotty face was all pale and white by now, and I laughed at her internally. But on the outside, I just blankly stared at her, waiting for her to say something stupid again. Then, making a futile and unsuccessful attempt of shoving me to the side, she abruptly left the cafeteria, huffing as she went. After watching her for a few seconds, I headed, as well, to the washroom to wash myself off as soon as I was out of sight from everyone.

When I was cleaning up in the bathroom, I heard the door open. Great. I didn't need Isabella coming in with her big fat designer stilettos and taunting me again. I composed myself and attempted to look indifferent, but it turned out that it wasn't who I thought it would be.

"Katie?"

Katie slowly walked in, cautiously wending around the mess that I had created.

"Are you all right?" She asked, still covering her mouth in horror.

I shrugged. "Yeah, it's all right, I guess." I continued to wipe off the majority of the gunk off of my clothes. I chuckled at the strawberry juice staining the back of my jacket. It looked like blood. I wondered how funny it would look; a thirteen-year-old girl in a beanie walking around in the school hallways with blood on her jacket. 

"Bree, I know those girls are such a pain in the neck, but you already know there's always that "group" of mean girls in just about any school you go to," Katie tried to reassure me.

But I didn't need any reassurance. I already knew.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's not the first time."