CHANGES [eric matthews]

The Play's A Thing

↳CHAPTER 1.13
The Play's A Thing.
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『 "What do you not understand about me calling you the enemy? 』
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STANDING IN THE RAIN, screaming at your enemy in front of your old middle school with Coca Cola exploded down the front of both your shirts sounds like the worst way to spend a Friday night, right?

Well, there were definitely worse ways to spend them, but to Beckett, at the time, it was the most humiliating—and coldest— experience she could imagine. Though in the distant future she would look back and slap her forehead at her stupidity. But for now, on Friday, April 29th 1994, Beckett Hunter thought she was a lot smarter than she was, but a certain boy was making her question everything.

To fully understand the gravity of this situation, we'll have to go back in time to Friday, April 22nd 1994. One week earlier.

Beckett swung her locker open that morning to find an envelope with her name falling to the floor in front of her. She picked it up with a small smile, knowing it was from Jason. She opened it, expecting some note about how much she meant to him, (he did that quite a lot, and although she always rolled her eyes and shoved him the minute she saw him, she couldn't help the grin she adorned) but instead the words 'meet me at 2B —admirer'  were there instead.

Her eyes widened and her heart began beating faster—and not in a good way. The thought of some stranger confessing their feelings to her all of the sudden made her want to throw up. It was a Friday morning for gods sakes?! Have they never thought of.. coming up to her? Passing a note in class? She decided she would not have hid her identity from.. anyone if she was about to confess.

But, even with these stressful thoughts, she found herself curiously walking to 2B with the note clutched in her sweaty palms. She had ten minutes before the first bell and the halls were still relatively empty, making it easy for her to find herself right around the corner.

It happened so quick.

She rounded the corner and a splash of some dark substance spattered over her head and onto her white shirt. And then there was laughter.

The first thing she felt was embarrassment and anger, her eyes immediately landing on Eric Matthews in the front of the crowd, a wide eyed, guilty expression on his face. There was a string dangling to his right, and on the other end of it was a small bucket which had been holding whatever sticky drink was all over her. She recognized it as Coca Cola.

After the embarrassment and anger came an unusual feeling. It was an overwhelming sadness as she looked at someone who, although she didn't get along with, she never imagined would try to publicly humiliate her in front of her classmates. Sure it was just a soda, but it was the fact he had gotten her hopes up and everyone had watched them get crushed so suddenly.

She narrowed her eyes at him as the laughter died down, blinking back tears. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to make him hurt, but there was nothing.

She turned on her heel and stormed to the bathroom, ignoring a now suddenly worried call of her name. Screw you.

She entered the bathroom and saw her soaked shirt, stained so badly she didn't think it would come out. Her hair was sticky and so was her face, neck and chest. She would have to use so much conditioner.

She would make sure Eric Matthews paid.

Fast forward to the next Monday, Beckett entered school no longer feeling embarrassed. She had gotten picked up, cleaned herself off, and spent the entire weekend scheming. If Eric wanted a war, he had a war. Only she had reinforcements.