Chapter One
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SAMANTHA
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Samantha Harris looked in the bathroom mirror. Nice. She turned to her side and looked at her stomach. Finally got the abs I've always wanted. "Honey? Sam? Are you going to be any longer? I have to get my lipstick." Samantha's mom, Hilary, said through the door. "Baby, we have to get to your cousin's birthday party. Hurry up!" Samantha sighed. Her mom never even considered her plea to stay at home. She had begged so much that her throat actually burned. "Yeah mom, I'll be out in a minute." She sighed again, louder, making sure her mom could hear it. Hilary started to get aggravated. "Okay, you know what? I've been trying so hard to make you fit in with the people in this town! I have tried my best to include you in everything that this family does! But you just try even harder to exclude yourself! Gosh, Samantha, don't you want to be pretty? Or popular? Or have at least one friend in your life?" Hilary yelled. She stomped away, without getting her lipstick, and Sam heard her bedroom door slam. Great, now SHES mad at me. A few seconds later she heard a voice. "Sammy!" she heard a knock at the bathroom door, "Sammy, let me in. Please?" Her sister, Sabrina, turned the door knob slowly and peeked her head in. "Oh, Sam..." Sabrina started. She looked at Samantha's face, her mascara'd tears running along her cheeks. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Samantha yelled. Sabrina opened the door all the way and stepped inside. "Samantha. You know I love you. You know I want the best for you. But you also know that to survive in this town, you have to portray a person that you aren't. A person that is flawless, porcelain..." She paused and looked at the ground, " Perfect...Our mom doesn't want this town to tear us apart because we aren't perfect like them. She acts like this to protect us. Do you understand?" Samantha looked at her sister, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were still flowing endlessly from her eyes. Sabrina put her hand on Samantha's shoulder. It looked like Sabrina's "fake" personality was starting to take over. "Okay, Sammy. Time to wipe your own tears and put on a happy smiling face for the world. Tip-Wear water prove mascara if your gonna be moody like this all day." Sabrina left the bathroom without another word and Samantha was left standing there...her moms lipstick in one hand and waterproof mascara in the other.
Samantha's cousin, Keri Denasen, was the most popular girl in Everglade High School. Since Samantha's family had just moved to Everglade Country Side in California, she was forced to go to that same high school. That school is know for its stuck-up bitches and rich kids. And when those kids meet Samantha...who knows what torture she would endure this year? But at least her cousin could protect her from the relentless bullies that attacked her in this school unlike her other one in Alabama. Before she moved to California, she went to River Banks High School. There, she was known as the fat geek who could never get a guy in the chess club to sleep with her. Imagine how she got that reputation. Over the Summer, she managed to lose 93 pounds with a personal trainer that her mother hired, learn how to put in contacts and wear makeup, got a really nice butt, and bought some really cool clothes. Even though she managed to transform her look, this year, she planned to just stay unnoticed and not risk even the slightest rude remark. But with Keri as her cousin and probably her wanting to hang out with Samantha all the time, she didn't know how that plan was going to work. "Sam, let's go honey. Remember to bring your mallibou sandals." Her mother called out interrupting her thoughts. Okay, good. She's back to her happy, perfect attitude again.
