Hiding Behind A Mask | ✔

C H A P T E R T E N

"Have a good day at school today, hun," my mom says as we arrive at my school. I look out the tinted window at the campus with students walking and talking to each other. For a moment, I think over the scenarios that could possibly happen today. Maybe Sandra, Lindsey, and Amy will come to mess with me, which happens almost every day that I'm at school and is the only scenario that I could think of.

I open the door and exit the car. I'm about to walk away when my mom winds down the window and yells, "Please don't get in any trouble and stay out of harm's way!" I nod my head as I always do when she says something like this every morning when dropping me off.

She drives off and I start walking to the entrance of the school.

Every day always feels the same, such as my mom dropping me off here in the mornings, having to walk through the halls with almost the whole student body staring at me, and the girls - Sandra, Lindsey, and Amy - eyeing me every time that they see me.

It's all getting to me, and I don't think it's because of the mask that I'm wearing anymore. It's simply about trying to ruin my life in high school. I know that the student body is not really trying to do that, but it's the three girls that are trying their best to do so.

I'm by the double doors of the school's entrance and I open one of them to enter. I start walking through the hall with my head up high.

I'm expecting to feel all eyes on me but to my surprise, everyone's talking to their friends at a normal volume, standing by their lockers. I have to say that there are still whispers that are about me, yet there are not many.

I look to my right and spot the girls standing in their usual spot by the lockers. They feel my gaze on them and quickly stop their chattering to look at me. They all try their hardest not to glare at me for once as they just smile, though I can see pure evil written behind their smiles.

I avert my eyes with confidence and walk to my locker that's just to the other side of the hall. As I get closer, I can see a pink poster that says "Vote me, Sandra Brown, as your homecoming freshman Queen" with a picture of her printed on it.

This week is the week that me and Chance's English assignment is due, and it's also the week for homecoming, that's on Friday, so it's the main topic of the whole student body's conversation.

I roll my eyes and grab the paper off my locker, scrunching it up in my hand and throwing it to the floor. I enter my locker code and open my locker to get my books. I close it when I have all my books in hand, and turn around to look across the hall where I feel three pairs of eyes piercing through my soul.

I glare back at them with a slight smirk on my face, which they can't see. I can see the shock in their eyes as their glare falters only for a moment. I can feel another pair of eyes on me, but this time, it's more of a look than a glare. I look to find Chance with his calm, sarcastic eyes staring at me, and I stare back remembering what he said to me last night.

You're special, Annie. Just like the millions of stars in the sky.

I look away from him and back at the girls, who are looking at him. Their expressions quickly turn to ones with big, fake smiles. I scowl at them, at how fake they look, and at how quickly they could change their expressions to full-on sweetness, knowing that behind all of that, there's just fakeness.

I watch as Chance stops by them with his perfect smile on his perfect face. Sandra steps away from her minions and closer to Chance. She gets ready to throw her arms around him and maybe... kiss him, but Chance grabs her hands in his before she could do anything. She frowns at him and I frown, too, but only in a thinking way with my brows furrowed.