PRANKS and KISSES | 1 ✔️

Chapter 7: Retaliation and Realization

You tried to make me feel bad with the things you do
It ain't so funny when the joke's on you
Ooh, the joke's on you
Got everyone laughing, got everyone clapping, asking,
"How come you look so cool?"
'Cause that's the only thing that I've learned at school,
I said that that's the only thing that I've learned at school

- Popular Song, MIKA

***

Now here was one thing you needed to know about me, I hated being the center of attention. I hated it in a deeply personal level.

Since I was an only child, my parents made themselves believe that I was the most talented kid in the world; and because of that belief, all of the traumatic memories I had during my childhood involved getting forced to perform all kinds of embarrassing acts in front of many people.

I remembered that one time when my mom asked me to sing Whitney Houston's All by Myself during one of our family reunions. To say that it was a disaster was an understatement. I did not want to elaborate but there were some policemen involved and a couple of next door neighbors who claimed they heard wailing noises and thought someone was being brutally murdered inside our house.

I only cried for one month after that.

Since then, I took great lengths to fade into the background. I wouldn't even hesitate to resort to blackmail if the situation asked for it. Like that time in fourth grade when I sort of hinted to my grade school teacher that I would blab about her after-school rendezvous with our married principal if she cast me as Wendy in our class performance of Peter Pan. It was very effective.

In the end, I got to play the very important role of a coconut tree; in which the only thing I did was stand in the background and sway every now and then.

Best performance I'd ever done. My parents swore that was the best tree-portrayal they had ever seen in their entire lives. They were so moved; they even had tears in their eyes after the show.

Having said so, you could safely assume that I wasn't exactly happy about the recent happenings in my life. Being included in Hunter's circle of friends automatically put me under the spotlight. And when there were eyes following your every move, it was just a matter of time before they discover your weaknesses.

The moment I saw Rachel, Sophie and Jessica Hewitt blocking the way to my locker a week after my long-overdue high school debut, I knew I was in big trouble. I kind of expected it though. From the murderous looks Rachel had been throwing me these past few days, I knew she was just waiting for the right time to strike.

And it looked like now was the right time since Hunter was nowhere to be seen. He was currently at the principal's office together with Parker, getting a mouthful from Mr. Curtis for hacking the school's sound system and changing the school's alarm to Wiz Khalifa's Young, wild, and free.

Oh, I am really going to kill you, Hunter! I swore to myself.

"Look! Ms. Social Climber has arrived!" Rachel screeched when she saw me, catching the attention of all the people in the corridor.

Jessica, also one of the girls in the cheering squad; looked at me from head to toe, scrunching up her nose as if she just smelled something nasty. I wondered if she finally noticed the scent of her hairspray? Its awful scent could be smelled all the way to Nebraska.

Surprisingly, Sophie didn't pay me any attention. As a matter of fact, she looked like she would rather be somewhere else than stand there with the other two girls. She probably wished she was exchanging spit with Kenji right now. The thought made me want to hurl and cry.