That Tuesday after homecoming, I finally went back to school. After nearly two weeks off. Shocker, I know.
I needed something that screamed bad reputation, so I got out a shirt that Inez gave me last year. It was a black long sleeve shirt with a square neckline and it had a small cutout between the boobs.
I paired it with a pair of wide leg faded black jeans that had a glittery red snake up the left side.
My hair was already naturally straight, so I just left it alone. I contoured a bit more than normal just to give that extra-snatched makeup look. I also lined my bottom waterline with black eyeliner to have that dark look.
Before Josh left for school last night, he made me some apple danishes to have for breakfast throughout the week.
I grabbed one as I slipped on a pair of tall, black heeled boots that Este gave me. I grabbed my keys off their hook by the door, and I looked in the mirror that was right next to the front door.
My reflection stared back at me as I studied by face. Something was missing.
I went back to my room quickly and looked in my small drawer of lipstick. My eyes fixated on a dark crimson red. I snatched it out of the drawer and went back to the front door and applied a layer to my lips.
It was almost perfect. I hate the look of matte lipstick, so I put on some of my thin, clear gloss and it automatically looked ten times better.
I got in my car and drove across town to school. Half the spots in the parking lot were filled. I parked in the spot I painted with Este at the beginning of the year. Her spot was right next to mine, and I saw her sitting in her car on her phone, but her lips were moving, so she was probably singing.
I turned off my little car, got my bag, and hopped out of my car. I tapped on Este’s window as she looked up. She smiled and waved before unlocking the door. I hopped in the passenger seat and she leaned over the console in the middle to give me a hug.
“You look so hot!” she exclaimed.
“Thank you,” I said. “So do you.”
She beamed at me. “Thanks, I know,” she said and giggled.
Este’s hair was in a messy claw clip. She had her big, clear-framed glasses on with an oversized sky blue crew neck with black sweatpants. She also had her small fuzzy Ugg boots on.
She sits on seats in a very peculiar way. She pulls her knees up to her chest and crosses her ankles. Every seat, chair, anywhere. She’s always sitting like that. She sleeps in that position, too.
“Are you ready for school?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I guess so,” I told her. “I’m ready to see the look of everyone’s faces when they see me.”
She grinned. “So true,” she said.
She turned off her car and we got out, walking into school attached at the hip, like usual. We’re always together. Like, all the time.
As soon as we walked in the door, heads turned. All eyes were on me.
I smirked, fully expecting all heads to turn. Soon enough, everyone was looking at me and the lobby was almost silent.
I studied everyone in the room. The look of shock on everyone’s face was priceless.
I raised the right part of my top lip and some of the underclassmen jumped back a little bit.
“What are you looking at? I’m not freaking Beyonce,” I said. Everyone turned their heads back to their friends and continued talking.
“God, act like I killed someone,” I said to Este.
“You did, at least to them,” she replied.
I looked at her, puzzled.
“You killed your old identity. The person that you were in everyone’s head: perfect cheerleader with the hot perfect boyfriend. Well, you’re not together anymore. You disappeared for two weeks, now you’re back all of a sudden and you look different. Your hair, your makeup, your clothes. They’re adjusting. It’s your main character moment, own it,” she said.
“It’s like this old poem I read one time. One line said ‘And in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive’,” she added.
“What poem was this?” I asked.
“It was called ‘Why She Disappeared’. Can’t remember who wrote it, though,” Este replied.
“Interesting,” I mumbled.
The bell rang and everyone filed down the halls for first period. Este squeezed my wrist real quick before she turned down another hall.
“Bye, babes,” she said.
“Love you,” I said as she walked away.
I narrowed my eyes to give me that moody, siren-eye look.
Augustine was approaching me on the other side with Dorothea, and that runner Piper. Piper smiled at me, we had some of the same friends, so I smiled back.
I had never side-eyed someone like that the way I did to Augustine. As soon as we locked eyes, I flared my nostrils in disgust as her eyes quickly looked down at the white tiled floor.
I walked into the girl’s bathroom real quick to fix my lipstick. I saw a hack online where you put a tissue on your lips then use translucent, loose powder and dab it on over the tissue and then the lipstick doesn’t move. I did this, then reapplied the clear gloss over it.
I might have over-contoured a little, but I looked amazing, so I didn’t mind. I looked down to check my outfit, and the little red snake on my jeans made me smile.
Speaking of snakes, Inez Blackly walked in right as I looked up. She rolled her eyes annoyingly as she saw me.
“This doesn’t fit, Betty,” she said, smirking slightly.
“What doesn’t, your bra that's obviously way too big?” I snapped back.
“This attitude. Where’s all your girly clothes? Why’s all this black here? Did you go emo because you don’t have a boyfriend anymore?” she asked.
“Did you get dumped? Is that why you look so slutty, looking for another guy?” I asked.
“You’re a bitch, you know that?” she said.
I nodded. “Of course I do. You’re a whore, did you know that?” I said.
“You owe James an apology, he says you’re terrible in bed,” Inez snapped.
“I don’t owe him anything. He was the bad one,” I replied.
“God, no wonder he cheated on you. I hate you, go to hell,” she said and turned out of the bathroom to leave.
“See you there,” I yelled after her. I heard her huff.
Inez annoys me so much. I bet she’s just bitter that I won homecoming queen over her.
But I completely meant what I said. If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing.
I turned on my heel and walked across the hall to my first period. I sat at my desk in the back corner and scrolled on Instagram as the rest of my classmates filed into their desks.
I heard tons of whispers about me. Avani, one of Inez’s friends, sat down at her spot in front of me.
“You’re such a snake,” she said.
“You know, I don’t give a fuck. I’ll leak my poison where I want,” I said.
She rolled her eyes right as the late bell rang.
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