A Scaly Tale

Imperfections

The lake was brushing waves against the shore in a gentle, soothing manner causing my mind to relax instantly. I sat cross-legged on the soft damp sand, not caring if my running pants got wet. Even after a ten minute walk away from home I could still hear my parents music in the distance. I got out my note book and started to write:

Elina Montez, Year 8.
She sat on her banana lounge, staring at her pool and sipping her
ice tea. All the other girls at school envied her. She was the one
everyone wanted to be, or to be with. She wasn't your classic mean
yet beautiful girl, she was nice and beautiful. For some reason
she was lucky enough to get both. She had a mole above her lip
but on her it looked like a beauty mark. Her name was Elina. She
was smart, kind, funny, witty, optimistic and unique. She was
loved greatly by her parents and had one sweet little brother.

I thought how perfect Elina sounded, she had such a perfect life and life style-completely opposite to me. On the next page, even though it was not part of my homework, I wrote:

Megan Strauss, Year 8
She sat on the sand, writing in her notebook watching the waves.
Everybody pitied her. She only had one half-friend who lived miles
away. She had freckles peppered over her nose and cheeks which
no-one liked because they contrasted her hair in one of
the ugliest ways. Her hair was blonde, only it looked as if she
had fallen head first into a dirty puddle. She had a strange
rash on her neck that looked like the scales of a fish. She was a kind and
timid girl, never pushing herself too hard. Often she would
lose her temper. Her name was Megan. She was quiet,
impatient, kind and caring. She was lucky to have two parents,
but they never had any time or interest for her at all. They
treated her as a slave who'd done bad and had to pay for the
right to live. Abuse was something Megan had grown up with.

Of course I wouldn't be handing in that last paragraph but sometimes I just liked to pity myself and my life. Especially since my friend moved away, she may not have been that nice, but at least she enjoyed my company. Her name was Leila. She wasn't my best friend, but we were very close. Well we were close before she blamed things on me, before she just decided to pull out a knife and stab me in the back, by accident. I've never had a best friend before. I have seen people with their best friends, they look inseparable, not just by their matching bracelets but by all the fun they have and share together.
(Flash back)
Leila and I were both uncool so we decided to hang out with each other at school everyday. After all the time we spent with each other you'd think we would have become best friends but Leila liked to follow a girl called Monica. She was our schools type of girl-like Elina only she was beautiful and mean. If only beauty was judged by your kindness. 

Leila was a big fan of Monica's, always wanting to be with her and do the things she wanted to do. Unfortunately Leila wasn't popular enough to be Monica's friend but in Leila's mind Monica was her best friend. One day Monica got sick of Leila and her slightly annoying ways and she snapped out on her and me too. It wasn't just a one-off, Monica was mean to us for weeks afterwards. It started off with rude remarks to tell us to 'piss off', Leila took it as offence but I just brushed it off. Over the next few days Monica and her large group of followers started teasing us from small things like our choice of earrings to bigger things like teasing and insulting our families (not that I really cared what she said about them). Teasing was nothing we couldn't handle, nothing I couldn't handle, I should say. The next day some of Monica's followers came and told Leila and I that Monica was planning something special for us at lunch time. I didn't exactly understand what she meant but I was scared for it anyway.

When lunch finally rolled around I had a stomach full of butterflies. Leila and I sat down on some concrete steps, eating our lunch when Monica and her gang approached us, all of them wearing smirks.

"You've been naughty haven't you Leila?" Monica asked with a hand on her hip.
"N-no! It wasn't me!", Leila looked around frantically, "It was Megan!" Guilt flooded her eyes but she blinked it away before looking at Monica who had turned her gaze to me. Of course I had no idea what Leila was talking about.
"I'm sorry, I did what?" I asked Leila and Monica.
"You dobbed us in, and now your going to pay for it!" Monica snarled at me. One of her followers pulled me up by arm and everyone crowded around me so that no one could even see me from the school ground. As a large group the walked me towards the gate and then they even mangaged to get out of school without being seen. They walked me to the bike track and held me up against a wire fence. Many bits of wire were stabbing my back but that wasn't the worst of my problems.
(End of flash back)

My thoughts were disrupted by a noise but after I scanned the beach and saw nothing, I returned to my thoughts.

"What should we do to you?" Monica asked me in an evil tone. I wanted so desperately to say 'nothing' to her but I knew if I did I would get far worse than what I was already in store for. Without any warning she lifted me up with little effort and hooked me into the fence behind me with my skirt! I looked at Leila and she was watching me, making no move to help or get help. The girls started teasing me about everything that I was wearing. They were even lifting up my skirt to stare and my undies!
"Stop it!" I yelled at them, trying to swat them away with my hands. They didn't stop instead I saw a hand coming right towards my face...

I had definitely heard a noise this time so I turned fully around and scanned the sand behind me. There wasn't a creature to be seen.
"Who's there?" I asked the atmosphere. I heard giggling but when I turned around but there was no one to be seen. I thought I was going mental so I grabbed my notebook and headed back home.

When I got back to my house the party noises had died down a bit so it was a bit harder to sneak through my window without being caught by my parents. After trying to lift it and getting a massive CREAK! out of it, I decided to just go through the front door. People were still leaving the house so I thought maybe if I just tried to sneak in my parents wouldn't see me, even though the chance of them seeing me is minimal because they never seem to see me any other day. Even if they did see me, they weren't likely to care because they were probably drunk on cheap and warm beer. Weighing the liklehood of me getting inside as safe, I started to creep through the front door.