PAIN KILLER [DISCONTINUED]

014. THE FREAK AND THE PRINCESS

014.

――― CHAPTER FOURTEEN ―――

THE FREAK AND THE PRINCESS

FEBRUARY 21ST, 1986

📍HAWKINS HIGH SCHOOL

8:29 AM

AS SOON AS THE DEAFENING RING of the bell meets my eardrums, I know it's time for class.

"Just four more days of this shit," Dustin says as he slams his locker close. I flinch at the loud bang. "A basketball game, pep rally, tests, that's all."

"Yeah, you say it like it's so easy." I roll my eyes as we make our way slowly but surely to AP English. "Not everyone is a mega-geek like you are, Dusty Bun," I tease.

"Shut up. That name is reserved for Suzie and Suzie only." His voice is serious, but I know he's joking.

As we take our seats, I see that to the left of me― where nerd Fred Benson would usually sit, sat another girl. I recognized her immediately from yesterdays party. I never realized she was in this class.

"You're in this class?" I asked as I slung my backpack off my shoulder.

"No," she scoffs. "I just moved up." Willow looks me up and down, exactly like yesterday. "Why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you be talking with your pretty little friends, Chrissy and Tina?"

I give her an uneasy smile as I pull my books out. "Just because you're not my friend, doesn't mean I can't talk to you," I say. The image of her sitting on top of Eddie bleeds into my brain again. I blink it away.

"Do people know that you've been taking drugs?" She smirks evilly― like she has major dirt on me― but in a way, she does.

"Not drugs," I say, hissing. "Sleeping pills. I haven't been able to sleep well. But what would you know?" I say.

"Oh, boohoo. Is Dahlia having nightmares? Why don't you go cry to your Daddy?"

I frown at her. "What's your problem? When have I ever messed with you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, what would you know? You think you're so perfect, don't you, with your perfect little 5.0 GPA and pretty little lashes, don't you?"

I don't say anything― although I'm itching to. I just continue unpacking my things and scribbling my name on the top of my notebook as I copy Ms. Andrea's scrawly handwriting that is chalked on the board in white dust.

"I know everything," she whispers cunningly. "About you and Eddie. How you pushed him off. You're a real bitch, you know that?"

Her first two sentences catch my attention. I resist the urge to look at her in shock. All I do is bite the inside of my cheek till I taste blood and grip my pencil harder. I watch as my knuckles turn white.

"I can't believe you would push him off like that," she continues. "But of course. You know, at the beginning of this year, I thought you were different from all those skanks you hang out with. But I guess not," she says, sighing fakely. "You're just too worried about your precious little Popularity Queen crown breaking, aren't you?"