a beautiful nightmare - THIRTEEN

1

My life isn't really anything special. There's my mom, Melanie or Mel, as most people call her
and her stupid boyfriend, Brady. I don't get how she likes him. To me, he's nothing but a drug addict that I honestly don't need in my life. Then there's my older brother, Mason, and my twin sister, Tracy. We're not identical, though. I love them both, but I just kind of bond more with Tracy than I do with Mason. I guess he just doesn't really want me around all the time. Tracy and I also like the same things, so we're together most of the time. And of course, there's me, Mathilda Freeland. There's not much to say about me, to be honest. I just like spending time with my friends.

It's the first day of seventh grade, and I'm taking a walk with Tracy and my best friend, Noel, before school starts. I see my mom standing outside our house, waiting for us so she can bring us to school.

At school, Noel and I walk in the hallways as people start cursing at us for being in their way. It isn't really what I imagined middle school to be like. The teachers look pretty mean, but I promised myself I wouldn't get anything lower than an A. I'm pretty good at school, so this shouldn't be too hard for me.

Before classes start, Noel and I walk over to my brother Mason, and he introduces me to his friends.

"Hey. Um, guys, this is my little sister Mathilda."

"Hi," I say, smiling, but deep down I'm thinking about how he might be embarrassed to be seen with me. My brother and his friends are really cool, and I think they're kind of popular too.

"Look over there."

"Man, there's Evie Zamora," my brother says, stunned by her.

"Looks like she grew up this summer," one of his friends replies.

Evie Zamora is my age, but she looks a lot older with her low-rise jeans and crop tops. She even has a tongue ring and a belly button piercing at the age of 13. All the guys love her. I turn around and see her with her friends. She really has a lot of friends, I'm not even gonna lie. They all look so cool and popular with their stylish clothes and piercings. It just seems like they have so much power.

As the girls walk past us, Noel and I look at each other, also amazed by their looks.