Shattered Asylum

Chapter 1 part 2

I ended up splitting chapter one due to it being way too long.

So this is still her first day of school:)

I had one more class before lunch: gym. I hated gym, not because of the cardio, but because it meant playing stupid games where the friendless, like me, got picked last.

Walking into the girls locker room, I immediately spotted Madison. Of course, she wasn't alone. Her little goons, Jessica Laney and Kristy Keller, were flanking her like perfectly polished accessories.

Jessica's platinum blonde hair cascaded down her back, and her emerald green eyes sparkled like they had their own lighting team. Kristy, with her pale yellow hair tinged with ginger and piercing blue eyes, had a figure most girls would kill for. Both come from rich families. They were perfect.. on paper, at least.

Madison, naturally, was the queen bee. She wasn't just a popular girl; she was an aspiring TikTok influencer and wannabe model. She'd probably sell her soul for a few more followers.

"Ugh, I just can't get rid of you, can I?"Madison sneers, glaring at me like I was something stuck on her shoe.

"It's not like I picked my schedule." I shot back, crossing my arms and meeting her gaze. "No, but you did pick this school, MY school." She spat, her voice dripping with venom. "Why don't you go back to your slum of a town? You fit in better there."

Her laugh rang out, and Jessica and Kristy joined in on cue.

Madison hates me, though I still can't figure out why. Then again, she seemed to hate anyone who didn't serve her agenda.

She was the type to spread rumors just because she could, the girl who'd pretend to be your friend while plotting your downfall. The kind who might even sleep with your boyfriend, just to prove she could.

Madison just wasn't a mean girl, she was a master manipulator, the devil in a blonde ponytail.

I wanted to say something, anything, but my mind went blank. Usually, I could manage a comeback, but today? Today, her words cut deeper than usual because she was right. I didn't belong here.

I am nothing.

My arms stayed folded across my chest as Madison and her friends tore into me, mocking my clothes and whatever else they could think of.

"Gosh, I don't even know why Nora is still friends with you," Madison said, delivering the final blow with a smirk. "All you do is bring down her image."

She bumps my shoulder as she struts past, her posse following close behind. And she was right again. I don't know why Nora stayed friends with me. But I don't know why she is friends with Madison either.

~
Gym was just as miserable as I expected. Madison made sure of that. She tripped me on the stairs during warm-ups, cackled loudly about how my legs jiggled, and as the grand finale, smacked me on the head with a volleyball.

Still, as humiliating as that was, I'd take her cruelty over what waited for me back home. Madison's torment couldn't hold a candy to that.

By the time linch rolled around, I was starving.. an understatement, really. I may Nora at her locker before heading to the cafeteria together.

"Man, I'm so hungry." I said, already scanning the line for food options. "Same. Skipping breakfast was a rookie mistake." Nora replied, rubbing her stomach dramatically. Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she added, "So.... Jayden hassler, huh?"

And there is was, her go-to move when talking about guys. She wiggled her brows at me like she had some juicy secret. "Hell no," I said, shaking my head. "He's nice, but definitely not my type."