Another Cinderella Story

Knights and Breakups

Archer carries me to the nurse but doesn't say a word to me. I'm afraid he doesn't like me much and this bothers me. When the nurse sees me, she sighs.
"Miss Brooke are you sick again? Is it flu?" She says, sounding sarcastic.
"You should call my dad, I hit my head in gym." I reply innocently batting my lashes.
"I had to carry her here, she was swaying."

Nurse examines me and finds a small cut under my hair. I panic when she says she'd have to shave that portion of my hair to dress the wound so it doesn't get infected.
"I'm sure it's not that serious." I stutter.
"Let me call your father then. Let him send someone for you."

I'm totally fine with going home. I mean, what's the point in staying in school when I was injured and my knight didn't want to speak to me. He smiled apologetically when nurse left to make the call and I closed my eyes.

"I have to head back to class. Will you be okay?" I open my eyes and give him a reproachful look. Why couldn't he notice me like he noticed Peyton. She isn't as pretty or smart as I am, and I'm positive I have a more charming personality.

Dad came with Lois, my step mother, to pick me. His driver drove my car back home and I rode with him and Lois. I storm to my room immediately I get home, escaping before either of them had the idea to shave my head too.

I didn't go back to school the next day, or the day after that. Tiffany dropped by after cheer practice on Thursday.
"I can't believe how insensitive he is!" I exclaim, clutch my feather pillow to my chest. "It's like I wasn't even there!"
"I'm sure he cares. He asked me how you were today, that's why I came to see."

"You couldn't say that when you entered?" I cry, throwing the pillow at her. She ducked.
"You started ranting immediately I entered. When was I to tell you that, or say what Peyton has been saying about you."
"What has she been saying?"
"She said your cut got infected and you had to shave your head. Haven't you checked your Facebook wall? People are posting stuff about you."

I quickly pull out my MacBook and log into Facebook. True enough, there's a picture of me without hair on my head. I read their comments
"She looks stupid." One says
"I'm speechless, she's always so beautiful."
"Bald girl bald girl"
"All that glorious hair is gone!"
"She didn't cut her hair, I saw her at the mall yesterday."
"Shut up stupid, she's in the hospital."
"Does she have cancer?"
"No stupid!"
"Oh. She looks like my aunt did when she was having chemo"

I run my hands through my hair and groan.
"She looks like Voldemort." Tiffany reads. "Who the hell is that?"
I look at my scream and see many Lols following this comment. A picture of some bald noseless guy is photoshoped with mine and posted. Comments follow these, more lols, the resemblance is uncanny. Etc. Only few favourable comments follow.

"They hate me!"
"Not all of them, I don't" Tiffany says.
"You're my bff, if you hate me too, I'm screwed! I can't believe this. I'd have come to school tomorrow but I have a doctor's appointment"
"You do?"
"I absolutely refused stitches and losing a strand of hair. I have to see the doctor everyday, dad is paranoid. That's why I haven't been in school lately "
"Oh"

"Jeremy's party! I cry. "I'll show them that I'm totally rocking my curls still!" I notice she hasn't replied. "What?"
"Well Jeremy sorta withdrew your invitation."
"What!"
"His friends were teasing him that his girl's bestie is the Voldemort chic so he doesn't want me to hang with you anymore."
"Are you breaking up with me? You're my bff!"

"Well lets face it" she says sheepishly, "You and I aren't interested in the same things. While shopping and being pretty is fun, I want to be more than that. I want to go to Harvard like my dad and obtain a law degree. I want to lead the team to nationals again. I want to date a guy for longer than a summer. Is that so wrong?"
"Of course not..." she interrupts me.

"You never listen to what I have to say. Everything we do is because you want to. We never do anything I want. Worse, you don't even know you're hurting me. It's been a long time coming, but I think we shouldn't be friends anymore. Goodbye Elle, hope you enjoy the dynasty you built."

She walks out of my room without looking back and I cry uncontrollably. I usually orchestrate my tears to make me look pretty but now, I threw caution to the wind and bawled till I was sore. The worse part of it all was that I knew she was right.