Chapter 18

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I could tell something was different immediately, even before I saw her. There was whispering in the hallways, and a general feeling of unrest like everyone knew something that I didn't.

And then, passing her locker on the way to mine, I saw her. At first I thought it was someone else, because she looked completely different. For one thing, her hair was purple and short, with bangs that bordered on a goth look. For another, she was wearing baggy black sweatpants, carpet slippers (yes, I double checked, they were definitely slippers) and a plain white t-shirt. I couldn't remember ever seeing anyone from her crew in sweatpants or t-shirts before, and definitely not slippers. She was wearing bright red lipstick that clashed with her hair and holding an armload of books.

She should have looked ridiculous, but here's the thing. She looked amazing. I could hear whispers running all up and down the hall. One of her friends was twittering at her side saying something along the lines of, "OMG, Maribelle, your hair! You're so daring, it's real cute," but she looked like she wasn't entirely convinced herself.

Maribelle looked unimpressed.

I felt my lips curving up into a smile, and to my surprise, she caught my eye and smiled too. It was a kind of smirk, like she knew all the gossip she was stirring up, and she thought it was absolutely hilarious.

She gathered up her books and walked away, leaving her lady-in-waiting hanging in the middle of a sentence. Gosh, she was so beautiful.


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