The Spinning Room

"Faye! Hurry up!" Akia yelled, walking quickly towards the entrance to the carnival. Faye shivered and hurried after her, gripping her thick coat tighter. The cold October night wasn't supposed to be this chilly but Halloween seemed to be playing tricks all day. First Faye couldn't find her favorite shoes she wanted to wear, then at school she tripped in front of Kash, the gorgeous football player, and he laughed along with all of his friends. Including that dumb blonde Emily, Faye thought grimly.

"Faye! You have the tickets! Come on!" Akia yelled again, waving at her from the entrance. Faye shuffled faster and handed the attendant the tickets as she looked around. The Halloween carnival was better than ever this year; crowds of people swarmed around caramel apple stands, spooky rides, and haunted houses.

"Let's go to the haunted house first!" Akia exclaimed, a large smile on her face. Faye smiled despite herself and followed the younger girl towards a large house decorated with spider webs and tombstones. Screams reached their ears as the approached the house. Clearly it was a success so far.

"Oh, look who it is!"

Faye's stomach sank as the voice reached her ears. She turned around and smiled weakly at Emily.

"Hi," Faye said, casually slipping her hands into her pockets to hide the shaking. Emily and her friends grinned at her, just looking at her and smiling. Gradually Faye's unease grew and she nervously chuckled. "So what are you guys up to?"

"Well, right now I'm wondering what you're supposed to be. I was guessing somewhere between drag queen knock off and Little Red Trailer Trash," Emily said, her friends laughing behind her. Faye looked down at her costume and felt tears prick her eyes. It wasn't so bad, Faye thought to herself. She had found a red hood from a vampire costume and had paired it with a pair of jeans and some boots. At the time it was even cute. But now with Emily and her posse commenting...

"I like it," Kash said, coming up from behind Emily. Faye's heart skipped as she saw him. His Prince Charming costume made him look more dashing than usual.

"Thank yo-" she started.

"Of course you do. Always standing up for the nerds," Emily snickered. Kash laughed and kissed her on the cheek, making Faye's eyes prick with tears and stomach churn with jealousy.

"Hey, never know when I'm going to work for them someday. Might as well suck up now," he laughed, waving his hand in Faye's general direction. She spun on her heel as Emily and her group tossed condescending words at her retreating back.

I don't know why I even go to school anymore, Faye thought to herself, struggling to keep her tears from overflowing. Get teased all the time. Thought this was actually cute. Rich Emily and her perfect clothes. Kash stuck all over her.

"Hey, you okay?" Akia asked, concern in her eyes as Faye joined her in line for the haunted house.

"I'm fine, " Faye muttered, wiping at her eyes quickly. Never look like her. Gorgeous and wealthy. Why even bother? Not going to do any good.

"I don't know why you even listen to them," Akia said, adjusting her wolf ears. "Emily's so mean. You're better than her anyway." Better than her. I am. No I'm not. I'm a nerd. Can't be like her. Wish I could do all the things she could. So many clothes. Why bother? Why does she do this?! Needs to pay. "And Kash, honestly. He's such an egotistical moron. With all the time's he's been sacked in football I'm surprised he can even form a coherent sentence." Akia laughed.