Hidden Sacrifice

Chapter 5

As soon as I stepped into the building I knew something was wrong. No girls coming over to chat, no guys trying but failing miserably to flirt with me. Instead, there is only silence and the occasional whisper. No one knows what to do with the popular girl turned wrong. I dashed toward my first class, science, glad for an excuse to escape. Again, no one came up to strike a conversation, no one came up to rescue me. I forgot what it was like being alone, feeling as if the whole world is against you. Surrounding myself with my so called "friends" had always made me feel safer, as if there is a barrier that will protect me from the bad of the world. Fake friends are better than no friends.

I used to sit in the spotlight of course, but today I made a beeline to the back row. No need to call further attention to myself when both Rose and Marlene are in the same class. Talk about bad luck. As I settled down and tried to hide as much as possible with everyone "secretly" staring at me, the door opened with a bang and there they are. As soon as I saw Rose in the lead with Marlene behind her, I knew crap was about to go down. Of course they would team up against me, Marlene's incident seemed like an insignificant ant compared to my monstrosity of a spectacle. Cussing silently, I pulled out a book and pretended to read.

"The first day you dare show your face after that humiliation and you are turning into a nerd? Already?" Rose taunted as she stalked toward me like a predator, ready to pounce on her prey.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she turn into a retarded hoe tomorrow," Marlene's laughter tinkled off the walls like bells, and not the merry kind. The room got quiet, everyone holding their breath to see what would happen next. God must have had mercy on me, for at that exact moment our science teacher, Mrs. Cardinal, stepped into the room. A sign of relief escaped me as Rose and Marlene gave me a final glare before returning to our seats. Oblivious to the drama that was seconds from unfolding if not for her entrance, Mrs. Cardinal started the lesson.

Halfway into the class, Mrs. Cardinal announced, "We will be starting a lab today, and it will require partners. You can choose, but don't let me regret my decision." I can feel my panic level rising as my eyes darted around the room, silently begging for someone to have pity on me and offer to be my partner. No one dared, and I stood there drowned in a lake of hopelessness. This had never been a problem for me, people had always clamored to be my partner every chance they get. Of course, things are different now. At last, I remain the only person standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while everyone else was grouped into pairs. When Mrs. Cardinal finally noticed that I don't have a partner, she seemed to be in a state of shock before recovering her composure.

"Working alone will be just fine. You don't want to draw attention, and this is the perfect way to do it," I assured myself, praying that it was true. Knowing my luck, that probably won't happen.

"Sansa honey, why don't you be partners with Evie?" Mrs. Cardinal called out. I turned around in horror to look at Sansa, realizing that working alone is no longer an option.

"Not Sansa," I thought. "Anyone but her." In Woodgrove High, there are three levels. The first one is for the top-notch A-list people, the jocks, the rich, the preppy, the popular. In summary, the level I used to dominate before the party incident. The second level is for the kids who are liked well enough but is just not quite there when it comes to popularity. From my experience, they suck the first level's asses as much as possible in order to promote their popularity. Pathetic, I know. Last but not least, there is the third level. Nerds, geeks, wierdos, anti-social people, you name it, dominated this level. The A-list picked their victims from here the most just because of the wide variety. I am telling you, the options are endless. Oh, and did I mention the third level takes up around 80% of the school population? Now to get an idea of how bad Sansa is, let's just say that she is in level four. You heard that right, a whole new level is created just to accommodate Sansa's needs. She is gay, has a facial deformity, uses cuss words more than regular vocabulary, and obsessed with grass. Don't ask me why. Oh, I forgot to mention her two favorite hobbies is to bark like a dog and to belly dance while weighting around 400 pounds. Don't say I didn't warn you. She also apparently has a learning disability that requires private tutoring, so most of the time she is absent from her classes. Once in a while however, she would grace the class with her presence, and of course it had to be today. Lucky me.

I heard a couple of gasps and snorts behind me, but there is nothing I could do about it except  to deal with the situation before me. Time seemed to slow down as I approached Sansa, who seems a little too enthusiastic with me being her partner. 

"Hello Sansa," I greeted her with a smile pasted on my face.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii, I never fucking thought you would ever be my damn partner! I am so hella excited! Oh, and you are looking fine as hell today, I almost want to make out with you." Sansa said as I what I assumed to be a return to my greeting.

"Thanks....I guess," I awkwardly replied as I dashed to the lab table as quickly as possible, fighting down my rising panic. This is going to be way worse than I thought. I seated myself on the stool, wondering if I could ever make it out of science alive.

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Hey! I apologize for my obvious absence in updating this story. I just didn't know where I want to go with the plot. Plus, life just kept me busy for a while. I will try to upload more often, but I can't make any promises. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and happy new year!