When Rags Meet Riches

2 | Work and School

Working at Starbucks was horrible. All of the popular people at my school stopped there for an early morning coffee, and they'd make fun of me for having no money. That was except for one person; Bradley Valentine. He was the only popular person I actually liked. Not because of his good looks - we'll of course because of his good looks, but that's not the point - but because he was charming, witty, and just overall nice and friendly.

Bradley never made fun of me. He even tried to stop the others from making fun of me. I really liked him - maybe even fancied him - but we were completely different people. He was captain of the football team, I was a dork. He was rich, I was poor. Even if we weren't that different, why would he ask me out? What would he possibly see in me that would make him want to go out with me?

My shift at Starbucks started at 7:30 am, and ended at 8:30 am, just after all the populars had left. Bradley always tipped me - another reason to love him. School started at 9:00 am, so I had just enough time to walk there and be in time for first period.

I always stayed in the shadows at school. In lessons I put my head down and worked on my own, between lessons I practically ran to my next to escape the crowds in the halls, and at lunch I sat at a table on my own. I didn't have any friends because my anxiety made it hard to socialise with other people. I knew that some people felt sorry for me, because they would sit with me at lunch and talk at me like I was three. I usually just told them to get lost, that I didn't need their charity. I felt bad for doing this, but it felt so patronising.

***

I loved school in South Africa. I don't mean to sound big headed, but I was actually probably the most popular girl in my year. But here, I was made fun of because I had no money, and I wore free glasses from the kids section at the opticians, and I'd picked up a bit of a South African accent. There was an endless list of reasons to bully me, and my peers took every chance they could get to trip me up, or call me 'four eyes'.

It didn't really bother me when they made fun of me, but once Connie Shay - the most popular girl in school, and my arch nemesis - joked that my parents were terrible for not having enough money to fend for us, and I punched her right in the face. I was suspended for two weeks and had detention every night for a month, but it was so worth it to break her nose.

Connie always makes life a living hell for me now. She can't been glance at me without making a nasty remark or pushing me over. She always tells me that she'd cyber bully me if I had a phone. I very nearly punched her again when she said this, but I knew I shouldn't. When she says things like this, I just walk away, and picture Connie being eaten by a two-headed monster. It's stupid, but it usually brightens my day.

Everyday after school, I picked my sisters up from their primary school and went home to study. We still lived with my grandma because my parents were still saving for an apartment of our own. My parents worked at McDonald's - yet another thing I was bullied for - on a really long shift, so I was usually getting ready for bed by the time they were home. I was worried about them because they were really stressed and hardly slept, but I decided it was best to leave them to it. I usually went to bed about 11:00 pm, and I lay there awake most of the night, dreading the next day.