"This is what she had become."
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Cleopatra Banks' last week in the small town of New Chelsea is nothing like she would have imagined it, but nothing could have prepared her for the stinging betrayal she's faced with and suddenly the prospect of...
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I let the anger fuel me as I move away from Ethan's car and into the school, the distance between us stretching more than just a couple of meters.
Just as I had hoped, everyone turns their gazes towards me, their eyes bulging out in realization once they spot my very own makeshift flash drive that supposedly contains all their filthy little secrets.
In reality, there's only a few school assignments from past years but these people don't need to know that.
They step out of my way, whispering among themselves but I could care less what they have to say about me today. Overall I get the impression that they're scared of what will happen next. We'll see if Thandi will be able to "help" them out now.
Speaking of the devil...
I make a detour and head on to her locker first. I find her yelling at a very timid Valeria who's only hugging herself, failing to meet Thandi's gaze as she withers away by what Thandi is saying to her.
"...you'll need to lose like a hundred more kilos if you want to enter," she says to the stick thin girl next to her. "Oh and can you please get me a coffee from the cafeteria? It's awfully cold today," she adds on, waving the other girl off.
I watch Valeria leave in quite a frazzled state, like a tiny little baby dear that's lost and can't find its way back home but I do nothing about it.
Thandi pushes a book into her locker and only notices me standing behind her when she's done.
"What do you want? Your boyfriend already made it clear that--"
"Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?" I ask, feeling the anger inside of me reach dangerous levels.
"My voice is divine thank you very much," she confidently informs me in a sing-song voice, folding her arms across her chest.
I pull out the memory stick around my neck and show it to her, feigning confidence I know I don't possess. Fake it till you make it is the key ingredient in this recipe and at this point I'll need to do a lot of faking if I'm going to convince the whole school that the stick is indeed in my possession and always has been.
This is where I take my power back.
Thandi cocks her head to the side and then her eyes widen. As usual she looks around and notices a small group of people gathered nearby, anticipating the next showdown.
But this won't be like all those other times. I've easily managed to win without getting physical.
I push the flash drive back into my shirt once I've gotten the reaction I was hoping for, a triumphant smile making its way onto my face. Thandi never had it in the first place.
"Try me again and I might send you to your maker," I say for added effect, stepping closer to her until my mouth is next to her ear. "I remember everything." I whisper in her ear and give her the most intimidating look I can muster.
