Emma: Seventh Grade

Chapter 2: School

Emma stared out the kitchen window with a pit in her stomach, waiting for the school bus to arrive. Her blonde hair was brushed smooth, her bangs were pushed slightly to the side, and she was wearing an open-backed floral sun dress that showed off her thin, bare legs. She was even wearing a little makeup. Before coming downstairs that morning, Emma had taken a picture of herself in the dress using the full length mirror in her bedroom and posted it on Instagram with the caption, "feeling sexy today" and the smug-faced emoji after it.

In spite of looking ready on the outside, Emma was nowhere near being mentally ready for the day. Each day, she dreaded going to school because Kendra and her friends were there. They would take every chance they could to humiliate Emma, just because they thought it was funny. They would trip Emma in the hallways or in the lunchroom, steal things out of her backpack and hide them, call her "Fatty McFatfat" whenever they caught her eating, and spread nasty rumors about her. Last week they even had the guts to pull down her pants while she was talking to a cute boy named Landon, exposing her bare bottom to everyone. Emma had never been more embarrassed in her life, and Landon wanted nothing to do with her after that incident.

"Emma, did you find something to eat for breakfast?" Her mom's voice came from the bathroom, where she was getting ready for work.

"Yes, mom," Emma lied. The last thing she wanted to do was eat. All the anxiety and dread for school each morning made her feel nauseous, and eating would only make it worse. One time Emma had actually thrown up because she was so anxious, in which her mom then kept her home from school. However, Emma didn't think today would be one of those lucky days.

It didn't help either that Emma had gotten only four hours of sleep total last night. She fell asleep on the couch watching Family Guy, but that sleep was light and intermittent. Emma wandered up into her own bed around five in the morning, in which she slept a couple more hours until her mom woke her for school. Emma then made an impulse decision to take one of her mom's energy drinks. She left the kitchen window and slipped over to the fridge, took out a can, and shoved it in her backpack. 

Emma then heard the dreaded squeaky sound of the school bus braking in front of her house. Her stomach dropped as she reluctantly picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm leaving!" Emma shouted as she slipped on her shoes.

"All right, honey. Have a good day at school!" Her mom called out from the bathroom.

"Yeah, right" Emma muttered to herself as she walked out the door towards the waiting school bus. "Like that ever happens." The bus doors opened as she approached, and Emma grabbed ahold of the handlebars and carefully pulled herself up the steep steps. She squeezed past her the chatty, noisy peers and their backpacks strewn across the floor. Emma's eyes darted from face to face, trying to find her friends. Then, she spotted Ashyn and Lizzie. Lizzie was motioning for Emma to come sit with them.

"Emma! Over here!" Lizzie shouted in her high-pitched, slightly bossy voice.

Emma proceeded to join her friends. She placed her backpack on the floor, then carefully sat down on the bench beside Lizzie, making sure her dress didn't lift up and expose her underwear in the process. Emma was wearing nothing but a skimpy thong under her short dress, so she felt especially vulnerable, but at the same time, she enjoyed showing off her body to the cute boys at school. Dressing sexy and cute helped raise her self esteem a little, and Emma needed it, since Kendra and her friends loved to bring her down in any way possible.

"Heyyy!!!" Lizzie cried excitedly, giving Emma a hug. "How are you?" Her hazel eyes sparkled as she smoothed her messy, dark brown hair. Lizzie was wearing a pale pink, low cut tank top, skinny jeans, and tennis shoes.