Your Mask

Faking It

Julianne and I had made it out of the house and were walking down the street. She unattached herself from me, which lead me to sigh in relief. She fiddled with her hair, twirling it around her finger as she looked at me in the corner of her eye.

Julianne "So... What do you enjoy?"

I looked at her confused. She was looking forward, walking as if the entire world had its eyes on her. I wasn't even sure if she'd actually said anything.

Lachlan "Pardon?"

She huffed, repeating herself; this time looking me dead in the eye.

Julianne "What do you enjoy!"

Her voice was raspy now, though her face looked interested her eyes were dull and uncaring. She turned her head again and started to walk slightly slower.

Lachlan "Don't force yourself to talk to me, Julianne."

I looked at her from the corner of my eye, seeing her eyebrows lower themselves and her eyes sharpen. She clearly didn't like that response. She skipped closer to me, yet again holding herself against my arm close enough for me to feel her cold breath on my neck. She tipped her head, resting it on my shoulder as we walked. I was incredibly uncomfortable and tensed up instantly.

Julianne "Don't be like that, Lachlan! Your mother wants us to be friends!"

Frankly, I didn't care what my mother wanted. She was barely there for me anyway. I brushed Julianne off of me, folding my arms and speeding up my pace. The sound of her sharp heels was running after me as if to keep up.

We turned a corner. The school was now in my view in which I was happy. I would finally be away from this pretentious spoilt brat. Julianne was now skipping beside me, acting all cutesy as if I was oblivious to her true nature. With just an easy glance, I broke through her act almost instantly.

Julianne was spoilt by her parents as a child. Even so, she was neglected by them because they likely worked often. From the looks of her, she was fairly rich which would explain why my mum wants me to associate with her. The way she clings onto me is likely in hopes to get the attention she hadn't received at a young age. Her bratty personality is probably from multiple people calling her gorgeous and amazing. Basically, as I said, she's a spoilt brat.

Julianne's golden curls wrapped over her shoulder as I almost walked into the wall beside the gate of the school. She began to laugh at me; I was clearly too lost in my thoughts. I looked at her, agitated, as I calmly moved passed her and through the gate. She appeared to be at a loss of what to do.

We entered the building. I could already see what was going to happen, and I was right. The moment we entered through the doors of the school, multiple students looked towards me and Julianne. This was her first day, so it would be a normal reaction to look... But maybe not approach her and give her exactly what she wanted.

A group of jocks were looking directly at her, whistling. She seemed to like that a lot, considering she blew them a kiss and placed her hand on her hip. Then, some girls by the lockers were scrolling through their phones, silently judging her behind the screens. Julianne had approached them and started a conversation, whereas I just walked forward and into the canteen.

The canteen was loud and obnoxious as it always had been. I sat in my normal seat in the corner on my own, taking out my phone and acting occupied as to not be judged or disturbed. This was usual and was more like a schedule to me.

The canteen fell quiet. Everyone turned their heads to the automatic doors. A large group of people, including the jocks, cheerleaders and other popular students walked into the room. Dead in the middle, with no surprise, was Julianne.