COMPLICATED.

CHAPTER 13

NICE SPEECH

​I realize I’ve almost reached my destination only when the bus driver signals me. It’s been an incredibly long journey. During the ride, I tried to distract myself by watching a mother and daughter in the seats ahead; they were flipping through travel brochures, laughing and joking like best friends.
I envied them fiercely. I wished I could be that carefree child again, with nothing to worry about except which swimsuit to pack, instead of this girl crushed by a thousand weights. I wished for that kind of warmth with my mother. Mom, I hope you’ll forgive me soon.
But enough thinking. Back to reality.
​Times Square greets me with its usual chaos. I head straight for Superdry, but the moment I step inside, panic bites at my stomach. The crowd is suffocating. I can already imagine the endless wait at the register. Emma, find a dress first, my mind reminds me. It’s going to be a very long day.
​An hour later, I’m still in limbo. I must have tried on twenty dresses, but none of them feel right. None of those fabrics reflect the new me. I’d love to show up to graduation in a black tracksuit, like a widow at the funeral of her own past, but my mother would lose her mind.
Then, in a corner I had previously ignored, I see it: a white dress. Elegant, yet casual. Perfect. I try it on, it fits, and I resign myself to the miles-long line to pay.
​Thirty minutes later, bag in hand, I head for the exit.
"Well, well, look who we have here. I didn't imagine finding you in a place like this."
That voice. I’d recognize it among a thousand: slimy, dripping with fake pride. I turn around and force myself to look her in the face. How does she have the nerve to speak to me?
"Sasha. Actually, this is one of my favorite stores. I, on the other hand, am not surprised to find you here with your... apprentices."
The girls behind her glare at me with hateful eyes. Sasha just sneers.
"Starting with the insults already? Come on, Emma, I was trying to be nice. I wouldn't wish what happened to you on anyone. But let’s face reality: everything happens for a reason. Maybe it was a good thing that I was the one to make you realize how naive and innocent you are. I’m not as bad as you think; maybe you should follow my lead!"
​Anger explodes inside me like a supernova. I don't think; I just act. In one fluid motion, I snatch the frappe from her hands and pour it all over her, from head to toe.
The satisfaction is pure, electric.
"You can show off as much as you want, Sasha. You can brag about your expensive clothes, your popularity, and your perfect house. But you know what? Tomorrow, all of that ends, and everyone will see you for who you truly are: a slut who is so desperate she has to fuck other people's boyfriends. So go ahead, keep it up. I’ll be the one laughing loudest when you sink alone in your own shit."
​Sasha starts screaming like a toddler having a tantrum. "Get this stuff off me!" she orders her minions.
Behind her, I notice one of her friends looking at me. She gives me a faint smile and mouths the words: "Great speech."
I find myself smiling back. I leave her there, drowning in her own shallowness, ignoring the murderous look she shoots at my back. "You’ll pay for this, Hamilton!" she screams.
​As I walk away, I hear the whispers of my classmates. It seems like everyone is here today, witnesses to my transformation.
"Wow, now that’s how you end senior year with a bang!" one guy comments.
"The girl is tough, I like it!" another adds.
"I got a video of the whole scene; should we share it on WhatsApp?"
Yes, share it as much as you want. Let it be the last memory you have of me before I leave this school of idiots behind.
I walk out of that place breathing deeply. I’ve never felt so proud of myself.