2014-15 Wattpad Awards: Series One Ongoing

Book Eleven: When You Feel Beautiful

Book Eleven

Title: When You Feel Beautiful

Username: DenmarkHarris

Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Jenny Ballena isn't new to Valley, California, but she'll soon be new to Valley High. When Jenny's rebellious neighbor and soon-to-be fellow high school peer, Melissa Martinez, invites her to an unsupervised pool party, Jenny quickly rejects the invite. Her first love is swimming, but is swimming really worth revealing her darkest secret?

To avoid being laughed at, Jenny decides not to go to the party.

Besides, Nina Ballena, Jenny's mother would never allow her to attend a party without any adults. Or so Jenny thought. Melissa pressures Jenny into going along with her plan: lying to her own mother. Jenny's gut instinct screams to her that perpetuating this lie will only make things worse. Things only become worse when, at the pool party, Jenny runs into Samara Cherriton, the redheaded unspoken leader of a vicious gang of boys. Life for Jenny takes an even more disastrous turn when a girl she wishes were beautiful reveals her secret on the first day of school. The girl in her mirror.

Jenny eventually meets her mysterious and charming neighbor, Miguel. For his sake, Jenny must learn to love herself. Will Jenny ever gaze into the mirror and love what she sees? Winning Valley High's annual Karina Lopez Brain Bee may be the only shot at loving the girl in the mirror.

But winning won't be easy. Two-time Brain Bee Champion, Sunshine Wiggins, is rumored to be a genius among her peers. Not only that, but in the Brain Bee's twenty-three year history, NO SOPHOMORE has ever raised the trophy. Some say it's the Sophomore Curse. Before Jenny decides to beat Sunshine Wiggins, she decides to join her. The reason?

Revenge.

Cover art made by kikibuscus2259

Excerpt:

Why is he saying that? Doesn't he want his ball back? "No. This ball is yours. I'm giving it back to you. If you want to give her the ball, you can do that. You can do whatever you want with it because it's yours. Not hers."

I hold his ball out to him. He reaches for it. Samara storms over. She knocks the ball out of my grasp. I look Samara right in her furious eyes, and bend over. He's a toddler? She's acting like one. "Leave it."

I pick the ball up. "Hey, fatass, are you deaf?" The tall blond steps forward. Is he about to come after me? He takes his hands out of his jacket pockets. "She said leave it." "Doug, dude, don't even try it." Nector stands by my side. Doug grins. "Look whose finally talking to his old buddies again. Is fat**s your little girlfriend? You bone her yet?"

"Shut up."

"Shut up, Doug," Samara says. "She isn't his girlfriend. She never will be."

This is Nector's ball. I'm giving it to him. I hold the ball out to Nector. He hesitates, and reaches for it. Samara rushes over. Snatches it out of my hands. What the hell? Why is she acting like this? What the hell is wrong with her?

"Give Nector the ball. It's his." "Aw, does fat**s want the ball? Here. Take the ball." Samara chest passes it. Dirty rubber smacks me in the face.

Seven years ago, another girl on my Blue jays softball team threw dirt in my face. Our Coach reprimanded the laughing girl while my daddy reprimanded our Coach. I never played softball for that team again.

While he drove me home, Dad said, "If you had punched that girl in her face for throwing dirt in yours I wouldn't have punished you. I'll never condone violence, but what I will condone is you standing up for yourself. You have to learn to stand up for yourself, Princess. If somebody throws dirt in your face, hit them. I know your mother's always told you to turn the other cheek, my mother would tell me the same thing. You want to know what turning the other cheek did for me? Give me more bloody noses. You want to know how I got those punks at my school to stop messing with me? I introduced them to Old Benny. You know who Old Benny is? My fist. If some punk kid ever tries to harm you, introduce them to Old Betsy. They'll never mess with you again."

I can be my mother's daughter. I can be a pacifist. I can turn the other cheek. I've always hesitated to introduce Old Betsy to my elementary school bully, Molly Shoemaker. That is, until Molly walked up to Tori, my best friend in the fifth and sixth grade and for no reason at all, slapped her across the head. Tori cried me a river. I found Molly and punched her square in the nose. She cried an even bigger one while bleeding all over her uniform. Molly never hit Tori again. We were always together, Tori and me.

I've never stood up for myself, but I stood up for Tori. She was my friend like Maria is my friend. Maria is my Tori. Samara's nose has a date with my fist.

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