𝘾𝙇𝙊𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙀

The US

Being a US member had always been my dream. The US had a history of being the popular group of SMA. With them, life could be much better. I wanted to be finished with the LG. Getting into the group would be relatively easy at that point in time. They were not as cliquey as usual because their group was split in half, due to different beliefs. Therefore, it would be easy to get into a smaller group and build from there.
The side of the US that I was trying to get into included Ian, Colt, and Alex. The other side had Karma, Athena, and Tyler.
I wanted to join that side because Ian was a leader, and he was someone I had already been somewhat acquainted with. Earlier in the year, I had wrestled Tyler to the ground when he threatened Ian on the field. Afterwards, Ian told me that I always had a place in the US if things were to fall through with the LG.
When I started hanging out with Ian, Colt, and Alex, they were far more accepting than I thought and added me to their group chat on day one. My initiation was to record a video of myself burning an LG sign in my fireplace, which I did and sent to the US group chat.
Although the US had more rules than I was used to, it could have been a lot worse. For once I actually felt like part of something and not just the one left behind to clean up the mess. I actually ended up sharing a lot of similar interests with the three of them.
Ian was someone who had great leadership abilities and was confident in what he believed. Ian was witty and manipulative in a way that saved not only his own but his group's skin since he was always able to talk his way out of dangerous situations.
But the LG members were not going down without a fight. You see, they thought that I would never leave them. And if I did, I would likely get outcasted. Outcasted was the known term for the school's social exclusion system. If you were an outcast, this meant you either left or were kicked out of one group and for some reason couldn't get into another.
Jess and the LG thought that I would fall into that trap and not get accepted into the US like I was. But since they were wrong, they came up with another plan. Matthew was angry that I wasn't his friend anymore and was going to do what he did best. Create drama.
He started a rumor that spread like wildfire. He told every kid in the grade that I looked at pornography which was completely untrue.
This got to everyone on my side of the US along with the other side. It even got to my mom who I had to explain all of this to. My days in this time were filled with constant explanations for false and ridiculous accusations.
Thankfully, Ian, Colt, and Alex sided with me in the midst of this and tried to save my reputation.
Ian was not the happiest person because his group now had a large target on its back and I was the sole reason for that. By joining the US, I had started a war with the LG. Jess began orchestrating his gang like puppets, knowing they would do whatever he asked of them. Jess and the LG went out of their way to harass us in every way possible and were extremely racist towards me. They would try to get us in trouble over any little thing. They would outright call us slurs. To get back at them, I stole a book that belonged to Jess. He lost his shit, frantically checking desks and suspecting me. But he could never prove it.
One Friday, I arrived at SMA. We were all excited for the weekend since it had been such a long five days. It was time for physical education, which was everyone's least favorite class when it got this cold. We walked across the grassy field over to where the rest of the kids were playing games. I felt a light crunch every time I walked due to the frost that had spread across the area.
The four of us were colder than usual and not as bundled up as we probably should have been. There were just enough of us to all play Four Square together without anyone else. The LG was waiting in line for one of us to get out so that they could come in and harass us. We all passed the ball perfectly to one another to avoid any of them getting in. Inevitably, one of us dropped the ball allowing Duke to step into the game and start making fun of us.
All I wanted to say at that moment was, "You would not be here if it wasn't for me". That was not a lie in any way. Duke, being the new kid, would likely have been outcasted, if I had not changed the seating chart. The LG would never have even known him.
I hated all of them so much, especially for the rumor they started. Sure enough, Jess and Duke began calling all of my friends names. My friends reported this to the physical education teacher who made a beeline for Jess, Duke, Wolfie, and Matthew, who put on fake looks of confusion. She literally said that we had reported them being assholes rather than just saying it anonymously.
The LG members all sat on the curb with their heads down for the rest of the class and were only allowed to leave when physical education was over. Ian, Colt, Alex, and I walked through the doorway of the classroom to grab our bags.
I had to walk by Jess's table to grab my bag when Jess snapped in a way that almost startled me. "GET AWAY FROM ME! I KNOW IT WAS YOU WHO TOLD!" He barked loud enough that the whole class could hear.
I shouted back, calling him a slur.
He gave me a glare and whispered something to Matthew. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. The moment when Matthew began to walk in my direction with a look that for some reason, pissed me off. I thought about all the shit he had done. I thought about his thirst for trouble, drama, and instigation. I thought about how he almost helped ruin Ethan and his father's lives. And most importantly, I thought of the rumor he spread about me. He made me sound like the sick pervert that he was.
"Fuck you." I whispered.
I didn't know if he even heard me. He continued with his glare provocatively.
"FUCK YOU!" I yelled. I walked up, swung my bag and whacked the side of his face. Matthew tried to strike back but was overpowered by my fist, socking him at full force. He stumbled back into some desks as a rage I had never quite felt before began to flow through me.
His bag flew off and hit the whiteboard, exploding juice and bagels onto the other students. Matthew started crying like a baby and running to the principal while clutching his head. The principal yelled for me to go to the office, so I did.
I sat in his spinning chair, waiting for him to come and yell at me or something. I was shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't believe what I had just done.