rage and recovery

CHARLOTTE

Embarrassed was a mild word to describe what I was feeling.

I wanted to throw up, I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, but most of all, I wanted to wipe that self-satisfied smile off Taide Soloh’s face.

People were staring, and unlike when that first dare had been passed on to me, it wasn’t an open and curious stare; their eyes were full of judgment, and the words that passed between them were laced with mockery and laughter.

“She’s half human? Her dad’s human?” I heard someone say while giggling. I couldn’t tell who it was, and I didn’t want to know.

If there was a way to get the ground to open up and swallow me whole, I’d do it without even thinking twice.

“Who would have guessed? She was already so pathetic; this makes it even more so!” Someone was laughing, and I heard the sound of a camera shuttering, and the voices became louder.

The pressure of their stares and the noise of their voices and laughter eventually made me snap. I let go of Van