Chapter 3 - Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago

POV: Victoria 

Every kid’s favorite day of the week has got to be Friday. It’s the beacon light at the end of the tunnel after a long week. I lived for Fridays. I dreamt of them, wanted to marry them, and have their children if possible. So the fact that I was dreading that particular Friday said a lot. 

I had to make a presentation on the British Colonization of the Americas in front of the entire class. To say I was nervous would have been an understatement.

“Come on Tori, this is the third time I’m waking you up. You’re going to be late for school if you don’t hustle,” my mom shouted from the corridor. 

“That’s the goal,” I said to myself as I threw off my covers.

My history class was the first lesson of the day so maybe if I got ready as slowly as was humanly possible, I’d miss the whole thing. I dismissed the idea completely. My mother would never let that happen. She would put the clothes on my body and physically drag me out of the house and to school if she had to. It was best to avoid the scandal. 

I put on my favorite t-shirt and jeans and put on a clean pair of Converse sneakers. I even brushed through my tangled hair which was a rat’s nest. It was a struggle but I won in the end and managed to tame my lion’s mane. I gave myself a once over in the mirror just to make sure that I looked decent and that nothing in my hair was poking out where it shouldn’t be.

Normally, I didn’t care what I looked like but the last thing I needed was to give the devil cough I mean Brianna, any more reasons to pick on me. Brianna Calloway was my bully or as I liked to think of her, my personal demon sent to earth to make my life a living hell. She was your typical mean girl. Tall, skinny, blonde, blue eyes.

She even put on the whole sickeningly sweet act. I hated her. I couldn’t believe we used to be friends when we were kids. I shook off my thoughts of her. My day was already going to be crappy, there was no need to make it worse by thinking about Lucifer. 

After I was satisfied with my appearance, I took my bag and went into the kitchen to have my breakfast. My mom was making pancakes which was odd. We only made pancakes on Sunday. She turned when she heard me walking into the room and saw the questioning look on my face.

“I know, it’s not Sunday. I just thought I’d make you your favorite breakfast to give you a little moral support because you’re so nervous,” she said as she plated them and placed them in front of me.

Chocolate chip pancakes. Normally I’d wolf them down in seconds but I couldn’t even get myself to pick up my fork. At that moment I disliked my history teacher even more. I had begged him not to make me do the presentation but he wouldn’t budge. I even offered to mow his lawn for a year but he still said no.

“It’ll be okay honey, you’ll do great. Try to eat something. I don’t want you to pass out from hunger in the middle of your classes,” my mother said with a concerned tone. 

“Can’t I just say home? You could call the school and tell them I’m sick. You could say I got leprosy or something,” I whined.

“First of all, Leprosy hasn’t been a thing for hundreds of years, you need to make your lies more believable. Secondly, I can’t lie to the school, that would be wrong. Thirdly, are you sure that Mr. Finkle won’t just postpone your presentation till you ‘recover’?”

He would. He absolutely would. There was no way of getting out of the presentation. I groaned and decided to eat my breakfast. I forced down the pancakes with some orange juice as she had her coffee. My mom was dropping me off at school so we got ready to leave.

Before we left the house, I stopped by the mantle in the living room and stood in front of a framed picture of my dad. I missed him so much, especially on days like this. He’d probably have let me stay home.

“Wish me luck Dad,” I whispered.

I went to the car and waited as my mom locked up the house behind her. We got to school a lot faster than I would have liked. My mom kissed me goodbye and assured me that I would be fine for the umpteenth time. I alighted from the car and looked at McKinley High School standing before me. A sense of foreboding washed over me.

“You’ll be okay Tori, just breathe,” I told myself over and over again. I just wished I believed it more. I walked into the building and went straight to my locker. I had a few minutes to kill before the first period.

“Hi, Tori!” a cheerful voice piped up behind me. It was Samantha Lee, my best friend.

“Hi, Sam! Nice outfit,” I replied.

She was wearing a black dungaree dress with a white baby T underneath and some funky-looking boots. To top it all off, she had a red beret on her head. 

She twirled for me excitedly and asked, “You like?” I nodded.

Sam was the coolest dresser that I knew. She had been obsessed with fashion for as long as I could remember. Her style was eccentric but it worked so well for her. 

‘Thanks! How are you feeling about your presentation?” she asked. I groaned. 

“That's bad huh? Don’t worry, you’ll be great. Besides, you’ll only be up there for ten minutes,” she tried to console me.

“I wish you were in my class.”

“I do too but don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

The warning bell rang. I grabbed my book and closed my locker. Sam bade me farewell and hurried off to her own class. I walked to my class and sat at my usual seat in the corner. After a few minutes, the bell rang to indicate the start of the first period.

Mr Finkle walked into the classroom.

“Okay everybody, settle down. Let’s have Ms. Johnson come up to the front. I believe you are scheduled to start us off today,” he said as he set his things down.

I  took a deep breath and stood up. I walked to the front of the room trying not to look as terrified as I was feeling. My heart was racing and I attempted to get it back under control. I got to the front and looked around the room, surveying it. I was met with the piercing gazes of twenty bored-looking teenagers.

My hands started shaking, making the sheets of paper in my hand rustle. I cleared my throat and got ready to begin. Just as I was about to start talking, there was a knock on the door. Principal Gilligan popped his head in.

“Pardon me for interrupting your class but I have brought a new student.” He opened the door and let a student into the class. “This is Caleb Stallone. He’s our new student.”

I barely looked up from my report. I heard some commotion as the new kid went to his seat.

“Welcome Caleb. You’ve come just in time. Miss Johnson here was just about to give us a presentation on the British Colonization of the Americas. Victoria, the floor is yours,” Mr Finkle said. I could do this! I cleared my throat again and opened my mouth. No sound came out. 

“Is she ever going to say anything?” Niall Atkinson, the wide receiver on the McKinley high football team, said loudly. A few students snickered.

“Today I will be presenting a report on the British colonization of the Americas. In April 1607 three ships sent out by the London Company sailed into Chesapeake Bay. They continued up a broad waterway, which they named the James River in honor...” I stopped talking. Something wasn’t right. I felt queasy.

“Mr Johnson, are you okay? You look a little green,” Mr. Finkle asked with concern in his voice. Now he cares! I started sweating and my mom tasted sour. My stomach gurgled and I knew what was about to happen. I was going to throw up.

“She’s gonna blow!” someone said.

I ran out of the room with my hand over my mouth and headed straight toward the bathroom. I hurled my guts out in the toilet. Maybe having breakfast wasn’t such a good idea. 

***

“Is it true that you threw up all over everyone in your history class?” Sam asked me as we queued for our lunch in the cafeteria. That traveled fast!

“No, I didn’t throw up on anyone. Just my favorite toilet stall in the girl's bathroom,” I replied. 

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. Every girl wishes that she was Mia Thermopolis from Princess Diaries. I got to live that dream today.” She looked absolutely clueless. 

“You know when she throws up because she’s nervous for her debate...? No? Doesn't it ring any bells?” Sam shook her head.I made a mental note to make her watch the movies the next time she came over. “Plus, Mr. Finkle felt so bad for me, he’s letting me off the hook. I don’t have to do the presentation.” 

“There’s the silver lining. In other news, have you seen the new guy yet? I hear he is hot!” she said excitedly. 

“I think I have some classes with him but I haven’t seen him,” I said.

“How come?” she asked.

“Because I was so preoccupied with being mortified by the events that took place earlier today,” I answered.

I had kept my head down since the incident. I just needed to get through the day. Besides, the new kid wouldn’t affect my life in any way. If he was hot, he’d definitely run with the popular crowd. People like me didn’t interact with the cool kids. I was plain looking with auburn hair, green eyes and glasses. What was so special about that?

I ate my lunch and tried to ignore the stares and the whispers as I walked by. As much as I hated the attention, I knew it was only temporary. By the next day, my incident would be old news and everyone would move on to the next thing. Don’t you just love high school?