My life as a loser in High School.

As it was once said on Mean Girls, Halloween is the one day where a girl can dress as a total slut but not get called a slut. This wasn’t any different in Kings. Everyone was already talking about all the awesome parties and exactly what they were going to wear which didn’t consist of very much.

I wasn’t invited to one of these awesome parties. I was surprised that I was a little more bothered than what I should have been. I knew that the whose thing with Dylan was probably the reason why no one wanted me to attend one of gatherings as knowing me, I would get drunk and try to come onto all the boys at Kings. Yeah, right.

Jay wasn’t going to a party either but that was by choice not because he wasn’t invited. Apparently he goes to Sid’s house every year and Sid lets him put make up on him, then whenever kids come to the door, Jay makes Sid answer it as Jay can’t deal with little kids. Sid always scares the kids as he is the ugliest looking woman they have ever seen.

I got invited to come along but as much as I wanted to see Sid dressed up in drag, I had to decline. My Mother had arranged for us to take the train to the West End to do a bit of shopping and then see a musical. I wasn’t going to lie, I was excited. However, having to get up at the inhumane hour of 6AM had really dampened my mood.

I was perched on one of those uncomfortable train seats, with two cans of cold diet coke pressed against my eyes. With only having a few hours of sleep I had bags under my eyes that looked liked I had been punched by a really angry person. I was sure people were giving me weird looks however I couldn’t see as I had two metal, spherical objects blocking my view. If I did see them though, I would tell them that making their forehead do weird things would give them early wrinkles.

“Brie, honey. Do you want to put the cans down?” My mother hissed from opposite me.

“It’s your fault for getting me up so early.” I replied indignantly. “I’m practically falling asleep.”

“Well, why don’t you actually drink one of those cans and get some caffeine running through your blood to wake you up?” She suggested.

I slowly peeled the cans away from my face and stared at her in horror. “Do you know what caffeine can do to your teeth?”

“Brie, it’s early. Please don’t start.” She begged, rubbing her forehead.

“It can stain them which as a result, leads to aging. Also, do you know the sugar content in coke?” I don’t know how long I was talking for but I certainly woke myself up. My mum stared at me expressionless whilst I ranted on. She nodded in all the right places and even added some comments like “But you drink coke sometimes. And coffee.” And my reply, “Yes, but not excessively.” Because it’s only excessive caffeine that can stain your teeth.

I was on the subject of how pineapple juice can work wonders on wrinkles when my mouth became tired and I decided to close it. “That was very interesting, Brie.” My mother said, although she looked ready to fall asleep.

“Yeah, thank God, you’ve shut up.” A woman next to us said. I looked at her and she was smirking. She wore a suit the same my mother usually wears and her dark hair was flowing freely down her back. She clutched a carton of orange juice in her hand.

“Do you know what’s in that orange juice?” I questioned, watching her roll her eyes.

“Let me guess. Additives and E numbers that will pollute my body...”

“Yeah, there’s that. It also contains pig semen.” She looked at the carton in horror before clutching her mouth with her hand. She swiftly got up from her seat and headed towards the toilets. I looked back at my mum who was clutching her own mouth, trying to cover up her laughter.

“I think Kings has rubbed off on you.” She gasped.

“Huh? How so?”

“Well, before you would never have dared say that to that woman.” I shrugged but thinking about it, my mother was right. Kings has rubbed off on me. All the arguing with Dylan and defending myself against everyone else has made me tougher.

As this is England, of course the weather had to be crap when we finally got off the train. However, the fact it was October could have something to do with it. It took us a while to decide what to do first, but we eventually decided on getting the tube to Oxford Street to do some shopping before the show.

At least the tube was more fun than the normal train. I liked the rush of wind in my hair as it sped past and the voice saying “Mind the gap” constantly amused me. It didn’t take long for us to be where we needed to be.

We walked into a clothes shop and my mum immediately started picking out things that “would look so cute on you!” I know things weren’t so tight with money now we had sold our old house and my mum had begun working at her new job, but still I felt awkward trying on clothes that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe put together.

Another thing that annoyed me was that I found myself thinking “Would Dylan think I look hot?” As I detested the boy, I really wanted to switch my brain to stop myself thinking of him. He had a girlfriend and no matter how many mind tricks he played on me, or how many times he “accidently” touched my leg, I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.

But nothing was stopping me from trying to show him what he was missing. Yes, that was it. The whole reason for me wanting to impress Dylan was to make him want me so he can torture himself at night and ask himself why he made such a big mistake in acting like a total prick to me. However, Dylan’s ego was so big that he would probably never admit to making a mistake. And I highly doubt he would torture himself over me.

I ended up buying a pair of jeans that were in a sale that actually made me look like I was a woman with curves instead of a little girl dressing up in her mothers clothes. As it was getting cold outside I decided to buy a gloves and scarf set. A recent survey in one of my magazines said girls look totally cute when they are dressed up in their woollies. However, I didn’t buy a hat as they make my face look fat.

My mother and I had a bite to eat before getting another tube to where the show was. Little kids who were dressed like witches and fairies ran around excitedly and I felt a pang of disappointment that I wasn’t overjoyed on Halloween like I used to be when I was little.

“So,” She started. “What is up with you and that Dylan anyway? How come you don’t get on?” If this was my mother’s idea of having a conversation to pass the time she wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“Nothing.” I muttered. “We just don’t.”

“How come?” I sighed heavily but this still didn’t give her the hint that I didn’t want to talk about him.

“He’s just... full of himself.” I settled on that. I didn’t exactly want to explain the whole incident when he put his hand on my leg. A feeling of relief flooded through me when they started letting us in.

We got our seats and waited patiently for the musical to start. I felt myself become fidgety and I couldn’t concentrate on the show or the story line. Thanks to my mother all I could think about was Dylan.

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” My mum asked, grinning brightly at me. We were on the train home and I could feel my eyes slowly closing. I nodded in agreement although it was a complete lie.

Dylan had ruined my day once again and he wasn’t even here.

***

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot...

I’ve always loved bonfire night. Ever since I was a little girl I used to get so excited waking up on November the fifth. My mother wasn’t one for the big bangs and the smell of smoke so she often stayed inside observing the fireworks from the window. I however loved all the sparkles and the bright colours. My father used to enjoy them as much as me. He used to give me sparklers and stand no less than two feet away from me in case I decided to stick them in my mouth or something. He used to watch with an amused grin as I wrote my name in the air and watched it disappear a few seconds after. I used to think it was magic.

Apparently Kings had a big bonfire party every year. All the students got to attend for free however relatives and friends had to pay a fee. It wasn’t likely that relatives turned up. It so wasn’t cool to arrive with your parents.

I had arranged to meet Jay outside the school. We had invited Sid along but he refused. He was still sulking from Halloween when Jay decided to stick a giant pumpkin on his head and make him sit outside for the entire night scaring children, whilst Jay lounged on Sid’s couch eating the candy meant for the kids and watching a chick flick staring Hilary Duff.

I spotted the blonde teenager as I turned the corner heading to Kings. I was by myself as I told a relieved mother she needn’t attend. “Jay!” I shouted, watching him turn his head and do a double take. He wolf whistled loudly which caused me to blush.

“Bloody hell, Brie. Where did you dig those clothes up?” He asked. I was wearing the jeans I had bought earlier in the week and a tight fitting jacket which definitely complimented what little figure I did have.

“Shut up!” I hissed embarrassed.

“What!? You look hot. Come on, give me a twirl.” I had to refrain from hitting him. “If I wasn’t gay, I totally would.”

“Ew.” I replied rolling my eyes. He nudged me slightly offended however then put his arm around me. He knew I was joking or I hoped he did. I thought he was hot the first day I met him and though I still do think of him as good looking, I would never fantasize about dating him. He’s seen me wearing a face mask for God’s sake!

“Who’s this for anyway?” He asked finally clicking onto the obvious. I shrugged indignantly.

“It’s for no one. Just because I fancied making myself look good doesn’t mean I’m doing it for anyone.” Even to me, this argument sounded lame.

“Uh, huh.” He retorted sarcastically. I scowled but let him lead me into the school; his strong arm still wrapped around me protectively. I recognised most people from in the corridors and some of the lessons we shared. None of them seemed to be giving me dirty looks and I breathed a sigh of relief now knowing my evening won’t be ruin by people hating me.

I had never seen the school field so full. Right at the back, someone had lit a giant bonfire and people were sat around it cuddled up to each other because apparently it was supposed to be romantic. Someone was arranging fireworks ready for the display later tonight. There were numerous stores selling the usual stuff like toffee apples and roasted peanuts.

We walked around for a little while eventually stopping at a “Dunk the apple” stall. The owner had way too many apples left over from Halloween and they were floating around in buckets of water. Strangely, the stall seemed to be rather popular.

“Why don’t you have a go?” I asked Jay, a grin forming on my lips. He shook his head furiously.

“There is no way I have spent an hour doing my hair only for me to dunk it in a bucket on water.” He replied. I laughed and we decided to get some food.

“Hey! Posh girl!” Someone shouted. Assuming they meant me, I turned around to see the stall owner waving at me. “Do you fancy a go?”

Wait a minute? This boy wanted me to stick my head in a freezing cold bucket of water to try and grab out of date apples in my mouth which have probably got other people’s saliva on. There was no chance.

“I’m good.” I answered, cringing at someone accidently spit into the bucket whilst gasping for air.

“Go, on Brie.” A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned to face Dylan who had an annoying smirk plastered on his pretty face and an even more annoying girl hanging onto his arm. “It can’t make you look worse than what you already do.” I heard someone snigger.

“Why don’t you have a go, pretty boy?” I challenged. “Or are you scared the water will wash your makeup off?” The laughter increased this time but at least it wasn’t aimed at me. I glanced into Dylan’s eyes expecting to see fury that I had embarrassed him but instead they held amusement. His mouth was curved into a smile and he was chewing on his bottom lip with his teeth. They must teach this somewhere because I had never met a boy so good at drawing people’s attention to his lips than Dylan.

“Come on Dylan.” Kate whined, tugging on him. “I’m hungry.” He looked at me for a moment and just nodded a goodbye. Kate sent a triumphant glance my way as they walked off. I stared at their backs as they got further away. Kate seemed to be arguing with him but they were too far away for me to hear what she was saying.

I dug my nails into my palm with frustration although as I was wearing gloves, it didn’t release any tension. Someone came up behind me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, he was totally checking out your butt.” Jay said.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his comment. “He’s such a pervert.” I muttered acting like I didn’t take complete delight in the information Jay just told me. Jay nodded.

“But a hot pervert, right?”

“Right.” I agreed before I could stop myself.