Waterproof Mascara

“Tonia! Wait up!” yelled the familiar voice from behind me.

I stopped and slowly turned around to see Mia, running up to me... and crash. She always seemed to tackle hug me in the morning. Even though it was annoying and hurt sometimes, it gave me a sense of being loved. And some days, that’s all I needed.

“Hi Mia. Where’s Mike?” I said gasping for air.

“He’s coming late today... I’m not sure why. How are you?” she said, letting go of me.

I have always hated this question. How can I answer it? Should I tell the truth, and burst into tears or should I lie and pretend everything is okay? Mia IS my best friend, and best friends should tell the truth and care for each other... right? But still, I won’t take any chances...

“I’m okay. And you?” I try really hard to sound convincing.

“Oh! I’m great! Mike and I have a date tonight. Maybe you should come over and help me pick what to wear.” She said, jumping in front of me, making me stop.

“Uhhh, I’ll think about it.”

We headed to our lockers. Mia’s locker door was covered of pictures of her and Mike and there was a few of me and her there too. She seemed to be such a happy, bubbly person... I was jealous of that. She had it all; a great boyfriend, loving family, perfect grades, beauty, perfect body... It makes you wonder if she was unsatisfied with her life... like the fact she had me for a best friend...

My locker door, on the other hand, was boring and dull... It had my timetable and it had one photo of me, Mia and Mike. But it was neat and practical. All my books were piled up, nice and neat on the top shelf. Second shelf held my folded jumper and an extra pair of shoes and the last shelf had a small box for my extra pens, pencils and other school stationary. Like I said, simple and practical.

“Ahhh, I see you have chemistry first... Have fun with that, Toni” Mia giggled

“If I have chemistry, you must have biology... right?” I stated, trying to keep the small conversation going.

“Yep! I love it... We get to do a prac today.” Said Mia, closing her locker door. “See you at recess, okay?”

“Okay” I mumbled, quietly shutting my locker door.

Mia skipped off and I was left alone. I slowly walked to my science lab.

School is a horrible place if you slow down and look around. Kids pushing each other into walls, small groups of bitchy juniors trying to start rumors, jocks and cheerleaders bounding through the halls and your general swam of rushing students trying to get to class on time. It amazes me that someone isn’t hurt every 2 minutes.

I slowly make my away through the mess of yelling people, avoiding getting knocked over or hurt. My slow walking costs me and I’m late... Monday, first class of the day and I’m late. Typical. It doesn’t help that my chemistry teacher is a jerk, either.

“Thank you for joining us, Tonia” Mr Brown snarled at me “I’ll see you in detention”

Great start to the week. First 30 minutes and I have detention. And another downside to being late is the lack of seating. I had three options; next to Jackson, the school’s champion football player, Logan, she smells like... well, I’m not exactly sure, and Abbie, Little Miss Second Best… I chose Abbie, simply because she isn’t smelly and totally up herself.

I slowly made my way to the chair, placed my stuff on the desk and sat down.

“Hey Tonia, how are you?” Abbie asked.

“I’m okay... and you?” I said, obviously not sounding fine.

“I’m alright, chem’s a total bore though.” She said, smiling. “Are you sure you are okay?”

“Yep. It’s all good.”

Abbie is perfect, much like Mia. She has perfect, long, wavy brown hair, green eyes, skinny waist and her boobs are perfect...

And then there’s me; Straight, medium brown hair (that is never perfect), plain, boring brown eyes and well... compared to the other girls, I am fat... huge!

I seemed to do that a lot... comparing myself to everyone around me. Their flaws would be a blessing to me. I would do anything to swap lives with any of these girls.

After my usual comparing session, I look up at the board. I don’t know why I chose this subject… it does my head in. So, after about 3 minutes, I just give up.

I’ve noticed that all my boring, really educational classes are all really long and seem to never end. I’ve also noticed every class has the same kinds of people; popular kids (that think they are literally too cool for school, the nerdy kids (who sit up the front and answer every question), the ‘normal’ kids (they pay attention, take notes and may answer a question or two) and the social rejects... I think that’s where I fit in. Apart from the nerds, I am the only quiet person in the whole class.

“How’s Mia?” Abbie randomly asked.

“Uhhh, she’s really good” I said with very little enthusiasm in my voice.

“That’s good to hear.” She was trying to make conversation.

“Yeah...” I mumbled.

I wasn’t very good when it came to social interaction with other people and I don’t think I ever was. I think I could safely blame that on my negative experiences... and believe me, I’ve had my fair share.

The bell rings. The awkwardness is broken.

“Off you go” Mr Brown said “...And Miss Jones, I’ll see you in detention”

The class rushed out the door and I took my time and slowly made my way to my locker.
Mia and Mike were at Mia’s locker, just talking. Mia didn’t need me, she had Mike. They were the type of couple that would always be together. Like Romeo and Juliet.
Mia spotted me.

“Toni! Hurry up, we don’t want to be late!” she yelled.

I picked up my pace, collected my gear and walked off to my next class.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I really disliked Mondays. They just seemed to go longer than any other day of the week. But when lunch finally arrived I was relieved. Mike and Mia met up with me and we went to our usual table. Mia and Mike were talking about their plans for that night, I was always the third wheel... Always.

I looked down at my homemade sandwich. And in doing that I imagined my home life. I hated home, even more than school. Some people may call me picky, that I could never be satisfied. That’s probably true. I seemed to be very hard to please.

“…Tonia! HEY! Anyone there?” Mia said, waving in my face.

I immediately snapped out of my deep thoughts and looked at Mia.

“Are you okay? You seem more…out of it… than usual.” Mia said quietly”

“I’m fine, Mia. Don’t worry.” I said as I stood up.

“Oh? Where are you going?” she asked.

“Detention” I mumbled

“Again?” Mia tilted her head.

“Yeah… So… uhhh…bye.” I said, as I walked off.

“Okay, We’ll see you later then.” Mia half shouted.

“Bye Tonia.” Mike said before turning to Mia.

I walked at a slightly faster pace than what I usually walk at so I wasn’t late for detention. When I reached the door leading to the halls, I looked back. Mia and Mike were in each other’s arms. Perfect couple. They were so happy without me there. Just each other…

The halls were always dead during lunch. The jocks were running laps, the nerds were in the library and everyone else was smoking in the toilets or eating in the cafeteria… I didn’t know what went on in those toilets but I still avoided them as much as possible.

I was slowly making my way to the classroom when I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around to see a very tall Jackson King staring down at me.

“Hey, Sweet Cheeks. What’s a lovely girl like you doing here, all alone” he chuckled

“Detention…” I shyly said.

I wasn’t shy because I had a crush on him or anything… I was always shy. No matter who it was. Honestly, I hated the guy.

“Bummer. How about you ditch the punishment and come with me, aye?” He always sounded so sure of himself…

“No thank you.” I said, quietly, starting to walk away

And then he grabbed my arm. Not very tightly, but it was enough to make me zone out… I guess. For a split second I saw my father, with rage in his eyes… I don’t know why… I just did. I fell to the ground. Jackson bent over so his eyes met mine.

“You are a weird one, Jones.” He said as he picked me up.

“Please… put me down.” I said quietly… I’m surprised that he heard.

He sat me down at a random chair in the walkway. I was feeling sick. Not so sick that I
would throw up… it was like… anxiety sick.

“Maybe another time, yeah?” he said as he walked off.

I was left alone. Sick, scared and late for detention. Mr Brown saw me when he was leaving the classroom. He walked over to me.

“What happened?” He asked. It almost sounded like he cared.

“I was on my way… I feel…” I trailed off.

“I understand. I’ll let you off the hook this time, okay? Just because you are usually a good student.” He said. “Would you like me to get the nurse?”

I simply shook my head.

“Okay, take care of yourself.” He said and then he left.

I sat there for a good 30 minutes before I went to sick bay. I don’t know why the most simple things effect me so much… but they just do.

They sent me home and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing…

I had to walk home because mum was scared to leave the house and my father was at work (not that he’d pick me up anyway)… It’s not that far from school to my house, which is a positive in the situation.

I loved my mum so much, I still do. She was the person I trusted the most. I hated seeing her sad, so I made every effort to make her smile. So on my way home, I picked some flowers from the local park.

I arrived home… my father’s car was parked in the driveway…