Nice Girls Finish Last

A girl stared back at me angrily through the mirror, a pitiful school uniform hanging across her body like a sheet. The baggy white shirt hung limply across her body, the black skirt dangled around her knees like a pillow case. That girl, that girl was me... and I looked like a fucking square. I'd tied my hair up expertly into one of those "modern, sexy" high ponytails while applying on some extra msacara, eyeliner, and lipgloss, three new make up products my dad had let me buy from Sephora. My hair and make up were the only things that looked right today, everything else looked plain, gross, and cheesy, like the tie hanging from my neck like a noose.

In sudden frustration, I unbuttoned my shirt a quarter of the way, exposing my chest and some cleavage. Turning away from the mirror I took my plain schoolbag from the countertop and headed out my dorm. The hallways were silent and empty, sending shivers down my spine. Jackson's Academy was almost like a prison, being a school for kids who were either held back, expelled, or suspended for long periods of time. I felt like some sort of criminal in jail.

Suddenly, I felt a great force slam into my shoulder, knocking me to wall. My face mashed against the beige wallpaper painfully as I heard an angry snort from behind me. "Geez! Watch were you're going!" My temper flared, my mean girl instincts getting hold of my tongue,

"Don't touch me freak!" I said, practically roaring out the phrase. I turned to the girl, who was poorly dressed, standing there with a surprised and disgusted look on her face. She had red-brown hair even redder than my own, that she'd kept short and loose. She threw me a glare, then turned to walk away haughtily. My day was getting off to a bad start.

***

"Dude, I'd do anything to have a girl like her."

"She's hotter than any girl I've seen in my life."

Frowning, I peered at the huddle of boys who had their eyes glued to the fence that surrounded Jackson's. Wait, scratch that, had their eyes glued to what was moving on the other side of the fence. The girls from "Helena's School for Achedmically Placed Girls" strutted proudly beside the fence, their noses turned to the air. I envied them, watching how they got to choose what they wanted and keep their hair loose, though it looked like they were obviously misusing their freedom.

A pair of pale blue eyes suddenly caught my own on the opposite side of the fence. Mary Anderson, I recognised her from middle school, one of the nerds my clique and I would beat up. Her eyes were full of fear, but also a different look, one that mirrored my brother's. One that said, "I knew you were going to end up here eventaully." I threw her a bitter glare that made her jump, and then turned to the school. Those stupid boys could gawk at girls by themselves.

***

School was an absolute bore. It was like my public high school but twice as boring, twice as strict, and well... Twice as lonely. Once school had ended, I stood back outside on the school courtyard.The Helena Academy girls were passing through once more and the boys were back to the fence like they were glued on.

What did those boys see in those girls anyway? They were just a bunch of nerds who thought they were smarter and better than the rest of humanity... Like my mother. The scorn and anger that was building up inside my body the whole day grew twice in size, my fists clenched. Luckily, the girls had all dissapeared in around five minutes, causing the group of boys to break up. I saw this as my chance... My chance to make myself known.

"Hey guys," I murmered, sauntering over to the group, sticking out my chest more to highlight my tanned skin. I noticed the surprise on all of their faces and smiled, batting my eyelashes, my hand inched down to lift up my skirt a bit. A few more gave startled blinks and I frowned. Wasn't one guy going to approach me or say something?

"Hey you," I turned around, fixing my lowered eyelids at the guy looking over me. He was around five feet and eight inches tall with tanned skin. His shaggy dark brown hair fell over even dark colored eyes. I had to admit he wasn't extremely hot, but I'd settle for him.

"Yeah?" I pouted, trying to show off the new lipgloss I'd bought. His mouth formed a hard line,

"Get the fuck out, no one likes seeing your chest hanging out of your shirt like that. You don't belong here with us," he spat, his eyes glaring daggers into my own, his hand was lifted up, pointing to the gate exit.

Someone chimed in behind him, "Frank's right, she's a fucking whore!"

"Look at all the makeup she has on! She looks like a raccoon!"

"Or a clown!"

The hand that was lifting up my skirt dropped weakly, my eyes were filling up with tears, embarrassment welling up in my chest. The feeling of total humiliation was new to me, and I could only watch as the boys angrily glared and sneered at me, walking away. Leaving me alone. Completley, utterly, alone. I took a deep, sniffly breath, then ran to my dorm as fast as possible.

***

"Ms.Greene?" I could hear frantic knocking at my door, along with the stern voice of my principal. Oh god, what did I do wrong this time?

"Come in!" Almost immediatley the door swung open, revealing my new principal, a chubby man with a Billy May's beard, standing at my door with his arms folded.

"Ms. Greene, our school has a strict dress code policy..."

Oh god no.

"And those black tips that you've dyed onto your hair are highly innapropriate." I breathed a sigh or relief, though more anger began to build inside my chest. To my surprise, he sauntered closer and closer. "Ms. Greene, those tips must come off immediatley." I backed away slowly and with each step Principal Maximell took forward, I took backward.

With a swift movement, his hand wrenched in my hair with enough force to twist me backward, though gentle enough to cause no pain. I froze in shock, biting down hard on my lip to keep from punching my principal in the face.

*Snip*

*Snip*

*Snip*

I could only watch in horror as auburn and black tipped locks fell to the floor. After maybe five seconds, tears began rolling down my face. I could feel my make up smudging, my cheeks becoming damp. "I hope you rethink your desicions Ms. Greene." Principal Maximell left quietly, shutting the door behind him. I couldn't bear to look at my reflection, but in curiosity slowly lifted my head toward the mirror. I was a mess, my once long auburn curls cut so that they're just two inches passed my shoulders, cut short and quickly so that my hair stuck out in different places. My mascara ran down my face like oil black tears, my lip gloss looking sickeningly shiny. I glanced down at my C-sized chest, drooping out my shirt disgustingly. And as I stared into my reflection, five words repeated in my head over and over.

"She looks like a whore!"

***

The next thing I knew, I found myself standing at the payphone outside, my fingers fumbling the quarters into the money slot, waiting frantically for any signs of a voice on the other end.

".. This is Jason Greene speaking..."

"Dad?" I asked, my voice trembling, "Dad... I want to go home." My heart deflates at the sad sigh on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but your mom is the one who is paying for your tuition. I'm afraid I can't drop you out... But school can't be that bad can it?" His gentle and sympathetic voice causes me to burst back out into tears. The shane eats away my conscious, suddenly lunging into a crying jag, but I can't help it when I think of the embarassment I'd experienced this afternoon. What made it worse, was that I'd probably deserved it.

"It's horrible, dad! Th-they made fun of me, the principal cut my hair... A-And, I don't care, I wish you could just drive up and take me home!" My dad sighed, followed by a few more reassuring words, but I couldn't hear them through my pathetic sobbing. I could hear him say good-bye, before hanging up the phone. I put the cord phone back on it's hook and took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm myself down. No one liked a drama queen. Wiping my eyes one more time I turned around to head on back to the girl's dorm building. Though as I began to walk back, I noticed a pair of dark brown eyes staring at me full on. It was that Frank guy from before, his eyes were a mixture of disgust and curiosity. I was too embarassed to awknowledge him, knowing that I must've looked like a train wreck. I ripped my eyes from his glare and ran away... Completley alone, again.