Lies Whispered From the Past

" Nicole dear, are you finished writing your speech for the student council address today?" Nikki's concerned mother, Yolanda Sutton, asked her.
" Its been a few days since administrators found her in that locker room."
" Mom, I finished writing the speech the day after her suicide." Nikki muttered in pure fustration. Her parents were smothering even more so than usual. They wanted to make sure Nikki was okay, but to Nikki, they were trying to make her care about something she just didn't care about.
" Did you know she would do something like this? Any idea?" Her mom pressed.
" Um, no. We barely talked since middle school, we never saw each other." The truth was, Nikki saw it coming. And she felt she pushed her over the edge. Tyrone, Mike, Byron, Kiki and The Butchers played their part in it, sure.
Who was Nikki kidding? Every person who stepped foot on that campus teased Aimee in some kind of way. It was only a matter of time before she lost it. She was a social pariah, just like Nikki had been in middle school. They were even friends, but after a summer of wardrobe modifications, LASIK eye surgery and skin treatments, Nikki dropped Aimee in a flash freshman year, especially after she was asked out by Byron. Winning Homecoming Queen as a freshman was honor enough, but she actually won Prom Queen (by six votes, but still) alongside with Byron as her King. She also won Best Smile and Most Stylish (she lost Most popular to junior Bianca Gold). The rest was history. This year, she stood the chance of winning Homecoming and Prom Queen for four years in a row (a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any student).
Nikki felt like such a fake she no longer knew what it felt like to be real. She never knew just how easy it was to become the very person you set out to destroy. She hated herself, she hated Byron and his nasty attitude, and she hated those snobby kids. How could people not see the uglyness in them? The kids at Malibu Vista were visual creatures raised by the California elite. Surface quality was all that mattered to them. And why shouldn't it? They were L.A.'s finest. The world was at their palm, and they treated it like shit. A visious cycle.

" Hey Nikki. Here's Mrs. Lewis' reports." Jane Newman, Nikki's assistant, handed her four documents. Jane was someone Nikki wouldn't dare let herself be seen in public with. Jane was very homely: she had dull, lifeless, wavvy strawberry blonde hair. Her skin was pale and ghostly, her eyes were a creepy light grey, and her face was covered in red pimples, dazzeling like a billboard since it was in stark contrast with her skin. She wore a purple sweater and combat boots. Her skirt was slightly below her ankles. Jane was a wreck, but Nikki had to admit she was a damn good personal assistant.
" Thanks Jane. You're so good." Nikki said dutifully.
" Hey Nikki." Heather Hoskins, a cheerleader in her junior year, came by, smiling as if the squad won the regionals. Again.
" Hey Heather. How's our Homecoming Budget coming along?"
" We can afford to do the Vegas theme." Heather responded, twirling her shoulder length dirty blonde hair with her finger.
" We can get all the slot machines ordered?"
" Yep."
" Yo, Lil' Nikki!" It was Nikki's other best friend, Tanisha Davis.
" Hey girl." Nikki loved Tanisha and Heather the most out of her circle of friends, They were the most down to earth, and the most loyal. Not to mention funny. Chelsea Raven was just her proclaimed best friend because they hung out the most, but honestly, Nikki didn't even like her at all.
" Ya'll ready to do the assembly?" Tanisha asked, swishing her long box braids to the side. The was rubbing imaginary dirt offf of her skin.
" Nah, my dark sista. We need to pull an assembly out of our asses in an hour."
" You mean your ass. After all, you are school president." Heather playfully swatted Nikki on the arm.
" You mean right now." Byron suddenly appeared at their office. "Mrs. Lewis wants all of student council at the auditorium now for the assembly." Nikki froze. She hadn't even spoken to Byron since they found out about Aimee's suicide. Byron was saying such awful things about how Aimee deserved to die, and Nikki called him out on it. He slapped her immediately, and called her dyke afterward. Nikki was afraid that Byron would either break up with her when they spoke again or worse, he would kill her. But he seemed cooled now.
As she walked out the door, Byron yanked her arm back and slammed the door shut, locking it. A stunned Nikki stood against her desk attempting to play it cool. Byron began kissing her neck in her favorite spot. Nikki felt sick immediately. She couldn't tell if that was because she was in the presence of a monster or if she felt that guilty about Aimee's suicide. Tanisha and Heather didn't really talk to or about Aimee that much, so they were neutral. They couldn't possibly understand what was going on with her, even if they were her best friends. Just like she couldn't really understand what was going on with Byron either. Byron softly said 'I'm sorry' between kisses but then suddenly stopped. Next thing she knew, he was jerking his knee in pain.

" God dammit." Byron muttered.
" What's wrong?" Nikki asked. Even though she felt didn't even know Byron anymore, let alone herself, she still felt the urge to tend to him whenever he needs it. Did she really love him, or was she that insane?
" My damn knee. It's been hurting since I fell on it during summer training"
" Maybe you should see Dr. Morgan. He was my father's knee specialist.."
Byron looked at Nikki as if she'd grown two heads and three eyes.
" Nikki, are you crazy? The season is around the corner. Nothing can be wrong now."
" Byron, you know I love you, right?"
" As I do you."
" I'm only suggesting this for your own good. I only want whats best for-"
" Well, you don't know whats best for me, so lay off. C'mon, lets go. Mrs. Lewis is going to start bitching about the President and her VP being late."
And with that, Nikki tagged along with him, as dutiful, loyal and brainless, as a little pup.