The Struggle of the Underdogs

Riona ran through the forest of Ashland, Ohio, desperately trying to outrun the villain chasing her. The image of her slaughtered parents was seared in her mind, causing her to shed silvery tears as she fled through the solemn trees. She paused at the foot of a great oak to catch her breath, only to hear the footsteps of the brigand behind her. She whirled about to behold him, a towering figure built like a tiger, holding a deadly black blade dripping with the blood of her loved ones. Riona shuddered as he drew nearer, a sneer on his face as sweat and tears dripped down her chin. She shrieked in terror as the brigand raised the blade to strike and closed her eyes, hoping that her death would be quicker than that of her parents...

Riona opened her eyes gasping her breath, once again in her tranquil bedroom covered in blue-green wallpaper. She took several deep breathes and acknowledged that no matter how many times the nightmare attacked her sleep, the effect would continue to be as debilitating as the night the horror took place. It always happened during the night of the full moon, the lunar phase of the night when she lost her parents at the mere age of 7. Shaking her head in a futile attempt to remove the terrifying images from her mind, she got out of her bed and prepared herself for her first day of school. She looked at herself in her bedroom mirror, blinking the sleep out of her piercing green eyes and trying to smooth out her long, raven-black hair.
After her parents had died, Riona had wandered around the Midwest, never staying in one place for too long. For 10 long years she walked across states, always avoiding any sign of humanity when she could. It was here in Noodle, Indiana that she met Harriet and William, a young couple with no children of their own who offered to take Riona in as their own daughter. They had been so good to her, and she was grateful that she had finally found somebody to look after her. She counted herself lucky, for at the same time she met Harriet and William, she met a motley crew of teenagers who quickly became her first true friends. First she met Dylan, a blonde boy of her age who seemed to not care about anything and life, and his little sister Susie, an impish red head who seemed to enjoy toying with explosives, an unnatural hobby for a girl her age.
Next, she bonded with Carl, a very quiet boy who was apparently bullied by his peers for being too "nerdy", and his girlfriend Maggie, a beautiful cheerleader with flowing locks of golden hair and startling blue eyes who seemed, to Riona at least, to be the nicest human on the surface of the earth. It was a great mystery to her, how these two teens who were clearly nothing alike had come together in love, but that wasn't her business and she wouldn't judge. Riona knew she was lucky to even have friends in this town, for she had had no human contact in 10 years.
She slipped on the long green dress she had picked out for this day, wanting to look fairly decent.

Harriet had warned her previously that "You will find, my dear, that no other girl at Noodle High will be wearing the same style as clothing that you seem to prefer. In fact, you will most likely be utterly disgusted by what many of the girls like to wear."

Riona had looked at her foster-mother in bafflement and asked her "What on earth do you mean? Don't all girls dress nicely, and try to show self-respect?"

Harriet had snickered to herself and muttered "Not anymore."
After getting dressed, Riona glided downstairs to the kitchen, where Harriet had prepared some wonderfully scented blueberry muffins for breakfast.
Harriet beamed at her and put a muffin in her hand, telling her "Goodness Riona, that dress brings out the emerald color of your eyes quite well."
Riona smirked and nodded her consent, saying "Indeed, Harriet, that is why I picked it out in the first place."
She felt somebody tap her on the shoulder, and she turned around to be suddenly embraced by William, who had evidently snuck up behind her just to pull this off. This was strange, for William was a huge man, nearly 7 feet tall and weighing at least 250 pounds, nearly pure muscle. Riona gently patted him on his huge shoulder and asked to be released. She had discovered, ever since she had been taken in by these two wonderful young adults, that William was really just an immensely huggable teddy bear, nothing more.
William eyed Riona with blatant admiration, and announced to both women "You're gonna be a true gem at the high school, sweetheart! I know that more than one boy will be eyeing you with interest!"
Harriet snorted and Riona rolled her eyes. All three of them knew that she had no interest whatsoever in having anything more than friendly relations with any boy, no matter who he was.
Riona sighed and told them both "Well, I'm off. I think I'll walk, the school is only a few miles from here."
Harriet and William nodded at her and yelled their farewells as Riona walked out the front door of their country residence, focused on getting to the school within 30 minutes.

As she casually walked towards Noodle High, Riona wondered to herself what life would be like, learning with dozens of other teenagers in one single building for multiple hours a day. She hoped that it would be a decently pleasurable experience, one without pointless drama or issues with some worthless dolt who wouldn't mind their own business. While she continued to brood over the possibilities looming in her future, Riona noticed a single magnolia tree standing alone in the plains surrounding the school. It was a large, unusual tree, one that seemed to always be either in full bloom with pretty white-pink blossoms or covered in verdant green leaves. Though it seemed to be an ordinary tree, Riona knew that there was far more to it than met the eye. In a sudden breeze, the branches of the magnolia tree seemed to wave at Riona, and she waved back with a sly smirk.
She continued to trot onward towards the school, preparing herself mentally to experience a change in surroundings rapidly. She approached the front doors of the school with caution, and looked around at the front side of the building. It was mostly red brick on the outside, nothing special whatsoever. She knew she wasn't late because several other teens were wandering around the front yard. If anything, she was early, which she didn't mind one bit. With a single deep breath, Riona pulled open the door and walked inside, halting to a stop when she took in the other people around her.

All of the other students glared at her and her green dress, not appreciative at all of her unique taste in clothing. All of the girls she saw wore shorts that clamped ridiculously tightly to their behinds, and shirts that hardly covered their stomachs.
Riona thought to herself in disgust "I thought I was walking to a school, not a brothel!"
To her relief, Maggie and Carl appeared at her side, their presence assuring her that for the moment, she was safe.
"Welcome to high school, Riona!" Maggie sang cheerfully, obviously overjoyed to have Riona with her.
Riona smiled meekly as the two lovers took her hands and led her down the hall, past the stuck up adolescents who were now whispering hatefully behind her back, no doubt mocking her dress.
"Are all of the people here like that? Good grief, I never expected so many human beings to be so judging!" Riona grumbled to her companions.
Carl muttered "No, not all of them. What you saw back there was some members of the...er, 'popular crowd'. They're known to be intensely disdainful towards anybody not in their clique."
Maggie nodded serenely and whispered to Riona "Stay away from them, and everything should go smoothly for you."
Riona nodded, already regretting coming to Noodle High. Harriet had told her that because of her age, Riona would be entering as a senior, along with Maggie and Carl, who had attended Noodle High for 3 years already. She sincerely hoped that the supposed benefits would keep her from despising the high school.

The trio walked together through the halls towards homeroom, their first class of the day which lasted for a handful of minutes, its purpose to pass out important documents to the students and to have time for announcements.
Riona felt Maggie and Carl suddenly stiffen beside her, and she asked them, startled by their sudden change in behavior "What's wrong?"
She heard Maggie snarl "Don't look at that scumbag, either of you! Ignore him, and he won't bother us!"
Carl had his eyes closed, a look of deep contempt on his usually gentle features. Riona looked down the hall, attempting to discern why her two friends were so agitated, and almost immediately realized why.
Coming down the hall towards them was a tall, powerfully built red-headed guy who was emitting a pure aura of arrogance and pride. His eyes were blue just like Maggie's, though a bit sharper. His hair was cut short, the front of it spiked up with gel. The young man was looking around him with the air of somebody who was used to constant attention. His eyes settled on Riona, who looked at him with unhidden disdain. She had no tolerance for anybody who acted as if they ruled the world, and this guy was acting just like that. He watched her with blatant interest, his eyes looking over her green dress, evidently confused that she wasn't dressed like a prostitute like so many of the other girls were. When he finally turned the corner, Maggie and Carl let out their breath and continued to walk Riona down the hall.
She asked them in suspicion "Who was that guy? I've never seen somebody so cocky!"
Maggie hissed in reply "His name is Jeff. He's an athlete in our grade who plays both football and basketball. Among the fools of the popular crowd, he's one of the worst in my opinion. He used to be a decent guy in junior high, but for whatever reason, he turned into a huge jerk. The worst part is that he used to have a monstrous crush on me. Naturally, I always refused his advances. I would never want somebody like him as a lover."
Carl huffed in irritation and told Riona "I despise him to no end. He was the only person besides Maggie I got along with in junior high, and he suddenly conformed to the stereotypical image of what a jock should be!" Riona blinked, surprised at the malice in their voices.

The first day went fairly smoothly for Riona, with no interruptions or drama. Each class was decently interesting, though they were also boring to certain extents. As the final period ended, she dashed down the halls towards the front entrance, eager to return home. Her day was flipped upside down when she came to the front doors to find Jeff, the cocky jock from before, holding Carl in the air by the front of his shirt. Jeff was snarling, glaring into Carl's calm brown eyes, obviously trying to scare him. It wasn't working, as Carl wasn't showing any motion whatsoever. It was if he was used to what was happening to him. A crowd of students as forming around Jeff and Carl, snickering at Carl's predicament.
Riona growled deep in her throat and rushed forward, seized Jeff by his wrist and shouted "Drop him now, or I shall break your wrist in front of everybody here!"
Jeff looked down at her in shock then pain, as she slowly tightened her grip on the wrist of his arm that was holding Carl in the air. She wasn't afraid of him at all, even though he towered over her and could easily hurt her with his strength. Within 10 seconds, Jeff dropped Carl and yanked his wrist out of Riona's hand, rubbing it while he grimaced in pain and bewilderment.
Riona glared daggers up at him and spat "What gave you the right to attack Carl, you vile nuisance? People like you sicken me to no end!"

Jeff merely gazed into her eyes with clear interest, an arrogant smirk on his face. Before she could continue to snap at him, Maggie came in screaming in rage, and kicked Jeff hard in his nether regions. He collapsed onto the floor, writhing in agony, as Maggie stood over him, fuming with fury.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on him again, or I will personally ensure that you never gain pleasure from looking upon a woman ever again!" she snarled, her anger extremely palpable.
The crowd was snickering in delight at watching this sudden turn of events unfold. Maggie told Carl and Riona firmly "Let us depart, I have no wish to linger here any longer."
Maggie took Carl by the arm and led him out the doors in the direction of the parking lot, leaving Riona to look down at Jeff, who was still clutching his crotch in pain and shame.
In amusement and spite, Riona told him "Honestly, did you really think you could get away with that scotch free? I do hope you learned your lesson today, you wretched fool. Next time you try to hurt Carl and I find out, I will permanently make you regret it."
She whirled around and began the long journey back to her house, leaving Jeff and the other students to stare at her in amazement. Never before had any girl so brazenly challenged somebody like Jeff in such an austere manner. It would not be the last time she would do so. Riona was focused intently on avoiding Jeff as much as she could from then on, not wishing to look upon his arrogant features any more than she had to. Unfortunately for her, this was just the beginning of her problems.