Camilla's POV continues

Using her hand, she gestures for me to join her upfront, “Come up here sweetheart and introduce yourself.”

I rise from my seat and turn to face everyone. they're all staring at me, half of them judging me, the other half trying to find ways to judge me.

I take a deep breath to ease my nerves. “Hello, my name is Camilla Mia Burton. I'm sevent....”

“No one cares about your age, just tell us your goddamn name and sit down.” Raquel snorts.

Everyone laughs once again, okay I see this I'm the new kid that makes the popular kid look good and funny. If I don't entertain her or show her she's getting to me, she will find someone else to pick on. I'm sure whoever she was picking on before I got here is over the moon right now.

The Math teacher bangs the chalkboard eraser on the desk to draw attention to her. “Quiet! And Raquel quit being so rude to your classmates or out you go.” She warns.

“I was simply helping her out, Miss Vanderbilt.” She whines.

Miss Vanderbilt, as I’ve learned, places a hand on my shoulder, “Camilla take your seat and we're glad you're joining us. And oh what you don't know is Camilla has been a member of this class since the 10th grade, and she's a great student, I'm sure you've seen her name on your class list or the academic leaderboard.” She grins, dismissing me.

I walk to my seat but someone trips me, making me fall, for the second time today. Everyone laughs including the teacher but she quickly tells them to zip it.

I take my seat wiping tears I didn't notice fell, isn’t this what I wanted? I can hear a taunting voice in my head yelling at me. I wanted to come to school to feel something, experience something new, anything but I hate it here I want to switch classes.

“Alright now, put your pencils, mathematical sets and pens on the desk and err... yes Jessica collect the bags and put them in the front, I don't want to catch anyone cheating. If I catch you cheating, you automatically fail my class.” She deadpans.

We do as she asks and she begins to distribute question papers. There's a knock at the door and Jessica, the girl who collected the bags, opens it, two girls walk in. Judging by the boys' reactions they are popular too and a class favorite.

I can't help but stare at them, they're both beautiful but one more than the other, hazel eyes and raven hair with maroon falling to her back, her skin is glowing so much it could light up a room. The other girl has red hair to compliment her sky blue eyes, but her roots are black, she has a carefree aura about her, they both do.

“You're late.” Jessica tells them, pointing to where the bags are. The red head flips her off and rolls her eyes, the other girl shaking her head at her.

“You are just in time for our maths test. This will count for fifty percent of your grade at the end of the school year. So take a seat wherever you can, I will give you a question paper soon.” Mrs Vanderbilt elaborates.

The two girls look at each other and talk in whispers taking their seats. One is sitting next to me and the other on her left.

Mrs Vanderbilt comes around and hands them a question paper each. She takes another five to ten minutes distributing answer sheets to everyone. She gave us the go ahead and we turned in our papers. When I started flipping through this paper I realised school is way easier than homeschooling. I answered them in record Time and now I am chewing on my Pen clipper.

“Thirty minutes left.” Mrs Vanderbilt announces, making a few people mummer. I take a look around, everyone is rushing now, when I bring my head to the girl next to me. I notice the girl next to me whispering to the one she walked in with.

“I don't know this topic and there are forty marks for it. Only an angel can save us now.” She whisper yells.

“No mummering, little Carter and Rodriguez switch seats with Hannah.” Mrs Vanderbilt orders.

She returns to marking some papers. I look at the girl next to me answering a question wrongly. I want to help her but I don't have to get into more trouble on my first day of school.

“Fifteen minutes.” Mrs Vee announces with giving the class so much as a glance.

In what seems like a panic, the girl next to me looks at me now, registering she's never seen me before and I open the middle of the answer booklet and hold it where she can see.

She looks at me confused and I nod, she copies and when she's done, I flip the page. The reason I opened the middle part first is because the answers I've written on there have the most marks. She somehow manages to copy about seven questions that equal forty-five marks and without a doubt are correct.

“Ms. Vanderbilt someone is cheating!” I hear Miss what's on her face say.

I take my pencil and point at answers as if confirming. The girl next to me tilts her head and looks back at Raquel mouthing something.

Mrs Vanderbilt ignores her. Rising from her seat she dings a bell, “Time up. Pass your papers to the front.”

We do as she says. And when she's done collecting the answer booklets, she leaves.

Everyone gets their bags from the front and so do I. “Hey, I don't think we've met, I'm Mirabelle.” She grins, she smells familiar, intoxicating but that’s not her perfume or scent, it’s not strong on her, it simply lingers on her a little as if she just touched the owner of the toxicant.

I watch her with awe. The words get caught up in my throat and I’m unable to answer her. She’s calm, smiles a lot, she's the opposite of Raquel but I’m still intimidated by people like her who don't hang out with people like me, they bully them to prey on their insecurities.

Mirabelle ignores my lack of speech, “Thank you for allowing me to copy from you. It could have ended badly if we got caught and it was wrong but you did it for me. You don’t even know me. You’re nice and I’m talking too much, excuse me.” She smiles before walking away to the back of the class.

Most eyes follow her and so do I, she approaches Raquel, who is smiling at her, “Belle-” She is cut off by Mirabelle’s hand, which collides with her face real quick, and I flinch on her behalf it must have stang because that slap could be heard from outside this classroom. “Belle!” Raquel exclaims, holding her now crimson flushed cheek.

“Belle nothing, you are so fake if I -”

She pauses when the red head comes in between them, clapping. “Trouble in best friend paradise?” She mocks, clearly holding back a laugh. Raquel ignores her and Mirabelle shakes her head at her.

Stepping away from them she laughs, “What did I do?”

Neither of them answer her, Mirabelle fixes her gaze on Raquel, “Why did you say that to Mrs Vanderbilt?”

Raquel shrugs, leaning against her desk. “What we say every time. No wait, why are you guilty were you cheating?”

Mockery that’s what this is, Raquel clearly saw us cheating so why is she playing the fool now? The class murmurs, some still ignoring this squabble like it’s a normal day with these two. Mirabelle shakes her head at Raquel, “I don’t want you talking to me or visiting me, not that you ever came to hangout with me.” Mirabelle snorts.

Raquel straightens, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, don’t think I haven’t noticed you only like coming over to my house so you can eye fuck my brothers.” Mirabelle divulges, walking back to her seat.

Okay plot twist, This is the queen B of the class and Raquel is the friend that wants to be like her.

The rest of the day went by really fast. I ate lunch with Mikel and his friends. They were nice. I would not mind being in their class.

After lunch we had two classes and a free period. Everyone was making noise so I decided to find the library. I borrowed a novel from there and went to the bathroom before heading back to class. I was washing my hands when the door opened, I quickly put on my glasses, Arielle calls them my disguise and she couldn’t be more right.

After registering who it is, I grab my book to leave but Raquel blocks my way. “Not so fast four eyes, where do you think you’re going?”

I point to the door, “Umm I -I..I was…”

“You, you what stammerer?”

“To go.” I manage to say it without stuttering. I’m out numbered.

Looking over her shoulder to her friends, she smirks. “Vee, Nina. Help me teach the stammerer a lesson I do not like people stepping on my shoes gargoyle…” Her head turns back to me, “Oh wait you thought I forgot? ” She laughs, backing me into a corner while her little blue blood shifter friends laugh at me.

“My Mikel shouted at me because of you and you embarrassed me in front of everyone.” She says taking my glasses off my face and stepping on them.

Her friend shrugs, “She made you look like a fool.” She giggles, blowing her freshly painted pink nails.” Pink is an overrated color if you ask me.

Raquel snatches my book from me, maintaining eye contact. “And on top of it my best friend is angry. That’s not your fault but you’re going to pay for it.” And there goes my novel, she tosses it in the toilet. Brat. Tee would have fun with this one and so would the old Camilla.

“It is almost time for history, let’s just finish her here’s the razor, should we shave her head?” Her other friend beams.

“No!” I cry out, making them laugh even harder.

Is this amusing for them? Making me cry at their mercy just because they can.

Raquel’s hand collides with my face hard, harder than Mirabelle slapped her earlier and I cry out louder.

“Shut up!” She warns, bringing her finger to her lips and I nod, muffling my cries.

She too nods smiling. She tugs at my hair pulling it out of the bun it’s in. I feel my head consumed by heat followed by pain and I realize she hit my head on the wall.

Her friends are laughing, my ears are ringing, my vision is clouded by tears. I can hear her friend screaming at her as the other pours a bucket of water on my head. The next thing I hear is the sound of fabric ripping, my fabric, my skirt and they’re gone.

When the cleaning lady opens the bathroom door a few minutes later, I’m shivering and crying, cold to the bone in the corner of a highschool bathroom.

This is not how I wanted my first day to go, what did I do to Raquel? Why does this always happen to me? Why don’t people like me? They take one look st me and decide let’s not fuck with her she’s ugly annoying and must be bullied? Am I really that cursed that nobody wants me around them, my presence itself triggers anger in them.

The cleaning lady takes a look at me and then the entire bathroom. “My goodness you kids are always Messing up the bathroom like this.” She snaps, “Wait are you crying? Oh this is why I don’t have kid… err go to the teacher’s or the principal's office she’s the babysitter not me.” She says ushering me out.