I felt the word she meant to speak seep underneath my skin like a knife. It was a lie, yet a word that I never forgot from that day forward.

“You are a – “

She walked away looking smug, though she didn’t actually say it. I knew what it was. It was the word of an evil soul that I wouldn’t dare say. To call her a friend was a foolish curse.

The rumor she made was something that would make a grown man cry. It was a lie that kept me shielded from the light for weeks on end.
- - -


Crouched down in a bathroom stall on the third floor, I watched them wave wands over their face to banish acne and add color. I heard Liza Rams whisper something to Carrie Simon.

“Did she really do it?”

Kiki Karnes looked up, holding a flat iron. “Do what?”

Carrie smiled an evil smile. “Oh believe me. She totally did it.”

I backed up further, hoping they wouldn’t catch a glimpse of my shoes. I heard them laugh as they left the bathroom. I unlocked the stall and slowly crept out. Liza was standing in the doorway staring at me. Then, without a word she slipped out.
- - -


I saw Simi’s boyfriend Thatcher last summer at the public pool, and of course he was that popular jerk that every girl just gravitated to. Simi was just another girl sucked into his web.

Thatcher walked right up to me and gave a broad smile that most girls would’ve fallen for. I simply backed away slowly; Thatcher was a bit intimidating.

Simi saw me and narrowed her green eyes so they made a laser creep inside of me. I just smiled warily as she grabbed his hand and pulled him farther away from me.

I shrugged it off as usual and followed her, which became the biggest mistake of my life.
- - -


Simi saw me at lunch outside of the main door and, knowing there was a big crowd, walked right up to me.

“Stay away from my boyfriend, you – “

She didn’t get a chance to say the word that was always unspoken. I saw Simi’s knees buckle as she collapsed to the floor. Her hand was to her chin, covered in blood. A crowd surrounded as I escaped the ugly lie, as I’d tried so many times before.