This is the first story I put up on the site. Well, I got nothing else to say
Discworld and all related characters are copyright Terry Pratchett
The sound of approaching students was like an onrushing wave. It roared down hallways, spread throughout classrooms, slid beneath doors. Swiftly expanding until it filled every nook and cranny at The Quirm College For Young Ladies.
Two voices rose above the others, like icebergs riding on the tide. The first, a kind of high pitched, nasally sound that bypassed the ears and pierced straight though the brain, seemed to cut though the din like… like something very sharp cutting something very soft. The other was so loud and threatening that all other noises were forced to politely get off the road and wait on the sidewalk for it to pass. Or else.
"I don't see why you have to do this, Adrianna, God knows it didn't work all the other times you tried" said the piercing voice, screeching like a buzz saw.
"They was just practise," replied the other voice, holding it's nose in the air. "Besides, this time I just know it's going to work, how can it not? I have it down perfectly."
"I don't know… just last week, you tried being a Goth, remember? You wore so much black Grandma called you a 'nasty little devil child' and threw a half brick at your head. And that didn't work, did it?"
"Well, obviously I wasn't meant for that sort of thing, and besides, it was impossible to see behind that much mascara. The point is-"
"And there was last Tuesday, when you joined the church choir. I still don't understand how you can get fired from a choir."
The owners of the two voices emerged from the sea of students, continuing their peculiar conversation as they walked. There was a strange, circular area of empty space surrounding them; as if wherever they were, everyone else was not. The owner of the loud voice was a tall, mousy blonde who had a permanent scowl on her face, the kind of person who is angry all the time, for all the reasons. Her companion was a shorter girl whose large glasses gave the impression that she was some kind of outrageously enlarged insect
They were, technically, best friends. Catalina, the shorter girl, was eying the other warily. Adrianna was well known for her anger, and the fact that lately she had become even angrier than before was worrying.
"I told you, they got the impression that I was somehow causing all the boy's voices to break prematurely. I can't imagine where that idea came from."
Catalina could. She remembered when they were both little, how Adrianna's mother had been telling her own parents what a lovely girl she was… just when the 'sweet little child' had ripped the head off of her teddy bear.
Inside her own head, Adrianna was fuming. Catalina, in a way, was right. Nothing she had tried so far had worked at all. It was so frustrating, watching other people go around all normal, without even trying. That was all she wanted, simply to be like everyone else. So she had started The Quest to Be Normal, which looked as if it were doomed to failure. Early on, she had realised no one actually knew what normal was, and yet other people still managed to be normal all the time. So she had decided to copy them, to try to fit in with different social groups as best she could.
Most people would find this a little illogical, but that wasn't very important.
What was important was that every attempt to fit in that she had made so far had been a complete failure. She could feel her anger boiling to the surface quite violently, almost bursting to be vented in some way. It was as if the world didn't want her to be normal.
But that didn't matter anymore; she would fit in perfectly this time.
"It's going to work, I'll be accepted. I'm sure of it," she said, her arrogant self-confidence fully restored. "I'm going to be a Cool Girl."
There was a lull in conversation as Catalina went strangely silent. Noticing this, she looked around for some to talk about.
"Oh look," she said pointing to the roof, "Black cockatoos. My Grandma says they're evil spirits, sent to this world to cause chaos and destruction. Apparently, they're a sign of failure and woe."
"I know what you mean. The little buggers keep stealing my almonds."
Catalina nodded. "And they make that awful noise, like a cat dying of throat cancer. It wakes you up something horrible in the morning, I can tell you that."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
Having moved on from this profound, meaningful line of conversation, they made their way to class. First period was Geography, much to Adrianna's dismay.
"Oh no, I have to wait outside again. I don't see why Mr Jenson won't let me into his classes."
"Don't you remember the incident with the compass and three lengths of tape? Lola had to have stitches."
"Oh, it wasn't that bad. He's just a crybaby. Anyway, I'll see you after class, Cat."
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself? It's not like there's much to do around here."
"I'll be fine, don't worry." Adrianna made an attempt at smiling. Catalina took an involuntary step backwards. She didn't care about what was acceptable for best friends to do, Adrianna smiling was scary.
After Catalina had gone off to learn with sharp objects deemed Not Safe around Certain Young Ladies, Adrianna sat around fuming about stupid Geography teachers until she saw another girl coming her way.
Instantly identifying her as one of the (other) Cool Girls, she made a beeline for her, unsettling smile instantly back in place. The other girl spotted the smile approaching, and tried to escape, but after trying several locked doors she slumped against the wall in defeat and tried to look small.
"Hi, um…er…Su-no, wait… like, what are you doing? Damn, I forgot her name. In an attempt to rally her forces, she surreptitiously untucked her shirt and turned her proud, straight posture into an uneasy slouch.
"Um, nothing, Adrianna. I have to be…somewhere else right now" said the un-named girl, as she continued to look for escape. "See you later."
She seemed to walk off quite calmly, but Adrianna noticed that as she turned around the corner her slow, deliberate stride suddenly became a frantic sprint
The fuming resumed. Di…um… had obviously rejected her! That meant she wasn't a Cool Girl either. She had failed again.
She wasn't normal.
Just as she was considering a way of venting her anger that involved several heavy objects and an innocent bystander, the bell that signalled the end of class rang, causing another twitch of anger at the sudden noise. Catalina, making her way out of class, saw her friend's obvious anger and quickened her pace, like someone desperate to diffuse a bomb before it blew both their arms off.
"Hi Adrianna!!" She said in her best screeching voice, which was known to shatter bullet proof glass. "How was it?! Not too boring?!"
"Um, er…What?" Said Adrianna, effectively distracted, which was her friend's intention. "Oh, never mind. Let's just go."
As they made their way to the history classroom, a class Adrianna was only aloud into because the pencils generally broke before the skin did, Catalina started up another inane conversation to make sure all traces of murderous intent left the other girl's head.
"I had some of that Tea with Bubbles In yesterday," she said as they navigated several corridors, "The funny thing is, the bubbles were at the bottom."
But Adrianna wasn't listening. She was searching through the throng of students, looking for someone. No, not here. Or over there.
"And they were brown. What kind of bubbles are brown? I didn't dare pop them, because the gas probably smells something awful. Anyway-"
There. The girl. The one who had rejected her, the one who was even now talking to her Cool Girl friends. Being normal without any effort. Adrianna hated her.
Catalina was well versed in her friend's body language. She made one last attempt to contain her rage, "Adrianna? Why don't you just calm down for a second and-"
Adrianna heard her this time, but didn't care. Her mind was on fire. She raised her head and charged…
--
The group had gathered in the principal's office to decide Adrianna's fate, and it was a testament to the principal's powers of organisation that no one stuck out into the hallway.
The group consisted of Adrianna, her parents, Catalina, the un-named girl, her parents, the principal herself, and, strangely, the janitor.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend your daughter is expelled from my school, Mrs Callows," said the principal, a stiff old woman who liked stuffed animals and little diagrams that no one else could understand. "I simply cannot allow her to stay after what she did to…sorry dear, what's your name again?"
In the corner, the janitor made a half hearted attempt at clearing the room of dust. She was an extremely nosy person and liked listening in on other people's conversations. Knowing that anything involving the infamous Adrianna was bound to be interesting, she had made her way into the room under the pretence of 'cleaning'. This seemed to be enough to get her into every room in the building.
"Oh that's okay," said the un-named girl. "Everyone forgets. It's-"
"But surely this sort of thing happens from time to time?" said Adrianna's mother from her prime position in the only seat available. "Teenage hormones and the like?"
The principal just stared at her with a raised eyebrow until she gave up.
Similarly, Catalina was glaring at the un-named girl, as if prompting her to say something.
"Well, it wasn't that bad, really," said the Nameless One, as she cast a nervous glance at Catalina's enlargened, angry eyes. "The bleeding's practically stopped already".
"What she means to say," said Catalina in her lecture voice, which implied that the consequences of interrupting would not be pleasant, "Is that Mrs Callows is right. Stuff like this has happened occasionally, and those concerned weren't expelled. For Adrianna, it was practically normal".
Everyone nodded their heads solemnly.
Including the janitor.
Well, that's about it.