Being Paige McCullers is not easy, and lately it's becoming a nightmare. I'm just an ordinary girl who lives in Rosewood and that has a very demanding father who is obsessed with my grades and my swimming. And I shouldn't forget that I have no friends, so I am used to bear my burdens alone. Maybe this is reason why I'm stronger, because I have noticed my personality has drastically changed in very little time. I know, my life it's pretty sad, but to make things even worse, my life is hell since I joined the swimming team and well… It all started when Emily Fields entered into my pathetic life and I started to have feelings that my father would consider disgusting. It had never occurred to me that maybe I am a les…
"God, I can't even say the word," I think to myself.
It isn't something new, I mean, I've dated some guys, and being with them doesn't feel great, but at first I didn't think that maybe I didn't like to date boys because I like girls, not until I saw Emily for the first time. I had noticed her in the halls, but it wasn't until my first practice in the swimming team that I felt my heart instantly stopped when she smiled at me. Anyway, it doesn't matter, I guess I have to hide my feelings and try to be a decent human being. I hope this is a phase, maybe I find her very fascinating because she has a great life and she's always anchoring the meets of our team. Beyond this, there's a girl in school who is a total bitch. Her name is Alison and she's always insulting people and making up cruel nicknames. Besides, she's Emily's friend, along with other three girls who complete her entourage. I don't understand why Emily is even talking to that bitch, because she's just the opposite, Emily's a very nice and understanding girl and Alison is a stupid bully who doesn't get tired up of teasing everyone in high school. I know she bullies almost half of the school. Some of the names I can come up with are Mona and Lucas, who have to put up with her bullshit everyday. When she knows that he has achieved her goal of ruining her victim's life, she moves on and chooses another victim to continue with her torture. Teachers don't do anything about it, and it's really frustrating to see an adult who is supposed to be devoted to our education to ignore this heinous attitude.
"Hey, you, Frodo!" I hear Mona saying with her annoying voice. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, loser," she keeps insulting.
I am looking for my practice bag and I turn around because even if I have never spoken with her maybe she's referring to me. I hope that's not the case, because I don't want to be her next victim, my life is shitty enough the way it is, so I don't want to have another problem in my long list of misfortunes.
"What did I do to you to treat me like this?" I hear Mona saying, not raising her voice but obviously tired of her.
"I don't want to see your stupid face everyday, Frodo! You need to change your locker, so go to the principal's office and tell him that. You have till tomorrow or there will be consequences, dwarf," she shouts at her.
I can't stand her, I won't have her talking like that, at least not in front of me. I am not a coward, well, maybe I am, but I won't be a coward in front of her. I don't have much to lose, so I am not afraid of her arrogance.
"What is wrong with you? She didn't say anything. Why don't you shut up?" I tell her angrily.
"Wow! Who are you? Are you her lawyer? Do you know who I am?" She asks me with her sarcastic tone of voice.
"Yeah, I know who you are. You are the girl who torments every student in this school because you obviously have a mental disorder or some bigger problem. What the hell is your problem?" I add.
"You don't know who you're talking to. I didn't know who you were until now, but you will regret your words, that I can assure you, no neck," She tells me staring at me defiantly.
Maybe I should have not said a word, but I couldn't stand seeing her tear another person, I don't want her to find another weak target and ruin his/her life. She loves the leadership and she has a manipulative nature, but someone has to stop her nonsense. She walks away looking at me, but I don't look away, I don't want her to think I am this weak person that she can easily bully. Someone has to take a stand and fight her before she thinks she is invincible.
"Are you okay?" I ask Mona.
"Yeah, I am fine, I am used to hearing her insults, so I don't care," she answers, staring at the floor shyly.
"You don't have to stand her humiliations, every day. You should stand up to her, you have to take care of the matter, or you'll end up with several personality problems. I know it's not easy, but I am trying to help you," I add.
"I know I should do something about it, but I have no strength and courage left. I hope she doesn't retaliate against you, she loves finding new victims," she says very preoccupied.
She is terrified, maybe I have underestimated Alison and her schemes, but I am not afraid, not a single bit. I know how to face bullies, I am not a violent person, but I know how to defend myself, even if right now I am not emotionally strong enough. I try to forget this nasty incident, I grab my bag and I make my way to the natatorium. This is my second week in the team, and I love being in it, not just because of the swimming, I obviously love being with Emily, even if it's only 2 minutes.
"Hey, Paige!" I hear her saying, with a wide smile in her face. "How are you? Are you ready for your second week of practice?" She asks me.
"Yeah, I am ready, I know I am not gonna beat you, though. You are unbeatable, Fields," I tell her smiling.
"Well, I have been observing you this last week and I can guarantee your swimming has improved notably. In no time I will have to make an effort to be the anchor in meets," she says nicely.
"Observing me? Really? Don't get excited, Paige, she's talking about your swimming, silly," I think to myself.
"Thank you. My father is always telling me that I have to improve my breathing, but he only sees my defects, so I don't know about that," I add.
"You have no flaws, Paige," she insists smiling.
"Did she just paid me a compliment? How fucking great is that?" I think to myself.
I can feel I am blushing and my heart is racing, but I try to improvise.
"Thank you. Is it hot in here, right? My body needs some swimming," I say laughing.
Emily's POV
Practice was really good, I needed to let off some steam and it really worked. The new girl in the swimming team seems nice, and she is a hell of a swimmer, she just needs to keep fit and practice a lot of hours. I am really happy she's joined us, because we needed another strong swimmer to win more meets, because the Coach is not satisfied with our latest meets. Ben is waiting for me outside the locker room. I am not in the mood to speak with him, lately he's been such a jerk, he's like obsessed with sex and she wants us to take the next step. I keep on telling him that I am not ready, but I don't think I will ever be prepared to sleep with him. I honestly don't know why I am dating him, because I don't find him attractive, but I prefer not to think about that because Alison is my friend and I don't like girls. Lately I've been having unusual feelings, like I can not avoid looking at girls and I don't find boys interesting at all. In fact, when I see Alison I feel butterflies in my stomach, but I hope this is not happening to me, I prefer to have an ordinary life, no drama involved.
"Hey, gorgeous! Do you want to grab a coffee? Or maybe we could go home, my folks are out of town," He says grinning.
"I am meeting my friends, so, maybe we can meet tomorrow." I add.
"You are always with your stupid friends or swimming. It seems that you don't want to spend time with me, Emily," he says angrily.
"Ben, I am not in the mood to do this, so leave me alone," I tell him while I walk away.
When I open the door I see my friends are sitting in the usual table.
"Hey, guys".
"Hi, Em," Aria, Hanna and Spencer say.
Alison is there, but she doesn't mutter a word. Sometimes I wonder why I have these feelings for her, because most part of the day she's a total bitch. But she's a magnet or some kind of power, because when I am alone with her she can be adorable. It's like she has multiple personalities depending on who she is with and if there's more people around her, like she feels a certain obligation to play a role. When we are alone she can be the more attentive person in the world.
"Are you okay, Ali?" I ask her nicely.
"It's okay. I was thinking about this girl I had a fight with. Do you know Mona? She's that stupid girl who doesn't speak and who is always staring at me. Well, she was blocking my locker so I told her to get the fuck out, and this girl defended her, like she was her mother. It was pathetic! I hadn't noticed her until today, but I would say she has confronted the wrong person," Alison says furiously.
I don't know who that girl is, but if I was her I would apologize, because Alison is gonna ruin her life with her nicknames, public humiliations and evil plans.
"Who is this girl you are talking about?" Hanna asks.
"I think her name is Paige, but I don't know her surname," Alison says frowning.
"McCullers?" Spencer asks with a surprised expression.
"Yeah, it could be, but I am not sure. She's a tall girl with no neck. Stupid bitch!" Alison shouts.
"Well, I know her," Spencer adds. "She was in the hockey team, she's tough, she likes to win, I can assure you that," Spencer says raising her eyebrows.
"Okay, I know her too. She's in my History class. She seems quiet and shy, I always see her wandering the halls alone," Aria says with a sad face expression.
"Don't feel sorry for her, she's an asshole," Alison says.
"I know her too, she's nice. Maybe the girl you spoke to isn't Paige. It's impossible we are talking about the same person," I say nicely.
"Are you fucking high? No neck? I'm pretty sure her name is Paige. Is there any other Paige in the school?" Alison asks.
"I don't think so, we are talking about the same girl, but we obviously have different opinions about her," Hanna says grinning.
"We'll see who wins this battle," Alison says with that evil look that I don't like about her.
I will warn Paige about Alison, she shouldn't mess with her or there will be fatal consequences in her life. This is the Alison that I don't like, but I can't help to like her when she's "the adorable Alison".
Paige's POV
Finally it's time to go home, and I really appreciate it because my day was not very good. Well, the only good thing that happened today was talking to Emily and seeing her beautiful smile. And I can't forget that the perfect girl told me that I was flawless. I mean, I can't express how happy I am right now just because she said that. I think she is the only reason why I go to school not feeling like shit, everything else is meaningless for me. My mom will be here soon, because today I didn't come to school by bike like I always do.
"Listen to me, weirdo," I hear someone shouting. "Yeah, I am talking to you, no neck," she says.
I turn around and I see her stupid face. I decide not to say anything, I am gonna ignore her, that's the best thing I can do right now. I don't want to confront her again, I'm really tired.
"Stay away from my girl, freak! I don't wan't to see you talking to her. Understood?" She yells at me.
"Her girl? Is she talking about Emily?" I think to myself.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone, please," I tell her.
"Don't talk to her, don't look at her, don't do anything without my permission," she says defiantly and raising her finger.
"Whatever," I say.
I turn my back on her, I think ignoring her is my best option.
"Bitch!" She yells from the distance while she walks away.
I don't know why she's mentioning Emily. Does she know I like her? Maybe Emily defended me and that's why she's so pissed off. Well, maybe I am imagining things I would really like to happen in real life, but I am glad I stopped her from harassing Mona today. I know that Alison is gonna torture me but I think I can handle her, I can be a bitch if I want to. And she's insane if she thinks that I am going to stop talking to Emily, because she's the reason why I keep smiling even if right now my life is a total disaster.
