From October to December, my only focus was on one thing, passing Biology. I don't know how it happened, but I was constantly lost and confused. I think part of it was that I just didn't care. But obviously that wasn't good enough for my parents. They told me I had to raise my grade to a B or face grounding until after Winter Break. I honestly considered being grounded. I figured it would be easier to avoid everyone around me. To finally be truly alone. But it didn't quite seem worth it. So I worked harder, and all that was left, was to pass the mid-term exam.
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"You do realize this is Algebra class, right?" asked Phoebus poking me with his pencil to get my attention.
"Really? Hadn't noticed," I replied sarcastically.
"Then what's with the biology textbook?" he asked curiously.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I need to pass this final to get a B in the class," I explained to him. He silently went back to doing his own work until the bell rang. I never let my eyes look away from the textbook as I walked down the halls to my next class period. It was hard to concentrate though due to the fact our school was holding their annual basketball tournament in the gym. All the crowds cheering and shoes squeaking, I walked even faster to Drama, determined to get to a quieter place. Luckily, our teacher informed us we would be having a study hall since we didn't have a final in this class. After a few minutes, I decided I needed a break. I looked up at Quasi, Cindy, and Phoebus all talking with each other. I watched as they joked and laughed all together. I didn't know why, but all the sudden I got sad. Observing their conversation made me upset for no reason. Was it because they were such good friends? Was it because they had similar interest? I couldn't figure it out.
"Hey, I was wondering what you got on number 24 on the algebra review," Ariel asked taking a seat next to me. "Hey, Essie? Esmeralda!?"
"What?" I exclaimed finally acknowledging her.
"You okay?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah," I smiled. "Yeah. Just got lost in thought, I guess."
"Oh okay," she responded. She then began rambling on about the Algebra review while I continued to think. Why did everyone always feel the need to ask if I was okay. Did I just come off as the kind of person who always needed to be checked on? Did there always have to be a reason as to why I was staring into space? Couldn't I let my mind wander without having to be questioned? I secretly kept these thoughts to myself. If I didn't, that word 'okay' wouldn't be a very great alibi anymore.
After Drama class, I decided I needed to try to relax more. Try to turn this bad day into a good one. I noticed I had a few dollar bills in my wallet and decided to buy some chips. Maybe I was a little hungry, and it would help me calm down. I reached my next class and took my seat in the back next to Ariel. I placed the bag of chips on my desk and grabbed the homework from the previous night. I walked over to the bin to turn it in as my teacher informed us we'd be going to watch the basketball tournament for class. Everyone was super excited, even me. I went back over to my desk and noticed my chips had disappeared. I looked in my backpack to reassure I took them out. I checked the sides of my desk to see if they had fallen off. I asked Ariel if she saw anyone take them or hide them, to which she replied no. I couldn't believe it. Once I thought my day was getting better, it went straight back to hell. I was beyond pissed. I knew someone must have taken them as a joke, but it wasn't funny. Not even close. I walked up to my teacher, Mr. Hades and informed him of what had happened.
"Alright, alright," He started getting the class' attention. "Who took Esmeralda's chips?"
"What?" asked Robin. "Nobody."
"Well, she seems to think someone took them," Mr. Hades explained.
"Maybe you just ate them and forgot," claimed Drizella from across the room.
"No, I left them on my desk, stood up to turn in my homework, came back, and they were gone," I explained to everyone.
"What's the big deal," cried Gaston. "It's just a bag of chips."
"Alright, calm down everyone," Mr. Hades announced. "Just who ever took them, return them, easy as that." Everyone all at once looked around at each other, trying to figure out who took them.
"See, no one took them," claimed Robin. "She just forgot she ate them."
"No I didn't!" I screamed. "If I had I wouldn't be hungry right now."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," continued Gaston. "Let's just go to the game now."
"No, I don't think so," exclaimed Mr. Hades. "See it would have been easier for everyone if the person came forward right away, but now they seem to be hiding. Which means this is more than someone stealing, now they're lying. So until who ever took them confesses, no one is going to the game."
"What?" exclaimed the whole class in unison. I don't know why this was so hard. If it was just a bag of chips like they all claimed, then why can't the person come clean? I went and sat down at my seat waiting for the culprit to admit to their crime. Sure, I could've easily forgotten about the chips. They were only 50 cents. But they were the only thing that was going to make my day better and I couldn't believe someone had taken that from me.
After a few minutes of silence, Gaston exclaimed, "Maybe it was Charlotte. She's sitting right in front of her, she could've easily taken them."
"Excuse me?" cried Charlotte from in front of me. "It wasn't me. I didn't take them."
"Oh please," Gaston scoffed. "You're constantly pulling these type of jokes. Just confess so we can go to the game."
"Look I want to go to the game just as much as y'all do, but I didn't take them," she argued. The debate continued with more people siding with Gaston and eventually I was even convinced Charlotte took them. Who else could it be?
Sadly, class ended and still no one confessed. No one admitted to taking my chips, and I was still pissed. The rest of my day was as shitty as before, and I couldn't help but avoid everyone. Even my friends. Finally, the bell rang announcing school was over for the day and I started heading out to get on my bus.
"Essie, wait up!" cried Ariel. I wanted to keep walking, but I'd been ignoring everyone all day. Plus, she would've just sat next to me on the bus so I might as well give in now.
"Hey, Ariel. What's up?" I asked as she caught up to me.
"I have to tell you something," she explained catching her breath.
"Okay. What?" I questioned her.
"Don't be mad," she started. "But, I was the one who took your chips." She opened her backpack, took the unopened bag out, and handed them to me.
"What? Why?" I asked getting upset.
"Look, I was just having a little fun," she began explaining. "I was going to tell you after you kept looking for them, but then you went and told Mr. Hades. Everything kept escalating so quickly that I felt like everyone would hate me if I confessed. I know it was stupid, but this is the first time in forever I haven't been seen as the invisible girl in school. I didn't want to go back to that. I'm really sorry." I continued to stare at her and think about what she told me. I was mad, but in the end it wasn't really a big deal.
"Hey, it's okay," I sighed. "I shouldn't have made it such a big deal. I was just a little hungry and was sad my snack was gone." Ariel then laughed and agreed that she would've been super pissed too. I realized sometimes bad days happen, but we can get through them if we don't constantly think about everything going wrong. It took me a while to figure that out, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it. So do you think Esmeralda is jealous of her drama friends closeness? Do you think she overreacted about the chips? Do you think Ariel should've taken them? And lastly, did Esmeralda ever eat them? Let me know in the reviews! All Love:)
