Today was the big day.

It was her first day as a senior in high school, and she...she was all alone. She had no friends anymore…not there anyway. Rajna was a senior last year, and she graduated as valedictorian of her class. They talked as much as they could, but Rajna was busy traveling the world. Her parents gave her an allowance to see all kinds of art and culture before she went to art school. She was in East Asia last time Anima talked to her.

Anima looked at herself in the mirror as she got dressed for the day. She had gained a lot of good weight, and she had cuts on her wrists from...well yeah. Her glow was still there too. It was dimmer then at school since Anima and Tom avoided each other during the summer. No one in her family knew what was happening to her. Somehow she had been able to keep it hidden all summer by using a lot of makeup, undershirts and gauze. Now though, she had to wear a white blouse that was a little tight around the bust. She had gone up from an A cup to a C cup in three months.

Anima ran her fingers through her hair as she adjusted her skirt. Ugly. So, so ugly. She looked like she had a buzz cut, and the hair felt like puppy fuzz to the touch. Sighing, she slid on a pair of black Doc Martens Phina boots and walked downstairs after putting a bow around her neck. It was either that or a tie. Seniors had to distinguish themselves with neck attire apparently. Either way, Anima looked gross. She could practically hear Tom and the others making fun of her when she walked into the school building. Grabbing her car keys, she ran out the door and hid herself in her car. It was like a portable sanctuary. As she drove, Anima could feel her anxiety mounting. She would have to go to school, and she would have to face Tom alone. She would have no help.

As soon as she parked, she could feel the warm soft tingling under her skin and in her chest. It was getting brighter too. That's when she saw him. Tom was in between the legs of his longtime girlfriend, Holly. He was making out with her and pulling her close, practically humping her. Why did it hurt so much to watch him do that? She'd seen him do stuff like that before. It was like a physical ache in her bones. Why did she want that? Anima looked away and sighed tiredly. She already hated her school, but now she just had even more reasons to hate her life in general. As soon as she stepped out of the car, Tom looked her way and then he looked down at his chest with a petulant glare. Anima walked by as quickly as possible and went to her usual locker.

As she was getting her things, she heard someone walking up to her. It was Holly…and Tom. Holly had pretty tan skin and brown hair. She looked so pretty…so sensual. Anima wished she could only look so beautiful. Holly glared at her as they went to pass her, but then Tom steered himself around. A splash of water hit Anima in the back. Everyone started laughing.

Then Tom saw her black lace bra strap. He reached forward and made it pop painfully against her skin. "I'm pretty sure those aren't school appropriate. You shagging the Dean or what?"

"N-No, I-""Hey, you're glowing," Martin said as he walked up. Everyone started closing in on her like vultures. What did they want? Why wouldn't they leave her alone?! "So who's the poor bastard, eh?"

"I think it's-"

"Move along, students," a teacher said as she stepped through the crowd of kids to get to the middle of it. "There's nothing to see here."

Anima tried to escape amongst the group of students while the teacher had her back to her. She really did. She didn't want to deal with any more people that day than she had to. The teacher stopped her though, and Anima felt her stomach drop down into her toes as soon as that manicured hand touched her dry shoulder.

"Ms. Ruperre, I'm afraid you'll have to pay for all those books you've ruined. They're school property, you know."

"But it wasn't-"

"You're the one in possession of them, young lady, so you must pay the cost. Now, go to the office and they'll write you a bill and requisition you new books."

"But-"

"Ms. Ruperre, I will not tell you again. Now go."

Anima locked her jaw. "Yes, ma'am."

As Anima walked down the hall, she saw Tom look at her with a smug grin.

Anima wanted to crawl into a hole and die. What made it worse was that everyone was snickering at her or talking about her as she passed. She could practically hear the names they were calling her, and it would get worse before it got better. Knowing her luck, it would never get better. The books Tom ruined would probably cost a fortune. Her mom would be so pissed when she found out. Then her and her dad would want to know what was going on, and then they'd want to solve the problem for her. They would demand to talk to somebody. No, no, no.

Anima could feel the anxiety slowly bubbling up in her like a ticking time bomb. When she got to the office, she puked in a nearby trashcan. The faculty looked at her like she was the devil himself by the time she was done. Was it a sin to be so terrified? What had she done to deserve any of this? Why would no one take her side or help her? They probably thought she deserved it. They thought she was a pathetic weakling, and she needed to fend for herself like a good girl. Anima just wanted to curl up and die. Maybe she could just rot away under a rock somewhere. She'd be better off that way.