Chapter Five

Paulina found the character education club to be a bit tedious, to say the least.

She was used to spending her after school time with her friends, whether it was catching up with Dash and Star or being goofy with the other girls at cheer practice. She honestly thought that doing anything else would be better than what she was currently doing, which was listening to Ms. Castillo drone on about the topic of the day, which was apparently bullying.

"Depression and social anxiety is often a direct result of bullying." The woman's eyes flickered to the classroom clock for a second before she began to slowly pace to her left. "Picking on someone because of their appearance is the most common sign of bullying. If a person can't change something about the way they look in ten seconds, don't you ever point it out to them."

Paulina crossed her arms and glanced over at Sam, eyeing her as she slid her hand through her hair and shifted the direction that her side part fell in. She actually thought that Sam was a pretty girl and would be even prettier if she wore lighter colors and different clothing, but there was no way she was ever going to voice that opinion.

Sure, she did pick on her often for her appearance, but she thought that she mostly pointed out things that could be fixed. Probably not in ten seconds, but definitely in a day, whereas Sam constantly pointed out the fact that she was only flawless when she wore pounds of makeup. At first, she just dismissed it as jealousy, but those snippy little remarks slowly started to get to her.

"Appearance isn't always just facial-wise. Teasing someone for the way they dress is also a form of bullying. Attacking someone by hitting them or yelling at them is another form, both physical and verbal." Ms. Castillo stopped pacing and raised her brows, facing her group of students. "I want you each to tell me the meanest thing someone has said about you."

A few hands shot up, but she skipped over all of them and pointed at Paulina, who perked up a bit. "Take a crack at it, Paulina."

The cheerleader clasped her hands together for a second and drew a deep breath. "I got my nails done for my birthday one day and it was the first time I got gel over a regular manicure. I thought my nails were so cute, but then my best friend told me that the one on my thumb looked more uneven than the rest."

Nobody responded, but almost everyone chuckled quietly amongst themselves. Paulina frowned in return, but Sam shook her head and rolled her eyes. "She said state the meanest thing that was said about you, not tell us your top nail horror story."

Paulina twisted her mouth into a scowl and glared at her. "Then why don't you go next?"

"Interesting idea." Ms. Castillo seemed eager as she nodded her head at Sam, whose eyebrows bounced once the woman motioned towards her. "Samantha, is it?"

"Sam."

"Sam," the woman corrected politely. "Why don't you share the meanest thing that someone has ever said about you?"

Sam's shoulders rose and fell nonchalantly. "I mean, I don't really care about what people have to say about me."

Ms. Castillo smiled, though it looked a bit forced to Paulina. "That can't be true." She rolled her head to the left and clicked her tongue. "I was informed by Principal Ishiyama that you and Paulina were both involved in a physical altercation on Monday. Something had to have been said that upset you enough to become physical with her."

"Nothing was said, but plenty was done. She kept throwing eraser chunks at me and when I asked her to stop, she got in my face and provoked a fight by continuously pushing me." Sam extended her forefinger towards Paulina and furrowed her brows. "This girl has been picking on me nonstop since we were Freshmen."

A young girl who looked no older than sixteen raised her hand a bit. "Then surely she's said something mean about you that really stuck with you. I know you have your walls up and you're tough both inside and out, but you're still human, and humans feel emotions."

Paulina's gaze traveled towards Sam, who had looked over at her as well. Instead of swiftly breaking eye contact, both girls just stared at each other for several seconds before Sam looked away. "I'm fairly certain that she's said a lot of mean things to some of you in here as well, and I'm starting to think it's because she's insecure about herself."

And immediately, Paulina was on the defensive. "I have never once said anything about anyone in here but you, and for the record, I'm pretty damn happy with myself. I'm a queen and there's nothing wrong with being confident because at the end of the day, I'll always have myself."

"You can label yourself a queen all you want, but you've stepped on so many girls to get to where you are now that they've become the throne that you sit on." Sam leaned upright in her seat and sharpened her tone. "If you constantly have to tear down the next person to feel better about yourself, then maybe you're picking the wrong confidence to stand on."

"Oh, and you're innocent?" Paulina twisted her lower body to the side so that she was now fully facing Sam and then she narrowed her eyes into slits. "You prance around here thinking you're superior and that you're on top of everybody just because you're Danny Phantom's girlfriend."

Sam flinched and snapped her fingers. "I don't do that! I've never done that." Paulina swallowed hard and waved off her reply. "I don't think I'm better than anybody else, but the way you act makes it quite clear that you think you're on top of everyone. Paulina, you're not better than me and I'm not better than you, but you're so spoiled that you can't even be humble for a second."

Ms. Castillo finally decided to intervene after silently observing the two of them go back and forth with each other. "Okay, ladies, that's enough." She inhaled and exhaled sharply before standing up straight. "We're all going to play a little game of Simon Says, but this one is a little different. Can everyone please stand up and form a circle for me?"

Paulina's eyes slid up to the clock, which read four-twenty. She sighed in relief; only forty minutes left until she was able to go home. She rose from her seat and moved into the circle her group was already forming, glaring at a girl who had accidentally bumped into her.

The same young girl who addressed Sam earlier stood in the center of the circle with a bright smile playing on her lips. She was probably the club's assistant, which would explain why she was trying to tap into the Goth earlier. "Everyone who likes cats, clap your hands twice," she instructed.

Paulina loved cats, so of course she clapped her hands twice. She was surprised, however, when she saw Sam roll her eyes and clap her hands as well. She didn't exactly strike her as a dog person, but she didn't think the girl was a cat person either. In her opinion, she seemed more like a parrot person.

"Everyone who likes music, put your right hand on your head," the girl continued. She, too, put her right hand on top of her head and smiled when everyone in the room mirrored her action. "If you play a sport, put your left hand on top of your head."

Paulina considered cheerleading a sport. Hell, it was definitely more than a workout to her, so she put her left hand on top of her head. Sam also placed her left hand on top of her head, which left Paulina wondering what sport she could've possibly played. She thought that things like track or soccer were more in her range.

After a few more minutes of directions and laughter, the game ended, and the young girl walked right up to Paulina and smiled almost sadly. "It's not all about a person's appearance, you know," she said quietly as everyone else started conversing with each other. "The person you pick on could have more in common with you than your own friends."

As the girl walked away, Paulina raised her right hand to her chin and blankly stared after her. She didn't understand what that meant at first until she realized that she and Sam had almost all the same answers throughout the entire game.