iv. envy
She shouldn't hate Cho.
Oh no, no, she doesn't hate her. They're best friends.
She's jealous. Oh Lord, she's jealous.
Cho, it seems, is friendlier, sweeter, more innocent, and yet flirtier. And she's working her charms on him.
Marietta knows Cho deserves the best, but can't the best be someone she hasn't fancied for three years?
Can't the best, for once, be someone she doesn't care about?
Can't the best, for once in Cho's sixteen years, be someone obvious? Sexy? Intense?
Not, she thinks to herself quickly, that Michael isn't sexy. Oh no, quite the contrary.
But sweet bloody Merlin! Cho has thrown herself all over him, and he doesn't seem to mind. Dinner seems to be inching by, with Marietta awkwardly hanging behind Cho and eating very little. She can't stomach it.
Cho flips her hair and laughs, touches his arm, whispers in his ear. She's so pretty, so perfect, that of course he'd like her. Marietta is a plain, curly-haired, red-faced girl who betrayed the DA. Michael should despise her.
He probably does.