FIVE
They always tease her. They gather in groups and make snide remarks as she walks past the courtyard and into the school building. When she opens her locker to place her gym shoes inside, she finds the outside scribbled with words written by a red marker.
Freak.
Know it all bitch.
Go back home and suck your textbooks.
She slams the locker door shut, and breaks the plastic door handle. She is screaming in the inside, but the perfect child doesn't scream. The perfect child has to lock all her emotions in a black box, and throw the key away.
She goes into the classroom with her mismatched socks, and shoes on the wrong side of her feet. Her hair is disarray, and her fingernails are chipped. The teacher asks her what is wrong, but she shakes her head and looks blankly at her notebook in front of her.
Nothing is wrong when you're supposed to be perfect.