Revenge

eBook First Published in 2013 by Autharium Publishing, London

Copyright © Rita Cain 2013

The moral right of Rita Cain to be asserted as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All Rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

British Library Cataloguing-in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library

ISBN: 9781780257013

Revenge was written to explore what it’s like to be a girl in high school. It isn’t easy. Girls do horrible things to each other just because they can. They treat each other poorly, putting others down. Such treatment is damaging to the soul, body and mind. When is enough, enough? However, girls are not the only people to blame for such behavior. Society seems to have taught people how to harm others or oneself. It is not uncommon for a person to get bullied or tortured by others. Still that does not make the negativity correct. This story explores how people can react to being put down. Some may start to put themselves down believing that they are not good enough. Others may try to change themselves in an attempt to fit better into society’s mold. And yes, some people might go as far as seeking revenge.

Ally was what one would consider the perfect girl. She was a three season athlete who played field hockey, basket-ball and lacrosse. She had stellar grades, which made her top five in her class. She was also drop dead gorgeous. She had long glossy blond hair that cascaded down her shoulders. She was sun kissed and had vivid blue eyes. All in all, between the combination of her looks and talents, she was one of the most popular girls in school.

Ally liked being one of the most popular girls in school. Popularity was a contest and like all contests, Ally felt the need to win. For Ally, high school was her kingdom and she ruled it however she saw fit.

Ally attended school at Richmond Academy, the most pristine school in all of Virginia. Although, there was tuition to attend Richmond Academy, even people that Ally considered complete losers could afford it. Richmond Academy was nestled between a Catholic Church and The Pyramid Mall, the local teen hotspot.

Today seemed like it was going to be a normal day for Ally and her crew, Jessica and Christina. They chatted about the latest runway designs and gossiped about Ally’s only enemy, Gabriella. Their chatting was going perfectly fine until someone brought up Brett, Ally’s boyfriend.

“Ally, I don’t know why you’re even with Brett anymore...,” Christina said.

Sighing, Ally replied. “Me either.”

“He’s just so lame!,” Christina said. “I mean even his name says loser written all over it!” Ally glanced of at Jessica who was playing with chestnut hair and avoiding eye contact.

“What do you think?” Ally asked Jessica.

Jessica thought for a moment then replied, “I don’t know, Ally. I mean you are the prettiest girl in school. If you were to dump Brett, you could easily find a new boyfriend.”

“So true. I’m the package deal! So it’s decided, I will break up with Brett and find a more fitting guy for my status,” Ally proclaimed. On that note, all the girls rose from the table they had been sitting at. They blew kisses at each other and promised to meet up later for low-fat yogurt smoothies at Smoothie Shack.

***

Ally was walking down the hallway to English when she saw just the boy she wanted to see, Brett. She sped up, head held high with a smile of utter pleasure plastered on her face.

Seeing Ally, Brett said, “Hey, baby! How’s my girl doing today?” Then Brett leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Stepping back, Ally said coolly, “Brett, we need to talk.”

Looking somewhat confused, Brett responded, “All right, let’s talk.”

“Brett, I don’t think we’re going to work out.”

“What do you mean we’re not going to work out? Just last week you said that I’m the best thing that has ever happened to you.”

“Well, I’m sorry but things change.”

“Ally, is there another guy?”

“Not yet! But there’s bound to be!”

“Ally why? Please don’t be like that.”

“This is goodbye, Brett! Ciao!”

Ally turned away from Brett, tossing her straight glossy hair over shoulder. When she turned she left Brett with the scent of almond milk and honey.

Ally marched away from Brett and to her English class. Her head was held high and she could not help but smirk at how amazing she was.

Gabriella was a bright girl who excelled in every class she had ever taken at Richmond Academy. She was funny and caring but she was also very shy. Gabriella didn’t really make friends. She was always busy studying and that took away from her social life. In fact, she was so deprived from a social life; she didn’t even have any social networking accounts.

Gabriella had only one friend in school, a boy named Wesley. Wesley was fairly smart, somewhat popular and athletic. He dressed like a hipster, always trying on things like glasses, straight-legged jeans and suspenders. Wesley and Gabriella were so different that it was like night and day. The only reason that Gabriella was friends with Wesley was because they were neighbors and grew up together.

Gabriella walked the halls of Richmond Academy almost as if she were in shame. She was careful not to make eye contact with others by lowering her eyes to the ground and letting her jet black hair cover her face. She walked like this because she liked having a wall away from everyone. If she went unnoticed, no one would try and hurt her. There would be no drama from her to deal with because she was invisible.

Gabriella tried to go on unnoticed to her Chemistry class when an arm grabbed her. Gabriella gasped.

Laughing, Wesley said, “What? Did I scare you?!”

Gabriella slowly looked up, “Yes, yes you did,” she replied quietly.

“Gab, you got to ease up around here! You’re so amazing! Why don’t you let anyone else see that?” Wesley said.

“I’m not,” she stuttered. “I’m not amazing at all! I’m just some lonely girl with books as her friends.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way! You could show the real you!”

“No one would like it. No one. I’m not even sure if I like it!”

“But Gab, you never know unless you try!”

“And who are you to talk anyway? Do you see how you dress? You’re wearing glasses and you have perfect vision! That doesn’t make any sense!”

“They’re hip, Gabriella!”

“I have to go...”

“But Gabs, wait! Wait!”

She ignored him. She hurried herself to Chemistry class because that’s what’s important. Her grades. Wesley could wait; he was being stupid anyway. Gabriella believed that no one would like the real and boring her. She wasn’t even sure if she liked herself.

Ally stepped out of a stretch limo with Jessica and Christina by her side. It was extremely important that her crew hung close to her after her break up with Brett. Break-ups were devastating and Ally needed support from her girls.

Earlier in the day, the girls had gone dress shopping to find the perfect outfit for tonight’s occasion. It was decided that Ally should get this strapless white dress with gold trim they found. The dress glistened in the light and showed off Ally’s natural highlights. For Jessica, they found a one-sleeved dress in aquamarine. It was silk and complimented Jessica’s shape while providing an acceptable contrast to her dirty-blond hair. Christina’s dress was an irresistible emerald green that drew attention to her green eyes. This being said, they were ready to party because they looked fabulous.

Ally led her crew into the mansion, saying “hi!” and “you look adorable!” to people along the way. Naturally, she didn’t care and no one looked as good as her anyway. However, Ally was a firm believer in keeping up appearances, which meant compliments were a must.

Ally scanned the party for a while looking for a hot new beau. She was getting discouraged when Christina pointed out a boy in a far corner. It was Wesley Foreman. He was wearing black dress pants, a teal buttoned-down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, shades and black suspenders.

“Hmm,” Ally said critiquing him carefully, ‘he’s cute in an odd sort of way. He’s a bowler and plays lacrosse. You can’t really count bowling as a sport but lacrosse is good. Huh, he’s in some honor classes. I like this idea.”

“I thought you would,” Christina gushed.

“He’s a good pick!,” Jessica urged.

“Girls, we’ll have to see if he’s as promising as he sounds. In the meantime, challenge accepted. Wesley Foreman, you will be mine,” Ally said. “If you guys would please excuse me, I have a new boy to catch.” She winked.

Ally walked over to the corner that Wesley was chilling in. Her head was held high and filled with her overwhelming belief that the conversation she was about to start would be a total success.

“Hi! I’m Ally,” she said to Wesley.

He looked up slowly from his phone, “um, yeah I know...” He seemed completely uninterested in Ally. Ally felt taken aback but continued on the conversation without missing a beat.

“Oh! Did you? I wasn’t sure if we ever official met and I wanted to introduce myself!”

“Well, that’s nice,” he said sarcastically. “But why are you actually here?”

“Huh?”

“Look, girls like you don’t just waltz on over to a random guy and start talking to them.”

“Oh, sure we do. If the guy is cute!”

“Are you saying that I’m cute?”

“Well, I’m talking to you? Aren’t I, silly?” She smiled, laughing flirtatiously and little touched his shoulder.

“Seriously, if this is a joke, stop it. I already had enough bad luck with one girl today.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, I don’t want to bother you with the story.”

“It wouldn’t bother me. Maybe I can help?”

“Fine. So, I like this girl and well she’s shy. I’m basically her only friend because she’s so social awkward and all she every does is study. She works so hard that it’s no wonder that she has almost no friends. Sometimes I feel like she doesn’t even realize that I’m there. Today, I grabbed her arm and I was going to finally just ask her out. All I wanted to do was just ask her out on a date; the worst thing that could happen was rejection. So after I had gained all the courage to ask her out, she flipped on me when I grabbed her arm. I tried really hard to be cool to her. I told her that she should let people she the real her and that they would like her. When she told me that no one would like the real her, all I could think of is how much I like the real her.”

“Who is this mystery girl? Do I know her?”

“Her name is Gabriella. Gabriella Marcs.”

Ally’s eyebrows narrowed and her face darkened. She quickly recomposed herself and said, “yeah, I’ve heard of her.”

“You have?”

“Oh yes, everyone says that she is super smart! Yet, if she’s so smart maybe how doesn’t she know how much you care about her? Maybe she should see how attractive you are and how kind! She should notice these things if she’s really that smart. I know that I see them.” Then Ally leaned in kissed him on the lips, drawing away from him slowly. He gazed into her eyes and leaned in for another kiss. She stopped him, “Hey, I think I know a better place where we can finish talking.”

Gabriella sat in her room fast at work. She was seated at her wooden desk; her lamp hovered over her Calculus notes which were scattered everywhere. She bent down to study her notes more closely as if she word absorb material better when she her nose was an inch away from the page.