𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖋𝖆𝖍

(3 years later)

"Taking the academic prize for the eighth year in a row...Versailles Mostafah!"

Monotone clapping reverberated through the large hall as I got to my feet and stalked down through the seats to make my way to the stage. When I got there I was handed the prize that I'd held so many times before that it might as well have molded to fit my hand specifically.

All over the silver plack were embedded stamps of my name in the metal, all going back to when I first came to the school and I rubbed my thumb over the space beneath last year's stamp where the final one was going to rest.

I could not wait to get out of this place.

"And last but definitely not least, the pupil who is getting the Diamond Award for most commitments to the most areas in the school...Cherubim Jawahir!"

Biting back a laugh I put my hands together along with the rest of the school to clap for her, as she walked through the steps the claps only got louder and eventually everyone was on their feet clapping for her.

I stepped aside with the three people beside me when she got on stage to allow her to walk past us to get her award. Her thick dark hair was curled perfectly and sat low on her back with a pristine white silk headwrap tied at the top, keeping her hair from getting in her face.

"Congratulations to these hardworking students on their astounding work. I wish you all a great final term as we prepare for our seniors to leave and go off into the world into their own personal endeavors!"

I blinked away the bright flashes of the camera as we all stood next to the principal with our trophies in hand. As soon as it was over he rushed to the cameraman to look at the pictures and we dispersed right after leaving our awards on the table by the stage.

I went to my seat to go and collect my bags, leaving behind the other winners who were congratulating Cher on her win. The winner of the sports award had been a form three girl whose name I'd forgotten who had colorful braces and neon glasses and the winner of the Cultural award was narrowly scooped by Henry Westwood who was the lead in the school play this year that I did not watch.

Just as I was exiting my row my shoulder was bumped harshly and Cher sashayed past me, barely glancing at me as she made her way to leave. "Congrats on your win," She sniffed.

"You too Cherub," I replied making her steps falter slightly but she kept going regardless.

She hated that name, always had since we were kids, and went around practically begging everyone to call her Cher instead. As the years passed however she gained a new group of friends and suddenly the nickname 'Cherry' was on everyone's lips and her last name went from Jawahir to Jawah-here.

I liked to think we had moved on, that what happened in our pasts did not define either of us and that it was okay that we weren't friends anymore.

Cher didn't seem to think so.

Good for her she didn't have to spin her own sob story, everyone around us spun one for her, and boy did she love getting entangled in that web. Suddenly I was the evil bitch who'd used her to follow in my parent's footsteps and she was the innocent victim who'd believed all my lies. I can't even say I lost friends because there were none to lose.

The only one I had was already gone.

You would've thought I was holding her back from meeting new people because the news that she and I were no longer friends hit the streets like crack. She could've hosted interviews for those who wanted to be her new best friend and had a line of people curling around the block waiting for a chance.

Some might think that my newfound blessing would've led me also to find an array of people waiting to interact with me but you'd find that that was far from the case. Instead, I had my family's dirty laundry thrown out through the streets, their mugshots stapled to my dorm door, and nasty looks wherever I went.

People kept their distance but left their eyes on me because as much as they were disgusted by what I'd done they were also waiting.

Waiting for what you ask?

What I'd been blessed with.

The beautiful gift the Gods had given me and how I was going to use it. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. I had nothing. Nothing else to show for the worst day of my life but the unflattering hair color that came from my roots. And when I say everything had gone blonde I mean everything.

I tried to dye it, cut it, burn it, and many other things that only resulted in me being dress-coded by the principal, who was very clear that he never wanted to see me in his office again—until I got a letter, of course—an early acceptance to the Devulla School of Science.

When did I apply to the Devulla School of Science you ask? I didn't.

Cher did.

She'd gone into my email, sent them a snippet of my research, and applied for me back when I thought my ideas were too stupid to go anywhere—back when it was a dream, and I begged her to wake me up from it. So three months from now, I was going to be on my way to a secluded institution on the other side of the country studying the Science of Interference from the gods and how we can use it to bend reality.

To say I was giddy from excitement was an understatement and unlucky for me the only person I wanted to tell was probably the last person who wanted to hear it.

I missed her, I wasn't afraid to admit it and I had embarrassed myself countless times over the last couple of years attempting to get her to even talk to me. After the last time, I promised myself I wouldn't try again, that I would move on but I would still catch her staring in the hallways and find myself searching for her face in a room filled with people.

If public shunning was not enough she made sure to go the extra mile to make sure I was miserable. Any new friends I'd try making would be sitting with her at lunch the next day, clubs I'd join? She was the president by the end of the month and the one crush I had last year ended up sending Cher a bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day.

I could not compete and I certainly could not compare so stopped playing the games she had the rulebook for and baited her into playing mine instead. 

When it came to the brain I won every single time, she came second in every single class. She could steal the hearts of everyone who walked these halls and win the most popular vote no matter what time of year but when it came to the classroom that was my territory and it was the one thing she couldn't take from me.

But that did not mean she would stop trying.