"Your party is amazing!" Lin Jeong gushed, taking a sip of her spring water.

"She's right." Mercedes nodded in agreement.

"Thanks!" I grinned, showing appreciation.

Finally, the day has come. My birthday. I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Especially since today is my birthday party. Everyone on the guestlist came, making me feel overjoyed. Even more when I heard the friendly compliments that people are enjoying my party. I'm not surprised. I hear these words every time I host an event. 

When you're considered as a practical star at school, it's mandatory to host amazing events. Or else, all of your popularity will go down the drain. You'd get no attention, whatsoever. That's the last thing I need. 

If you're not popular at Westdale High School, then you're considered as nothing. 

You'll very little attention, depending on what clique you're in. If you're at least a jock, but not part of the popular clique, you'd get a decent amount of attention. Otherwise, you aren't considered as much. 

From my experience of being in the popular clique, it feels great to get attention. It makes me feel loved and honored. People appreciate me—they practically worship me.

"So," Lin stated, "Have you been having a great day so far?"

"Yeah, I have." I chuckled, disposing my empty water bottle into a small trash bin.

The bin was full, making my bottle on the verge of falling. I already know that people are just going to put more trash in it, regardless of how loaded it is. That means I'll have to replace it, which I'm not looking forward to. It's better than picking up trash from the floor, which I don't do. 

I'm just too flawless for that.

"It looks like I have to take out the trash, now." I sighed, unamused, "I'll be right back, girls."

I strolled to the nearby storage closet, filled with various supplies. I flipped the light switch on, revealing the organized supplies on the shelves. I quickly snatched a small trash bag out of the cardboard box it was in. I proceeded back to where Nova and Lin were, at the side of the room.

Swiftly, I replaced the old, used trash bag with the fresh, new one. After bagging up the old one, I put the new one in a corner. I'll take it upstairs right after the party is over.

I turned back to my friends, who had their faces glued to their phones. When I took a closer look at what was on their screens, I saw them scrolling through Instagram, looking at posts from people at school.

I inquired, leaning my arm on Lin's shoulder. "Did you two find anything interesting on Instagram?"

"Not really." Mercedes replied justly, "There isn't anything interesting today."

"She's right. There isn't much. Having that said, how about we take some selfies to post on there? It's your birthday after all." Lin suggested, waiting for a response.

I answered, adjusting my fresh, blonde hair. "Of course!"

Taking my phone out, I held it out in front of us, preparing for the photo. The three of us huddled together, making cute poses in preparation. I snapped a few shots with hopes that they would turn out great. Holding my phone for all of us to see, I scrolled through the pictures with satisfaction.

"These look great!" Mercedes gushed.

"Yeah! I love them!" Lin agreed, nodding her head up and down.

"Thanks!" I beamed, "I'll post them on Instagram right now. Just give me a second."

Within a few moments, I uploaded the photos. It instantly got a couple of likes the moment they were posted. Being so popular at school comes with lots of people adoring me. It's such an honor.

While putting my phone away, I started to glance around the room to see what was going on. I couldn't help but notice Rafael on the couch, talking with his friend he brought here. He looked cuter than ever. He wore a navy blue hoodie, black jeans, and dark grey Vans. His beautiful, hazel eyes highlighted his entire look. 

I'm definitely not surprised by how handsome he looks. 

"I'll be right back." I declared, grabbing a new can of soda, "I'm going to go visit someone."

"Alright!" Mercedes winked, "See you!"

With a confident smile, I marched across the room to meet him. Ever since last week or so, I made the plan to hang out with him. Shortly, that's what I'll do. 

I casually slouched down next to him, gaining his attention. Once he saw me, he smiled genuinely. His fresh, white smile is very attractive. 

"Hey, Rafael!" I greeted, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.

When I did that, his friend gave me a perplexed look. What's wrong with putting an arm around his shoulder? I'm just being generous. After all, since it's my party, I must be courteous to all the guests. It's part of making the best impression possible.

"Hola, Millicent!" he grinned, expressing his geniality. 

"Hi! I was wondering something." I tapped my chin in thought, "Are you enjoying my party?"

He shrugged, giving his honest opinion. "Yeah, it's nice."

On the outside, I'm smiling. On the inside, I'm screaming with joy. He's actually enjoying my party! How convenient. I don't know how I'd feel otherwise if he didn't.

Between the two of us, it instantly got silent. He started to chat with his friend, just like he did before I got here. Right now, I want to have a superior conversation with him alone. Sadly, I can't because of his friend. The two of them seem close to each other. Ever since she came, I wondered what type of friend she is to him. They have an extremely close bond, from what I've seen so far. 

I guess it's better to ask than to wonder about it all day.

"So," I mused, staring down at my red, acrylic nails, "Who's your friend?" 

I recently got them done yesterday, replacing the ones I had a week ago. I'm almost always seen with them freshly well-done. I can't walk around with ugly-looking nails. It would be such a shame, especially since substantially everyone knows me at school. 

"Oh, this is Josephine!" he put an arm around her, just like I did with him.

Instead of her giving him a bewildered look, she smiled genuinely. I hid my confusion as I saw this. How come she didn't like it when I put an arm around Rafael? 

I guess it's nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter at the moment, anyway. What matters is figuring out who this girl is to him.

I questioned, staring into Rafael's brown eyes. "Is she your friend?"

The answer to this was obvious. Josephine is clearly his friend, based on how much they were talking together and how she smiled when Rafael put an arm around her. 

"Yeah, she is." Rafael started, "She's also my girlfriend. We've been dating for the past month."

My mouth instantly dropped wide open. My hands trembled, almost making me drop my can of diet soda. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. But deep down, I'm panicking. I never expected to hear this. Especially today—my birthday.

"O-Oh... That's nice." I stammered, tensely getting up, "Well, I g-gotta go. I'll see you l-later!"

"Bye?" he raised an eyebrow.

I swiftly rushed my way through small crowds of people, roughly. Instead of having a smile on my face, I have a huge frown. This isn't what I expected to hear today—or any day. 

"What's wrong, Millicent?" Mercedes concerned. 

I retorted, pouting. "Everything! I've been lied to! I just found out that Rafael already has a girlfriend!"

I remember that one day at lunch when we were questioning Roselyn about Rafael, to get to know more about him. We asked if he had a girlfriend. She blandly said she didn't know. It was probably an excuse just to hang out and get attention from us. Very pathetic.

"What?!" Mercedes gasped, "That means Roselynn lied! She set us up just to get things from us she doesn't deserve!"

"Yes!" I grumbled, "That's what she did! I can't believe her!"

I crossed my arms, furiously. Today is my birthday. I'm not supposed to be stressing over things.  I'm supposed to feel happy and at least try to enjoy today. But now, that isn't possible. I'm trying my best to contain my anger. It rises more and more every moment. 

"Ugh, I knew that freaks like her are just no good!" she sneered, smoldering with resentment.

"I know, right?" I agreed, irritation rising. 

Shaking my head in disbelief, I now regret inviting her and her friends to my party. They were never meant to be here in the first place. Especially after all of this. From here, I could see her and her friends, Lizzie and Tracey hanging out. Just seeing them here makes my temper go up. 

I need to get Roselynn back—for everything. This is my chance to get justice. I can't let this slide. I'll get even with her. She'll learn her lesson to never cross my line. 

Mercedes mentioned, glimpsing at me. "We must do something about this."

"Exactly! That's why we're going to get vengeance!" I smirked, "We can't let this slide."

"You're right!" she nodded her head in agreement.

Starting on Monday, we'll start getting our revenge. We're going to shade her. Mercedes and I don't need to pretend to be friends with her anymore, since we know the truth. I have lots of feelings about getting revenge, but none of them is sorry. 

"Wanna go hang out with the others to get our minds off of this?" I proposed, "We can talk about this another time."

"Yeah, great idea!" Mercedes sympathized.

We strolled to where some of our other friends were. Immediately, we got greeted by our friends, who smiled brightly as we approached.

"Hey, girls!" Nova Anderson made room for us to sit, "We were just about to start playing Spin The Bottle. Join us!"

"Okay! We're in!" I plopped myself onto the floor.

Deep down, I don't want to play this game. I've never liked it, anyway. But, because it's my party, I'll play anyway. Even if there's no reason to.

"Since you're the birthday girl, do you wanna spin the bottle first, Millicent?" Elijah Walker offered, setting a bottle in the middle of our circle.

I responded, shrugging. "Sure, I guess."

After spinning the bottle, I watched it rotate quickly in circles. All of us were hesitant about who it would land on. After a few seconds, it got slower and slower until it came to a stop. It landed on Landon Archer, who was playing with us. 

Overall, he's pretty cute—he's just not my type. 

"You have to kiss Landon!" Nova chanted, clapping her hands.

Elijah agreed, patting Landon's back. "Yeah! Do it, bro!" 

He crawled over to me. "Okay, okay. Let's get this over with." 

Our lips touched instantly. His were soft and tender, which I loved. I heard the excited squeals of everyone around us. After a few moments, he let go, moving back to where he was sitting before. Despite all of this, I still didn't enjoy the kiss. My fury from earlier is overtaking me. 

"We're done now, guys and girls." I proclaimed, hiding my irritation, "You can go next, Mercedes!"

"Alright, Milli!" she nodded in approval.

Right before I could say anything else, I heard my phone buzz quietly through my pocket. I automatically raised an eyebrow as I saw the unread text message from a very unexpected person.

It was Raven Hilton, my ex-friend. What does she need from me?

Raven: Hey, Millicent! I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday! 

I didn't expect this from her. I'm confused why she even wished me one. I thought we were rivals, ever since a few years ago. I instantly replied, trying to resist my confusion.

Me: Hi, Raven! Thanks for the birthday wishes, but why did you wish me a happy birthday? I thought you didn't like me.

Raven: I know, I know. I just wished you a happy birthday in advance. 

Me: Okay, I guess.

I powered off my phone, slightly frowning. Did she actually want to wish me a happy birthday, or did she do that to seem nice? In general, Raven isn't a nice person, take it from me. She loves stealing my thunder. She's backstabbing, hypocritical, hostile—I could go on, but I'd spend all day thinking about, which isn't what I want. I can't spend my time thinking about losers. Not only her, in fact. Roselynn, also.

I'll never let those losers ruin me no matter what.