THE DAY DRAGGED NATALIA THROUGH HELL AND BACK. not that anything specific had happened, but being at split river just felt like a personal hell. she knew she was going through the motions; wanting to leave any chance she got. it didn't help that she was a senior. the girl was one foot out the door. even more importantly, one step closer to leaving her town.

waiting for an acceptance letter from nyu was pure torture. she didn't live too far from the city but she would do anything to get her hands on new york city. it had been her dream to pack everything up and move there ever since her parents had taken her at the ripe age of thirteen. she made it her whole personality: posters of the college plastered on her wall and her bobcat stuffed animal that stayed tucked underneath
her sheets. the bobcat wore violet, NYU spread across the chest of the shirt. a snow globe collection from her yearly visits were starting to overcrowd her shelves.

the girl constantly checked her mailbox, hoping it would come. but every time she checked, her parents scolded her for being too impatient. however, natalia wasn't completely off. she was ready to get out of her lonesome house that resided in a lonesome town. natalia also did have a reason to go to nyu other than the fact that it was in the city.

her passion for the arts radiated off of her. music was her best friend, and encouraged her to write all of her thoughts down in a diary. she wrote and wrote until her heart and hand couldn't take it anymore. piecing words together to form some sort of song or poem always satisfied her. granted, she lacked the ability to complete a full song due to her perfectionist characteristics. everything needed to be perfect, she told herself constantly. that's why she found herself tearing pages out of journals and crumbling them up, tossing them to the nearest trash can but always missed.

with her perfect grades and her perfect gpa, along with a killer way with words, natalia felt set in stone to attending nyu. however, the lack of an acceptance letter just made her want to write and rip out the pages over and over.

the bell rang through the halls, signaling lunchtime. also known as, natalia's time to find a quiet space in the school and write in her journal while music blasted in her ears. the blonde entered the halls, "king of pain" by the police blaring in her ears. grabbing her things from her locker, natalia watched as a note fell from the cubby. with her brows furrowed, she glanced around the hallways. they were crowded with people, but they were all heading toward the cafeteria.

bending down, natalia grabbed the note. she pressed the pause button on her walkman. the halls went quiet, making the goosebumps on her back flare up. natalia took the moment to look around once again to make sure no one was around. the thought of someone watching her while she opened up this mysterious note made her want to let out a whimper. but the girl held herself together, grabbing the note.

she unfolded the thin white paper, her breath catching in her throat.

did you enjoy looking at my picture? i think it's a good one but i guess you do also.

"what the..." natalia mumbled to herself.

she stood up, note in hand. her eyes darted back and forth down the hallway, feeling her throat tighten up. natalia was alone. no one occupied the halls. her baby blues diverted back to the note, brows furrowed as she reread the words.

the font of the handwriting wasn't the nicest. it definitely didn't belong to a girl, considering the scratchy words. adjusting her bandana, the girl felt a cold drift shiver down her spine. her head lifted slightly, her breathing slowing down by the second.

"boo!"

natalia jumped, almost slamming her head into her locker. whipping around, natalia came face to face with three of the faces she wanted to see the least. jennifer wilde, maia o'brien, and adriana mitchell stood before her, in a perfect set of three.

jennifer let out a cackle, covering her mouth to suppress the laughing. maia and adriana snickered, glancing down at their shoes to avoid eye contact with natalia. "goddamn natalia, you're a scaredy cat today!"

natalia wouldn't consider this group of girls as bullies. in fact, they never did anything physically to her. the only thing they did was mental. granted, natalia viewed that as more detrimental compared to physical abuse but that's beside the case. clutching the note in her hand, natalia shoved the paper into her back pocket. "what do you want, wilde?"

jennifer wilde, maia o'brien, and adriana mitchell were a one-of-a-kind trio. jennifer resembled a goddess and she knew it. striking bright eyes with dark hair. a thin frame and a wicked sense of style. her skin glowed in the sun. she was the complete opposite of natalia, which she found quite ironic due to their friendship history.

natalia and jennifer grew up together, living next door to each other for ages. they attended the same schools, never shying away from sharing a couple of classes together as well. in elementary school, the two girls found themselves playing together every day, during preschool and after school, until the sun went down. they shared secrets and experienced a multitude of sleepovers consisting of freestyle karaoke and painting each other's nails.

the two remained friends all throughout middle school, battling first crushes and classes that actually meant something to them. natalia showed jennifer her love of writing, and jennifer expressed her desire to be a cheerleader and study psychology in college. approaching high school, jennifer joined the cheer team and ditched natalia. jennifer enjoyed the company of others, making new friends, and establishing multiple relationships with the boys in their grades. she attended parties and participated in activities that didn't involve natalia.

now, jennifer stood before natalia with her two other friends. maia o'brien, a member of the cheer team and president of the theatre club. short, reddish hair that framed her face perfectly. her bangs hung low and styled, curled at the ends. on jennifer's opposite side was adriana mitchell. the tallest of the group, but the trendiest when it came to the fads of the time. she ruled the school by being president of the student council and establishing a "pep" club. freckles scattered across her cheeks, mousy brown hair with piercing blue eyes. it was hard not to love adriana.

"oh nothing," jennifer sighed, raising her eyebrows at the girl. "just curious to know what's in the back of your pocket."

natalia shifted, clearing her throat awkwardly. "excuse me?"

"you heard me," the brunette smiled. "i totally saw you open the note, read it then stuff it in your pocket."

natalia let out a shaky sigh. "what are you guys, fucking ninjas? before i opened it no one was around."

"we're light on our feet," maia shrugged her shoulders, a cocky grin appearing on her lips.

natalia rolled her eyes before continuing. "second of all, this note was given to me so...i guess that means it's none of your business?"

adriana and maia let out scoffs, staring down at natalia. jennifer rolled her eyes. "come on, natalia. we're friends, aren't we?"

it was natalia's turn to laugh. "that's hilarious."natalia spun on her heel, slamming her locker shut. she grabbed her bag from off the floor, turning around to face the girls again. "you can go bother someone else now."

"you're our favorite person to bother, though." jennifer pouted her lip in a mocking way.

natalia shrugged. "sucks." she stepped to the side only to come face to face with the three girls. "you can't be serious,"

"is the note from matty?" jennifer finally admitted the purpose of this encounter.

natalia's face went white as a ghost. she blinked slowly, mouth gaping slightly. "huh?"

"god, do i have to spell it out for you?" jennifer rolled her eyes before continuing. "is. the. note. from. matty?"

"you can't be serious, jennifer." natalia's eyes lit up for a moment before settling down. "so what if it was from matty? did you watch him put the note in? god, that's so sad for you. matty slipped me a note!" the girl remarked, trying her best to slip past them.

jennifer slammed her hand against the lockers, caging natalia in. "get a grip, natalia. we all know matty wouldn't go for someone like you. however, you two have been hanging out together a lot. so strange considering mine and matty's history..."

natalia was well aware of the crush jennifer had on matty. it started in middle school and has obviously continued up until senior year of high school. "history? you sleeping with other guys but claiming matty as your own is history?"

"shut up, warner." jennifer seethed. "give us the damn note."

"no," natalia fought back. for some reason, she felt that the note meant something much more that it was intended to mean. the note gave her the creeps, but she refused to give jennifer the satisfaction of it.

"fine," jennifer stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "we will just take it from you then."

"excuse me?" natalia questioned, but the next thing she knew, maia had her arms wrapped around natalia's waist in an attempt to grab the note. "what the hell!" the blonde pushed maia away. her face went from puzzled to angry, wanting nothing more but to rip out all of their hair.

natalia's back laid flat against the lockers, trying her best to preserve the note. "are you guys fucking crazy?!"

"potentially," jennifer nodded. "but not as crazy as you."

the words stung. natalia knew she wasn't crazy, but recently it felt like she was. feeling alone in a town full of people. barely interacting with her parents and having one friend, who happened to be her history teacher. it was embarrassing how weird natalia felt about herself.

before she knew it, natalia got enough strength to shove jennifer away from her. jennifer knocked into maia and adriana before falling onto the floor. the girl cried out in pain, a sudden bruise appearing on her thigh. natalia's eyes went wide at how hard she shoved jennifer. but it felt damn good to finally do that.

"what the hell is going on?" a voice called from down the hallway.

jennifer, maia and adriana backed away. their eyes shifted toward the voice, sweet smiles appearing on their lips. "calloway!"

natalia looked over, her breathing increasing. had calloway seen natalia shove jennifer? if so, she was in deep shit. especially with the school's golden girl. granted, calloway and natalia had a relationship established but he couldn't make exceptions for her. especially since jennifer's parents would complain to the principal.

"calloway, natalia shoved jennifer. we saw it." adriana frowned, while maia leaned down to help jennifer up.

"it hurts so bad," jennifer wailed, making her injury seem way worse than it was.

natalia rolled her eyes. "calloway, you can't believe this!"

calloway approached the group, hands on his hips. he let out a sigh, helping maia with jennifer. "are you alright, jennifer?"

natalia couldn't believe her eyes. calloway was being the typical nice guy but it still stung.

"i'm fine," jennifer sighed, tears filling her eyes. "natalia shoved me."

"i know," calloway sighed, looking up at his favorite student. he shook his head before stepping toward natalia. "i have to take you to the principal's office."

natalia's mouth gaped open, eyes filled with rage. "are you serious? these three bimbos were taunting me because of something that had nothing to with them and i'm the one getting in trouble? this is ridiculous, calloway, you know me."

calloway sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. natalia was starting to notice he did that a lot whenever she was around. her heart ached a bit, eyes going soft as she looked at jennifer. the brunette cocked an eyebrow, a soft grin on her lips. "i saw you push her, natalia."

"i know i pushed her but—"

"no buts. let's just...go before this gets worse. i hope you feel better, jennifer."

"thank you, calloway. it means a lot." the brunette nodded, wiping her eyes.

natalia glanced back and forth between the two before giving in. "you suck," she muttered to calloway before pushing past him. the girl avoided the principals office at all costs. but the one time she got revenge, it was taken away from her in a split second. not waiting for calloway, natalia knew jennifer had gotten her way once again.

all she knew now was that hell had a nice spot saved for jennifer wilde.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

natalia twiddled with her thumbs as she waited for the principal. her headphones sat around her neck, scared to miss her name being called.

the girl glanced around, noticing calloway in the principal's office. she let out a sigh as she watched calloway explain the situation. he walked in while natalia shoved jennifer, jennifer fell and now she's bruised. natalia knew this battle would be a lost cause. looking back at her lap, she tried her best not to eavesdrop.

footsteps approached her and she glanced up, locking eyes with calloway. she gave him a weak smile, sitting up slightly in her seat. "what's the verdict?"

calloway gave her a sympathetic smile. "principal hartman wants to speak to you."

natalia nodded before grabbing her bag. the girl stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. before she could make her way to the office, calloway placed a hand on her shoulder. she looked up at him, a blank expression on her face.

"i believe that you did it out of defense," calloway started. "just try your best to explain that to hartman. he's a hardass when it comes to pleasing the wilde family."

natalia nodded. "got it. thanks for the advice." she playfully punched his shoulder before excusing herself.

natalia stepped foot into the office, knocking softly on the door. "principal hartman?"

the man looked up from his desk, a grin appearing on his lips. "ms. warren, come in."

the blonde nodded before stepping fully into the office. she let out a sigh, slumping into a seat. "i suppose mr. calloway explained the situation?"

principal hartman nodded. "yes, he did. he also mentioned that the girls were bothering you. is that true?"

natalia played with the tip of her index finger, wiggling the nail back and forth. she nodded, scared to speak.

"i see, i see..." the man trailed off. "have they done this to you before?"

natalia knew the answer: yes. however, this had been the first time it had gotten physical. "yes but...they've never physically hurt me or anything."

the principal's eyebrows furrowed. "physically?"

"yeah," she nodded. "it's usual like...things they'll say to me. but they were actively trying to touch me to get something out of my pocket."

"which is...?"

natalia reached into her back pocket. she fished around, trying to find the note. the girl found nothing when she pulled her fingers out. her face froze, eyes diverting back and forth. "i swear i had the note on me."

where had it gone? natalia began to shuffle around, grabbing her backpack to begin her search. had jennifer and her minions managed to steal the note? did it fall out of her pocket?

"was the note written by them?" hartman's words interrupted her train of thought.

"no, it was actually a stran—"

"why would they want your note so bad then?"

natalia paused. she didn't want to throw matty under the bus. he was innocent in this whole situation to jennifer's jealousy. the girl gulped. "i...i don't know, sir."

the man leaned forward. "you're applying to nyu, correct?"

natalia nodded. "yes, but what does this have to do with jennifer?"

"i've got two options for you," the man leaned back in his seat. "rather i suspend you, considering you did injure another student. that would go on your permanent record, by the way."

natalia's eyes went wide, face full of sadness. "suspend me?"

principal hartman nodded before reaching for a pack of sticky notes in his drawer. he clicked a pen open, writing a note on it. he slipped it over to natalia, who grabbed it reluctantly. her eyes read over the words slowly. "or..."

sweep the floors
clean the windows
help out the janitors when needed to
organize the storage unit

natalia looked up at the principal, confused as ever. "what is this?"

"your second option. permanent volunteer job brought to you by the boiler room. those would be your chores. you will be required to dedicate your lunch hour and some after school time to this. pick your poison, ms. warner."

the options were slim. natalia would rather have to kiss nyu goodbye or her free time would be taken away. there were only downsides of both options, resulting in natalia coming up with a tough decision. on one hand, she could accept the suspension and get time away from school. however, nyu could potentially get ahold of her suspension record, ruining her chances of getting into her dream school.

going down to the boiler room seemed worse, though. the dirt and grime made her want to gag. being down there alone would give her chills. it also interrupted her free time of sitting, writing, and listening to music. maybe, she thought, principal hartman would let her listen to music at least.

"i don't really have a choice, do i?" natalia asked.

principal hartman shook his head with a weak smile. "not exactly."

natalia looked down at the note of chores. she let out a sigh before glaring back at her principal. "take me to the boiler room."

authors note
now it's getting started!! sorry if this is written sloppily in any way, but any feedback and support is appreciated!!!