By the time that lunch rolled around, I realised that Alessia really didn't have any friends at all. 'Nells' seemed to be her only acquaintance, and maybe the receptionists. I was walking down the corridor to find a place to sit in my suddenly lonely life when the real Olivia Clark rounded the corner in front of me, nestled into Dylan's side as he held her close with his arm. She had her arm looped through Kiara's arm and was laughing yet again. Kiara was another close friend of mine, but that didn't matter now; I was not myself anymore.

To Alessia, it seemed that I never stopped laughing; there was never a time when I wasn't happy. Whilst the rest of the world was dim, in her vision, I seemed to radiate perfectness. To her ears, my laugh bounced off a million walls. It irritated her. But only because she noticed how much Dylan loved it. I had never noticed that.

She hated that I seemed to have Dylan sucked in and that he appeared happier when I was. I had no idea that she felt so jealous of me, and especially over Dylan.

"Guys, let me check my locker." Tommy, yet another one of my friends, announced and I frowned. I couldn't remember this day, suddenly. They stopped beside Tommy's locker, and I watched from afar as they all peered into it as he opened it. The real Olivia Clark's eyebrows shot up and she grinned.

"Score!" She yelled as Tommy pulled out his science textbook and held it up like a Grammy award. I stifled a laugh at his endearment.

I watched as the real Olivia Clark began to say something, leaning against a locker. What I saw through Alessia's eyes surprised me—everyone seemed to be paying attention to me. Everyone was so engrossed with me and what I was saying, to the extent that when I smiled, they smiled too.

Alessia hated that. Alessia hated that I seemed to absorb all the attention in the corridor. And she hated it even more that Dylan was giving all his attention to me. She noticed that he always seemed to be the closest to me, and her eyes couldn't help but trail down to Dylan's fingers, which were playing with my sleeve. She acknowledged that Dylan always seemed to find a way to touch me—and I had never acknowledged that. She was jealous. I hadn't known that before, but I do now.

I watched as the group started a new discussion whilst walking away from the lockers, and in my direction. Seeing my own face, my own life, through someone else's eyes was so surreal. I could notice everything in one second. The way Kiara blushed when Tommy winked at her, the way Ked smiled at everyone he saw, the way that Dylan was such a gentleman every girl he set eyes on, especially those he was close to. I could tell why Alessia fancied him. I also noticed how completely oblivious Olivia Clark is. She sees everyone but she just doesn't see enough.

The real Olivia Clark's eyes met mine, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity. I didn't see what happened next; I was suddenly shoved back into the lockers, the real Olivia Clark being the only person who was in front of me at that moment. But...I would never—I wouldn't do that. I've never shoved anyone.

But Alessia believed that I had done; she was furious. Anger boiled up inside of her, and what she thought next scared me. It was something of pure hatred, but mostly revenge. She wanted revenge.

I found it hard to see anything as clear when Alessia was so intent in believing the worst about anything. But I did it. I almost felt her anger simmer down as my attention refocused, and I saw the real Olivia Clark slapping Tommy a million times over.

She was screaming, "Stop pushing me!" Whilst she slapped him on the arm once more. Alessia Trent needed to stop jumping to conclusions based on what she couldn't see. I hadn't shoved her.

No matter how it happened, though, I had fallen into Alessia, and I didn't apologise. And in Alessia's mind, this was the beginning of the end.

With that, I walked off to eat. Where does Alessia usually sit? Where do loners usually sit? I sighed and pushed the door to the cafeteria open. I took a deep breath and looked around.

"Alessia-Lessia-Less," someone approached me, right in front of my face, until I had to back away for comfort. "Less friends by the day." I rolled my eyes at the joke, which was spoken by the school's biggest idiot, Leon Junior. A crap name for a crap person. Yes, okay, you've caught me out. I hate him.

In year nine, when he had arrived at the school, he had some kind of..infatuation with me. And I fell for it. We went on a few 'dates', and then he made a mockery of me in front of the whole cafeteria, denying that he ever felt anything for me since I was too "frigid and boring" for him. I had run out of the hall, tears streaming down my face. Dylan wanted to punch him; I told him that the action would probably fix his face.

So, from then onwards, he became a player and the biggest regret of my life. He was probably the only person in the school I hated. But it seemed that Alessia hated him too, as I soon heard profanities flitter around her skull.

"Go away, Leon, don't you have a girl that you need to keep occupied?" I waved my hand in his face as if to dismiss him before finding an empty table. Leon followed me over to it.

"Who said you could talk to me, huh?" I turned around to give him a disgusted look before putting my bag down on the table.

"I don't need permission to talk," I replied with anger.

"Oh, yes you do, Less-Less, aren't you aware of your position in society by now?" He asked, shoving my shoulder, sending me reeling back into a wall.

"It seems I've forgotten." I spat, "Perhaps you'd like to remind me." I shoved his hand away.

"You're nothing. And you being in this cafeteria violates all those who actually mean something. So take your life's work," he picked up my bag and chucked it towards the exit of the cafeteria. "And get the hell out of here." He seethed, taking steps closer to me so that my back was pressed against the wall. Suddenly, the veins in Alessia's body closed up, and her lungs constricted. She's claustrophobic.

But I was not. I shoved Leon away from me, walked over to Alessia's bag, picked it up, dusted it off, and slung it over my shoulder. Then I did something that Alessia would never have done.

"Thank you for watching, everyone," I announced, and everyone who wasn't already looking at me stared in my direction. "I see how important your reputation is to you." I spat before I took my leave. Running out the doors, though, I bumped into someone. Dylan.

Suddenly, tears were pricking at my eyes. The whole group stood there, just staring. They hadn't helped. The real Olivia Clark didn't step in as she should've. Like I thought she would have. And Dylan the gentleman didn't even break a sweat.

I intended my words to be spoken to all of them, but my eyes were only on Dylan. "I expected more from you." I hissed and Dylan's eyes became jaded by something had never seen in him before. He felt guilty, yet he couldn't say sorry. None of them could. I made sure that they all knew just how much today cost me, and how they had taken apart in it, before shoving past them and leaving the cafeteria.

Alessia Trent's life isn't what I expected it to be. She wakes up and gets beaten by her 'dad'; at school, she is bullied by the kids; when she cries, no one cares.

I guess now I know why she carries around a broken bag, she doesn't want to get her other ones ruined. Because that's what those cruel people did to that bag. And no one stopped them.

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moral: don't ignore bullying

moral: Dylan wtf don't IGNORE BULLYING

moral: Olivia Clark, I expected better from you

OKAY I ALMOST MISSED MY 11:11 WISH BUT I GOT IT

phEW

(sidenote: I'm listening to Michael Jackson 👌🏼 [sidenote sidenote: the earth song 👏🏼])

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Next update: Saturday
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CHAPTER FOUR SPOILER:

Alessia's school day finally ends, but Olivia's wishes for freedom and peace are short-lived.

🕊