1 The Beginning

Pain flared across Ellie's face as the other girl dumped boiling hot soup on her. She hastily wiped it off with her uniform, holding back tears, and ran as fast as she could to her class.

"Yeah, you'd better run you ugly stupid fatty." The other girl yelled after her, her deep blue eyes filled with disgust and hatred. Her name was Heather, and she was called the "Queen" of the school.The crowd that had gathered in the lunch area laughed mockingly, hurling insult after insult after Ellie.

One might think that sixteen years of the same taunting and pain would be gone after happening so often, but to Ellie, each time was another bullet in her chest. She reached the classroom door and ran inside, flinging herself down on her seat.

"Are you okay?" Her friend, Rose, asked, looking up from her book.

"Yeah, I just didn't think they would actually pour soup on me." Ellie replied, gently feeling her burnt skin.

Rose was the only person who acknowledged that she was a person and not some monster, and her only friend. She was beautiful, unlike Ellie, with big innocent eyes and long black hair that flowed smoothly. Rose could easily have been the most popular girl in school. However, she enjoyed studying and learning, which gave the other kids a reason to make her an outcast.

Ellie, on the other hand, was the opposite. Her eyes were tiny and her face was covered in pimples. Additionally, she was bad at academics and slightly overweight. She wore glasses and her hair was almost always oily. Ellie knew that she was not pleasant to look at, but she still hated the other kids for teasing her.

Ellie opened her textbook and saw the words "You're Stupid" written in red marker on one page. Sighing, she shut the book and turned away. Just then, the bell rang and the kids streamed into class.

After class, Rose ran over to Ellie. "I'm so excited," she exclaimed, "Heather invited me to a party at her house!"

Ellie put on a fake smile. "I'm so happy for you!" she said. Secretly, she knew Heather probably only wanted to embarrass Rose in front of everyone. Things really needed to change around here, she thought.

Ellie walked home by herself. She had moved out of her parents house long ago so they wouldn't find out about her misery. She didn't want them to worry. Ellie opened the door and plopped down on her bed. She was so tired of this way of living.

The next day at school, Ellie waited at her usual meeting spot with Rose. No one came. She assumed that Rose was sick, and then suddenly remembered the party. Panic rose up inside her, and she ran to school, feeling sick with dread. When she got there, she saw Heather hanging out in front of the school like usual. Ellie gathered up her courage and went over to her to ask about Rose. She suddenly saw that Rose was standing there with Heather with a completely different hairstyle and lots of makeup on. She even had her nails painted and her glasses were nowhere to be found.

Ellie ventured over. "Rose," she whispered, "what are you doing?"

Rose turned around and grinned cruelly. "Things are going to start changing around here," she said, smirking.