10

Kailee Bennett

As if the constant binging of my phone wasn’t enough, people had to point at me and laugh when I passed. Even the teachers had seen the video and they gave me those tight little pitiable smiles

Charlotte snapped back at anyone pointing, but it didn’t erase the fact that people thought I was just a pity pick.

Just a revenge piece

I mean I was, but for some reason, it still hurt

Charlotte had P.E. and I didn’t offer P.E. for obvious plus sized reasons so I had a free period while Charlotte had to go, leaving me alone

She was the only reason I could walk around without begging the school floors to swallow me up—though I doubt they’d contain me

So I did the most reasonable thing that came to my mind, I hid

My usual spot: The janitors’ closet

Don’t judge me, I just wanted peace

I got hit by the familiar scent of bleach I was now used to. I just cleared out a spot and took a seat.

I should have read a book or played a word game but I decided to watch some videos on TikTok

And like an idiot, I searched up Sienna’s handle. Maybe, just maybe, someone had defended me

But the comments had only multiplied from the last time I opened them. The only nice one was Charlotte’s, and even hers was drowning in laughing emojis.

I knew it was a bad idea to open the app, but I still went on reading the nasty comments till the texts and my screen became blurry

I quickly blinked my tears away and shot up to my feet in a sudden confidence boost.

No. I wasn’t going to cry or let them humiliate me. I picked up my phone and opened my camera and found a good angle to position my phone in the closet

They couldn’t humiliate me if I humiliated myself first, right?

That’s exactly what I was going to do. You can’t shame the shameless

I pulled up a sound and started dancing with no rhythm or flow, just moving my body horribly

When I was done, I watched it and nodded.

Yep, this was ridiculous enough.

I wrote a caption and hesitated a bit to post it. If I didn’t post it, people would think the post affected me; I mean it did but I didn’t want them to know that.

My thumb hovered over “post.” My heart pounded like I was about to drop the cure for cancer online instead of a humiliating TikTok of me wiggling like a dying fish.

Just as I was about to click it, someone opened the door to the closet

I spun around immediately to see Charlotte

“Char, how did you find me?” I blinked, calming down

She rolled her eyes and walked in, closing the door behind her. “It doesn’t take Einstein to know that you’d be somewhere no one could bother you, so I thought either where or behind the bleachers”

She knew me too well.

Her eyes drifted to my phone as the screen wasn’t locked and video of me was playing in a loop

“Kai, what’s that?” She stretched her hand, asking for my phone

I handed it over to her and she watched it, then looked at me with an expression. “You wanted to post this?”

“Yeah, I thought if I did, they’d stop the mean comments”

She shook her head and closed the space between us, hugging me

“Girl, you don’t have to clown yourself for them to prove anything to anyone. Okay, love? Post a video of yourself because you feel good and you want to not as a response to losers who don’t know the real you”

I didn’t realize how close I was to crying until Charlotte wrapped her arms around me.

I smiled as she pulled away. “What would I do without you?” I mumbled as my senses returned to me. “Was I really going to post that?”

I laughed at myself and she joined in.

“I guess we’ll never know because I’ll always be here with you” she said. “Now as for those that are commenting hateful things, the frogs are still available and during P.E. I thought of more things I could do to them”

I knew that sinister expression. If I let her do what she had in mind, those people would be scared and traumatized for a long time

I mean they have traumatized me too but I have to be the bigger person because I am quite literally the bigger person

“I love you, Char but let’s keep the frogs and any other plans aside” I smiled.

She shrugged disappointedly, “okay miss ‘kill them with niceness’ but you can’t stop the dirty looks I’m going to give them if I see any one pointing or hear anyone saying something bad about you and you can’t also stop me from replying every single nasty comment on that video with a corresponding nasty comment about the commenter and reporting the video till it gets taken down”

“Okay. Okay.” I laughed. “I’ve got theater rehearsals, you want to come watch?”

“Of course and please could you change your hideout location to somewhere with more air? Thank you”

“Forgive me, ma’am. I’ll find a better place” I released a low chuckle as she opened the door and we stepped outside

The beeps in my pocket wouldn’t stop as I rehearsed

Either more people were commenting and Charlotte was replying or people were sending it to me.

Ryder walked in, stealing my attention from the beeps in my pocket. He caught my eye and gave me that infuriatingly perfect smirk. I wanted to fold the script and throw at his head

He was so unconcerned about me being humiliated on the internet and now he’s smirking at me?

I avoided his eyes and continued reading my script, trying to memorize my lines

I noticed from the corner of my eye that he took a seat, watching me and then Sienna walked in taking a seat next to him, pulling his attention from me

I felt a rapid burn in my chest that grew stronger and stronger as she kept touching him or finding reasons to be even closer to him

He got up and she followed and they both went outside.

To hell with them. I couldn’t care less what he did or who he hung out with

I suddenly realized that my phone wasn’t binging anymore. I took it out and saw that the video had been taken down

“What the….” I whispered

I was glad as hell but I knew Sienna couldn’t have willingly taken it down. Could it be the numerous reports Charlotte filed? Or was it someone else?