The back of my hand wiped across my face with force, wiping away the stream of tears that were drenching my face. Using my free hand, I picked up the green olives off my sticky school floor until 2 bottles worth of olives filled the cave of the t-shirt I was extending from its bottom hem. Without lifting my gaze, I dragged my feet to the nearest trashcan and emptied out my t-shirt cave before walking back to my locker.Building up the courage within me, I finally looked up at my locker which had been “decorated” for the occasion.Happy Birthday, Olive! Here’s a bunch of olives you can invite to your birthday party!My hand reached out and pulled out the sticky note that taunted me before I crumbled it in my fist. Reluctantly, my eyes darted to the small mirror on the door of my locker and I saw my deranged, teary, mascara-streaked face looking back at me.A happy birthday indeed.Slamming my locker door shut, I snapped back into my pathetic reality as I watched my so-called schoolmate

My hand slammed my locker door shut in a huff. The sound echoed through the hallway and I looked around to find the others staring at me. But, the thing was, it was not their usual stare. It’s weird, but I just knew the difference after getting stared at for years. This time they looked at me with disgust as they whispered under their breaths.Turning my attention back to the bearer of bad news, I demanded, “What did you just say?”“Ugh! Are you seriously going to act like you don’t know? Oli, you tried to force Joshua to make out with you under the bleachers!” he repeated, each of his words vibrating my soul in horror.“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lukey! I did not do that! It’s a lie! Just some gossip someone created!” I replied despite being a tad hurt that my own brother would trust a ball of gossip instead of his own sister.Luke’s eyes narrowed and his jaw locked. “Are you seriously denying it? How can it be gossip if I saw you coming from the football field yesterd

My colorful bowl of cereal did nothing to cheer me up the next morning. Leaning on the marble island counter, my right hand held my spoon while my left hand scrolled through my phone, particularly the prom pictures that spammed my social media.Was I a coward for missing prom because I was afraid to face my bullies? Yes, but it didn’t look like I missed much anyway. My thumb dragged across the screen until it stopped when my eyes caught sight of a particular picture. In front of the under-the-sea backdrop, Joshua posed with Breanna with his arm snaked around her waist. They were both all dressed up sharply and had giant grins plastered on their smug faces as if nothing had ever happened. I should have known that they cared more about their pride, reputation, and influence than honesty and fidelity.Eager to get them out of my sight and mind, I slid my thumb only for the next picture to be a solo picture of Joshua adjusting his blazer, much to my annoyance.“Oooh, who’s the handsome hu

It was the Monday after graduation and I was on the floor of my bedroom, folding my clothes and placing them in my half-full luggage bag. Even though orientation was two weeks away, I was ready to leave immediately.Obviously, Mom still didn’t agree with my decision, but ever since what happened at graduation, I was firmer and refused to take ‘No’ for an answer. I guessed that she knew that it was better for me to be further away from her than lose her daughter altogether. As for Dad, he was supportive as usual and even offered to pay for my flight and Airbnb. The hostel wasn’t open until orientation, so I planned to stay at an Airbnb near the university until then.“Wow, you’re really all packed!” a familiar voice exclaimed from behind me.It was Luke and I assumed that it was his way of apologizing after the silent treatment we had over the weekend. Even though I was still upset over his selfish sudden change of heart, I still couldn’t deny that he was right. I felt like a different

Despite my hesitancy, I found myself getting dressed for a night out with my superiors—or rather, soon-to-be colleagues. It had been some time since I took some time off for myself and hit the clubs. I did visit some stand-up clubs but there was not much I could do since I turned 18 years old after a couple of months of being in New York. My eyes enlarged with shock at the revelation that hit my head like a bullet train. I had agreed to go to a nightclub so casually, but I was still under the 21-year-old age limit. There were still two months to go before my birthday in June when I would finally turn 21 and be an official legal adult. Picking up my phone, I dialed Maria’s number as fast as I could as I looked at the clock on my wall. It was 7 p.m. and they were expecting me to meet up with them at the club at 9 p.m. Since I was taking the subway, the journey would take me about forty-five minutes, which left me with a little more than an hour to either cancel or get ready. “Maria? H