Page 2 of The Surprise Play

Until the first day of sophomore year, when I was heading to my first class feeling upbeat and excited. It took all of half a microsecond for those fizzing feelings to disintegrate when I spotted Jade Buchanan. She was standing with two other girls, all new and fresh-faced and… potentially Team Evil 2.0.

Team Evil, you’re no doubt wondering. What is that?

Well, it’s a trio compromised of the three most popular girls from my high school—Jade Buchanan, Katrina Marsden, and Carmen Ludlow.

Those girls made my life a living hell. And it was all thanks to Jade and her master scheming.

I honestly stopped breathing when I saw her, my heart thudding in my chest, my skin starting to itch the way it used to.

I thought she was going to Denver University!

What was she doing in Nolan?

The day after high school graduation, I thought I’d never have to see them again. They were a year behind me; I could move on with my life and become a distant memory for them.

But that morning, Jade looked up from her phone, snorted in surprise, then nudged the girl beside her… and I knew in that instant, my life hadn’t changed at all.

She’d just rally new minions and persuade them to play her evil little games. And they’d buy into her sales pitch because she’s so pretty and fun, and everybody freaking loves her!

My stomach and chest broke out in instant hives, and I couldn’t help scratching my belly.

Jade snickered as she picked up her pace and made a move toward me. I took off as fast as my short legs could carry me, and by the time I found my first class, my thighs were itching too.

All I could think wasThis can’t be happening again! How could life be so unfair?

Middle school and high school were pure torture for me. Those girls made an art form of taunting and teasing me, dropping snide comments in sweet tones until they could see the tears swimming in my eyes, then acting like they cared and passing me tissues, patting my shoulder, and whispering more acid into my ears before walking away.

My parents kept telling me to keep my chin up and not let those girls drag me down.

“Show them that they have no effect on you and they’ll get bored and leave you alone.”

How many times had I tried that, only to get knockedoff my feet the next day with another joke at my expense? They didn’t leave me alone. When I hid my hurt at their taunting, they just scaled things up a notch.

Like that time Jade poured moldy orange juice all over my hair and the new dress Mom had just made. My parents actually kicked up a fuss over that one and demanded some kind of action from the school. Jade was suspended for three days, and when she returned, she was on a mission: Make Elizabeth Satchwell Cry.

I held out for as long as I could, but it only took two weeks for me to fold. That was the day Katrina pranked me in the hallway, right in front of the hottest guy in school—Peyton Feldman. He was a football player, and I thought he kind of liked me. Truth was, he was just being nice so I’d do his homework for him. I didn’t know that at the time Katrina pranked me, though.

I was standing in the hallway, cheeks feeling as red as a fire engine. Peyton had just smiled at me, and my heart had fluttered like butterfly wings. I was waiting for him to hand me his next assignment, give me a little wink, and ask when we could work on it. He flicked his head for me to come over, and I was too busy swooning to notice the slippery yogurt Katrina had flung on the ground. My foot hit that stuff and I let out this weird squawk before landing flat on my back right in front of Peyton. My skirt flipped up, exposing my underwear to everyone in the hallway.

“Holy shit, are those granny panties?” some guy shouted, then pointed at me and laughed like a hyena. Everyone around him started cackling while I scrambled to pull my skirt down.

Jade and Carmen ran over, feigning shock at whathad happened, trying to help me back to my feet, then pretending like I was too heavy to lift. The ground was all slippery, and the laughter intensified. In the end, they asked Peyton to lend them a hand but warned him not to hurt his back. He started laughing and actually groaned and strained like he was trying to lift an elephant off the floor. I’d never felt more humiliated in my entire life. Once I was on my feet and fighting a hot wave of tears, he gave me a friendly slap on the shoulder.

“Chill, Libs. We’re just joking.”

His teammates were still talking about my underwear and how much fabric it must have taken for my mother to make them.

“She probably has to get her clothes made at home.”

“Yeah, like she’d fit in anything at a regular store.”

It was harsh. Logically, I knew this. I could buy my clothes at the store like everybody else did. Sure, I might have been a few sizes bigger than what felt like every other girl in the school, but I wasn’t so big that I needed specially made clothes.

My mom just liked sewing, and she did such beautiful work. I loved the stuff she made for me. I wore it with pride.

But not after that day.

From that point on, I stuck to boring store-bought clothes and pants with a high waist. Mom was kind of hurt by the move, but I never wanted anyone to see my underwear again.