Anne looked at her clock wearily as she stopped the alarm.

6am

She had to get up and prepare for school.

It was her first day in high school and she was very nervous despite the fact that she might have the same classmates as before.

“Only without any friends.” She said to herself as she remembered her graduation a few months ago.

She remembered the snickering and whispering when she walked across the red carpet to get her certificate.

“She doesn’t deserve to be high school.”

“She’ll never make it.”

“I hope she fails high school, she doesn’t deserve a diploma; she’s too ugly.”

The words hurt her and as much as she wanted to get back at them, she knew it would do her no good and instead do harm to her.

After a while of looking back on the past, she finally got out of bed and put on her black-rimmed glasses.

She looked at the mirror and tried to picture herself as a beautiful, young lady with black hair combed neatly to the side, without glasses, and without the annoying zits dotting her face.

Unfortunately, she only saw the messy haired girl who had zits all over her face with her nearly round glasses complimenting them in a negative way.

She didn’t look like a woman, she looked like a girl; a girl who didn’t deserve to be in high school.

After eating and dressing up, she looked at her image again on the mirror.

She put some baby powder on her face, just to hide some of the awful zits.

She was wearing her new blue shirt and tight fitting jeans barely even highlighting the lumps in her nearly emaciated body.

She thought she looked her best, but her best wasn’t enough to satisfy her classmates.

“Well anyway, at least I tried.” She told herself helplessly.

She had been talking a lot to herself lately since she didn’t have anyone to share her problems to except herself.

“I’m my only friend, I guess.” She looked at herself in the mirror one last time as she carried her backpack on one shoulder.

She descended the stairs, her nearly 3 year old rubber shoes making it known through annoying squeaking.

She opened her front door then stepped outside, the tropical sun beating down on her.

She walked towards her school which was a few houses away.

Anne sighed heavily as she returned from school that day.

She saw a lot of new faces and she hoped she would be able to find some new friends by the end of the week.

She dropped her backpack on the wooden floor and sat down on their old couch.

She wanted something to eat but she knew she had to do her homework.

“I don’t know why they give us tons of homework on the first day of school.” she remarked to herself humorously.

At least nothing bad happened on the first day of school. In an ordinary day of school, she would usually encounter a lot of pranks from her mischievous classmates.

From putting gum on her seat, to shoving her along the hallway; those were the things they did to her.

Of course, they were given detention for their hideous acts, but they would always do it again, without any teacher watching them.

They would get her notebooks then hide it, and Anne would find them a week later in the trash can.

She cried every time that was done to her, and she recently started questioning herself why it was always her.

She didn’t do anything wrong to them, but she was always their victim.

Finally, after having a few mental flashbacks, she picked up her bag wearily and climbed the stairs leading to the upper floor.

“Anne, wait a minute, come back downstairs.”

“What is it, Madison?” Anne turned around to see her elder sister standing in the bottom of the stairs.

Madison was a contrast to the image Anne presented.

She looked like a beautiful and mature young woman.

Her wavy brown hair was tied in a neat ponytail, and all the clothes she bought matched her slim body perfectly.

She was wearing a pink tee blouse and faded jeans.

“You need to go downstairs first.” Madison insisted as she bit her lip anxiously.

“Okay.” Anne replied as she descended the stairs noisily.

“Man, I really sound like a kid.” she thought to herself self-consciously.

“Anne I need to tell you something…” her voice drifted off as she hesitated, unsure if this was the opportune moment to break the news.

“What is it, Mads?” Anne asked, sensing the insecurity in her voice.

“Mom and dad are separating.”