99 Cases

I sighed as I gazed out the car window at the dreary blue sky. I don’t want to go to school.... If only I could sleep a little longer.... The only thing that lifts my spirits is that I’ll get to see my two best friends.

Otherwise, the mere thought of seeing my classmates and teachers makes me want to punch something.

I’d like to sigh again, but my dad might suspect I’m hiding problems. My parents have enough worries; I don’t want to burden them.

Besides, they won’t understand the mindset of teenagers my age. My dad, being a police officer, tends to see things seriously. If I let him, he’ll blow up the whole school.

“Goodbye!” I say to my dad, trying to smile.

My class is on the second floor. I climbed the stairs without saying a word. When I reached the first floor, I saw Sam.

A rather short boy, but still quite handsome. I still don’t know if I should put him on the list of my friends or those who have disappointed me.

We were good friends at the beginning of the year. But he started to misinterpret everything I do. He doesn’t joke with me like he used to. And sometimes he would glare at me and talk behind my back .And it annoys me that he thinks I’m looking at him in class while I’m looking at the teacher!

Yet, when he heard two girls making fun of me, he defended. And he’s quite empathetic. It’s a shame he changed his attitude like that, but I still like him more than his other friends.

I walked past him without saying hello. I continue climbing the stairs until I reach the second floor, then my class. And here it is..... I walked in, looking straight ahead, but I can still feel judgmental stares on me. A guy says loudly, “Rich people’s shoes!”

That’s for me. One day, in math class, I was wearing sneakers that I’d had since last year. I was tired of having my feet crossed, so I stretched them out a bit. And what did some of these idiots think? That I was doing it on purpose to show off that I had super cool shoes! They think I’m going to let it go? Okay....

“Yes, it’s true, I sent my dad to buy them in other galaxies! I told him to bring me the best of the entire universe! When he asked about these, the alien replied that they were so expensive that selling all the galaxies would barely be enough. And that’s what my dad did! So bad news, tomorrow the aliens will sell us all!” I reply with a mocking smile.

Yes, I’m aware that I wasn’t funny. That wasn’t even my intention. I could see the confusion on their faces. What a satisfaction to see that they didn’t get the reaction they were hoping for!

“Hahah, that was very funny!” I turn around.

It was Zac.

“Didn’t you find it funny? I’m so sad that I’m going to throw myself off a roof now!” I reply sarcastically.

He narrows his eyes and says to his friends, “She’s crazy.” “Yeah....”

Since the teacher wasn’t there yet, I took the opportunity to go see my best friends, Anna and Chloe.

Their classrooms were on the first floor. Even though we’re in the same grade level. I miss last year... We were in the same class, and it was great... Now that we’re separated, Chloe has found a new friend and rarely comes to see us, while Anna is surrounded by friends she doesn’t really consider as friends.

She’s the one I always go to see during breaks. But we know what they say.....“Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Hey Gwen!” she calls when she sees me.

“Hi.”

She quickly kisses me. She was with two girls from her class. One of them was her old enemy, who had tried to make me trip last year. To reward her, I had stomped on her foot. But they made up last year. The other girl is nice, but she lies a lot.

“So, how’s it going with you?” Anna asks me.

“I’m fine, and you?”

Anna already has a lot of problems. I rarely tell her what’s going on. I don’t want to worry anyone with something that’s not worth it.

“Well, actually....No....What do I do about Justin? I can’t forget about him...”

That Justin again... I’m actually surprised that Anna is still thinking about him after what he did to her. He’s a year older than us. I don’t know much about love, but I tried to comfort her as best I could. I hope I can at least make her feel better...

The bell rang. I have Geography... I stayed with Anna for a while before going back to class.

As usual, I was greeted by the same stares. But when I sat down, the two girls in front of me smiled at me sincerely.

They’re among the only people who truly consider me a friend. As for the one next to me... I’ve known her since I was 14, and......She’s the queen of hypocrites. The teacher arrived. Please not him..... He started joking with the students before starting the lesson.

Despite all the efforts I make, Geography is the only subject in which I always get a bad grade. So I decided to give up because since I’ll always be disappointed.

While he was explaining, I couldn’t help but think about what was happening to me.

Why is everything I do always misinterpreted? It’s always me. Others are never judged. It’s like they’re waiting for me to do something so they can interpret it the wrong way. Even an act of kindness. I don’t usually care about these type of things.....It’s not like I can change their mentality.... But when someone I like, someone I had a crush on, joins in too, I have to admit that I’m sad. For the first time, I’m hurt that people are saying bad things about me.....Isn’t it true....Zac ....?