"I'm home!" A woman shouted as she walked through the front door. She was met with the delicious smell of food being cooked, and as soon as she closed the door, a small figure pounced on her.
"Mommy!!" said the little girl. She hugged the woman and giggled. The woman patted the little girl's head while chuckling along.
She got up, holding the little girl as she walked into the living room. The decorations were homey, the TV was on, and on it were cartoons of a cat fighting a mouse.
"Hey, honey. How was work?" a man said. He walked into the living room, and both the man and the woman appeared to be in their late twenties.
"It was nice," the woman said, "One of my coworkers tried to hit on me, I taught him a lesson by shaming the hell out of him."
The woman sat on the couch and put the girl on her lap. The man walked back into the kitchen, seemingly finishing what he started, which was cooking.
"Mommy?" the girl asked, trying to get the attention of her mother, "How did you and Dad meet? I want to know how you two are so happy with each other all the time."
The woman smiled and let out a small laugh before ruffling the girl's hair, "OK, fine, but only because you asked, yeah?"
——————
I used to be the queen bee. I was considered perfect, even if I was still a freshman. Boys liked me, girls envied me.
I used to be at the top of my class, in grades, AND gym class. Every time I saw my test results, I was number one, but it all started to change when a new student entered the school.
"Class, we have a new student," the teacher announced as she looked at him, "please help him feel like he belongs."
The new student was a skinny boy who had glasses, his face neutral and cold as he nodded and looked around, scanning the room.
All the other students waited for an introduction. "My name is Elliot Reid. Nice to meet you all." His voice was cold and matter-of-fact, like he wasn't here to hang around.
I stared at him, his messy hair, the clothes that felt like he was going to a job interview. It disgusted me, I hated how that nerd looked, and he's cold, too? He's just waiting to be outshone by me.
Elliot met my gaze before sitting at the only empty seat, the one to my left. I felt frustrated at how he just casually sat next to me; my face twisted into a scowl, and I wanted to punch him into tomorrow.
The teacher turned around and began writing on the board, making us copy what she was writing on the board before she started to explain what the lesson was about.
I heard yawning and some scratching of a pencil against a notebook to my left, the sound of drawing… not writing. I turned to my left and saw Elliot doodling in his notebook instead of writing or paying attention.
I rolled my eyes and sighed, the sigh slightly calming me down. I kept my gaze and attention on the board and teacher, listening to the explanation.
At lunch, I walked to the cafeteria, sat at an empty table, and put my food on it. My friends quickly followed, some of them were fake.
"Hey! Aurora! How are you? My brother likes you, you know, maybe you could date him?" one of the fake ones said, trying to use my popularity to boost hers by dating her brother.
My friends kicked the fake one out of the table, knowing that I hate those people.
"It's okay, Aurora, that girl will not get near you, we will make sure of that." one of my real friends said. It's cringy and all, but at least they have my back…
Aurora… Aurora Lane, that is my name, known in all of the school as the "queen bee" and "the perfect girl".
I scanned the cafeteria, nerds being bullied, jocks bullying nerds, boys all over the place, while girls sat neatly with their respective friend groups.
One boy caught my attention; it was the new guy, Elliot, who was sitting at the window, eating a sandwich all alone. I chuckled.
Laughing at him, I could tell that he is a pathetic loser who can't make any friends.
My "friends" yapped on and on, never shutting up about their lives, like a broken record stuck on repeat.
It's petty; they think their lives are perfect when they hate themselves, so they brag about it to others.
After school, I went back home, entered through the door, and as soon as I reached the living room, I was met with the sight of my dad sitting on the couch. He was working on his laptop, ignoring the fact that I had arrived.
I walked to the kitchen and saw my mom, she was cooking the usual rice and curry…
My parents never cared about my well-being; they always cared about my looks and grades.
At dinner, there was silence… No talking, just silence; they didn't ask how my day was.
After dinner, I walked straight to my room, sat at my desk, and revised my lessons.