Alexa bumped into Josh, smirking as she did so. Books that he had been holding dropped to the floor as he winced in pain. It felt good to give a little payback, one he so genuinely deserved. Some would call that retaliation. She called it justice. She loathed his very existence. Alexa noticed how Josh would stride over to the basket once he was finished with a test. It made her scream in fury inside because she knew he was doing that just so he could get back at her. Just because Alexa wasn't exactly the most intelligent person in England, did not give him the right to freely brag about his intellectual level. Alexa whispered to her friend to the right,

"They say that he isn't even smart. They say that he cheats during class, using his Superted decorated iPhone." She honestly thought the remark was somewhere between "dumb" and "dumber", but her friend laughed, all the same. She whispered the same comment to the rest of her friends, who laughed in chorus with her. It would've been a lie if she said she didn't feel any remorse towards Josh, but resentment blocked her sense of judgement and so, she resumed chuckling. As they rounded to the next hallway, some of her friends began to depart, leaving herself, and three other friends. Well, three is better than none, she thought to herself.

"Oh my God, did you hear about the new perfume that came out last week in France?" the friend she had whispered to first asked. Before she could reply, one other friend interrupted.

"Oh my gosh, yes! But it's like 500 pounds! 500!" Alexa sighed, not interested in the topic, but fancied to participate regardless.

"I could probably get 500 from my account. I have over 2000!" one replied.

"Yeah, but I think I'd fancy a Gucci bag instead. I heard those are trending," Alexa put in. Her group of friends shrugged, not completely agreeing with her, but did not want to disagree openly either. After all, she was the leader of the group and to reflect their idea that wouldn't be in favor of the leader would be considered "illegal." But she despised the way her group treated her. They treated her in some regal manner, which made her cringe. After all, she wasn't the Queen of England. Merely a student, suffering from life's curve balls. She scanned the hallway for science class and spotted it almost instantly. Her group discontinued the conversation on perfumes as they squeezed inside class, noticing everyone seated and silent. That's queer, Alexa thought to herself. Our class is always chatty.

"Everyone, put your folders up, we are taking the physics test today!" Mrs. Opling announced enthusiastically as if it was some great affair. Alexa's stomach turned in an unpleasant manner. Oh, my gosh! I completely forgot! She seated herself amongst her friends, towards the back of the room, not wanting her teacher to notice the sudden paleness that had decorated her cheeks. She noted Josh looking her way. She smirked, trying to hide the anxiety from her expression. He turned and faced the board. Alexa released a breath she hadn't realized she's been holding. Mrs. Opling began to pass out the stack of tests she held, nestled in her arm.

"Good luck!" her friend whispered. She nodded. She was going to need it. Finally, Mrs. Opling reached their row and handed out the rest of the packets. As soon as Alexa received hers, she knew she wasn't getting out of school. Each question seemed more foreign to her than the next. She tried to calm herself, and force an attempt to answer a question.

"What does Coulomb's electric force express in an equation form?": it read. She racked her brain for anything she might've learned that would help answer the question. Kinetic energy? No, that was sixth grade. Nuclear energy? That was also sixth grade, you smarty pants. Think, Alexa. Think! After five minutes of intense thinking, she came up with nothing and decided to insert a random equation. She realised that she knew none of the answers for any of the following questions either, and so, scribbled in a handful of random answers. She stood up, gracefully, and marched towards the front, handing in her test. She stole a quick glimpse of Josh, who seemed to be reading a book of some sort. A flavor of distaste entered her mouth. You're wasting your time, Alexa. Just get into your seat and ignore him. She sauntered back to her seat and hastily removed her iPhone from her Vera Bradley backpack. She unlocked it and began texting away speedily.

Alexa: "Hey, guys. That test was kind of hard tbh."

Friend: "Actually, it was pretty easy..."

Friend: "Yeah..."

"Alexa Johnson! Where is your book? You know the rules! NO TEXTING DURING CLASS!" yelled Mrs. Opling, who came storming over with a slip of some sort, in hand.

"Detention, tomorrow afternoon! Don't be late!" she shouted, despite the testing, and placed the slip of paper she was holding onto Alexa's desk. Apprehensive, she seized the slip of paper and shoved it into her pocket of her jeans. Well, at least I won't be bored tomorrow afternoon, she thought to herself.

***

"Hey, Mum, I'm home!" Alexa exclaimed as she entered the house. Murmuring was heard in reply. Alexa entered through the kitchen and into the living room, seeing her mother talking rapidly into the phone, not acknowledging her daughter's presence. Though this behavior happened to be not unusual for Alexa. She gripped her backpack and ambled up the staircase to her room and shut it closed. A stinging arose behind her eyes. No, I can't give in, I can't... But her eyes wouldn't give in to her dearest wishes and tears began to stream her cheeks. A drop glistened in the sunlight as it fell. Her lip quivered as she sobbed, releasing all the agonising pain and sorrow she had to endure. Just to go to school, she had to wear a mask to hide her true personality. A thick mask too. And her friends? More like people-who-lagged-around-her-just-to-get-noticed. No one cared! Considering her father was in jail, she had no one to express her feelings to. Her father seemed to be her only friend...until it was revealed he'd been stealing money from her college fund to pay off poker debts. At that moment, all she desired was someone to walk up to her and say: "Take off that mask, Alexa. I'm here to help, not to judge." But no one was here, except a portion of the essence of her father's soul that remained to remind her how gullible she was. She should've listened to her mother when she had the chance. She replayed what her mother had cautioned her the day before he got arrested.

"Alexa, make sure, if he asks you for anything, don't give in. I divorced him for a reason," she warned. Alexa merely nodded her head, not genuinely listening to her mother's warning.

"Okay, then. Have fun," she added. Alexa, being her toddler-self ran over to her father, holding his hand. He smiled back at her, his brown eyes, gleaming. Her green eyes reflected back. They had gone to a pizzeria that day and talked about daily things and what-not. When they had come home, he smiled and said,

"You're an intelligent girl, Alexa. When people say you aren't, remind them who's the one in charge." Now in the present, she wasn't truly sure she believed her father. After all, why listen to someone who stole money from her college fund if he thought she was so smart? Why trust anyone at all?

***

Lying down in her bed with her sobs finally turning into mere sniffles, she texted her "friends."

Alexa: "Hey, guys. I'm bored. Any suggestions?"

Friend: "Idk, I'm kind of hungry, tbh."

Friend: "Same!"

Friend: "Let's go out to get some food. Chinese restaurant we always go to."

Friend: "Okay :D"

Alexa: "Sure, I'm all for it," she texted as she stashed her phone away in her purse. She gracefully slipped off her bed and raced down the steps. Her mother's voice echoed through the hall, undoubtedly still babbling away on the phone. Easy escape, then, she thought to herself. But then again, it was always an easy escape. She took no effort in stealth and simply let the door slam behind her. She was also conscious of the fact that the Chinese restaurant was merely a few blocks away from her house. Alexa began her walk, admiring the spring surroundings, aside from the thick grey clouds hanging overhead. She pondered about the day as she walked. She probably failed that physics test, but it wasn't like anyone was gonna care. Surely not her parents. Sure, her friends will be bounding up and down, wondering what she got, but she'd say, "I got a B." And then they would leave it at that and her in peace. Truthfully, Alexa was excited to have dinner with her "friends." At least she could sulk in her sorrow elsewhere; she was getting tired of the excruciatingly familiar surroundings. Finally the Chinese restaurant, "Bing Wa" was coming into view. She noted two of her "friends" entering the restaurant. And so, she did the same. As soon as she entered, an aroma of chickens, egg rolls, and noodles teased her, taunting her. Booths were situated to the right, creating a sort of maze but not precisely. Immediately, she spotted her group of "friends" on the other side of the restaurant. As she passed a few booths, she suddenly realised she knew one of the occupiers. She stole a glimpse of a boy around her age, black hair, green eyes... Josh! Just ignore him, Alexa. Just ignore him. She resumed marching to her "friends'" booth and settled in, sitting nearest to the aisle.

"Wow, your parents must be awesome, letting you go anywhere you fancy," Alexa's friend exclaimed.

"Yeah, you couldn't possibly fathom..." For the following hour, Alexa ordered her meal with the birthday money she had received from her aunt and ate her food, blissfully. Unlike most people, she didn't savor her food. There was nothing worth savoring. The group of friends talked and discussed whatever happened to be on their minds at that precise moment. And somehow the American actor, Johnny Depp also managed to wedge into some of the conversations. Finally, all that was left were a few fortune cookies. Each friend, including Alexa, grabbed one. Together, they tore off the wrapper. They happened to do it in sync due to the fact that they had created a sort of tradition out of it. Cracks of fortune cookies sounded from their booth. Simultaneously, they slipped out the little fortune. That was when it occurred. Energy began circulating through Alexa's bloodstreams, pumping 100 miles an hour. Anything blocked from her view was suddenly in sight, almost as if she had x-ray vision. The aroma of the restaurant was intensified. Life seemed to seep into her skin, ridding of any depression she may have suffered. And just like that, it was gone.

"Alexa, are you okay?" her friend asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine..." What was she kidding, she felt fantastic for that one moment! "Um, I'll read mine first. 'A superhero may let his enemy knock him down, but won't prevent him from getting back up," she read aloud. One of her friends remarked on how idiotic fortune cookies tended to be, but her voice seemed to be muffled, as if she wore headphones over her ears. Did that...energy really flow through me? Or was it simply a hallucination out of my deepest desires?

Hey, it's me again - your friendly neighborhood Spider-man. Pew *shoots web* pew *shoots another web*

Actually, nah, it's mickey1763 - the girl writing this story. Any thoughts on Alexa? Do you view her differently her now or do you suppose that the treatment is deserved? And, er, if you vote, It will make my day :) I know I said that last time, but I'm serious - it does make my day. I literally go around the house screaming like a lunatic.