During recess...

The cafeteria was filled with the comforting smell of pizza with a side of mashed potatoes , and desert was a slice of chocolate cheesecake topped with brown frosting and a base of Graham crackers- my favourite dishes! 

But..  these enticing aromas weren't enough to act as platelets to my mental wounds of being stabbed on the back by Lily. 

As I headed to the nerd table, tray in hand, i spotted Lily and Kiara, now radiant in their Glow ups, now ex nerds having been 'promoted' to 'popular'. chatting animatedly with their new popular friends, Lily with diamond , Colette and Autumn, and Kiara with hers, A wave of disbelief washed over me. I couldn't believe Lily would betray me. 

Just as I was about to place my tray on an empty spot at the nerd table...

"Hey! Stop!" A voice unexpectedly rang, interrupting my thoughts. 

I whipped around to see Ethan, one of the nerds in my year,  his black eyebrows arched, and his right hand posing what looked like a stop gesture... In my direction! 

"Huh? What's going on?" I asked, bewildered. 

"You can't sit with us anymore. " He replied, curt and final.

"What? Why? I'm a nerd!" I protested. 

"Well, not anymore! You're been 'demoted' to an outcast! Now go to the outcast table!" He demanded, pointing dramatically in the table's direction.  "Chop chop! We don't have all day!"

A dramatic gasp filled the air. Coming from the.... popular table.

"Oh look!" Diamond screamed, her voice cutting through the atmosphere like a knife, everyone's heads turning. "Even Alex's own clique doesn't want her!" 

Laughter erupted throughout the canteen, echoing off the walls. The nerd table join in, excluding a few sympathetic juniors  and Kiara, surrounded by her popular friends staring at me, her eyes downcast.  Along with the outcast table, just staring blankly before quickly turning back. 

Sighing and burning with humiliation, I trudged towards the outcast table, now made of two small identical round white tables instead of one, and occupied with 7, scraping their plates in silence. 

"Urm... Hello, excuse me, can I sit here?" I asked politely, my voice barely above a whisper. 

"Yeah, sure." One replied, eyes glued on the plate. 

"Thanks ..." I mumbled. Just as I pulled out a chair ...

Bang! 

It slid out under me with a loud kick.

"You scared me! Why did you do that?!" I exclaimed, looking around. 

"Just grab the chair and sit down ." He replied nonchalantly, as if he couldn't comprehend my question. 

I couldn't believe this. I went over to the chair and set it down again. 

Splurt! 

Dark purple liquid splashed on the chair. I looked up to see one of them, another boy, dressed in a black hoodie and worn out jeans, holding a white drink packet with a purple grape as a design

"Hey! What was that for?!" 

Unexpectedly. ..

"AHahaha...!"

"Nice one , bro! That was sick!" One of them cheered, patting him on the back. 

"Clean it up loser! Or no chair for you!" Another chimed in. 

Utterly exasperated, I placed my tray on the table and fished out a packet of tissues in my pocket and mopped up the mess before finally sitting down. 

"So you want to be a singer, right?" One asked, redirecting the conversation. 

"Yes, wait. How did you even know that?" I replied. 

"Diamond told the school..."

What? Diamond? My pretty, popular and entitled sister? Lily must've told her. 

"You know what," one of them continued, as if  all colour had drained from his face. "Just give up, Alex. No one would want you, even if you had a beautiful voice. You're not pretty..."

"No, that's not true. Look guys, looks aren't everything, and -" i began as an attempt to defend myself. 

"Once a loser, always a loser. Just give up." He cut me off, his tone even. You're doomed to fail for life. 

As soon as he finished his sentence, my eyes caught sight of what looked like thin books flipped open on the tables in front of all of them. Out of curiosity, I sneaked a peek. 

English :F (35)

Spanish: F ( 46) 

Mathematics: F (20)

Chemistry: F (57)

Biology: F (53)

Geography: F (10)

History: F (43)

(Author's note: only one example of what Alexis saw)

My goodness! Is that a report card? And it's not just one, but all 7 of them! "You'd better buck up!" ,  "please study harder!" And "see me after class!!!" Scrawled in bright red ink. 

Concern engulfed me. first being relentlessly bullied and excluded, and struggling with academics at the same time?! The picture of them working tirelessly for long hours barely earning any  income or even working multiple odd jobs terrifies me! 

"Are those your report cards? I can help you with your grades. " I offered. "I'm a top student. And I get straight A's. " 

"Don't bother, it's a waste of time. It's not like we'll pass anyway. " One shot back, monotonous, as if all the blood in his body has been sucked out. 

THAT WAS LIKE ADDING OIL TO A RAGING FIRE!!!!

WELL, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO STUDY, WHY DON'T YOU JUST DROP OUT AND GO TO WORK?! 

Wait... No... I can't fully blame them, they've been through a lot, like me, shunned and mercilessly tormented... Though I doubt they have bad parents like mine...

Swallowing my resentment, I grabbed my utensils and began digging in. The taste of pizza , mashed potatoes and chocolate cake seemed to lose it's taste, replaced with the bitterness of rejection and the weight of helplessness. 

Would things get any worse?