Cassie knew something bad was brewing the moment she stepped into school. People were staring at their phones. A lot. Giggles were shared, slaps were thrown here and there. Some people even started to mingle with others they wouldn't otherwise talk to. It felt like pandemonium, and it felt even more so because Cassie had no idea what was happening.

Worse, they made it a point to not look at her. The only reason it happened was because: A: she had magically turned into a very unmanageable sight on the duration between her morning shower to her short drive to school. Or B, aka the more realistic approach: They were talking about her.

When it came to gossip, she needed to find Lucas. She deposited her bag to her locker and followed the loudest laughter at school. Sure enough, she found Lucas laughing and talking in exagerrated animated manner, girls and boys both flocked around him.

"-and you know what she said after I did it? 'I should have gone with the bigger guy'."

Laughter erupted, but when Lucas's eyes caught Cassie, he held up his hand and made an elaborate excuse to withdraw himself from the crowd. He high-fived a few guys as he made his way over to Cassie.

"Don't tell me that one of your attempts to find a beard is the reason why everyone is acting so weird today," Cassie said in lieu of 'hi'.

"A hello would be nice, but I guess you like getting straight into the point," Lucas said. "So I don't know if you notice, but people are looking at you today."

Cassie knew, and that exactly what was worrying her. "They don't look at me when they know I will notice."

To make a point, Cassie turned her head to the right. Just like that, the eyes that had been staring into the right side of her head magically disappeared into a sea of people. When she turned her head to the left, the same thing happened, but the invisible eyes started frolicking around her right side of peripheral vision. "See?"

"Fascinating," Lucas smirked. "Anyway, I assume you were blocked from seeing the original article, then."

Cassie was about to ask for more context, but Lucas dragged her out. They found a relatively deserted hallways and Lucas made sure that nobody was following them before he showed Cassie's his phone.

"Just," he withdrew his phone just as Cassie was reaching for it. "Don't touch anything aside from the page I'm showing you."

Cassie nodded. It was an optimum rule, anyway. Never swipe at another person's phone, when s/he had so willingly trusted it to you.

Cassie held Lucas's lifeline, thumbs out of course, and the page on the screen was the school's gossip page's instagram story. She knew she followed the Puke Some Grape's page since ages ago, but the instastory had never appeared on her page as she scrolled mindlessly yesterday.

The first page was a simple bait:

"Know a real case of an ugly duckling turned swan?"

She swiped to the next story, and there it was, in full glory. The most unflattering photo of herself, two years ago. Cassie was at her fattest then, with oily hair and chubby cheeks that almost swallowed her eyes. She was in the middle of tripping over her own foot, and by the looks of it, falling. Cassie didn't even remember when or where it happened. But she knew she sometimes tripped. It was normal. Everybody had done it at least once in their lifetimes.

None of them had ever gotten the honor of getting photographed when they were being their clumsiest self.

The next slide was a wicked comment. 'Remember this girl? No? Me too. It's understandable.'

Cassie swiped, and there it was. The recent look of her new style. Thinner, better hair, better clothes, better everything. She didn't trip despite the higher heels on her shoes. Her expression was a permanent case of a resting-bitch-face, and she was almost always surrounded by the popular girls. Mainly, Tyra.

"Word is, Tyra made her to be second in command, although we all know who's got the real pants." It then showed, very bravely, a split second picture of Desmond's blurred face. Cassie could already feel that this story must had gotten a lot of views and shares from the student body.

What feared her finally came out. On the last slide was her picture, pinching Desmond's butt as he and Tyra were embracing. Cassie gritted her teeth. She had acted reckless last week, groping Desmond in public like that. She had wanted to make a statement, and while she had gotten it, she could never really be certain that nobody witnessed her doing it.

Lest of all, took a glaring evidence of it.

It would ruin a lot of chances that Cassie had planned. Chances that Tyra and Lucas had plotted. Now Tyra had to stage a break up, or maybe a fight with Desmond. Now people would think Cassie was something more than an innocent girl getting to her first foray into the popular world. Now they would question Cassie's authenticity with Tristan.

"I would have taken you out of a cocktail night for that achievement, girl. Tapping Desmond's ass in public, as he's hugging Tyra nonetheless? That's power move." Lucas couldn't hide his excitement.

Cassie gave him a deliberating look.

He raised both of his hands. "I know that everybody thinks that I'm the owner of Puke  Some Grape, and any other moment, I'll be happy to take credit. But this one, I didn't do."

Cassie nodded once. "I know."

"What? You trust me on account that I told you I didn't do it? Who taught you to be that soft?"

"No. I trusted you, on account of me knowing the real owner of Puke Some Grape."

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Cassie knew that the Content Club would be empty, so she didn't even bother. She also knew, however, that Tracy preferred a very secluded girl's toilet at the third floor near the piano room.

So she waited.

She skipped two classes waiting. She figured she might be sent to the bubblegum counselor later, but she knew it would be easy to get out of it. She had gotten various texts, from Tyra ('Now what are we going to do?'), Desmond (Where are you?) and Tristan, which she didn't dare see. She didn't want to deal with Tristan right now, not after such a good day with him yesterday. She had to tunnel her focus towards confronting Tracy now.

Speak of the devil...

Tracy got in. Her blond hair was pinned into neat ponytail and she was staring down at her phone, no doubt admiring her life's work. Cassie opened the bathroom stall where she had been hiding, and Tracy nearly jumped.

Tracy's shock changed into hardened fury. Tracy didn't do pretense. It wasn't in her code of conduct. She had always thought that she was a better person than anyone in St. Pulkeria, and thus honesty was something that she always prided herself for.

"You blocked me," Cassie said.

There was a ghost of smile in Tracy's lips. "I thought you'd be upset to see that. And you will eventually know anyway."

"I thought you're on my side," was all Cassie could mutter. She inherently knew that Tracy wasn't someone she could depend on. Tracy was too smart. Too independent. Too idealistic. But she had always blared on being honorable. Guess even honorable people couldn't resist the temptations to block the progress of people they underestimated.

"I just wanted to give you a wake up call, Cassandra." Tracy maintained her composure. She looked at Cassie through the mirror. Her hands went down to her purse and she took out a lipbalm. As she was applying the balm on her lips, she said, "You're getting too thin. Your clothes get so tight, and I'm being kind with my choice of word. You started seeing Tristan, who was notorious for his sexcapades. And now, you're groping Desmond Arrington in public? Cassandra, you should have seen the downward spiral you were in."

"And you think taking it public is the best way to give me a friendly reminder?"

"I tried before. Once," there was a flash of hurt on Tracy's bright blue eyes. Cassie of course remembered. Tyra had interefered them before, and Tracy had ran away with her tail tucked between her legs. Maybe the encounter, and Cassie's lack of protest towards Tyra's hostility to Tracy ran deep in Tracy's mind. Deeper than Cassie ever accounted for.

"What did you expect will happen to me, when people knew that I have a thing with Desmond?"

"I've speculated about that, too," Tracy puckered her glossed lips. She was pretty. In a plain, simple way. Standing side by side with her, Cassie realized how far apart they had become now, in terms of appearance. They were both nondescript blondes with average height and weight. But Cassie had a more polished look to her. It was a recently acquired advantage. During their tumultuous friendship, Tracy had always been the better looking one in between the two.

"One. Tyra will realize that you're never interested in being friends with her and dump you from her little group of whores. Two. Desmond will take another look at you, have another go with you, and then go back to his tall, pretty girlfriend. Three. During the time in which Desmond is giving you a second chance, you will break up with Tristan and check yourself for some STD."

Cassie raised her hand. She didn't even realize she did it, but there was an ongoing surge to slap Tracy right on her cheeks. With her pale coloring, the mark of her hand would really show.

"Four," Tracy saw the raised hand and chose to not stop talking. "You get mad at me, and I will blackmail you into acquiescence."

"And how do you think you will do that?" Cassie's voice was a low, guttural growl.

"Remember when I went into your house? I found something that you won't want the rest of the student body to know."

Tracy sent a picture to Cassie's phone, and there she saw it.

The diagnosis.

It took Cassie a while to calm her breathing. She counted. One. Two. Three. Four. She closed her eyes and brought her hand down. She exhaled loudly and sharply. When she opened her eyes again, the abomination that was Tracy was still standing next to her. But she had finally controlled her urge of slapping Tracy's face to oblivion.

"Okay," was all Cassie said, before she walked away from the toilet.

She heard the relieved sigh, though, just before she was out from earshot. She hard Tracy sighing again, and then there was a gentle thud as Tracy slid into the floor.

Cassie snorted. Well, Tracy was right to be afraid.

Because Cassie didn't like betrayal. And she had enough time to scheme for two plots.

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Author's note:
IM SOORORRRYY THAT I'M ONE WEEK LATTEEE!!
My schedule has been upside down lately. And i've been reading this good book called Captive Prince trilogy and it just consumed my life.

Anyway, CHALLENGE TIME.
Those who followed me when I wrote The Quirky Tale of April Hale would know that I intentionaly didn't reveal April's condition before chapter 15. That's when I added the tag 'asperger' to the book. I want the revelation to be some sort of a 'twist' to the book. Because there are so many quirky, borderline weird behaviors from female characters on romcom stories, and I wonder what it's like if they're quirky because they can't help it.

And that's what I'm doing with this book. Again.
There's a single missing tag that I haven't added to this book. And it pertains Cassie's... diagnosis. Can you guess what is it?

(Hint: it's big on youtube right now, and that's why when one of a big youtuber starts detailing this diagnosis in such meticulous details, I'm part creeped out and part annoyed, because now everybody will think I'm just inspired by this video, when in fact, I've put hints and hints and hints thorough the books and Cassie's behavior. Plus, the real reason why I chose to write this in third person POV :) )

See you on the next chapter! I hope it comes sooner than later. But rest assured, it'll be within a week!