October 11

9:36 A.M.

All Charlize had ever wanted was to fit in. She wanted to be just another face in the crowd, the kind that wouldn't attract attention and wouldn't stand out. Unfortunately, from the moment she had stepped foot on campus, that seemingly simple goal had proved to be impossible.

Most obviously, her academic prowess separated her from the other students at her school, but she didn't quite mind that so much. She loved being the smartest student in the class. Unfortunately, the thing that really distinguished her from her classmates was her appearance. Although this seemed rather superficial, her school catered exclusively to society's highest class, save for the scholarship kids, and this meant that every student was the child of tech billionaires, movie stars, or supermodels. So for Charlize, her troubled past, her too-dark hair, the prominent scar across her cheek, and her plain clothing made her an easy target.

And that was why, when her chemistry class was asked to form pairs for a laboratory experiment, Charlize found herself without a partner, like always. So, Mrs. Lang stuck the embarrassed girl into a group of three, with none other than Ariana and Victoria. Delightful.

"Aw, Mrs. Lang, why do we have to work with Tiger over here?" Victoria whined loudly. "The girl can't even walk in a pair of high heels."

The class snickered in response, recalling her disastrous fashion show performance, while Charlize grimaced at the ever-popular nickname that referred to the stripe-like scar across her cheek.

"Alright, Charlotte, so Ariana and I have a lot to talk about, so why don't you just do the experiment?" Victoria said again. 

Charlize didn't bother to correct her for calling her the wrong name or for taking advantage of her chemistry skills. She knew she was better off doing the experiment by herself anyway, so while Ariana and Victoria giggled about their newest celebrity crush, Charlize mixed the chemicals and completed the lab report.

The thing about Charlize was that, for some reason, she was always the center of attention yet simultaneously invisible.

That was fine with her. Eventually, she would get her revenge.