⬆️Joey King as Natalia
Happy reading!

Dedicated to Mariepinkston03 thank you for everything and always being there for me

After Eucharia and Maitreyi had crossed paths with Natalia and her crew, with Natalia's friends wishing her good luck, she had entered the office once and for all.

Principal Freeman wanted to talk to her about something, more so about her and maybe her friends bullying Maitreyi.

"I know you said I'm in trouble sir," she had reminded him as she had sat down opposite him, Principal Freeman watching her the whole time.

"But come on. I know you're just messing with me. I'm not really in trouble, am I?"

She thought he was messing with her but he wasn't.

He didn't even look like he was either.

"You must be kidding yourself if you think that I was lying about you being in trouble," he deadpanned. "You are in trouble. Big trouble."

Natalia didn't say anything, rolling her eyes. She actually hadn't gotten in trouble much at school, even though she had disliked most people.

She didn't actually bully anyone. Directly anyway, more so indirectly. To an extent.

If she didn't like someone, she would have made it known to the whole school.

"I swear sir, whatever I did, I didn't mean to do."

"Oh, so lemme get this straight. You're saying that you 'accidentally' talked badly and made up some fake rumours about Maitreyi to Diamanté at lunchtime on Friday?"

Principal Freeman had inevitably used air quotes for the word accidentally like Natalia was expecting him to.

Even if she had denied it.

She had soon realised that that was the wrong thing to do so because Principal Freeman wasn't done there. He had played back the voice recording Maitreyi had played in front of him.

She had sent it to him via email, and it was sent to her by Diamanté.

"Her brother died. I bet you it was her fault."

"Why on earth would you say something like that?"

"I went to her house the other day for her late brother's death anniversary. It had been five years since he had died. Her family is pretty dysfunctional if you ask me. Not just that but... I heard Maitreyi does fraud."

That wasn't true and Maitreyi wasn't a fraud in the slightest.

Her family could have been dysfunctional at times, although that was mainly when they hadn't gotten along with each other due to one reason or the other.

Diamanté didn't say anything, with Natalia continuing to ramble on about fake information about Maitreyi because she was insanely jealous of her.

"Not just that but you know how you said she was really pretty in class today? Yeah, she got plastic surgery. And because that she devil is a fraud, she therefore didn't have to pay. Everything I'm telling you is the truth and I can show you where I got the information from."

He had paused it and Natalia had turned red.

"Diamanté recorded me?! You should tell him off for that!"

"No, he had every right to do so, Natalia. Because whether he did or not, you have no right to talk badly about anybody, not just Maitreyi. And you shouldn't be spreading rumours either."

Natalia had apologised, but they weren't done there.

It had seemed as though she clearly had something against the girl. Which was what he wanted to know about.

Why on Earth did she dislike Maitreyi so much?

Oh, probably because she was almost everything Natalia wasn't. She was pretty, smart and the boy Natalia had liked had liked her instead.

Natalia had unconsciously put Maitreyi on a pedestal. She had seen her as this perfect human being that couldn't have done anything wrong. Her friends too.

Maitreyi was far from perfect, as well as her friends. Natalia just had some unrealistic expectations of this girl, like she had done with most pretty people she had come across.

"I don't wish pain on that girl." Natalia had answered after what had felt like centuries but was really only a few minutes. "But I don't wish success on her either. I guess I wish what I'd call, a happy adversity."

"A happy adversity?"

Natalia didn't like Maitreyi but she didn't dislike her either.

Actually, she did dislike her. But she didn't hate her. Yet, anyway. That was probably going to change anytime soon.

"Yes. Like I said, I don't want bad things to happen to her. But then again, I don't want good things to happen to her either. So wishing Maitreyi a happy adversity would suffice for now."

Principal Freeman had stared at her blankly, as though she was speaking another language entirely. When the silence had gotten too much, he had moved on.

"Okay, so I'm not going to ask you again why you don't like her because it suddenly seems too personal for you to share," he noticed. "However, I am giving you and your friends three warnings each. If I find out that any of you try to ruin anyone's life here three times - not just Maitreyi's and her friends - then you're expelled. You understand?"

They had a no bullying policy like all schools should have had. Not just that - Principal Freeman had hated it when people had spread rumours about someone else, whether true or fake.

Natalia had understood, grateful that he hadn't expelled her or her friends straight away.

"Oh and make up with Maitreyi. You have until the end of the week to do so."

"One thing at a time, sir," Natalia had heaved under her breath as she had stood up to leave. "But I'll try."

She had thanked him for his time, going outside where her friends had been patiently waiting for her - minus Zafira.

She had said to them that she needed to use the toilet, but in reality that was actually an excuse for her to leave the group forever and to hopefully join Maitreyi's friendship group instead.

"How did it go?" Syeda wanted to know when she had seen Natalia walk out. "Tell us everything."

"He wants me to make up with Maitreyi and her friends by the end of the week," Natalia had scoffed.

Then she had mentioned about the three warning things for each of them. None of them had even realised that Zafira wasn't there.

Or they did, they just didn't care.

"Are you going to do that?" Cynthia wanted to know, folding her arms.

"Do I look like I'm going to?" Natalia shouted. "Of course not. I wouldn't make friends with them even if they were the last people on Earth."

She most likely meant that she wouldn't have made friends with them by the end of the week - maybe next week or month.

Though certainly not this week.

---

The last lesson of school had quickly come, with Eucharia waiting for Maitreyi at the school's cafe after so that they could have taken the bus home together.

Her feet were up on the table as she was talking to a worried Saniyah on the phone. Saniyah hated missing school unless she didn't have a choice, and she was worried that she had missed something important.

"Saniyah, girl! For the last time - nothing's happened today!"

"You sure?"

"Apart from what I already told you about Principal Freeman, no!" Eucharia had laughed a bit. "Don't worry, girl. I'll keep you and Candi Rose updated if something happens. How's the baby shower going?"

"It's going well. My Aunty was a bit stressed before it happened although luckily my family and Candi's had managed to help her calm down."

Eucharia was just about to say something though stifled it because she had seen a pretty frustrated Maitreyi come to her direction.

Not just that: she had told Eucharia that she couldn't have taken it anymore as she had met her at the cafe.

"Erm, Saniyah. I think Treyi is in trouble. I'll call you back, okay?"

"Sure. See ya, and hope she's okay."

Eucharia and Saniyah had said goodbye to each other on the phone, with Eucharia telling Saniyah to greet a sleeping Candi Rose for her.

When the phone conversation was over, Eucharia was opposite a ticked off Maitreyi.

She didn't know what was happening or what had happened, but she was just about to find out.

"Damn, Treyi. When I said to meet me here after school, I meant in a good mood. Not in a bad one. What's up with you?"

"I've had enough of Natalia. I need revenge on this girl, Eucharia! I can't take her anymore!"

Eucharia freaked out, trying to tell her to change her mind.

"Treyi, where were you when I told you that revenge is never the answer?!" Eucharia had bickered. "It'll do more harm to you than it would do to Natalia and her crew. Trust me. I know from experience. My younger brother Cortez used to be bullied and I wanted revenge on the people that bullied him. I got so carried away that I made him almost get suspended. I got in so much trouble after and he didn't speak to me for a month. That's why I stopped seeking revenge on people. Karma is real, sis. Even if you think it's not."

Eucharia also wanted to know what had happened that had made Maitreyi think this way.

Someone from Natalia's group, minus Zafira had sent rude messages in her locker. It was typed but she had Principal Freeman look into it via the CCTV cameras on his system.

"And what did he find?"

"Syeda did them. He gave her a warning. Natalia forced her to do it. She got a warning as well. I don't understand why he can't just expel them!"

Then again, the messages weren't that rude she had guessed. They weren't like death threats or insults against her family / friends or anything.

They were jus normal, partially rude messages that Maitreyi didn't want to mention. There were three of them in total.

"And you seriously think revenge will help you with your problems?"

"Not even big revenge, Euchy. Small revenge."

"Treyi you know 'small' revenge will only end up being larger," Eucharia scowled, slowly folding her arms. Then she sighed, before saying anything else.

"But it also seems as though you're not taking no for an answer. So fine, let's reluctantly seek revenge on these girls. But only for one day."

Even though she had stressed the word reluctantly, Maitreyi was still happy, cheering.

It had turned out that Maitreyi wasn't the only one who wanted revenge on them. Zafira did too, who had appeared just as they were about to leave.

"Can I join your revenge plan?" She had enquired, coming out of nowhere. "I've been trying to look for either one of you all day but I didn't have time to. I normally come here after school anyway when I've had a bad day."

Eucharia and Maitreyi had looked at one another, then at her kind of sceptically.

"I know it seems weird that someone from your enemy's friendship group wants to join, but I can guarantee you that my intentions are real and I don't have any ulterior motives. So please can I join you guys?"

Treyi and Euchy had remained silent, not saying anything, they had just stared.

Uncertain, Eucharia had told Zafira that she would have talked about it to Maitreyi.

Zafira had acknowledged that, watching both of them leave simultaneously to talk privately about her.

Now all she had to do was wait, and hopefully they would have let her join the team as well.