James thought his life was perfect. He had good looks, popularity and money. All of that changes when a girl named Rose seems to be the only girl in the school not in love with him. She makes him ask out the schools "ugly girl" Lydia, and it is then when he realizes everything is not what it seems.
The Challenge
"Hey James!"
"Hi James!"
James Laverati strut down the hallway of Avalyn High, an exclusive school in New York. Everyone dropped what they were doing and turned towards James, just to say hi to him. James was the most popular, richest, good looking guy at school. His life was absoutly perfect.
"Hey guys" he said coolly. The bell rang and everyone rushed off to there last class of the day. James took his own sweet time to get to Mr.Weavers algerbra class. "Oh, so nice of you to join us Mr. Laverati" said Mr.Weaver as he entered the classroom in his droning voice. James got to his seat and sat down, while Mr.Weaver started on the lesson plan for the day. James never payed attention in this class, he always got some nerd to do his homework for him.
"Maybe I could get that dork Rose to do my homework for me" he thought as he glance to his right side. There she was, sitting right next to him. James decided a long time ago he would just ignore her. She was at the top of all her classes, she had wild, curly dark brown hair, always tied into a tight french braid, she had tanned skin, and was on the edge of chubbiness, but was still pretty slim. She always wore jeans and a band shirt with some alternitive bands he had never even heard of. Her eyes were the only thing he ever bothered to look at. They were a pretty shade of hazel.
James thought that with a little work, she could be a little pretty. He then looked to his left side. There was Lydia, the class loser. She had frizzy black hair, braces and bad skin. Her eyes were pure black, and she had pale skin and light, pink zits all over her face. She was pretty smart too, but no where near Rose.
"RIIIIIIIING!" there was the bell, his signal for freedom.
"And don't forget, Friday's the day of the big dance!" yelled Mr. Weaver over all the sixteen year old kids rushing to get out of the class. James watched as Rose stood up slowly, gathered her things and walked calmly out of the room. James followed her. She was heading toward her locker. She took some books out and was closing her locker, she turned to see James standing there, cornering her. His hands were on the wall, he was leaning in close to her.
He ment to turn on the charm and make her do his homework for the week.
He expected her to blush but she just rolled her eyes, and her expression became hard. This surprised him deeply.
"What do you want James?" she said coldly.
He raised his eye brows.
"Focus!" he thought.
"So uh, Rose, could you do me a..small favor?" he said in a velvety voice. Her expression just turned colder.
"What?" she asked.
He leaned in a bit closer.
"Could you, do my homework for the week?" he asked.
He looked straight into her eyes. "Oh, James!" she started in an airy voice, he thought he had finally cracked her. "NO!" she snapped, her eyes were filled with absolute hate, it scared him.
"What?! Why?!" he asked, a bit offended.
"Oh, let's see, your an absurd, stupid, selfish jerk who only cares about his image, why don't you, oh, I don't know, OPEN YOUR EYES AND STOP BEING AN IDIOT!" she yelled in his face. it was lucky that the hallway was empty, James didn't want anyone to see this.
" I'l pay you! Do you a favor! Look, my dad will kill me if I fail!!" he was playing the sob story card. Usually he would've just given up right then and trashed her later, but he was going to crack this girl.
"i should just let you fail! This isnt my problem! But, I will do it, IF you do me a favor!" she said, her voice still strong and cold.
"What?" he asked, his confidence coming back.
"You take Lydia to the dance, and I'll do your homework for a month" she challenged him.
"OH MY GOD! This chick is crazy!!!" he thought.
He swallowed hard.
"Fine! Here's today's homework!" he reached into his backpack to get today's assignment.
She held up her hand. "No, you ask Lydia first, then i'll do your homework" she said firmly.
"Fine!" he scoffed.
"She is smart" he thought.
She pushed him aside and walked away.
"Ow! and strong too!"
James walked into the school parking lot and climbed into his black convertible. In his drive home he kept thinking about Rose and how much she scared him. When he realized he was home, he got out of his car and started walking towards the front door. A shiver went down his spine as he realized something else.
Tomorrow afternoon, he was going to have to ask Lydia Fishermen to the school dance.
The Curse
"Tell me everything Rose! Don't leave out a single detail!!"
Was the message my best friend Maya sent me over IM . Of coarse, she was in love with James too, every girl was. I was laying on my belly, on my purple conforter on my bed. I was on my laptop, talking to Maya. Maya had seen me talking to James on her way out of the school.
"R U serious Maya? Nothin happened, the jerk just wanted me to do his homework for him" I typed back.
"O...wht you say?"
"I told him I would do his HW 4 a month if he asked Lydia to the dance on friday"
I could just picture Maya's mouth dropping open into a perfect 'O' right then.
"WHT!?!?! Y didnt you say ME!?!?!"
I rolled my eyes, of coarse she would say that.
"Bcaus Lydia deserves it! Besides, it would be hilarious for all the PopuJerks 2 c tht!"
PopuJerks is what me and Maya called the popular kids. It was, but now it was basically only me calling them that. Ever since my 'accident' 2 years ago me and Maya had driffted apart.
When we were 14, Maya and I would always go to this lake and before school had started back up again, we had went, that's when I was somehow knocked unconsious and began drowning. While I was knocked out, this water nymph/sorceress came too me. She gave me a special 'gift' (I call it a curse) that I could now only see the beauty of people on the inside, not the outside.
For intance, Maya was pretty average, like her hair used to be sleek, balck and straight and her eyes bright, she had perfect skin. Now I could see her on the inside. Her skin was still perfect, but her hair was a bit frizzy, and her eyes looked tired and scary. She was pretty average, which matched her personality, she was very sweet and caring, but sometimes she could be selfish and mean, after I saw her like that, I started realizing that she was mean most of the time.
I never told anyone about my curse. The only way I could stop it is if I made the most horribly ugly person into the most beautiful person my cursed eyes have ever seen. That's the true reason why I picked Lydia. She was absolutly gorgeus through my eyes. Her hair was nice, sleek and perfect, so was her skin and her brown eyes were bright and amazing, so were her teeth, straight and white as snow.
James on the other hand was hard to look at. I had sen him a lot before the curse, but was never interested. He had curly, shiny brown hair, a light tan and emerald green eyes, now his eyes were red and cracked. His hair was gray and flat and his skin was white, cracked and he had numerous skin problems. His perfect athletes body was now shrivled and skinny. He was a monster.
Now, I've never cared about looks, but now I could judge because this is how people were on the inside, the part that is supposed to be judged, and I was determined to find the ugliest person ever to break my curse, and I was sure no one couldve been more ugly then James Levarti.
My computer made a Ding! Noise and I was immediatly pulled me from my thoughts. It was Maya again.
" Don't call them tht! Uggghhhhh. Bsides, who says James wont dump her last minute? Or bail? Or he'll dump her last minute and sho up NEway with some other girl like Ashley? Or Raven? and publicly humiliate her?" she typed.
Ashley was the queen bee of the school. She was blonde, skinny, and had perfect blue eyes. what I saw was actually pretty horrible. Her hair was a bleachy kind of color, she was unhealthily fat, and her eyes were completly white. It just scared me, but it was actually better than looking at James. Everyone like that was.
Her side-kick Raven wasnt that bad. In fact, she was the same inside and out. Average. It was just her money that made her popular. She was pale with black eyes and black, sleek hair. Raven was pretty nice, and didnt like to make fun of other girls, but Ashley always made her.
"U of all pple should know that I'm smart enuf to c rite thru tht! Ive got it all planned out! If he does NEthing to try and get out of this 1, he'll be sorry!" I typed back.
My aunt called me down to dinner.
"GTG! Tlk 2 u l8ter!"
It was only me and my aunt Shirley, since my parents died when I was 5 in an airplane crash. I don't remember them much, but when I see pictures of them, I see them as very beautiful people, and that gives me confort. Thats also another thing, If I get shown a picture I can still see the insides. I only see the outside if they are looking in a mirror or water. So there reflection basically.
"Mmmmmm!! Whats for dinner Shirley?" I asked I walked into the kitchen. We lived in a small apartment, with a basic kitchen and living room where we usually ate and watched movies. Our rooms were pretty small too. All I had in mine was a vanity, bed, closet and books.
"Just fried chicken and mashed potatoes, your favorite!" she said in her high, girlish voice. She was my mom's younger sister, only 28, and had bought the chicken, she couldnt really cook all that well.
"Yay!" I grinned. We sat down on the couch with our plastic plates pilled with chciken and mashed potatoes. I was hardley paying attention to the movie. I looked at my aunt. She was one of the the handful of people who were the same inside and out. Her bouncing curls were golden and her eyes were like my mothers, a heart-warming shade of brown,my eyes used to be the same, but they turned hazel after I aquired my curse .Her skin wasnt perfect though, it was a bit rough, but she was still very pretty.
"What's on your mind kiddo?" she asked, turning towards me. I sighed and told her what happened with James, word for word. She listened intently and when I was finished, she laughed. "You are smart! That was a very nice thing you did for Lydia ,sweet pea but I don't think you should be doing his homework" she said, her face looked very stern. It was my turn to laugh "Don't worry! I'll do it at a B- average, and I don't start until after he asks her, remember?" she nodded her head. "Fine, homework check?" she said, her parental insticts kicking in. "Done as soon as I got home!" I said, saluting her. She smiled. "I'll be in my room if you need me!" I said as I rushed to throw my plate away and run to my room.
I shut the door behind me and flopped onto my bed. I opened my laptop and got online again. Maya was offline, but I noticed I had a friend request. My stomach droppped when I realized who it was. James. I hesitated. Then at the last second I decided.
My mouse clicked on 'decline'.
No way that jerk was going to break me.
Rejection
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
The screeching of my alarm clock pulled me from my dreamland. I rolled out of bed and strolled to my vanity, which was on the other side of the room. I slapped my hand against my alarm clock. I then yawned and grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom and got ready for school. After I pulled on my black New Found Glory shirt and dark blue skiny jeans, came the hard part, doing my hair. The only reason I didnt like doing my hair was because I couldnt do it without looking through a mirror. I am terrified of mirrors. You see, for everyone else, I can see there outside beauty in mirrors, for me, I see my inside beauty in mirrors. I havnt looked in a mirror ever since I got the curse, the only reason I know this is because the water nymph warned me I might not like what I see, and thats frightened me.
Since I dont put on make-up except the occasional lip-gloss this has never been a problem, but my hair has. I used to be able to leave it down, but it needs delicate brushing for that, french braiding is the easiest thing I can do without thinking.
I grabbed my purple fuzzy backpack, a granola bar and left. Shirley always left before me, she started work at 5 at the local library. As I was walking to school, there was Prince Charming in his black convertible with, who else? Ashley.
"Hey Rosy Posie!!" She yelled at me in her annoying high pitched voice. I rolled my eyes. She wasnt worth it. I was saving all of my clever comebacks for Prince Charming.
James started laughing at Ashley's rude remark, but he stopped mid-laugh. It felt wrong for some reason.
"Am I actually softning up for losers like her? First I try to friend her, and she turns me down, and now THIS?!" he thought frantically. He pushed those thoughts away and leaned over to kiss Ashley during a red light. She was the hottest girl in the school, no contest. Every guy wanted her the same way every girl wanted him.
"Except for Rose"
James mentally slapped himself.
He started pulling away when the light turned green again.
"Ugh, it's girls like her that get me so pissed!" she started complaining.
"Waddya mean?" he asked, utterly confused.
"She struts around the place like she owns the school! New flash weirdo, I DO! And she looks at me like im last months Gucci bag.." James let her ramble on about, not really paying attention. The dread in his stomach churned again as he thought about asking Ava to the dance again. He decided he would just hand her a note, the thought of actually having to say the words pierced his heart.
They pulled into the school parking lot and then the day began.
It seemed James had only just gotten to school when 8th period came. It wasnt fair to him.
"Why am I even going to all this trouble for one loser? I can get some other dork to do my homework for me!" he asked himself while tearing out a piece of paper.
"Cause she's the only girl you can't wrap around your finger" said a small voice in his head.
"So? That- that doesnt matter! Its one girl! Out of a billion!" he tried to reassure himself. Then he looked down at the piece of paper under his hands. It took every ounce of will power and strength he had to write down the words. Then he turned to Lydia. She seemed to be hanging on to Mr.Weaver's every word. His hand shook as he passed her the note.
Big mistake.
"Passing notes in my class, eh Mr. Laverdi? Fine then, if it's so important, why don't i just share it with the whole class?" the blood drained from James's face as Mr. Laverdi began reading the note. He knew his life was over. Ashley, Raven and all of the other popular kids were in the class.
"Lydia, will you go to the dance with me on Friday?" Mr. Weaver read. Ashley's mouth dropped into a perfect 'O'.
Everyone started giggling at her. James looked at Rose, she could barley control her laughter.
In the midst of all the laughter, a small voice could barley be heard, but James heard it from his left side.
"No".
James heart felt like it had stopped. He realized that it was Lydia.
"Quite down class! What was that Lydia?" Mr. Weaver asked.
"I am very flattered, but I'm going to have to say no" she said simply.
Mr. Weaver looked surprised, then gave a sympathetic look at James.
"Well, I am so very sorry James, maybe you could ask someone else to the dance? Maybe even Rose" he said with a wink.
James felt like throwing up.
"Now back to our lesson, as I was saying..."
James looked at Rose and mouthed the words
"I hate you".
She gave him an innocent smile and mouthed back.
"It's not over yet".
Was the message my best friend Maya sent me over IM . Of coarse, she was in love with James too, every girl was. I was laying on my belly, on my purple conforter on my bed. I was on my laptop, talking to Maya. Maya had seen me talking to James on her way out of the school.
"R U serious Maya? Nothin happened, the jerk just wanted me to do his homework for him" I typed back.
"O...wht you say?"
"I told him I would do his HW 4 a month if he asked Lydia to the dance on friday"
I could just picture Maya's mouth dropping open into a perfect 'O' right then.
"WHT!?!?! Y didnt you say ME!?!?!"
I rolled my eyes, of coarse she would say that.
"Bcaus Lydia deserves it! Besides, it would be hilarious for all the PopuJerks 2 c tht!"
PopuJerks is what me and Maya called the popular kids. It was, but now it was basically only me calling them that. Ever since my 'accident' 2 years ago me and Maya had driffted apart.
When we were 14, Maya and I would always go to this lake and before school had started back up again, we had went, that's when I was somehow knocked unconsious and began drowning. While I was knocked out, this water nymph/sorceress came too me. She gave me a special 'gift' (I call it a curse) that I could now only see the beauty of people on the inside, not the outside.
For intance, Maya was pretty average, like her hair used to be sleek, balck and straight and her eyes bright, she had perfect skin. Now I could see her on the inside. Her skin was still perfect, but her hair was a bit frizzy, and her eyes looked tired and scary. She was pretty average, which matched her personality, she was very sweet and caring, but sometimes she could be selfish and mean, after I saw her like that, I started realizing that she was mean most of the time.
I never told anyone about my curse. The only way I could stop it is if I made the most horribly ugly person into the most beautiful person my cursed eyes have ever seen. That's the true reason why I picked Lydia. She was absolutly gorgeus through my eyes. Her hair was nice, sleek and perfect, so was her skin and her brown eyes were bright and amazing, so were her teeth, straight and white as snow.
James on the other hand was hard to look at. I had sen him a lot before the curse, but was never interested. He had curly, shiny brown hair, a light tan and emerald green eyes, now his eyes were red and cracked. His hair was gray and flat and his skin was white, cracked and he had numerous skin problems. His perfect athletes body was now shrivled and skinny. He was a monster.
Now, I've never cared about looks, but now I could judge because this is how people were on the inside, the part that is supposed to be judged, and I was determined to find the ugliest person ever to break my curse, and I was sure no one couldve been more ugly then James Levarti.
My computer made a Ding! Noise and I was immediatly pulled me from my thoughts. It was Maya again.
" Don't call them tht! Uggghhhhh. Bsides, who says James wont dump her last minute? Or bail? Or he'll dump her last minute and sho up NEway with some other girl like Ashley? Or Raven? and publicly humiliate her?" she typed.
Ashley was the queen bee of the school. She was blonde, skinny, and had perfect blue eyes. what I saw was actually pretty horrible. Her hair was a bleachy kind of color, she was unhealthily fat, and her eyes were completly white. It just scared me, but it was actually better than looking at James. Everyone like that was.
Her side-kick Raven wasnt that bad. In fact, she was the same inside and out. Average. It was just her money that made her popular. She was pale with black eyes and black, sleek hair. Raven was pretty nice, and didnt like to make fun of other girls, but Ashley always made her.
"U of all pple should know that I'm smart enuf to c rite thru tht! Ive got it all planned out! If he does NEthing to try and get out of this 1, he'll be sorry!" I typed back.
My aunt called me down to dinner.
"GTG! Tlk 2 u l8ter!"
It was only me and my aunt Shirley, since my parents died when I was 5 in an airplane crash. I don't remember them much, but when I see pictures of them, I see them as very beautiful people, and that gives me confort. Thats also another thing, If I get shown a picture I can still see the insides. I only see the outside if they are looking in a mirror or water. So there reflection basically.
"Mmmmmm!! Whats for dinner Shirley?" I asked I walked into the kitchen. We lived in a small apartment, with a basic kitchen and living room where we usually ate and watched movies. Our rooms were pretty small too. All I had in mine was a vanity, bed, closet and books.
"Just fried chicken and mashed potatoes, your favorite!" she said in her high, girlish voice. She was my mom's younger sister, only 28, and had bought the chicken, she couldnt really cook all that well.
"Yay!" I grinned. We sat down on the couch with our plastic plates pilled with chciken and mashed potatoes. I was hardley paying attention to the movie. I looked at my aunt. She was one of the the handful of people who were the same inside and out. Her bouncing curls were golden and her eyes were like my mothers, a heart-warming shade of brown,my eyes used to be the same, but they turned hazel after I aquired my curse .Her skin wasnt perfect though, it was a bit rough, but she was still very pretty.
"What's on your mind kiddo?" she asked, turning towards me. I sighed and told her what happened with James, word for word. She listened intently and when I was finished, she laughed. "You are smart! That was a very nice thing you did for Lydia ,sweet pea but I don't think you should be doing his homework" she said, her face looked very stern. It was my turn to laugh "Don't worry! I'll do it at a B- average, and I don't start until after he asks her, remember?" she nodded her head. "Fine, homework check?" she said, her parental insticts kicking in. "Done as soon as I got home!" I said, saluting her. She smiled. "I'll be in my room if you need me!" I said as I rushed to throw my plate away and run to my room.
I shut the door behind me and flopped onto my bed. I opened my laptop and got online again. Maya was offline, but I noticed I had a friend request. My stomach droppped when I realized who it was. James. I hesitated. Then at the last second I decided.
My mouse clicked on 'decline'.
No way that jerk was going to break me.
Rejection
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
The screeching of my alarm clock pulled me from my dreamland. I rolled out of bed and strolled to my vanity, which was on the other side of the room. I slapped my hand against my alarm clock. I then yawned and grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom and got ready for school. After I pulled on my black New Found Glory shirt and dark blue skiny jeans, came the hard part, doing my hair. The only reason I didnt like doing my hair was because I couldnt do it without looking through a mirror. I am terrified of mirrors. You see, for everyone else, I can see there outside beauty in mirrors, for me, I see my inside beauty in mirrors. I havnt looked in a mirror ever since I got the curse, the only reason I know this is because the water nymph warned me I might not like what I see, and thats frightened me.
Since I dont put on make-up except the occasional lip-gloss this has never been a problem, but my hair has. I used to be able to leave it down, but it needs delicate brushing for that, french braiding is the easiest thing I can do without thinking.
I grabbed my purple fuzzy backpack, a granola bar and left. Shirley always left before me, she started work at 5 at the local library. As I was walking to school, there was Prince Charming in his black convertible with, who else? Ashley.
"Hey Rosy Posie!!" She yelled at me in her annoying high pitched voice. I rolled my eyes. She wasnt worth it. I was saving all of my clever comebacks for Prince Charming.
James started laughing at Ashley's rude remark, but he stopped mid-laugh. It felt wrong for some reason.
"Am I actually softning up for losers like her? First I try to friend her, and she turns me down, and now THIS?!" he thought frantically. He pushed those thoughts away and leaned over to kiss Ashley during a red light. She was the hottest girl in the school, no contest. Every guy wanted her the same way every girl wanted him.
"Except for Rose"
James mentally slapped himself.
He started pulling away when the light turned green again.
"Ugh, it's girls like her that get me so pissed!" she started complaining.
"Waddya mean?" he asked, utterly confused.
"She struts around the place like she owns the school! New flash weirdo, I DO! And she looks at me like im last months Gucci bag.." James let her ramble on about, not really paying attention. The dread in his stomach churned again as he thought about asking Ava to the dance again. He decided he would just hand her a note, the thought of actually having to say the words pierced his heart.
They pulled into the school parking lot and then the day began.
It seemed James had only just gotten to school when 8th period came. It wasnt fair to him.
"Why am I even going to all this trouble for one loser? I can get some other dork to do my homework for me!" he asked himself while tearing out a piece of paper.
"Cause she's the only girl you can't wrap around your finger" said a small voice in his head.
"So? That- that doesnt matter! Its one girl! Out of a billion!" he tried to reassure himself. Then he looked down at the piece of paper under his hands. It took every ounce of will power and strength he had to write down the words. Then he turned to Lydia. She seemed to be hanging on to Mr.Weaver's every word. His hand shook as he passed her the note.
Big mistake.
"Passing notes in my class, eh Mr. Laverdi? Fine then, if it's so important, why don't i just share it with the whole class?" the blood drained from James's face as Mr. Laverdi began reading the note. He knew his life was over. Ashley, Raven and all of the other popular kids were in the class.
"Lydia, will you go to the dance with me on Friday?" Mr. Weaver read. Ashley's mouth dropped into a perfect 'O'.
Everyone started giggling at her. James looked at Rose, she could barley control her laughter.
In the midst of all the laughter, a small voice could barley be heard, but James heard it from his left side.
"No".
James heart felt like it had stopped. He realized that it was Lydia.
"Quite down class! What was that Lydia?" Mr. Weaver asked.
"I am very flattered, but I'm going to have to say no" she said simply.
Mr. Weaver looked surprised, then gave a sympathetic look at James.
"Well, I am so very sorry James, maybe you could ask someone else to the dance? Maybe even Rose" he said with a wink.
James felt like throwing up.
"Now back to our lesson, as I was saying..."
James looked at Rose and mouthed the words
"I hate you".
She gave him an innocent smile and mouthed back.
"It's not over yet".
