A Journey of A Lifetime

05- Prank Gone Wrong

I went to school as usual. I greeted my friends and settled into my usual routine, ready for another day of learning. The familiar sights and sounds of the school filled me with a sense of comfort and anticipation for the day ahead. The bell rang, and all the students rushed out of their classrooms for their break. Nobody was in the classroom except me and my friends. Everything was normal. We ate our snacks and cracked a few jokes, laughing our asses off. But nothing would ever prepare me for what happened next.

Valerie rushed towards me and said, "They know, Katherine. They know about your account." My heart sank. I knew what she was talking about. My secret Instagram account. Only my friends knew about it. I thought I had been careful, but not careful enough. "Who knows?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Brandon," Valerie said. "He found out and told everyone."

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Brandon was the boy I hated since 4th grade. He was always picking on me and making fun of me. I couldn't believe he would do this to me.

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"I don't know," Valerie said. "But everyone knows now; they're all talking about it."

I knew this would happen sooner or later but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. I was to tell them on the day of our farewell. But now they knew. I knew I was gonna be the most hated in the class. I was a liar. A stupid, manipulative bitch. I knew by now I was everyone's enemy.

The bell rang again, as I watched my classmates fill the classroom. I couldn't look at their faces, not after they knew. I felt like I had been exposed, and I was completely humiliated. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to run away and hide, but I knew that wouldn't solve anything. I had to face my classmates, and I had to face the consequences of my actions.

I just sat down and tried to act like everything was normal. But it wasn't normal. Everything was different now.

The rest of the day was a blur. I went through the classes, but I wasn't really there. I was just waiting for the day to be over.

Finally, the bell rang for the end of the day. I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the classroom. I spotted my mom waiting, sitting on her bike. I whispered hi and sat on the bike. "Hey, how was your day?" She asked me. "It was great," I replied. As soon as we reached home I went to my room and collapsed on my bed. I buried my face in my pillow and cried. I cried for a long time until I couldn't cry anymore.

When I finally stopped crying, I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling. I didn't know what to do. I felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. I had lied to my classmates, I had pretended to be someone I wasn't, and I had hurt people.

I thought of blocking everyone I texted before anything worse happened. I logged into my account and saw two unread messages. I opened Andrew's chat.

Andrew: So now they know 😬

Katherine: I don't know what to do 😭 I'm freaking out here!

Andrew: Chill. Everything will be alright.

Katherine: You don't know that.

Andrew: 🤧🤧

Andrew: Sean knows...

Katherine: Ughh him too! What was his reaction? 😭 I messed up. I should never have created this account...

Andrew: Idk. But hey. Don't think negatively! Just think about it, I wouldn't have met you. Mark missed a lot.

Katherine: 🙂

Exiting his chat I opened Brandon's chat

Brandon: You are Katherine 😂

Katherine 😑😑

Brandon: But why did you put Rose as your name?

Katherine: To hide my identity duh 🙄 BTW how did you know it was me?

Brandon: Michael told me.

Katherine: What rubbish.

Brandon: He used a hacking app.

Katherine: Whatever.

I needed a break. I decided to read. I picked up a book from my shelf and settled into my favorite chair.