FATAL ATTRACTION

18.

"Omg, Winnie, you're so cool!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes glued to the screen.

"You feel me?" Winnie asked, her voice full of confidence.
"We really feel you, especially me," Faith said, her voice full of admiration. "I'm like, speechless."

"That's the spirit," Rose said, her voice full of pride. "Learn how to stand up for yourself. Don't take anyone's crap."

"I'm glad I did it," Winnie said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"You're so cool!" Rose gushed. "The way you stood up for yourself and slapped her back was amazing!"

"Really?" Winnie asked, a little surprised by the praise.

"I'm serious," Rose said, her tone emphatic. "You were awesome!"

"And you should do the same," Winnie said, looking at Faith. "Don't let Eva or anyone else push you around."

"I can't do that," Faith said, shaking her head.

"Why can't you do that?" Rose asked, a note of frustration in her voice. "Winnie just did it, so why can't you?"

"That's easy for you to say," Faith said, her tone defensive. "But we're not the same. You're slim, so they won't insult you as much as they do me. I'm fat, so I'm an easy target."

"So, are you just going to let them keep bullying you?" Rose asked, her voice tinged with frustration.

"When the time comes, they'll stop it," Faith said, her tone resigned. "But for now, I just need to stay under the radar."

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

, no!" Eva cried out as she pushed all the objects on the table to the floor."I can't believe that girl had the nerve to slap me!" Eva said, her voice shaking with anger.

"You need to calm down," Collins said, his tone gentle but firm.

"Calm down?" Eva said, her voice rising in pitch. "How can you expect me to calm down when she humiliated me in front of the whole school?"

"I know you're angry," Collins said, trying to remain calm.

"I'm even more angry!" Eva shouted, her voice nearly hysterical. "And it's all your fault! You let that stupid, fat girl join our team, and that gave Winnie the audacity to talk back to me!"

"Take it easy, Eva," Collins said, trying to keep his own voice level.

"Don't tell me to take it easy!" Eva screamed, her face turning red. "I, Eva Jericho, was embarrassed today in front of the whole school, and you want me to just take it easy? No way!"

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Collins asked, his voice steady and calm.

"What am I going to do?" Eva said, her tone becoming more and more agitated. "Or what are you going to do? Take her songbook and kick her out of the group?"

"But she's not going to give in so easily," Collins said, his words firm but not unkind. "I can't pretend to like her just to get her songbook. And I so feel angry, at myself for let her get close to me."

"Then what are we going to do?" Eva asked, her voice filled with frustration and desperation.

"We could steal her songbook," Collins suggested, his tone flat and emotionless.

"But how?" Eva asked, her eyes wide. "I'm not her friend. I can't just take it from her. And I don't think you could pretend to date her just to get her songbook. Could you?"

"No, I can't," Collins said, shaking his head.

"Then what are we going to do?" Eva asked, her voice filled with despair. "It's just so frustrating to see her in the team. It's torture."