Class of Misfits

six | Diva

"Do you ever just have that feeling that you... just want to be in the spotlight?"

"Okay, class," Mrs. Edmonton said in a bored voice. "I hope you all slept comfortably. Your first night back at Kingston! Though I notice some of you seem a bit drowsy..."

She cast a knowing glance on Partycake who slid down in her seat casually, looking pointedly in the other direction.

It was true. Half the class was sliding off their seats, eyes red and puffy, undoubtedly due to their lack of sleep from the night before. In fact, the only people who seemed to be perfectly aware of what was going on were Emma and Clara, though Diva couldn't help but notice that Emma's eyes were red, as though she had been crying.

"Anyway, though you may not have gotten much homework yesterday I promise you this year the exams will be much harder. I expect some of you to actually bother to study--" (she fixed her gaze on Barbie) "--for each test this year will be a major part of your overall grade, and your GPA affects your college, and as you all know by now, Kingston has a reputation for training students to be in the top colleges."

"If you need blah preparing for the blah then come blah blah after blah blah blah because I expect blah blah from all of blah blah blah blah blah...."

Diva couldn't help but zone out as Mrs. Edmonton elaborated on her speech. Before she knew it, the classroom around her was disappearing, replaced by the vision of a grand theater on which the one and only stood on stage...

"Oh, help!" cried Diva. "Help, my love, help! They've taken me captive! There's no escape, none, I'm trapped! Help!" she sobbed, before she was lugged away in the arms of two fierce handymen.

Diva cried and shouted until her voice was hoarse, and she was stripped of all tears. Before she knew it, she was thrown into an underground cellar, where the door swung closed, depriving the room of all light.

Diva screamed, crawling towards the door and pounding on it with her fists. She cried, remembering how her dearest had nearly been tortured to death because of her. She cried, knowing that never in her life would she be forgiven. And she cried, because she was aware that this was all her fault, she had landed them in this situation, and if anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself again...

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, sliding down the door, breathless, "I'm sorry. I know it was because of me you suffer this pain, and I swear I will accept any punishment by your hands."

And she lay down on the floor filled with nothing, nothing but regret and remorse, and she would forever remain that way, she knew, as she folded her hands over her chest and breathed her last...

And there was silence, nothing but silence, until suddenly, a voice rang out, calling, pleading. "Diva! Diva!"

Wait a minute... This wasn't part of the script...

"Diva!" shouted Emma. "What are you doing?"

She snapped back into reality; she was lying on the floor, her hands cupped over her chest, and dozens of faces loomed over her, all staring with a mixture of confusion and amusement etched in the lines of their face.

"What-- what happened?" she asked weakly, raising her head off the floor.

"You were saying things," said Mrs. Edmonton. "Weird things..."

Even in the heat of the day, Diva could feel her face turn red.

"I'm sorry," she said, and pushed her way out of the gathered students, muttering, "Bathroom."