Haterz Gonna Hate | #Wattys2016

Chapter 39: Ashlyn's Tale

Ashlyn's POV: (man it's been 8 chapters)

She still wouldn't tell us! I tried my best and used my best pleading gestures, but I got nothing out of it. It was a waste, a disaster. Grace and I basically lied to Annika so we could discuss something in private. Taylor, however, actually had to go, or she would've lied.

Grace and I met up at my house, and the certain 'secret' mood was with us. "Listen Grace, I know Annika has been acting pretty weird with us. So let the force be with us as we figure out the best plan!"

"Oh no, what're you up to now, Ashlyn?" Grace asked, extremely suspicious.

Nothing big was up my sleeve. Definitely was smaller than the DEATH STAR, but bigger than Yoda's head. Star Wars always put me in a trance, and before you know it, I would spend hours talking about all my feelings on it.

Grace snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Huh?"

"Were you listening?" Grace asked.

"Repeat please." You couldn't blame me for being obsessed with Star Wars.

"What's the use of this? I mean, why do we need to come up with a plan for Annika to open up to us? She'll probably tell us when she thinks the time is right. In the meantime, why pressure her?" Her speech definitely pulled a few levers inside of me. Kinda like that lever in front of the doomsday device in the Mystery Shack from Gravity Falls.

I coughed. "Grace, this isn't just about Annika. We also need to work on getting Poppy back. She was our friend, then a rival of us, aka a friend of Marie's, then a bully, and finally, she's in this depressed state. It hurts me to see her like this because I've been her friend for so long."

Poppy and I had been friends ever since 1st grade when she was new to our school. She was a bit of a bully in 3rd and 4th grade and made me cry many times, but I always saw past it. Pretty soon, she became a really good friend to me, and we stopped fighting.

I sighed. "Grace, you don't even know how great of a friend she was. Sit down, I'll tell you the whole tale."

Flashback:
4-5 years ago
Wellington Elementary

The children scurried across the park, eager to get their butts outside after a while of learning. As usual, I ran out with the enormous mob of kids, but stepped aside to wait for Poppy. She was always the last class out, because her teachers were never punctual.

The wind blew across my face, making a bunch of my hair fall into my mouth. I cleared it out so my view wasn't blocked. Finally, there she was. Taking her time, walking slow as ever towards me.

"Hey," I greeted.

Poppy's long black hair was tied up into two braids. They were swaying in the strong breeze today. "Hey Ashlyn! How was your weekend?"

I nodded. "Okay. You?"

"It was apt," she replied.

We began our daily walk around the playground, occasionally greeting people we knew. Now, right beside the playground, there was an enormous pecan tree, and under that was a stage. Benches were in front of it, as if a concert were to happen there. Sand was all around the rest of the stage and benches.

It was a vast area, with a lot of room to just run around and be yourself.

"Ashlyn, are you a vegetarian?" Poppy asked. It was a really weird question, but I never thought much of it.

"No," I said. Why did she care if I was vegetarian or not?

(AN: Please look at the Author's note below after reading this) Poppy huffed. "If you're not vegetarian that's stupid. Everyone knows that being non vegetarian is bad, because eating all those animals and it's so disgusting. You're an awful person because you eat meat and you're not vegetarian. I don't even want to be your friend anymore, you're the worst person ever. How can you even live eating those dead animals?"

Tears pooled up in my eyes and began to run down my cheeks. I started crying and ran away to the tree right beside the soccer field. Poppy followed me there, and I ran away from her. She was so mean and offensive! Why was I even her friend? Was it even worth waiting for her outside?

But still, I forced myself to look at her and when I did, a loose strand of hair fell into my face. I brought my tongue out of my mouth and pushed it aside. A look of irritation crossed Poppy's face, and she ran away from me.

"How dare you stick your tongue out at me?!" she yelled. "That's so rude."

"UGH. I was just pushing aside my hair!!" I replied. What a drama queen she was.

*time lapse*

"Mommy, she's so mean! I don't like her! I don't wanna be her friend." My mom was in my room, trying to put me to sleep. I started bawling my eyes out at all the things Poppy had said to me.

"Vivian, if this girl does it again, then we know what to do, right?" my dad asked. I was so busy sobbing, I hadn't noticed him coming into the room.

"Mark, they are just little children. The girl was probably joking around for one day. Surely, she is fine now," my mom said.

Mom hugged me and she and dad left the room, turning the lights off. I sobbed into my pillow for a while, and eventually sleep got the best of me.

*Next Day's Recess*

"Can't believe you stuck your tongue out at me! And to think you were my friend," Poppy said.

I growled with anger. "How many times do I have to tell you that I was pushing aside my hair. My tongue accidentally flopped out while I was pushing it!"

------

"Seriously?! Poppy still doubted you?" Grace asked.

"Yep. She didn't stop doubting me until about five months later," I replied.

Grace stared down at the ground. "What about Taylor and Annika? Where were they?"

I chuckled. "Well, Poppy wasn't friends with Taylor or Annika then, and they had their own friends, so we never hung out together." Grace nodded.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Poppy was so different all those years. She changed so much, along with her attitude.

But if you like this tale, you're going to love the next one!

Hey guys! Mission accomplished! Two chapters in one day. Now next chapter I am going to do a special short story on Sarah and Poppy becoming friends and how their rivalry was. Hopefully it will help you understand Sarah better. Btw, for those of you wondering, Sarah is FireDragon1028 so shoutout to her because the next chapter will focus on her. Also if you are here because of the brackets....I am very sorry if I offended anyone. To be honest, being a nonvegetarian is a good thing because you don't have any limits and can eat anything you want. Don't ask me what I was thinking back then k?