- Amber's POV -
I woke up to start a brand new day of learning, exciting right?! I got out of bed and realised that Effie still hadn't returned from wherever she got off to the night before, I was extremely worried about her. I left her exactly twenty messages on her phone asking if she was in trouble but she didn't answer any of them, I had a bad feeling about this..
I quickly got ready so that I could spend half an hour before school to search for Effie with no ideas on where to look. I walked through the crowded corridors with a nervous expression on my face, she could be hurt or lost and nobody knows. The first place I looked on the bottom floor of the boarding house was the common room, it was surprisingly empty at this time except for one person. Connie was sitting in the kitchen eating some toast, she smiled at me while wiping some butter off her face. I approached her and felt the need to hit her after what she did yesterday, Effie was clearly in a state now that she had arrived.
"Guess what? Me and Elizabeth shared a kiss last night.. It was quite magical" Connie told me while giggling happily, I stared at her weirdly before laughing and shaking my head. Does she expect me to believe that? Effie hates her and would never kiss her, she wouldn't even hug her for that matter.
"Yeah, I'm sure you did" I said sarcastically before turning away from her and leaving the common room, I didn't see the point in asking Connie if she had seen Effie because I know she would make up something stupid to annoy me. I've only known of her existence for a day and I'm positive she would pull a stunt like that.
I left the boarding house while sighing in frustration, school was starting so I had to go there and end my pathetic search of finding Effie. I was hoping she would turn up at school and if she didn't I knew I would have to tell a teacher, she could be in danger. When I entered the busy corridors of the school I spotted Priya standing by her locker, she was alone and had her head almost buried inside it as if she was hiding from somebody. I approached her and tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped slightly before turning to me.
"Have you seen Effie today?" I asked her with a smile, she looked me up at down in disgust before closing her locker.
"No" Priya snapped as she walked off, I watched her leave in confusion. Why is she in such a bad mood? I decided to forget about Priya's rudeness before heading to my first class, fingers crossed Effie is there! I entered the class room and looked around in shock at how quiet and empty it was, my class was usually disruptive and annoying but today it was as if everybody thought school was cancelled. I sat down at the front like I always do before glancing around and noticing Jade's seat was empty, Effie's seat was also empty beside me and the three musketeers seemed distant and awkward in each others company (Carrie-Anne, Priya and Ashley). What the hell was going on today?
The rest of the morning was the quietest and emptiest day this school has ever experienced, Jade and Effie still hadn't showed up to any of their classes and I felt even more worried than I did at the beginning of the day. I sat in the back row of Science and our teacher was oblivious to everything that went on in the room, he didn't care if people messed about or refused to do the experiments. My phone buzzed in my dungaree pocket which made me almost jump out of my own skin, I had been daydreaming and avoiding all noise in the room. I glanced down quickly so that the teacher wouldn't catch me, it was a message from Jade.
"Meet me in the corridor outside the cafeteria, it's really important" I rolled my eyes and began to pack up my things. I'm not the type of person who would ditch class but if it's important then I'll go, I do care a lot about my friends.. Especially Jade as we now have something going on.
"Sorry sir, my stomach really hurts and I think I need to go to the bathroom" I said while raising my hand and interrupting the lesson, everybody glanced back at me and the teacher agreed to let me leave. I thanked him and hurried down the stairs so that I could find Jade and discover what was so important to make me skip class.
I saw her waiting patiently with her arms crossed, she noticed me and grinned evilly like she had did something awful. I took a deep breath in and prepared myself for something crazy, hopefully not as crazy as Priya setting the school on fire..
"What's going on?" I asked her once I had finally reached her, she glanced up and down the corridor as if she was making sure nobody was around. She grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me along the corridor and into the cafeteria, it was empty inside as lunch wasn't for another five minutes.
"Tah dah!" Jade shouted while pointing to the wall at the back of the cafeteria, I looked up and my jaw dropped in horror. There was a huge banner hanging on the wall which read 'Priya Parker Is A Lesbian'. I stared at Jade in anger and all she could do was laugh and smile at me, is she serious?!
"Jade.. Take it down" I ordered her calmly, I knew that getting angry would help nobody. Jade stared at me in shock because of my reaction, did she expect me to like this? The writing was in the boldest font and the darkest red, nobody could miss it.
"What? No! Priya deserves this" Jade said as she admired the banner, I put my head in my hands before the lunch bell began to ring loudly. There was no time to cover the banner up now, the corridors were flooding with girls who were heading towards the cafeteria and I did not want to be here when Priya saw what Jade had did. I hurried out of the cafeteria and left Jade standing alone, I spotted Priya walking this way in the crowd and I knew it was game over for Jade. We are doomed.
- Priya's POV -
I walked along the corridor making my way to have lunch with my head buried in my phone, with all of the stress I was experiencing I decided to go online shopping and buy myself something nice to wear. I was looking at lovely silk dresses and high heels to match while being pushed from side to side by the violent crowds that were heading to the cafeteria.
When I entered the cafeteria I looked around for a seat before realising that everybody in the room was staring at me with looks of disgust and laughter, was there something on my face? I looked down at my outfit and then began to fix my hair anxiously before the laughter got louder as more people entered the room and that's when I realised what was so funny.
I stared at the huge banner which hung from the wall, I didn't even know how I felt about it as I was in so much shock. I glanced down at Jade who was standing beside it, she had an evil grin on her face which was directed straight at me. I looked up at it again while hundreds of girls laughed and pointed at me, this is possibly the worst day of my life. I held my breath to avoid crying in front of everybody, I was the centre of attention now after all.. But was that a bad thing?
I took my schoolbag off my back and set it on the floor, I dropped the folders that were in my arms before walking into the middle of the cafeteria and climbing onto a table which was empty. I stood up on top of the table and looked around at every face that was roaring with laughter at me, I felt numb but I knew what I had to do. This was my time to show them who they were dealing with, especially Jade.
"Why is having an attraction to girls such a bad thing? It's no different than a man and a woman loving each other. I don't understand how you people can attack one form of love yet glorify another, it sickens me. Love is love, you're all just shallow and uneducated. I'm proud of who I am, I've been bullied all my life for having feelings for the same gender, just get over it. Alright?" I preached as the laughter faded and instead their mouths were left wide open in shock, I stared at everybody with a terrified smile on my face and my heart thumping with pride. I glanced at Connie, the girl who kissed Effie as she was sitting alone with a grin on her face. I looked at Amber, she was standing in the corner smiling at every word that came from my mouth. Carrie-Anne watched me from the entrance of the cafeteria with tears in her eyes and beside her was Sydney clapping and cheering for me.
The room erupted once again but not with laughter, with cheers and happiness. One by one every girl in the room clapped for me and congratulated me for speaking up about something that should already be accepted, I smiled widely while continuing to stand tall on top of the table. Eff entered the cafeteria also, she smiled at me and I smiled back at her.. We may not have been on speaking terms but I knew she respected my confidence and speech.
Ashley eventually showed her face too, she was hiding behind Carrie-Anne in embarrassment at what I was doing but shockingly she looked proud. She stormed through the happy crowds before swinging her fists at Jade who was still standing beside the banner, Ashley was finally defending my honour as a lesbian. I watched them in shock before a hand reached out to me from the floor below, Carrie-Anne helped me off the table before pulling me in tight for a hug. We held each other for a long time as Amber pulled Ashley and Jade apart in the background.
"You are incredible, never forget that" Carrie-Anne whispered to me in the middle of our embrace, I nodded slightly while glancing over her shoulder at Eff. Suddenly the teachers arrived, shouting angrily at the craziness that was going on in the cafeteria but I was all for getting in trouble as I had never felt so proud of myself as I did now.