One day, Mary, one day, she typed on the blank message screen. Tears were streaming down her red, hot face, and her finger faltered over the enter key. The words Ha! You're silent, I win :P flashed on her screen followed by an internet pop-up that covered the instant message screen. She was startled and quickly logged off the internet before she could say anything that she would regret to Mary.
The computer was shut down in a matter of seconds, and she had fled to her room and flung herself down on her bed. A few minutes later, the pillow was soaked with her tears. This would be a night she would not soon forget. For days and days the horrid words sent to her by her friend Mary would stain her thoughts. There was no escaping it now. The truth had come out in full. Mary did not hold anything back. That was not true for her. She knows her words have consequences, so she slowed her responses knowing that Mary had every instant message conversation saved, as did she. Blackmail.
What am I going to do? she thought to herself. The tears continued to flow from her swollen eyes. She fell asleep crying, still dressed in the same clothes she wore that day.
The alarm went off at precisely seven o'clock. This gave her just enough time to get dressed, do her hair and make up, and eat a healthy breakfast before her boyfriend came to pick her up. This morning, however, she could not manage to get out of bed. She turned off the alarm and crawled up under the covers. She could not bear to face her today. Suddenly, she jumped out of bed. It was the first day of school. No one could miss the first day. It was unheard of. The only person to miss the first day of school in St. James history was Mary. Her reputation at St. James has been forever soiled by that day.
Eight o'clock. Eric pulled into the driveway and honked his horn. She said farewell to her mother and father, her brother had already left on the bus. She got in Eric's car. The ride to school was quiet except for the low rumble of the radio Eric kept on for "background noise."
The couple wished each other good luck on their first day and went their separate ways to homeroom. The tardy bell rang. Eight-thirty. She sat low in her desk, not paying attention to the teacher. After all, she was a senior. She knew all the rules at St. James, nothing ever changed.
Finally, the bell for first period rang. Senior English. She picked a seat in the back, hoping not to be noticed, which was useless because old Mrs. Lurch always gave her students assigned seating arrangements. She lucked out. Her name came in just the right spot alphabetically to get a seat in the very back.
"Welcome to Senior English, class. If you thought this year was going to be slack, guess again. I have no intention of letting you hooligans get off easy merely because it is your last year here. One week from today I expect a four page paper, typed, ten point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, on my desk when the first bell rings. The topic? Yourself. Who are you? What do you believe in? When did you discover your trueself, or have you? Where are you in life? Why do you know this or think you know this about yourself? Details, children, I want all the gory little details about you," Mrs. Lurch ordered.
Immediately pens, pencils, and paper were taken out by every student in the class. She just sat there, staring blankly at the page. Where on earth do you begin with this kind of essay that won't get points deducted for being unappealing? she thought to herself. She loved to write. Writing was her passion, except when it came to writing about herself. She decided to write down the facts she knew about herself.
My name is Susan Landon. I am seventeen years old. I live with my father, mother, brother, cat, and dog. Everyone calls me Susy, except my mother and father when I get into trouble. Susy crumpled up the paper. She barely even wrote a paragraph and already she hated it. Ring!
That was it. First period was over just like that. One class period was wasted of her one week to write this major paper. Nothing frustrated her more than not being able to write a simple paper. What a great way to start the first day of school. she thought. Everything went blandly just as expected. That was, until lunch.
Lunch always relaxed Susy. Her table was packed. Luckily, her boyfriend Eric had the same lunch as her this year. Out of nowhere, a giant piece of red jell-o splatted in Susy's lap. She screeched and looked up just in time to see Mary turn around, barely able to control her laughter. That's it! Susy thought. She stood up, threw away her lunch, and marched straight to the front office. No longer would she be the victim. Mary had crossed the boundary.
Susy missed all her afternoon classes. She spent the whole afternoon waiting in the office to talk to the principal--everyone called him "Willy" because his first name was William and they despised him and his rules. The final bell rang. Eric waited for thirty minutes in the spot they planned to meet for him to take her home. He searched the whole school and found her still waiting in the principal's office. He hugged her; she started to cry. At last, "Willy" was ready for her.
She explained what had happened between her and Mary the previous night. "Willy," of course, had no idea what petty high school problems had to do with him. Frustrated, she stood up and yelled, "Look at my jeans! Do you know what this is? It's red jell-o! Do you know how it got there? Take a wild guess!"
"Calm down, Susan. It'll be all right. I'll have a talk with Miss Rayburn first thing tomorrow morning," he said, trying to put Susy at ease.
"You're not going to tell her I told you are you?"
"Of course not. It is our policy to respect privacy when it comes to people revealing a culprit. Thank you for sharing, Miss Landon. Please relax and try to have a nice afternoon. I'll write a pass to all the teachers who's classes you missed this afternoon."
"Thank you, sir." Eric took Susy home. She spent a peaceful evening at her house with Eric.