The tiled floor of the girls' bathroom was cool against Vera's skin as she leaned against the sink, her heart was still racing from the encounter with Damon Spelman and Principal Robert Downs. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves, and splashed some water onto her face, hoping to wash away the remnants of her earlier embarrassment.
As she dried off her pants with paper towels, Vera couldn't shake off the feeling of shame that lingered within her. She knew she had been late to school once again, and she knew that her tardiness would not go unnoticed by her teachers. But the thought of facing Mrs. Augusta, her no-nonsense English teacher, got her so scared.
With a heavy sigh, Vera squared her shoulders and made her way out of the bathroom and down the hallway to her classroom. The sounds of laughter and chatter echoed in her ears as she approached the door, and she hesitated for a moment, steeling herself for what lay ahead.
As she stepped into the classroom, all eyes turned towards her, and Vera felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her neck. Mrs. Augusta, a stern-looking woman with a ruler in hand, fixed her with a disapproving glare.
"Look who decided to grace us with her presence," Mrs. Augusta said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Miss Fitzgerald, you are thirty minutes late."
"I….I'm sorry, Mrs. Augusta," Vera stammered, her cheeks burning with shame.
But before she could finish her apology, Mrs. Augusta cut her off, her tone was sharp and unforgiving. "Excuses, excuses," she scoffed. "Victoria, why can't your sister be more like you?"
Vera's heart sank at the mention of her sister's name, knowing full well that she could never live up to Victoria's standards. She threw a quick glance at her twin, who sat at the front of the classroom with a smug expression on her face, surrounded by her friends.
"Oh, ma'am, you can never teach mediocrity to rise above what it is," Victoria replied, her voice dripping with condescension. "And my sister here is living proof that being cool isn't genetic."
Francesca, Beverly, Jordan and the rest of the class erupted into laughter at Victoria's words, and Vera felt a hot surge of anger rise within her. She clenched her fists at her sides, willing herself to stay calm in the face of her sister's taunts.
"Just go and sit down, Vera," Mrs. Augusta said, her voice sounded cold and dismissive. "You've embarrassed yourself enough for one day."
Feeling the weight of everyone's eyes on her, Vera made her way to her seat at the back of the classroom, her cheeks burning with humiliation. She could feel Victoria's smug gaze boring into her back, and she fought to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.
As she sank into her chair, she straightened her back and focused her attention on the lesson.
The classroom fell silent as Mrs. Augusta resumed her teaching, the only sound the scratch of chalk on the blackboard and the rustle of papers. But the peace was short-lived as Victoria's voice cut through the quiet, her tone dripping with malice.
Mrs. Augusta looked up from her desk,furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, Victoria? Do you have a question?"
Victoria shook her head, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "No, just that this low-budget version of myself I have to put up with smells like dog shit and it's extremely distracting," she replied, her gaze fixed on Vera with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Vera felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at her sister's cruel words. She knew Victoria was just trying to provoke her, but it still hurt to hear such harsh criticism from her own flesh and blood.
Mrs. Augusta turned her attention to Vera, her expression questioning. "Really? I don't smell anything. Did you step on something, Vera?"
Mrs. Augusta was a human who don't know that werewolf exist so she couldn't smell the poop stain she cleaned from her pants however Victoria, Francesca, Jordan and Beverly were all werewolves and could smell it, everyone else in class are human and could not smell it, so Victoria just said that because she just wants to be mean to Vera once again.
Vera's heart sank as all eyes in the classroom turned to her, waiting for her response. She knew she couldn't lie, not to Mrs. Augusta, not to herself. "Yes, ma'am," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I stepped on poop earlier this morning, but I cleaned it off."
"Clearly not enough," Jordan chimed in, covering his nose with his hand and wrinkling his nose in mock disgust.
"She should stay at the extreme end of the class the whole day not to distract us," Beverly added, her voice dripping with contempt.
Mrs. Augusta sighed, her disappointment evident. "I'm going to have to ask you to move to the back of the class, Vera," she said, gesturing towards the empty desk in the far corner of the room.
With a heavy heart, Vera gathered her things and made her way to the back of the classroom, her cheeks burning with shame. She could feel the weight of everyone's stares on her as she took her seat, wishing she could disappear into the floor.
The remainder of the day passed in a blur of taunts and jabs, each one cutting deeper than the last. As Vera sat at the back of the classroom, she felt the weight of Victoria's cruel words pressing down on her like a heavy stone, crushing her spirit with every passing moment.
Throughout the day, Victoria and her friends continued to torment Vera, their mocking laughter ringing in her ears like a constant, painful reminder of her own inadequacies. They whispered behind her back, casting disparaging glances in her direction whenever they thought she wasn't looking.
During lunchtime, Vera sat alone in the cafeteria, her tray of food untouched as she picked at her meal with little appetite. She watched as Victoria and her friends laughed and joked with each other, their voices loud and carefree as they enjoyed each other's company.
Feeling the sting of loneliness, Vera wished she could be a part of their group, to laugh and joke with them like she used to before everything changed. But she knew that would never happen not as long as Victoria held sway over her classmates, her every word and action carrying the weight of authority.
As the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, Vera gathered her things and made her way out of the classroom, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the school. But even as she walked home, the memory of Victoria's taunts lingered in her mind, a constant reminder of her own worthlessness.
Q