Plucked - Elizabeth Haley (red seas under red skies .TXT) 📗

Hardy tote. Suddenly I feel really bad as well as embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Kayla I'm not usually this dysfunctional!"

"Don't worry about it we all have our moments, now tell us about this Jax, is he hot?"

"Yea tell us about Jax!" Lulu joins in.
But Mistress Boeweys voice is ordering us to the Grand Room and I'm worried about facing the school, my opinion on Jax will have to wait.

Please Forget Me

All the way to the assembly I think everyone is whispering about me every snicker makes me cringe. I keep going wanting to get the whole thing over with and then go curl up in my bed. I dont have to refresh i know exactly what is in my diaries page per page. A few football players are just ahead of me, Jessa is there too her arm laced through her boyfriends, he's joking with the footballers.

The Grand room is just that grand. With the pale gold lace on all the long tables and two chandeliers sparkling up above. Lu and I sit all the way to right off the room the sports teams  and cheerleaders take the center tables of course. And soon the room is full and so loud my head throbs. Kayla who obviously doesn't know we're not the cool kids  is sitting with us, she stands out against the other kids at our table and everyone is glancing at her. Mistress Boewey has entered now and the room grows quiet. Throughout her welcome back blah blah blah speech I'm not the only one not listening a couple of the Tin men have looked my way Lulu tells me to ignore them I try and look at Mistress Boewey she's lost weight since last year and all the grey is gone from her mousy brown hair, her cleavage is showing and her face looks younger either from the weight loss or possibly a face lift.
"She looks great. Lulu whispers, maybe Jessa isn't the only one with a new guy!"
"Who's Jessa?" Kayla asks leaning closer to us.
Mistress Boewey unintentionally answers.
"And now a few announcements from your student body president Jessa Parks"
Jessa sashays up to the podium and everyone seems more alert her admires, followers, haters, and people like me who don't like or dislike her but find her life interesting like reading about the stars in people magazine. Everything about Jessa seems flawless even her voice.
"Like Mistress Boewey said welcome to a another year at the Hidden Academy I'm Jessa "Jae" Parks your student body president and our football teams head cheerleader!" The center table whoops and claps and I roll my eye's. I wondered which of them had taken my diary, now I'm scanning the room for Jax. I'd have to talk to him pull it together and approach him! Jessa was announcing a back to school dance in two weeks. Last year I didn't attend. Jessa's voice drones on and on as she gives her self props for all the "exciting" things that are supposed to take place this year her speech ends and Mistress Boewey's back at the podium.
"Now students some things have changed since last year first allow me to introduce our Head of Security Officer Lagana!" She gestures to the doorway where a man who stands at least 6'0 tall nods in acknowledgment he's good looking seems to be in his late thirties and is absolutely intimidating and also strangely familiar.
"He can arrest me, Kayla say's into my ear not so quietly and a girl across the table looks at her disgusted. Kayla laughs it off and I realize I like her more and more as my roommate.
"I'm with you Kayla, Lulu agrees. Mistress Boewey clears her throat.
"Now as I was saying things have changed as followed. There will be no students out of there dorm rooms after 10pm. If for any reason you must leave campus you must first have a note signed by myself and officer Lagana. You will not be permitted back onto campus without your school I.D.! Any student found in the hidden passages throughout the school will be suspended most of the passages have been blocked off and by the end of the year all of them will be. Any student found breaking into the basement or in others words the dungeons will immediately be sent home!"
Looking around the room its obvious who the changes are getting to. The popular kids like Jessa who was rumored to have candle lit make out parties in the dungeons last year. These rules don't bother me at all in fact I think it's a good idea. I've only ever used one of the secret passages and it gave me the creeps I kept imagining myself stuck behind the walls in the school dying of starvation and my dead stench seeping through the vents before they found my body. I shake the thought. All the base has left Mistress Boeweys voice and she is saying that today is our free day use it wisely. People are standing and there is still no sign of Jax. Turns out I didn't need him to figure out who had my diary it becomes obvious when I'm in the hall with a few guys right behind me. Though I didn't expect one of them to reach out and touch my arm.
"About that to do list of yours maybe I can help with number four, get kissed right? I push his meaty fingers away from me. And am thinking of the to do list I wrote almost Two years ago. I speed up hoping to put space between us. But this just makes him speak louder and everyone is listening.
"If I'm going to help you out with Four Bren then number six a make over is a must, Jessa here can help you with that. You see I have this thing for running my fingers through girls hair my hands will get stuck in that mess!" To her credit Jessa doesnt look ammused though her two bestfriends who walk beside her like pillars start to snicker. 
I'm stunned and keep silent. Just ignore him and he'll go away right? Wrong!
"Hey look the offer is going once twice....."
"Just leave her alone AJ!"
It's another boy and unlike Aj he's not big and obnoxious but handsome and possibly sweet.
"Shut up bench boy and stay out of it!!! Aj barks. So whatcha say Bren?"
Lulu speaks up this time.
"She would say get lost but doesn't want to waist her breath on you!" She gets in Aj's face.
he looks surprised, "who asked you?"
I'm wishing I can disappear when we reach the girls bathroom and I dart inside.
Lulu is right behind me.
"Now can we admit I'm scarred for life Lu?"
"No, but I am all for admitting Aj is an ass!"
"Agreed, but now what am I supposed to do?"
"First you go cross the never been kissed thing off that list because it's no longer true!"
I fidget with my jacket sleeve
"You kissed Owen your neighbor, right?"
"No Lu, I lied I've never even been close to kissing someone, okay!"
"Why would you lie?" 
"Because you were all happy, hot and heavy with Jimmy, I don't know, I guess I felt like I was being left behind!"
"Well now I'm single and regret ever even knowing Jimmy the Jerk who left me for some home schooled twit named Amber and I wish I still had my first kiss and first time to look forward to. You're lucky Bren!"
"Funny because I'm feeling more like the rabbit that got it's foot cut off!"
"Stop being so hard on yourself everything that's getting to you can be changed rather its a kiss your crazy but beautiful curly hair or whatever and forget the Aj we don't even go to their games they are as low on our importance chart as we are on theirs. 
I open my mouth to say thank you and she stops me.
"Don't thank me it's what best friends do, now lets go find Kayla!"
"For what?"
" Because Bren she has like a whole beauty salon packed in her suitcases and I say we get started on your list!" With that she's pulling me out of the bathroom.

The List

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch"
"Oh please, it's not that painful Bren!" Kayla says.
"Oh yea tell that to my poor eye brows.
Kayla continues to pluck and I'm hoping it's worth it.
"Haven't you heard the expression pain is beauty?" Lulu asks from across our room where she's flipping through hair magazines.
"The hard part is done which was your hair, now just one more pluck and.....turn around toward the mirror!"
Before I do I'm instinctively putting on my glasses and Lulu stops me.
"I know you have your contacts tucked away in the pocket of your shoulder bag!"
"You should wear them!" Kayla says excitedly
I groan and walk over to my bag.
"I thought you wanted this makeover!" Lulu says.
"I do I say, not daring to admit why I'm hesitant. Not willing to let Kayla no just yet that my mother is a confidence basher and I've gone out of my way not to look how she wants me to. Even now I can hear her.  "Oh Bren you would be pretty If you let Nadia Fix your hair or Oh Bren just wait until your braces are gone and that dress would fit better with a padded bra or my favorite that dress is to small you resemble a stuffed sausage here wear this instead. 
I'm in the rooms small bathroom and in front of the mirror now and can hardly see myself between my sucky vision and watering eyes but once the contacts are in and my eyes have adjusted I gasp Lulu and Kayla stand in the doorway.
I cant believe what I see my hair is smooth like the girls in the shampoo commercials and hanging down my back, my eyelashes look unreal, my eyes seem to sparkle even the beauty mark above my glossed lips seems smaller maybe even unique like that one model ohhh whats her name?
"Well do you like it?" Lulu blurts out.
"I love it, thank you so much Kayla!!!"
"No problem!" she say's and we group hug.


It's lunch time now and we've all decided to eat out in the garden a few other groups are gathered there too. I see Cassie the gardener and momentarily remember my dream. Physically I have upgraded from being a weed but mentally I feel the same. Maybe no one will recognize me, maybe I really can