An Invitation

[Mandy's Diary 17th years old]

Nope. I'm not going to Rebekah Hills' birthday party. There's a plan behind the invitation that's in my hands right now. It feels like, every time I look at the rows of neatly written sentences with illumination filling this paper, it makes me feel like I get a punishment card from the kingdom for the death penalty.

It's not just that I'm worried that the damn blonde girl will tease me to the last drop of her blood, but that I'm afraid of meeting Justin. Justin? What kind of name is that? I can't even say his name. Falling in love with someone who doesn't even know I exist in this world is excruciating. I told you, the world is very cruel. I was knocked down roughly and separated by the wall of reality. So pathetic. Until then I will never get someone like Justin. He had been a popular student since elementary school. And all that time, he didn't know that I'm alive.

"I want you to come!" Candice pouted, plopping herself down on my bed as I was still kneeling with the invitation in my hand like an autistic person trying to understand a word.

My eyeballs rolled, then stopped at Candice who was rubbing her pink polished nails. "Please… she will fucked me up, Candice. This is just another of her stupid plans to embarrass me. The hundredth blah blah blah time in the last two years." I blow my bangs up dramatically. "I can't believe we're still living to sophomores after so many hundred times of suffering under Rebekah and April's feet."

"Try getting into the cheerleading team." Candice's body was lifted again. She crossed her legs without taking his eyes off me. "If you come in, you'll be a popular girl."

I laughed sarcastically. More accurately, a hyperbolic laugh. "Popular girls are just a myth." I threw everywhere a birthday invitation from Rebekah. The small paper floated in the air, fell right into the trash can mixed with other paper waste. I got up from my seat in front of the dressing table and dropped my back beside Candice. "Besides, if I become popular, you won't have any more friends, Candice. Be thankful I'm not popular."

Candice pursed her lips, seeming to agree with what I said. "That's right..." She also lay down beside me. We exchanged glances for a few seconds, observing the uneven color of our eyes. If mine is almond, Candice's is gray like my cat's eyes, Angus. "It's also good for you to be unpopular," she added.

I sighed softly. She didn't even need to think of another word that was more subtle than unpopular. "I thought all the popular girls weren't real. Just imagination. Some of imaginary fake bitches."

That's actually how it is. Like Rebekah, for example. It's not even just me. Jordan High School students often call her fake. Not only Rebekah, April Jansen too. She did plastic surgery many times on her nose to make it look more like a pig's nose. They were both queens in our high school. Queen of homecoming, prom, Spring Flying, and all kinds of balls.

Thankfully Justin wasn't even interested in the two fake girls. I don't know what type of girl Justin wants. All I know is he hates fake girls.

The angel on my shoulder said there was still a one in a thousand chance of getting Justin because I wasn't fake.

One in a thousand.

Hopefully, I'll get that one later. Haha. Pretty delusional, Mandy. Remember that Justin doesn't know you're alive.

"But," I opened my mouth after a few seconds of silence. "Come to think of it we can start an attack on Rebekah from her birthday party. She hates seeing other girls who are better than her, right?" I bit my lip while raising my eyebrows.

Geez, I forgot that Candice is the dumbest when it comes to small talk.

"Hm… what do you mean?"

I told you just now. Sighing in frustration, I replied indignantly, "We're making drastic changes. If we look cool at Rebekah's party, it's not just the popular boys who glance at us, maybe they'll be jealous of how we look."

"I am not sure." Candice bit her finger. I guess I'm better than her. Candice is too shy. She rarely shows her aura. And if she's willing to change her appearance, I think Candice is much cooler and more charming. She has blonde hair, typical of popular girls like Rebekah and April. She also has a slim waistline and long legs. If only she wanted to change, she wasn't the one who was afraid of losing me if I was recruited by the popular students. But I was afraid that she would leave me and choose a happy life with popular students, seeing me still being oppressed and suffering, watching me diet desperately, seeing me end up sad because I didn't have the beauty standards of this urban society.

"We can do a massive make-over." The corners of my lips pulled up into a big smile. "Anyway, we make changes from now on. And look awesome at Rebekah's party tomorrow."

I didn't care about Candice's protests that would gush. I grabbed his hand roughly, making him get up from his bed and follow my steps towards the dressing table.

I never cared—or rather understood—about fashion. But lately, I've been stealing Mom's fashion magazines. My mother is a woman who worries too much about the development of her children. She forbade me to follow today's youth trends, waiting for me to grow up to initiate a drastic change in my fashion sense. Because she was worried that the change would bring me into a negative current.

For the sake of Poseidon's trident, I don't even know what my mother is like. She can sometimes be very modern, and other times can be very old school.

We started a massive makeover experiment based on my mom's fashion magazine. We start with clothes. I rummage through my closet and find only two outfits that are, well, like the popular kid trend. The clothes I got from Mom just for other purposes. For example, attending dinner with my father's co-workers. It is only worn once in a lifetime. Mom forbade me to wear clothes like that to school.

It's time for a revolution. I'll prove to them that I'm much better than Rebekah and April.