Dirty Little Secrets

Chapter Nine

“’Cause darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” –Taylor Swift, Blank Space.

           

Pros and Cons of Being the Target of a Stupid Prank

Pro: Being totally raised to the top of the rumor mill can do wonders for your reputation.

Con: Sometimes these rumors aren’t necessarily good.

Pro: It’s always entertaining to watch someone try to bring you down from your rightful place.

Con: You begin to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they’re beginning to succeed.

Pro: You get an overwhelmingly large amount of condolence cards from people who do not want to get caught in the crossfire (these also happen to include Danish macaroons and expensive chocolates, too).

Con: This was only truly the beginning.

Of course, I knew it wouldn’t end at the goo.

For this person, they seemed to take whatever the hell I’d done to them to heart, and this wasn’t some quick fad. This was endgame.

This was war.

But still, I was not going to allow myself to be brought down by this idiot with a metal bucket of slime who thought they could ruin me. I did not climb and blackmail my way to the top of the totem pole to be knocked off so easily.

Of course, this is good in theory, until it’s put into practice.

Which it was, Tuesday at lunch.

I knew it seemed almost too easy, going four days without a prank. It was almost like the calm before the storm, and it was beginning to make me just a little bit nervous. It was ridiculous that I’d been reduced to this, but I found myself checking my locker incessantly for notes and watching my back to make sure nothing had happened.

Of course, I should’ve known the moment I let my guard down, he or she would attack.

Except this time, it wasn’t a he or she.

It was multiple figures.

I’d just finished lunch and was making my way out to the benches for a quick nap before sixth period, when they attacked.

One minute all I could see were lush green soccer fields and a pastel-pretty blue sky, and the next my whole body went cold and I was being drenched.

I knew straight away it was water. It was clear, cold, and had no smell. It wasn’t vodka or methylated spirits, which, if you ask me, would totally have been more effective, but the water did its job.