Changing Face

CHANGING FACE

Victoria opened the school door and smiled. The hallway was empty, meaning she wouldn’t have to face all those people with their staring eyes and their unknown thoughts. It was a small moment of peace, but it did nothing to calm her fluttering nerves about entering the classroom late. The only good thing was that the teacher’s presence ensured she wouldn’t have to search for things to talk about.

Rearranging her books, she stopped in front of her class room door. She took a deep breath, then opened the door and went in.

Immediately, Victoria sensed thirty heads turning her way and felt thirty pairs of eyes boring into her. She looked at the floor, apologised for being late and quickly found an empty seat.

The room was silent and for a moment, Victoria was afraid to look up, but then the lesson continued. The teacher turned his back, and immediately, a piece of paper landed on Victoria’s desk. She looked up to make sure the teacher wasn’t looking, then read:

Hey Victoria! Where were you this morning? Cheerleading learnt a whole new move today. You should have been there. From Chantelle.

Victoria sighed. She hated cheerleading. That tight little costume, the energetic moves and all those people staring while you made a perfect fool of yourself. At least, that’s what she thought. The other girls perfectly loved it and thought it made them look cool. Sometimes Victoria wondered why she hadn’t quit a long time ago, but she knew the answer to that. She turned her attention back to Chantelle’s message and, hating herself, she wrote:

Mum was being really bitchy this morning and made us all late.

Victoria hesitated over her words, not liking to describe her mother in that way. She knew her excuse would satisfy Chantelle, and her real reason would outrage her but why, oh why couldn’t she tell the truth? These were her friends. You were supposed to be able to tell your friends anything and everything.

Hating herself even more, she looked around carefully – Mr Strong was still scribbling on the board – then passed the note back. She felt wretched that what she had decided the night before probably wouldn’t come to pass. She felt like she was betraying herself. Letting her eyes stray to the board, she was dismayed to find it full of notes and she started scribbling frantically.

The bell rang as she was on the last paragraph and suddenly, perfectly manicured fingernails appeared under Victoria’s nose, tapping impatiently on her desk. “Come on, Victoria,” Chantelle sighed in exasperation.

“Just one more sentence, okay?” Victoria muttered.

“God, does it really matter? Come on!”

Victoria sighed and packed up her books. Following Chantelle and the other girls out the door, her gaze lingered on the last sentence, her mind trying to remember every word.

She came out into the corridor to find Jane O’Brien coming towards them. The girls groaned and Victoria with them, though for a different reason altogether.

“Hi, girls!” Jane called out excitedly. “We need more volunteers for the car wash next Saturday. It would be perfect if you guys could come.”

Victoria watched, expressionless. She pitied Jane, in a way, but at the same time she wished she could be just like her. The girl was so full of life and energy and she was always so nice to everybody, even to Chantelle who treated her like crap.

“Piss off, Plain Jane Brain,” Chantelle said in a mean little voice. Victoria winced but said nothing.

“But it’ll be heaps of fun and it’s for charity, too,” Jane continued eagerly, as if she hadn’t heard a word that Chantelle had said.

Chantelle stopped dead and held up her perfectly manicured hands for the whole world to see. “Do you know how long it takes to get these nails done? I don’t sit in the salon for three hours every month, you know, just to waste it all in some stupid car wash. God, Jane, as if.”

“Oh that’s too bad!” Jane said, not unkindly. Her gaze shifted, catching sight of another potential volunteer. “Jarad!” she called out. She turned to leave then over her shoulder, she added, “Anyway, if you change your mind, you know where to find me!” and she left them standing in the corridor.

“God, the nerve of that girl,” Chantelle said with a disgusted look on her face. She stormed off down the hallway, and the other girls followed, muttering their agreement.

No one noticed that Victoria was not with them.

* * *

Ten minutes later found Victoria waiting in the locker rooms. She was almost having second thoughts, but she knew that if she didn’t take this opportunity she might never have the chance again.

“Victoria,” said a pleasantly surprised voice. “How are you?”

Victoria couldn’t help smiling at the warmth of such a simple question. Coming from Jane, it sounded like she genuinely wanted to know the answer. “I’m – I’m good,” Victoria said. “Listen, Jane,” she started with difficulty and hesitated. She took a deep breath, thinking she hadn’t told Chantelle she was quitting cheerleading yet so she could always go back…

No! she thought fiercely and banished the thoughts from her mind. She couldn’t keep putting on a different face every morning for people she didn’t even like.

“Jane,” Victoria started again and smiled. It was about time she was true to herself. “Jane, I’d like to volunteer…”