Evil Thing (Villains 7)

I can still see the looks on the other students’ unblinking faces. Like little rabbits being stared down by a wolf.

The wolf, of course, was Arabella Slaptton, the beast from breakfast. She was cleverer than all the other girls, so she was their ringleader. She always had a sharp word or pointed look to contribute when Anita would speak up in class. Arabella from this point forward would never miss the opportunity to make Anita look bad.

“Well, you would know all about young women with few to no prospects, wouldn’t you, Anita?” said Arabella. I jumped up from my seat imme-diately.

“What do you know? Who told you that?” I asked. Arabella laughed.

“Oh, everyone knows, Cruella. But I thought I would see for myself, and clearly Anita is not only lacking in a proper background, but she is also lacking in social graces.”

“You take that back, Arabella Slaptton. Take it back right now or I will show you the meaning of your name!” Arabella smirked at me like I had just given her a gift. And I suppose I had.

“Miss Babble, did you hear what Cruella just said? She threatened me! What do you intend to do about it?”

“Yes, Miss Babble, what do you intend to do about it?” I said mockingly.

“I intend to send you to the headmistress, Miss Cruella. Leave at once!”

I was shocked. “You can’t be serious.” But Miss Babble wasn’t budging.

“Oh, I assure you, I am entirely serious. A lady doesn’t threaten other students.” Her cheeks and neck had turned red from being flustered. She suddenly reminded me of Mrs. Baddeley, which made me laugh. “What, may I ask, is so funny, young lady?” she asked, making me laugh harder.

“I just can’t believe you’re actually going to let Arabella get away with insulting Anita, and send me to the headmistress for defending her!” I was so angry, but I didn’t want to give Arabella the benefit of showing my emotions. So I kept laughing it off.

“I hardly see what was so insulting by stating the truth, Miss Cruella. Now please leave my classroom at once.” Miss Babble’s face was getting more scarlet by the minute, and I fear I lost all sense of composure in that moment.

“Stating the truth? How dare you insult Anita like that, you haughty, jumped-up little—”

“Cruella. Cruella, please.” It was Anita. She had gotten up from her seat and put her hand on my shoulder. It was always Anita who saved me from myself. “Cruella, please stop. I’m fine. Let’s go take a walk.”

“Yes, might I suggest you both take a walk, directly to the headmistress’s office,” said Miss Babble.

But of course we never made it there, at least not on that occasion. I was too angry, and my ears were ringing with the laughter of those simple fools as we left the classroom.

“Who do they think they are, laughing at you like that?” I huffed, not giving Anita time to reply. “And saying that about your prospects. What does it matter if it’s true? She had no right to expose you in class like that.”

“I’m not ashamed of my background, Cruella. But maybe you are. Are you sure you’re not upset because I’m an embarrassment to you?” I stopped dead in my tracks, looked her straight in the eye, and grabbed her hands in mine.

“No! Don’t be an idiot, Anita, of course not. You’re my friend. If anyone is an embarrassment it’s that twit Arabella. You can see why we never became friends.”

Anita laughed. “Oh, I remember her,” she said. “She was always horrible, even as a little girl. I wonder if she isn’t hurt that you’re no longer friends.”

“I bet she’s jealous of you,” I said. “Why else would she make such a point of trying to make you look bad?”

Anita’s smiled faded. “Because that’s how everyone in this school feels, even the teachers. I see it on all their faces, even the nice teachers. The ones who aren’t looking down their noses at me are giving me sad looks. They know I’m only here because of you.”

It quickly became clear that word of Anita’s lack of background had been circulating. And even though she was kind to everyone, it wasn’t long before she was snubbed by most of the other girls and even some of the instructors. And I didn’t make any friends defending her.

It was safe to say we were the least popular girls at school. Not that I minded, really. I didn’t care for a single girl in the entirety of our class. And the staff and headmistress? I didn’t give a jot for any of them, either.

I mean, what were the headmistress and the teachers if they weren’t glorified servants? Oh, they might have come from respectable enough families or the same circumstances as Anita, making them in-betweens, but really, who were they to cast judgment on Anita? It became a daily battle, and I found myself spending more time in the headmistress’s office than in class. And really, she wasn’t any help. She was just as insufferable as our nasty classmates and most of the instructors.

I laugh to myself now, remembering a particular day when I received a summons to the headmistress’s office. I was in Miss Babble’s class when the note arrived asking me to come to the office. All the girls in class looked very pleased with themselves. I don’t think they could have been more pleased if they’d all received proposals from the richest men alive, so I knew they were up to something.

“Miss Babble, what is this about?” I asked.

“I suggest you go to the headmistress’s office and find out, Miss Cruella,” she said with a smug look on her face. Ever since that scene with Arabella, things in Miss Babble’s class had been wretched. Those fools took every opportunity to say something wicked about Anita, and Miss Babble did nothing to stop them.

Well, if it was a battle they wanted, I was prepared.