There was this girl in school. Her name's Cen, short for Cenchreis, and no, I have no idea how it's pronounced. Just between you and me, I hate how it's been all the rage lately for American parents to give their babies Greek names that are impossible to pronounce. Last I heard, you get cool points if the name you chose is found in Edith Hamilton's book, and you win extra points if the same name was mentioned by Homer.
But anyway.
Every school has its own resident bunch of mean girls, and my old one isn't any different. Our mean girl was Myrrha, and for some reason, she's always taken extra pleasure from bullying Cen.
Now me, I prefer to keep my head down as a rule, and I've always thought it better to ignore all the drama happening around me. But then one day, I saw Myrrha forcing Cen to eat her lunch through her nose, and something about it really, really rubbed me wrong.
So I did something totally not Halyna-like.
I stood up for Cen, gained an enemy in Myrrha, and to this day it still feels like one of the dumbest things I've ever done in my life. Cen and I never really became friends after that. We only said hi to each other from time to time after what happened, and when she invited me to hang out at her place a few weeks after, I only said yes because I didn't have the heart to say no.
When we got to her place, I remember thinking how nervous Cen seemed, but at the time I put it down to her usual timid ways. I remember her insisting that I drink something, and one half cup of coffee later, I was unable to keep my eyes from drooping. My memories went from hazy to total blackout at that point, and when I woke up, I was in the school's old music room, and everyone around me was dead.
I told the police about going to Cen's place, but the other girl denied this, and that's how I ended up being a murder suspect. Charges against me were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence, but it never really made a difference to anyone. I was already a mass murderer in their eyes, and nothing would ever change that.
Months have passed since then, and it's when we started to prepare for our move to Vermont that photos of Cen and Myrrha started popping up on my socials, and yeah, that was a huge eye-opener for me.
I never imagined the girl I thought I was helping would end up sleeping (or in this case taking selfies) with the enemy, and Cen's betrayal made me wonder if foolishness could be something I've genetically inherited from my biological parents.
But kidding aside, I've become cynical since then, and for some time now, I've also been working hard to make myself cold-blooded.
I'm done being a good girl.
From now on, Halyna will only look after Halyna, and Halyna alone.
MY UBER DRIVER DROPS me off at 44 Rosemary Square, and I must've looked as miserable as I felt because the old man actually gives me a pat on the head and gruffly tells me to take care of myself.
I wave as he drives off, and I just stand there watching his car eventually fade from view, mostly to delay the inevitable. I know it's just sentimental nonsense, but I really feel like the moment I turn around, it would also mean I'm turning my back on my old life for good. And I don't know if I'm truly ready—-
"Ms. Mariposa?"
Now, that I can't ignore, and so I reluctantly put an end to my inner emo state and turn around.
A woman is leisurely descending the building's front steps, and upon reaching me, she introduces herself as the school registrar.
"Please call me Ms. Roo," she tells me with a smile, and I have to quickly swallow back a nervous laugh at her words. Whoever Slew Auntie Roo, an old horror movie, is one of my favorite comfort flicks, and Ms. Roo here? She looks exactly like the actress in the movie, with her short, big curls and pleasantly round figure.
Ms. Roo asks for my school ID (just for formality's sake, she assures me), and after that, we take the wheelchair ramp going up so I don't have to bear the weight of my luggage.
She asks about my first impressions of Rosethorne, and all I can think of saying is that it's big. This makes her laugh, and I get the feeling she thinks I'm joking...but I'm not. Rosethorne as a school is completely alien to me, and I'm still somewhat overwhelmed, every time I think of the fact that I need an actual map just to get from Point A to Point B in this school.