Here's your story, Jack. ※〜※〜※ Gasps of awe. Enviable glances. Furtive whispers. Everything about her, from her 4 inch heels, to her aviator sunglasses screams perfection. Flawlessness trails from her bright purple stilettos, which would be hideous on anyone but her. She slips her shades over her piercing azure eyes, which were perched precariously on her coiffed platinum blonde curls moments before. All of the female students -- and even a few of the male ones -- have tried this look only to have them slip off and shatter. Jealousy oozes from the pores of every watching student. They note the designer label on every single thing she's wearing, even the braided leather bracelet, which is a few thousand dollars more than anything they can afford. Actually, every watching student but one. He stands in the shadows. Watching. Waiting. Waiting for the inevitable to happen. "H-hi, M-M-Megiana," a freshman stammers, walking into her otherwise clear path. "What do you want?" she snaps. Everyone but that one student sighs wistfully at the sight of her glistening teeth. "Well, I-I'm Christie, and I-I-I was just wondering if I could use you in my project… you know, the one that everyone in the school has to do and it's worth half of your grade and you can pick any topic and since it's the seniors' last year the seniors present theirs to the whole school and since you're a senior I'll be watching yours and-" "I know what the project is," she sighs in exasperation. "Oh, uh, sorry, I'm so sorry Megiana, I just… oh sorry, I'm blabbering again… so I want to do comparisons for my project, and I was wondering if I could, er, feature you in my project about comparisons. I'll be comparing you to the sun, and how it seems dull compared to you, because you radiate way more beauty than the sun radiates heat, and you radiate beauty every single second of every single whereas the sun- sorry. So, what do you say?" "No," she sneers. "But I have a better comparison for you. How much more disgusting you look compared to a tarantula." "Wait, but-" "Get out of my way," she snarls, pushing Christie into a locker. There it is. Disgusted, the boy turns and walks away. The other students still gaze at her longingly, though. Because of Megiana's appearance, they just assume the other girl did something to deserve it. "Wait, Jack!" she turns and runs after him. Megiana is extremely insecure, and to see anyone's disapproval crushes her inside. "I don't want to talk to you." "But… but… you're my brother!" "Stepbrother. Look, Megiana, I have absolutely nothing to say to you. So go back to your little group of wannabe followers. And leave. Me. Alone." "Jack…" But he has already disappeared into the chattering, thronging crowd of seniors. ※〜※〜※ "Jack Hawk. Please come up to present." Jack anxiously fingers his frayed sweatshirt sleeve and steps onto the stage. Hundreds of faces -- parents and students alike -- look expectantly back at him. The principal hands him a microphone. "Take it away, Mr. Hawk." Jack takes the microphone and promptly drops it. He wipes his palms, which are slick with sweat, on his pants, then picks it up again. "Okay." He clears his throat and chuckles nervously. "Well, since I'm in the middle of a hundred or so other students, I knew I had to pick a memorable topic. I won't say much more about it; the video will explain itself." As Jack says that, the first words spin onto the screen. Megiana Zeph: Enchanting or Evil? Jack's recorded voice reverberates around the auditorium. "I'm pretty sure you guys all know who Megiana Zeph is. The epitome of perfection. Well, I'm here to prove you wrong. As her stepbrother, I have seen some of the things she does firsthand. And trust me, it's not pretty." The audience murmurs in expectation. Megiana glares from backstage. The film starts with her yelling at her loyal maid for putting one extra grain of sugar on her morning muffin. But it only gets worse from there. Her "Hate List", which features insults about every single student in their grade, shoving kids, punching kids, yelling at her mom, pedestrians, Kindergarteners… Finally, Megiana's mom stands up. "Stop the film!" she screeches. "STOP THE ****ING FILM!" No one stops it. Mrs. Zeph stomps up to the stage, ready to snatch the computer, or better yet, just rip the projection screen away, when she catches sight of Megiana. "You," she hisses. Jack drops the microphone and it rolls toward the mom and daughter, amplifying the conversation. "You're a disgrace. All my life I've given you everything you wanted. This is how you repay me? By becoming a failure? That's right. YOU'RE. A. FAILURE." Megiana rolls her eyes. "Mo-o-om," she whines. "This is embarrassing. Just stop." "How about you stop? YOU ****ING STOP! YOU'RE A *****! Meg, think of our family. Think of how bad this makes me look." The film starts over again. Jack's recorded voice only seems to make Megiana's mom madder. "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW? NOW EVERYONE THINKS I'M AN AWFUL PARENT!" "You *****! You selfish ****!" Megiana shrieks from the speakers. "Listen to yourself. Just listen to yourself. You sound like a brat! You ARE a brat!" Mrs. Zeph yells. The film continues. "You're just jealous. You're just jealous of how PERFECT I am, so you're trying to make me fat! YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE YOU'RE FAT AND UGLY WHILE I'M SKINNY AND PRETTY. YOU'RE A FAILURE." "GAHHHHHH!" Mrs. Zeph hurls the computer into a window. "YOU'RE A FAILURE. YOU'RE A FAILURE. YOU'RE A FAILURE." The recording keeps playing Megiana's last sentence, over and over. "YOU'RE A FAILURE." "Mom, please," she whispers. "YOU'RE NOT MY DAUGHTER! WHEN I COME HOME I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY TRACE OF YOU! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" Jack slowly climbs down the stairs and walks towards his dad. The rest of the audience is sitting, frozen in shock. "I hope you're divorcing her," he remarks calmly. "I am." Mr. Hawk grins at him. "Some people are a little too crazy for my taste. Let's go. Something tells me this is going to get ugly." As they walk out the doors, the principal leans over. "You can go," he tells them. "And by the way, that was a great project." Jack smiles his thanks and he and his dad walk out into the blinding sunlight. It's much brighter than her beauty. ※〜※〜※ For the record, I had absolutely no idea where this was going. So it might be really long. And bad. And confusing. I didn't proofread it at all, either.