WIP Wednesday with Deanna Proach

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From To Be Maria by Deanna Proach, Chapter 4: Anya sits herself down comfortably in her usual spot--the old, chipped desk in the third row at the front of the classroom. She ignores the noisy chatter of her peers and tries to memorize the notes from last English class. Every week Mrs. Cummings gives the class a surprise quiz and Anya is never prepared. But this time, she is determined to ace it.

Just as she delves into the information, her thought process is rudely interrupted when someone snatches the notes off her desk.

"Hey, what the..." Anya stops short when she sees Carly glare down at her, her blue eyes like sharp-edged daggers.

"If I were you, I would not finish that statement," Carly says.

Normally Anya is not bothered by Carly's snide remarks, but this time she is flabbergasted. "What are you talking about, Carly? Can you please give me back my notes?"

With little effort, Carly tears the loose-leaf pages right down the middle, then throws them on the ground. Everyone in the classroom bursts into laughter--everyone except for Maria.

"You better stay away from me, loser, or I am going to make your life a living hell!" With an indignant flip of her long hair, Carly walks brusquely over to her seat at the back of the room, leaving a stunned Anya sitting alone.

The cheers of "Wow, Carly. Way to go, Carly," and the slapping of high fives cuts deep into Anya's soul. So much for acing that quiz, and so much for English today! On impulse, she grabs her books. She nearly runs right into her teacher as she dashes out of the room.

"Anya, what's wrong? Where are you going?" Mrs. Cummings says, her face contorted with worry.

For one brief second, Anya looks at her teacher, but she is completely at a loss of words, unable to express her anguish. So, she just turns her body, then runs down the empty hallway. A few times her teacher calls after her, but Anya ignores her. She flings open the women's washroom, then rushes over to the nearest stall. Anya slams the stall door shut, locks it, then sinks to the floor below. She buries her head in her hands. Tears sting her eyes.

Maria set Carly up for that! That bitch! I should have never talked to her. Now I'm the laughing puppet of my class once again. What the hell was I thinking? I will never be able to live this one down, and worse, what will Mr. Hawthorne think of me when he finds out about this? She can no longer hold back her tears. They flow relentlessly down her cheeks. I hate myself and I hate my life! I just wish for once, I could be anyone but me.

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