Page 149 of Drama Queen

“Wait, don’t tell me she’s the on again, off again girlfriend.” I groan and put my head to the table.

“We thought you knew.” They both say as Drew pats my back gently.

“She cornered me during last period in the hallway and accused me of stealing her boyfriend. I thought she was just delusional so I told her I’d never want her diseased seconds.”Now I feel really bad. Not only did I practically accuse Parker of being diseased, but I insulted his girlfriend. I’m such an idiot.

Sneaky Cow

GABRIELLA

The bitch joinedus at the table for dinner so I took off earlier than usual and spent the rest of the night holed up in Jamie’s room. Just after Jamie came in, I heard the bitch’s giggling through the walls. My entire body buzzed and ached as though I’d swallowed an entire hive of bees. It took until dawn before I could close my eyes and get a couple hours sleep.

In the early morning light, I study Jamie’s face as he sleeps beside me. Well not exactly beside me, he placed a bunch of pillows between us that haven’t moved since I started sleeping in each of the twins rooms. I’ve yet to spend more than a few minutes in Parker’s room.

I’m tempted to run my fingers through Jamie’s thick hair and see if the brown tips feel as soft as the blonde roots but I keep my hands to myself. I know we don’t have that kind of relationship, but part of me wishes we did. Just so I’d have someone to distract me from the pain I feel every time I think of Parker and the bitch in his room.

A shadow moves near the bathroom door and my heart stops. Not only has the bitch invaded the sanctuary the guy’s dorm has become but now she’s sneaking around snooping through their rooms while everyone’s sleeping.

I keep my eyes closed enough to appear to be sleeping and roll onto my side, facing Jamie. He mumbles something incomprehensible and reaches his hand out to mine before settling again. The second he starts snoring, the bitch tip toes across the room and crawls into his bed, wrapping her arms around his shoulder. She pulls his hand from mine and to my utter horror, he rolls over and pulls her into his chest.

I’m frozen, my breathing so shallow I’m not sure I’m getting enough oxygen. The bitch snuggles right in and begins to snore softly after a few minutes. With my heart breaking, I slip out of the bed on silent feet and leave the room. A single tear escapes before I can stop it.

I don’t know where to go or what to do. I can’t tell Parker or he’ll be hurt. He obviously loves her to put up with her shit and keep taking her back. I don’t want to put Drew in the middle of a situation like this, so I just gather my stuff as quietly as I can and leave.

The worst part is that it’s not just my friends I’m leaving behind, I’m fairly sure I’ve just left part of my heart with each of the guys and they have no clue how much it hurts to do so.

Mistaken identity

GABRIELLA

Two days passand not one of them comes looking for me. I’m not sure what hurts more, that the manipulating bitch has taken my place in their lives or the fact that I’ve been forgotten.

I’ve spent the last couple days hiding from everyone in the library and no one has even noticed me hiding behind the restricted section stacks, not even the librarian who walks into the restricted section’s first row of stacks then walks back out every night around ten. I’ve filled in my days reading the books from that section instead of going to classes and I’ve filled my nights with tears and pain. Hunger is the only thing that finally drags me from my self-imposed exile.

I make my way to the cafeteria, finally taking note of everything around me. Guys in the halls turn their heads as I move past them. Girls sneer or smile, nodding their heads in greeting or snubbing their noses up at me. Every look makes me stand taller and every nod makes me feel less alone.

I hover in the doorway of the cafeteria, unsure where to sit. My gaze travels over the table where the guys are groupedaround the bitch. They’re all smiling as though they don’t have a care in the world. My heart breaks all over again, but I shuffle along the line, collect my tray and some food without paying attention to what I’m selecting.

I’m just turning to move towards a table at the end of the first line of tables, when the girl beside me speaks, “Melody, where have you been the last couple of days. I thought you were going to go ahead with the plan.”

My head rears back.Who the hell is Melody?I repeat my question out loud, looking the girl in the face as she frowns up at me. “You’re Melody. Did you have another seizure? Hit your head?” She looks horrified. “Oh girl, I’m freaking out, please don’t tell me you have amnesia.”

“Right, I think I need to go see the nurse. I’m not feeling quite myself right now.” I mumble the last part as I shove the tray into her hands. I glance over my shoulder once I’m in the hallway, making sure the girl hasn’t followed me before ducking into the nearest bathroom.

The face staring back at me is my own. I can’t understand how in the hell the bitch has pulled this off but somehow, she’s pretending to be me and the guys haven’t noticed. It’s the only explanation I can come up with. A plan worms its way into my mind and I smile at my reflection. “Guess it’s time to bring out the big guns.”

The Switch

JAMIE

Somethings not right.I’ve felt it since the moment Gabriella let me hold her tightly in my bed. She looks the same as she usually does, she sounds the same, but something is off. It was little things at first, like how she spoke out more. Started touching us more, then at lunch she got all flustered and ran off the moment Melody entered the cafeteria. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve gotten to know Gabriella fairly well, there’s no way someone like Melody would get to her, which only makes me more suspicious that something isn’t right.

My curiosity wins out and before I can second guess myself, I tell the guys I’m heading back to our dorm to grab something. Neither of them seem to think anything is up, but I do and now’s my chance to find out.

I follow Gabriella into the hallway. Watching as she walks briskly through the crowd. She’s practically jogging as she goes from door to door, pokes her head in then repeats at the next one. Each time she stops, she looks back over her shoulder, forcing me to duck behind the people milling around waiting forthe bell. She’s just poking her head into the Elemental history classroom when someone grabs my arm, yanking me into the janitor’s closet.

“Don’t speak, I need you to hear me out.” The voice is familiar but I can’t place it, I reach my hand out for the light switch but she’s quicker than I am, flicking it off after a split second of light. “Is there a way to remove a glamour from someone?”

“Of course, but glamours rarely work without an object to tether the powers to.”

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