Too Cool For This School

I walk into school like a queen. I mean, here at Lakeside Campus, I kind've am. Crowds part for me and some even ask me for an autograph. Some sad guy even proposes.

"Marry me, Astrid!" he says, waving around a cheapie plastic ring in the midst of the crowd. I blow him a kiss and he clutches his chest, swooning.

"I'm shooting higher than that, honey..." I say, looking him up and down. He doesn't seem to realise that it's not a compliment. I strut away, ignoring the little people. They're so... ugh. I stick to my real followers. The cool ones. The ones who wear, live, and breathe designer... everything. They're my type.

"What is she wearing?" A girl near me suddenly mutters in disgust. She better not be talking about me like that. She wouldn't talk about me like that. She can't be talking about me like that. I only wear the best, and today is no exception. A light blue cropped sweater, black skinny jeans, designer boots with a two-inch heel, and a cream-coloured blazer. Of course, the heels break school protocol, but that's not a problem for me. I'm an expert at sweet-talking the headmaster into, well, anything.

"Sweetie, it's not like you can talk-" I stop when I realise that the girl wasn't talking to me. I follow her gaze to the school gates, where a short girl in a brown, paint-splattered T-shirt is walking with her eyes to the ground. I shake my head, a smile playing on my lips. Her first day, and she wasn't even dressed to impress.

Walking to my locker is again more of the same. Groups parting to make way, boys looking me up and down, and girls glaring at me in both envy and awe. My perfect day hits a bump in the road when I see who has the now-occupied locker next to mine.

"First day, huh?" I ask with a smirk. The girl pushes up her glasses to the bridge of her nose and looks up at me. She nods, seeming surprised that someone as flawless as me is even regarding her at all.

"Good luck with that," I say, touching up my makeup in my locker mirror. "Not everyone here is as nice as me."

"D-do y-y-you th-think-" she stutters.

"Cat got your tongue?" I laugh, mocking her. "What's wrong, this school too cool for povos like you?" Her head snaps up at the comment. Her boring brown eyes fill with moisture, and she hurries off. I smirk, satisfied, and shut my locker.

"Miss Astrid," a gravelly voice behind me makes me jump.

"Y-y-yes?" I ask, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Cat got your tongue?" the principal mimics what I had said earlier. "My office, now."

"Sir, you don't understand, it was a joke-"

"Joke or not, that's not how you treat our new students!" He says, his voice getting louder with every word. "Doris-"

"Doris?" I sputter, my shoulders shaking with laughter. My headmaster's mouth turns into a thin line.

"Doris was my grandmother's name," he says.

"Sorry, sir, but this day and age are different, you know, no one's name is Doris..." My excuse is lame, I know.

"Aside from the name, Miss Astrid, nothing you said was neither welcoming nor a good look for my school," The headmaster looks genuinely disappointed in me, and I begin to feel the tiniest bit of guilt. "Calling someone a povo is certainly against school rules, and if you would like to know, Doris came here on a scholarship, having family and financial problems at home."

"Sir, I didn't realise things were so serious, I was commenting on her ugly clothes..." All my attempts of sweet-talk were now useless. Despite her name and choice of clothing, Doris was going through something I had never experienced. Maybe I had gone too far.

"Astrid, I'm letting you go, but in future ordeals, please be less quick to judge," he gives me a piercing look, before turning on his heel and stalking down the corridor.

I thought I had judged her correctly. I mean, I had, but maybe I needed to work on going about it a different way. I took a lollipop out of my locker and stuck it in the grooves of Doris's own locker. On a Post-It note, I quickly scribble a note and stuck it on her locker. Then, I headed off to class.

Doris,

I'm sorry. I've learned my lesson, and would love to get to know you better. No hard feelings?

Astrid xoxo