The Pretender
Jessica Black, a young teenage girl has a crush on a popular boy at school, however because of her 'type' she feels she doesn't stand a chance. She soon joins a social networking site and sets up an account going by GothicValentine, where she starts talking to a boy known as ThePretender. Jessica soon learns that ThePretender is her school crush, and soon develops the idea of meeting him indisguise as Violet...
I stood in front of the hall mirror, giving my appearance a once over. My long black hair hung loosely by my elbows. My skinny jeans were ripped in several places up my left leg and my baggy wolf t shirt was tied at my hip. My converses were extremely dirty, but it added to the effect of my grunge look. I grabbed my bag and iPod and headed out the door.
My type of music was all hard rock with crazy words and beats. I had both earplugs in so I could 'block out the whole world'. That was my favorite habit. I liked being myself, that way I couldn't and wouldn't get hurt.
I was half way into my school journey, when I got to the traffic lights just across from a couple of shops when I froze and lost all sense of time and reality. There he was. His red stripped jumper was noticeable from miles away. His bag was hung over his shoulder, coming down his waist, which moved back and forth as he moved. He too had both earphones in, probably listening to all the in crowd popular music. A big group of people joined him as he came out the shop, laughing and shouting. When the crowd disappeared with him around the corner I didn't realize where I was. The beeping of the traffic lights brought me back and walked across the road with my head down, to hide the redness of my face after a few drivers cursing and pointing at me.
The school was busy, as always. Everyone was standing in their own little 'gangs'. A few people turned and stared at me, some giggled in their pathetic attention seeking voice, and some shoved past me, knocking me down. I turned to face the two big guys who held big grins on their faces as if they were proud of knocking me to the ground.
I managed to stand up without help and glanced around the school ground to see all faces on me. Then I saw him. Staring at me. My deep blue eyes met his melting brown ones. He blinked twice and looked away. I inhaled deeply, got myself together and walked through the school doors.
Every teacher hated me. Literally hated me. I was sent out nearly every period, just for offering my opinion. I mean, everyone has their own opinion right? And you have to stand by it, your opinion is never wrong; it's just how you see things, not how everyone wants you to see them.
English and biology passed extremely quickly, because I spent most of it in the exclusion unit. I didn't even bother turning up to maths or chemistry because I knew I would be sent out to sit in a room myself and copy out notes after notes.
Drama was the only subject I bothered to turn up for nowadays, because 1. I enjoy the subject and 2. The teacher actually liked me. We were learning quotes and monologues from various plays and dramas. I wanted to study 'A Cinderella Story' because it means a lot to me, as the girl in it, has no real family, just a step mother and two step sisters that make her life hell! So yeah, I can probably relate to that, except for the step sisters part.
After school had finished, I searched for my iPod and plugged the earphones in and began my walk home. I had just turned that corner I saw him turn when I froze yet again. He was standing outside the shops with the same crowd of people. The many faces within the group I could recognize immediately. There was about five guys, and four girls. A few of them were together. The first couple was Maddy Wicks and Scott Daniels. I have to admit, they were really cute together, Maddy had her bright red hair which always sat perfectly at each side of her face and then there was Scott with his hair to his chin, in a purplish shade. The second couple was Natt Williams and Natalie Law. In my opinion these two don't go at all.
Anytime I see them on their own they're always arguing and shouting, but when they're in their crowd, they're all over each other, kissing and cuddling and a little touching here and there, but I guess that's just teenagers. Ryan Daniels and Nadia Murr are actually cousins. They get on so well, you wouldn't think they're related, they're just so good together. That's probably because they grew up together side by side. Aidan Grace and Shelby Grace are twins. It is so obvious they are twins. Their hair and eyes are the exact color. They are exactly the same height, and they actually seem to have the same build. The last of the crowd was Liam Jones. The guy I have been crushing on for quite some time. A few years ago, there was a rumor that he "fancied me" but that was when we were all so immature and nobody really knew him that well and I probably scared him off because of the bad time I was going through.
The 'Bad Time' I was going through was when my mum and dad were going away for their anniversary. They didn't have enough money at the time to go abroad so they just settled for going away to Aberdeen on the train. That was the worst mistake they made in their whole lives. I was on the phone to them at the time, when I heard a gunshot followed by shouting and screaming. My parents had dropped their phone but the call was still active. I couldn't pull myself away from the phone, I couldn't shout or scream or even talk. My mouth was shut with horror, as the screaming got louder and closer. Several more gunshots were released and the screaming became much quieter. I heard my mum and dad faintly say 'I love you' before one last gunshot was fired and the phone went dead on the other end. I spent the next few months crying and crying. I dodged school, a lot, and I often got kicked out my foster homes. So yeah, I really did go through a 'Bad Time'.
I stood frozen where I was at the edge of the corner. Liam met my eyes again and sort of smiled and shrugged his shoulders, laughed and went back to his crowd.
I slid my iPod out my pocket, scrolled through my playlist, chose my favorite song 'The Pretender' by Foo Fighters, slid my iPod back in my pocket, and walked past the group with my head down.
When I arrived home, I slammed the door and lay my back against it, sliding down onto the floor. I sat there for a while, with my legs bent in front of me. My arms were wrapped around me to stop me from shaking. This was nothing unusual to me; in fact it was my normal routine, go to school and get embarrassed and made fun of and get sent out of class, get flustered about a boy I have nothing to do with and doesn't even know I exist, only when I make a fool of myself, come home and sit and cry for hours to come, until I fall into a deep sleep. That's right; I officially have a sad life, maybe even no life. I sorted myself out and headed upstairs.
I pressed the circle red button on my computer screen after I threw my bag in a corner and quickly dressed into my favorite jammies, monkey shorts and a thin strapped white tee. I double clicked on my iTunes and let my music blare away. I picked up a pile of magazines and flicked through them. I wasn't really paying any attention to them; I was just looking through them self consciously. I came across one page that was brightly colored which instantly grabbed my attention. It was a social networking site. Smurfed! Was the name. I sat upright on my bed and thought about just taking a quick look then click off it.
I slowly walked towards my computer and sat down. I double clicked on Internet Explorer and searched 'Smurfed' in the Google engine. A few options came up; I clicked on the first one and read everything that the website included.
At the top right corner, there was a small box flashing orange. "Sign up for free today!" Should I? Or shouldn't I? I debated for a while then clicked on it.
I entered all my details. My first name and last name, my date of birth, where I live, the normal procedure basically, then it came to the username. I thought about it for a while, because I didn't want to use my real name so I came up with, GothicValentine. I smiled and nodded to myself in approval. The site then took me to my own profile; it was similar to the other sites all the 'Populars' use. I edited the about me bit by just simply saying "You don't know me." It was the only thing I could come up with. It's ironic but, because the whole point of the websites is to get to know people but in my case, I'm basically saying, you don't know me so don't bother try to know me.
I walked away from the whizzing computer and headed downstairs to make my favorite food, chicken noodles.
I loaded the dishwasher, of my dishes and the dishes from last night, pressed the on button then the start button and shut it. The water started filling up. I headed upstairs for my bed.
My computer was still alight. It usually went black and locked itself. I noticed I had an email on Smurfed! It was from someone called ThePretender. I opened it up and read.
ThePretender says: Hey. Cool profile. Like the name.
I instantly replied.
GothicValentine says: Hey. Thanks, I guess? Yours too. Foo fighters?
I like this person, I laughed. He has good taste in music. I smiled.
Another message popped up. It was different this time. It wasn't indicating a new email; in fact, it was a message indicating that this person wanted to talk to me live. I quickly pressed accept.
ThePretender says: Yeah. You like them?
GothicValentine says: Yeah! They're like one of my favorite bands!
ThePretender says: Awesome. What's the others?
I thought about my iPod and the most common bands I listen to.
GothicValentine says: Angels and Airwaves, avenged sevenfold, bullet for my valentine, I hate Kate, blink 182. I guess that's the main ones. Wbu?
ThePretender says: angels and airwaves, blink 182, I hate Kate, death cab for cutie, mayday parade, attack.
No way! I shouted to myself.
GothicValentine says: what's your favorite blink 182 song?
I was teasing him. If he says First Date, I will just die! I laughed.
ThePretender says: Oh, Erm, probably first date.
That silenced me for about 5 minutes before realizing I had just ignored his message.
GothicValentine says: Seriously?!
ThePretender says: yeah, why?
GothicValentine says: it's my favorite song too!
ThePretender says: cool. Something in common.
GothicValentine says: haha.
ThePretender says: I better head, bye.
I didn't need to reply, because he had signed off as soon as he said bye. I didn't even know his name.
My head was in the clouds that night. I tossed and turned. The Pretender kept popping up in my head. For some reason, Liam Jones's face had come into my dream, whispering the words from 'First Date' by Blink 182.
My type of music was all hard rock with crazy words and beats. I had both earplugs in so I could 'block out the whole world'. That was my favorite habit. I liked being myself, that way I couldn't and wouldn't get hurt.
I was half way into my school journey, when I got to the traffic lights just across from a couple of shops when I froze and lost all sense of time and reality. There he was. His red stripped jumper was noticeable from miles away. His bag was hung over his shoulder, coming down his waist, which moved back and forth as he moved. He too had both earphones in, probably listening to all the in crowd popular music. A big group of people joined him as he came out the shop, laughing and shouting. When the crowd disappeared with him around the corner I didn't realize where I was. The beeping of the traffic lights brought me back and walked across the road with my head down, to hide the redness of my face after a few drivers cursing and pointing at me.
The school was busy, as always. Everyone was standing in their own little 'gangs'. A few people turned and stared at me, some giggled in their pathetic attention seeking voice, and some shoved past me, knocking me down. I turned to face the two big guys who held big grins on their faces as if they were proud of knocking me to the ground.
I managed to stand up without help and glanced around the school ground to see all faces on me. Then I saw him. Staring at me. My deep blue eyes met his melting brown ones. He blinked twice and looked away. I inhaled deeply, got myself together and walked through the school doors.
Every teacher hated me. Literally hated me. I was sent out nearly every period, just for offering my opinion. I mean, everyone has their own opinion right? And you have to stand by it, your opinion is never wrong; it's just how you see things, not how everyone wants you to see them.
English and biology passed extremely quickly, because I spent most of it in the exclusion unit. I didn't even bother turning up to maths or chemistry because I knew I would be sent out to sit in a room myself and copy out notes after notes.
Drama was the only subject I bothered to turn up for nowadays, because 1. I enjoy the subject and 2. The teacher actually liked me. We were learning quotes and monologues from various plays and dramas. I wanted to study 'A Cinderella Story' because it means a lot to me, as the girl in it, has no real family, just a step mother and two step sisters that make her life hell! So yeah, I can probably relate to that, except for the step sisters part.
After school had finished, I searched for my iPod and plugged the earphones in and began my walk home. I had just turned that corner I saw him turn when I froze yet again. He was standing outside the shops with the same crowd of people. The many faces within the group I could recognize immediately. There was about five guys, and four girls. A few of them were together. The first couple was Maddy Wicks and Scott Daniels. I have to admit, they were really cute together, Maddy had her bright red hair which always sat perfectly at each side of her face and then there was Scott with his hair to his chin, in a purplish shade. The second couple was Natt Williams and Natalie Law. In my opinion these two don't go at all.
Anytime I see them on their own they're always arguing and shouting, but when they're in their crowd, they're all over each other, kissing and cuddling and a little touching here and there, but I guess that's just teenagers. Ryan Daniels and Nadia Murr are actually cousins. They get on so well, you wouldn't think they're related, they're just so good together. That's probably because they grew up together side by side. Aidan Grace and Shelby Grace are twins. It is so obvious they are twins. Their hair and eyes are the exact color. They are exactly the same height, and they actually seem to have the same build. The last of the crowd was Liam Jones. The guy I have been crushing on for quite some time. A few years ago, there was a rumor that he "fancied me" but that was when we were all so immature and nobody really knew him that well and I probably scared him off because of the bad time I was going through.
The 'Bad Time' I was going through was when my mum and dad were going away for their anniversary. They didn't have enough money at the time to go abroad so they just settled for going away to Aberdeen on the train. That was the worst mistake they made in their whole lives. I was on the phone to them at the time, when I heard a gunshot followed by shouting and screaming. My parents had dropped their phone but the call was still active. I couldn't pull myself away from the phone, I couldn't shout or scream or even talk. My mouth was shut with horror, as the screaming got louder and closer. Several more gunshots were released and the screaming became much quieter. I heard my mum and dad faintly say 'I love you' before one last gunshot was fired and the phone went dead on the other end. I spent the next few months crying and crying. I dodged school, a lot, and I often got kicked out my foster homes. So yeah, I really did go through a 'Bad Time'.
I stood frozen where I was at the edge of the corner. Liam met my eyes again and sort of smiled and shrugged his shoulders, laughed and went back to his crowd.
I slid my iPod out my pocket, scrolled through my playlist, chose my favorite song 'The Pretender' by Foo Fighters, slid my iPod back in my pocket, and walked past the group with my head down.
When I arrived home, I slammed the door and lay my back against it, sliding down onto the floor. I sat there for a while, with my legs bent in front of me. My arms were wrapped around me to stop me from shaking. This was nothing unusual to me; in fact it was my normal routine, go to school and get embarrassed and made fun of and get sent out of class, get flustered about a boy I have nothing to do with and doesn't even know I exist, only when I make a fool of myself, come home and sit and cry for hours to come, until I fall into a deep sleep. That's right; I officially have a sad life, maybe even no life. I sorted myself out and headed upstairs.
I pressed the circle red button on my computer screen after I threw my bag in a corner and quickly dressed into my favorite jammies, monkey shorts and a thin strapped white tee. I double clicked on my iTunes and let my music blare away. I picked up a pile of magazines and flicked through them. I wasn't really paying any attention to them; I was just looking through them self consciously. I came across one page that was brightly colored which instantly grabbed my attention. It was a social networking site. Smurfed! Was the name. I sat upright on my bed and thought about just taking a quick look then click off it.
I slowly walked towards my computer and sat down. I double clicked on Internet Explorer and searched 'Smurfed' in the Google engine. A few options came up; I clicked on the first one and read everything that the website included.
At the top right corner, there was a small box flashing orange. "Sign up for free today!" Should I? Or shouldn't I? I debated for a while then clicked on it.
I entered all my details. My first name and last name, my date of birth, where I live, the normal procedure basically, then it came to the username. I thought about it for a while, because I didn't want to use my real name so I came up with, GothicValentine. I smiled and nodded to myself in approval. The site then took me to my own profile; it was similar to the other sites all the 'Populars' use. I edited the about me bit by just simply saying "You don't know me." It was the only thing I could come up with. It's ironic but, because the whole point of the websites is to get to know people but in my case, I'm basically saying, you don't know me so don't bother try to know me.
I walked away from the whizzing computer and headed downstairs to make my favorite food, chicken noodles.
I loaded the dishwasher, of my dishes and the dishes from last night, pressed the on button then the start button and shut it. The water started filling up. I headed upstairs for my bed.
My computer was still alight. It usually went black and locked itself. I noticed I had an email on Smurfed! It was from someone called ThePretender. I opened it up and read.
ThePretender says: Hey. Cool profile. Like the name.
I instantly replied.
GothicValentine says: Hey. Thanks, I guess? Yours too. Foo fighters?
I like this person, I laughed. He has good taste in music. I smiled.
Another message popped up. It was different this time. It wasn't indicating a new email; in fact, it was a message indicating that this person wanted to talk to me live. I quickly pressed accept.
ThePretender says: Yeah. You like them?
GothicValentine says: Yeah! They're like one of my favorite bands!
ThePretender says: Awesome. What's the others?
I thought about my iPod and the most common bands I listen to.
GothicValentine says: Angels and Airwaves, avenged sevenfold, bullet for my valentine, I hate Kate, blink 182. I guess that's the main ones. Wbu?
ThePretender says: angels and airwaves, blink 182, I hate Kate, death cab for cutie, mayday parade, attack.
No way! I shouted to myself.
GothicValentine says: what's your favorite blink 182 song?
I was teasing him. If he says First Date, I will just die! I laughed.
ThePretender says: Oh, Erm, probably first date.
That silenced me for about 5 minutes before realizing I had just ignored his message.
GothicValentine says: Seriously?!
ThePretender says: yeah, why?
GothicValentine says: it's my favorite song too!
ThePretender says: cool. Something in common.
GothicValentine says: haha.
ThePretender says: I better head, bye.
I didn't need to reply, because he had signed off as soon as he said bye. I didn't even know his name.
My head was in the clouds that night. I tossed and turned. The Pretender kept popping up in my head. For some reason, Liam Jones's face had come into my dream, whispering the words from 'First Date' by Blink 182.
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