Brooks Our New Normal

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-0983-2912-9
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 392 Seiten

Victoria Reynolds had a great life: her rich parents gave her everything she wanted, she was the head cheerleader, and her boyfriend was the star quarterback. The most popular girls in their class, Tori and her friends ruled the school and tormented anyone who didn't live up to their standards. But when Tori realizes that she has a crush on another girl in her senior class, everything changes. Finding herself thrown out by her religious parents and ostracized by her friends, Victoria has to start her life from scratch while coming to terms with her identity. Can Victoria go from a spoiled rich girl to an independent young woman while learning to be true to her heart?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brooks, Jennifer

Leseproben

Chapter 3   Tori wasn’t looking forward to public speaking; it was the only class this year where she was completely alone, so she had no one to talk to during lectures or get notes from after class. She was accustomed to having her entourage around her to defend any feeble points she tried to make, and she was worried that she would make a mistake or sound like an idiot if forced to speak in front of the class all alone. She normally didn’t worry about how intelligent she sounded—especially when it came to talking to her friends about the same superficial topics—but this was for a grade. She quickly brushed her worry aside, though, and reminded herself that her grades didn’t matter. Keeping in good graces with her friends and maintaining her popularity were more important. She found a seat in the back left corner of the room, slouching as low as she could to keep attention away from herself. As she dug a notebook and pencil from her book bag, she noticed the girl from homeroom walk in. They briefly made eye contact, long enough for the girl to glare at Tori, spin on her heels, and sit at a desk on the opposite side of the room. Tori realized that the girl was purposely avoiding her. She frowned but quickly dismissed the insult, convincing herself that it was only because the girl was envious of her. In actuality, Chloe felt quite the opposite. She was in no way e of Tori; as a matter of fact, she pitied her. Tori and her friends were a waste of space, as far as she was concerned. She loved classes devoid of the Frosted Flakes as there were far less abrupt, mindless outbursts and interruptions. Chloe enjoyed the conversations that could ignite in a class of intelligent students. At least, Chloe reminded herself, Tori was by herself; if they all weren’t there to play off of one another, then there was a better chance of Tori staying silent and not getting in the way of learning. Randy Thompson stood behind his desk in the front of the classroom, gazing at his newest students. He had been warned about the group of popular girls referred to as the Frosted Flakes, and he was relieved to see only one in this period. Lazy students were his job’s only pet peeve. In his late thirties, Randy had been teaching for over a decade and was set in his ways; he was strict and taught his course without any detours. He’d seen and heard all of the adolescent tricks that students used to deviate teachers from their syllabus, and they’d stopped fooling him years ago. The tactics were the same every year; they used interruptions and misplaced humor as tools to both avoid working and prevent anyone else from noticing that they weren’t comprehending the subject matter. He knew from experience that they would be better off redirecting that energy towards learning the material, but it was nearly impossible to get any of them to recognize that hard truth. Instead, he did his best to minimize the interruptions and dissuade misbehavior. His first assignment was for each student to stand at the podium and introduce themselves to the class. They were to speak briefly about their interests, hobbies, and what they planned to do after high school. A simple task for most, having them talk about themselves for a few minutes familiarized them with public speaking without diving headfirst into difficult subjects right away. Before long, Tori was standing at the podium. She was beyond nervous; though she tried to hide it, her pallid face and quavering voice betrayed her secret to anyone who was paying attention. “My name is Victoria Reynolds. I’m a cheerleader, and I like fashion. I’m not sure what I’m doing yet after high school. Um, I guess I’ll probably just go to college somewhere and then work for my father’s business.” Her father was the CEO of HyperSpeed Technologies, one of the largest telecommunication companies in the country. He could easily get her a position if she wanted one, but working a desk job in her father’s company wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life. Even though she knew that she was guaranteed a position with good pay, she dreamed of earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communication at one of the local universities and making her way into the fashion industry. To be successful, though, she couldn’t be this shaky when she spoke, especially if she made it to the big time and had to work alongside high-profile agencies, models, and celebrities. She also wanted to avoid working at her dad’s business so that she could have her own identity instead of just being known as “Mr. Reynolds’ daughter who clearly got the job because of her dad” in the office. Still, she knew she could fall back on it if needed. Chloe rolled her eyes. Must be nice to be able to work for daddy, she mused. After a few more students introduced themselves, Chloe made her way up to the podium. She was nervous, but she’d learned to talk in front of others while keeping her fear inside; she’d defended herself multiple times over the years when bullies would get on her case for being different. She stood at the podium, her shoulders back and her head held high, her clammy fists clenched to control the shaking. “My name is Chloe Summers. After high school, I plan on getting a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration while working part-time to pay for school, then I’ll acquire a job where I can use my skills successfully.” “Thank you, Miss Summers,” Mr. Thompson said as he checked his roster for the next student. “Does anyone have any questions?” Chloe glanced around the room, stopping at the back corner where Tori was. Their eyes met, and Tori quickly looked away. Chloe shrugged it off, heading back to her seat so that the next student could take their place at the podium. * * * “That last shirt looked totally amazing on you, Rina!” Mandi insisted. “You so need to buy that one!” Sabrina admired herself again in the dressing room’s mirrors. “I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully, studying her profile. “I think that other shirt showed off my love handles!” She pinched a tiny fold of skin on her side. “This one, like, totally shows off my cleavage! What do you think, Tori?” “I like them both,” she replied apathetically, annoyed that everyone was suddenly paying attention to Sabrina. She quickly grabbed a hat from one of the hooks and tried it on. “What do you think about this on me? Does it go with my hair?” A half dozen heads bobbed in eager agreement. “It looks fabulous!” Katie squealed. “It’ll match all of your outfits! You should get it!” Sabrina sighed, studying the shirt once again but this time without any outside encouragement. Tori always has to be in the spotlight, she thought bitterly. Sabrina removed the shirt, trying on another one. This doesn’t look quite as good as the last one, but it’s on clearance for $20 cheaper, and I don’t have daddy’s credit card to pay for everything I want. “How about this one?” she asked the group. Brenda and Tiffany were the only ones to turn. “That looks amazing, too,” Brenda said. “I am, like, so jealous of your perfect body!” Sabrina smiled, relieved that someone in their group noticed her nearly flawless figure. “Thanks, Brenda!” she exclaimed happily. Tiffany nodded. “It looks fabulous on you, and it totally matches your eyes!” Sabrina beamed, studying herself in the mirrors. “Tori, what do you think?” Tori glanced over, shrugging. “Sure,” she answered. “Well, which looks best?” Sabrina asked, holding up the other shirts. Tori held a shirt in front of her, studying it. “Just buy all three,” she replied without turning to look. Sabrina shook her head, her face flushing with both frustration over Tori’s dismissal and embarrassment over her lack of money. “You know I can’t do that,” she said quietly. “Which one do you like best?” Thinking for a moment, Tori shook her head. “I think I like the last one,” she replied. “Green is not your color, and the other one made you look pudgy.” “I totally agree,” Mandi interjected. Katie nodded. Sabrina frowned, looking at the shirt again. I think this one looks fine, but if Tori doesn’t like it she’ll be sure to tell me every chance she gets. “You’re so right, Tori,” Sabrina said with mock gratitude. She pulled the shirt off of her and threw it on the dressing room floor. She retrieved the other shirt from the hanger and draped it over her arm, inspecting a pair of pants on clearance as the other girls thumbed through a nearby clothes rack. Tori stood at the registers while the rest of their group continued shopping. Sabrina noted yet another hundred-dollar-plus purchase charged straight to her daddy’s account. Sabrina’s stomach churned with envy, wishing that she could just buy whatever she wanted without caring about the price tag. Though her parents made a decent amount of money, there wasn’t always enough to go around between her and her other siblings to afford whatever she wanted on a whim. She usually let her parents pay for necessities while she used her paycheck to take care of everything else. Tori flung the latest bag of clothes over her shoulder and retrieved the pile of shopping bags from previous stores. “Are you guys ready?” she asked impatiently. The other girls hesitated for a moment, longingly looking down at the clothing that they were about to try on, but they reluctantly nodded. Still studying the denim of her potential purchase, Sabrina glanced over at Tori. “Give me one minute,” she insisted, trying to control...