It was about halfway through lunch break and I finally got some food from the canteen. The hall was a sea of noise; with clattering trays and shouting coming from every direction, plus the queue was so long I thought I’d still be there by fourth period. Like always, I bought a ham and cheese sandwich, two chocolate puddings, and two orange juices – one of each for Layla of course. Balancing the chocolate puddings precariously on top of each other to ensure there was enough room for the drinks, I wove through the bustling crowd on my way to the library. It was our usual spot – quiet, away from the chaos.
Moving at speed through the corridor, the fading sounds of the wild canteen eased me, but the sound of my name, followed by Layla’s unmistakable laugh, held my body to an abrupt stop. Though, it wasn’t her normal laugh, it sounded fake and almost… cruel?
I turned to look at where the sound came from: and through a crack in the door of the year 10 social room, which loomed like some forbidden portal to a world of deceit, I saw her. Along with almost all the popular girls in a large group listening to her, and laughing in the same cruel way she had. This made no sense to me – only yesterday she was telling me how much she despised this exact group, and now she was playing the friend?
Instinctively, I moved closer to the door, straining to listen over the sudden thud of my own heart. Layla spoke again, her voice loud and dripping with a malicious sweetness I’d never heard before.
“I know right! God she’s so annoying. She just follows me around buying snacks for me – it’s pathetic.”
I know my surroundings were still deafeningly loud and wild, but those sounds muffled so quickly I swear I could hear a pin drop. Taking a small step back to regain my balance, my palms grew sweaty and the tray of food I was holding felt like it gained the weight of my betrayal itself, right before slipping out of my hands entirely and smashing onto the floor.
As what felt like the whole world turned to face me, my heart rate spiked and my face flamed with heat. I stared through the door at the stranger wearing my best friend’s face – was she for real? Was I in some kind of nightmare? I had no answers but all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wake up. I turned on my heel as fast as I could, I left the ruined lunch on the floor and ran away through the swarming crowd, leaving the girl I thought I knew behind.