CHAPTER 5.1: A bitter pill to swallow

The girls laughter reverberated around the small reading room where Amber was holding court as usual.

As far as Highgrove Prep School went she was the queen, and the other girls her loyal courtiers.

They specialised in making others feel inferior with their cutting remarks and spiteful nicknames.

 "Look it's Prozac Poppy!"  Amber called, "What are you bothering looking in the mirror for?  Haven't you realised by now that no amount of makeup can cover up ugly!"

Ever since Poppy had been diagnosed with schizophrenia the other girls had mocked her relentlessly bestowing the cruel nickname upon her.

But their vicious jibes could not bring her down that day, she was on count down to the end of term ball when she would have her very first date.

The note she had received last week inviting her still sat in her desk drawer.  She studied it endlessly, night after night, imagining his hand penning the note and slipping it under her door.

He was Thom Forbes, head boy of Brooke Academy an exclusive boarding school for boys. 

Poppy had noticed him at the start of term mixer, he stood out with his handsome face and glossy chestnut hair.

She had felt the connection instantly believing that he was the one person who could truly understand her, if only he had the chance to get to know her.

Now she had her chance, Thom was taking her to the ball and everyone would know that she was a somebody.
No-one would ever call her Prozac Poppy again.

Poppy put the finishing touches to her makeup and smoothed down her dress, smiling to herself at the reflection which greeted her.

She glanced at the prescription bottle sitting on her dresser.
She had not taken her meds this week, why did she need them?  With Thom's love in her life she felt on cloud nine, there wasn't a pill in the world that could make her feel better than she did tonight.

As she grabbed her clutch purse ready to leave she heard it, very faintly, a little voice.

"You're not good enough Poppy"  It told her, "You're never going to be good enough for him" 

Shaking her head she quieted the voice and with determination left for the dance.

***********************************************************

Kaya could feel the girls eyes burning into the back of her head, but as she turned around the girl looked quickly away.


An insult immediately reached Kaya's lips but she bit down to hold it in. 


She had seen this girl hanging around her brother more frequently lately and although the girl gave her an uneasy feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on, she didn't want to risk offending her brother by bitching out his new squeeze.


Forgetting the minor irritation she turned her mind to more pressing matters.  Prom was a couple of days away and she still hadn't finalised her plans for getting the date she wanted.

Selection was not the issue she had, had her sights firmly set for a while now.


Elton Jennings was a senior, his Dad was a City banker and worth a mint.  Only the finest things in life were good enough for Elton and Kaya figured that she would fit perfectly into that equation.

As perfectly as she would fit into his brand new car!

There was just one problem with her plan, Elton had never once spoken to Kaya, in fact he had never so much as glanced her way. 

This was not a response that she was used to.
Some days she figured if she wore a garbage bag to school boys would still fall at her feet, but not Elton.

And therein lay the challenge that she had set herself.

Kaya had a plan all worked out, of course she would never usually approach a boy and ask him out but she reasoned that the boost to her social standing that bagging a catch like Elton would bring her was worth a little effort. 

Not that she would admit her tactics to her clique, are you kidding?  It wouldn't do for them to know that she, the great Kaya Traytor had been the one to ask a boy to prom.

Instead she decided to strike her target well away from school and the prying eyes of her "friends".

Elton and his crew preferred to hang uptown.  They could usually be found eating Al fresco at the bistro before heading over to uber cool lounge Aquarius for the evening. 

That Friday Kaya swallowed her pride and ventured to the bistro.  Spying Elton alone at the bar she made her move.

"What a coincidence seeing you here."  She started trying her best to act casually.

Elton glanced at her briefly then turned his attention back to the barmaid, "Yeah, can i get another round please?"  He asked, indicating his table of friends.

"Mines a simsapolitan."  Kaya stated fixing Elton with her best sultry pout.

"Do i know you?"  He asked looking down at Kaya.

"I'm Kaya, Kaya Traytor."  She said feeling her nerve falter briefly.

Elton regarded her blankly as though she were something he had just stepped in.

"Look I'll cut to the chase." Kaya said, "The prom is next week and i think you should take me."

"Why would i want to do that?"  Elton asked raising his brows as though her suggestion was the most ridiculous idea he had ever heard.


"Look you're the most popular boy in school and I'm the most popular girl, it makes sense for us to go together."  Kaya explained.


"Look, whoever you are."  Elton retorted sarcastically, "I don't date freshman." 


He laughed derisively at Kaya before walking back to his table of cronies chuckling to himself.

Kaya stood dumbfounded for a second until she heard Elton and his buddies having a good laugh at her expense.  Feeling the anger rise up inside her she balled her fists, raised her chin and stalked defiantly from the bistro. 

As she rounded the corner and dropped out of sight of Elton's crew she broke into a run.


No one had ever spoken to her the way Elton had before and certainly no one had ever looked at Kaya as if she were beneath them. 

She was much more accustomed to being the one dishing out that sort of treatment and now that she had experienced Elton's snobbery first hand she was damned if she was going to go back for more.

She ran until the path came to a close right at the waters edge and there she stood for a while allowing her mind to mull things over.


There was no way she could tell Amy and Connie what had happened, it would be social suicide, Kaya knew that if Connie ever saw an opportunity to dethrone her as queen bee she would jump all over it and tell the whole school what had happened. 

But equally she had already bragged to them that she was going to bag herself a hot date.  She had to come up with something that would save her reputation.


Usually schemes and plots came quickly to her, but as she stared out at the dark ocean nothing materialised, her mind only reeled more at the frustration of not knowing what to do. 

Kaya felt the anger rise once more and released it in the only way she knew how.
Tilting her head back she yelled. 

She cursed and swore and kicked at the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Um, er, excuse me!"  A small voice called behind her.

Turning around Kaya found a boy standing less than three feet away, she hadn't realised there was anyone else around.

Far from being embarrassed that he had witnessed her meltdown she jumped at the chance to throw her frustration at a Sim instead of the dark night sky.

"What the hell are you doing out here, stalk much?"  She yelled at the boy.

"No, i, er, i."  The boy stammered.

"Well spit it out i don't have all day."  She said in annoyance at his apparent flaw.

"I was just looking for rocks for my geology project and well i couldn't help overhearing you yelling, i just wanted to check that you were OK."  The boy said cautiously.

"OK?"  She spat, "YOU just wanted to check that I was OK?"


"Y-yes."  The boy confirmed warily.


"Do i look like i need your help?"  Kaya yelled, "Listen up four eyes why don't you get back to your rocks and leave me the hell alone!"  She demanded.


"Uh-OK"  The boy said, holding up his hands as a gesture of peace and backing slowly away from Kaya.


Kaya felt the anger quell inside her chest, she exhaled slowly and felt it disappear altogether.

************************************************************

"I'm telling you Amy she doesn't have a date."  Connie exclaimed.

"But Kaya told us she was gonna have the hottest date there."  Amy replied confused by the other girls statement.

"She's lying!"  Connie retorted, "Ricky told me that she begged him to take her, but he turned her down so he could take me."  She bragged.

"Urgh if you're going to lie Connie at least make it believable."  Kaya sighed emerging from the cubicle where she had been listening to her so called friend bitch about her.

"So who IS your date then?"  Connie threw at her.

"No one you know."  She replied mysteriously.

Connie tutted loudly and flounced off.

"Kaya, your brother still hasn't asked me to prom."  Amy whined.

"Oh for goodness sake Amy will you get a clue please?"  Kaya snapped, "He's not going to ask you because he's not into you."  She said speaking slowly so the dim witted girl would understand.

"So who am i gonna go with?"  She pouted, "I already bought the corsage to give to him."


"Amy the guy is supposed to give you a corsage."  Kaya pointed out, "Look Nick Millard still doesn't have a date, i suppose i could prompt him to ask you."  She offered.


"Really?"  Amy asked, her eyes lighting up like a kids on Christmas day.


"Sure."  Kaya smiled relenting her tirade against the girl.  She knew she gave Amy a hard time, is was difficult not to when every sentence she uttered was crying out for an insult!  

She was harmless really, but Connie was another matter.  If she didn't get a hot date for prom pronto she could see Connie stealing her crown.

As Kaya stormed out of the bathroom she came face to face with the boy from last night.  His eyes went wide at the sight of her and he instantly looked at the ground rather than meeting her gaze.

Kaya studied him like a test subject and a plot sprung instantly into her mind. What was it Amy had suggested last week at the boutique?  Turn a geek into a prom date, hmmm.  Kaya's mind whirred overtime as she processed the sight in front of her.

Well he was certainly a prime candidate for a makeover, his geography teacher styled shirt was tucked into shorts and were those socks he was displaying proudly underneath sandals?  Urgh and don't get me started on those eyebrows and that Frankenstein hairdo, Kaya thought.

Well she had wanted a challenge!  And what better way to show who was head of this school than to turn a social outcast into the prom king?

Kaya walked over to the boy and continued to examine him.

As the boy's face turned bright puce she asked, "Do those glasses come off?" 

*********************************************************

"Erm wow Josh, it's erm, great!"  Poppy said appraising his latest painting while trying to contain her laughter.

"What?  You don't think Dr Deign will like the self portrait?"  He asked sarcastically.

Poppy giggled, she liked Josh so much.  Around him she felt completely free and at ease, it was almost as though her disorder didn't exist any more. 
She knew she was falling in love with him, but after her previous experience she was wary.  Suddenly Thom's face popped into her head and she gasped.

"What is it?"  Josh asked, his face a picture of concern.

"N-Nothing."  She answered a little too quickly, "Can i use your bathroom?"

"Sure."  He replied, "You sure you're OK?"

Poppy nodded and headed out of his bedroom.

As soon as Poppy pushed open the door she realised she was in the wrong room, she should have turned right around and walked away but something caught her eye and drew her in.

She ventured forward and reached out her hand stroking the silky fabric, the prom dress was a stunning ice blue silk gown with an intricate neckline.

Poppy gasped at the sheer beauty of the dress hanging in front of her, drinking in it's perfection her mind began to slip and suddenly she was no longer in the room.

She was back at Highgrove prep, readying herself for her date with Thom.


The satin dress fit her like a glove, it's cool soft fabric hugged her body in all the right places, she looked like a princess.


Suddenly the image crashed and cracked in her mind like a corrupted main frame and another image replaced it.

There right in front of her was Thom, her Thom and Amber, laughing and holding each other while Poppy watched them through the window.


Gone was the hope of acceptance and love and in it's place was betrayal, deceit and lies.


Poppy grabbed handfuls of the silky fabric and pulled and clawed at it trying to free herself from it's false promise of happiness.

"Poppy!"  Josh called witnessing the scene in front of him, "What are you doing?"

Josh rushed forward and tried to calm her down but she looked at him with such confusion in her eyes that he backed off, "Poppy it's OK it's Josh."  He explained.

"Josh?"  She asked rubbing her eyes roughly as though she didn't recognise him.

"What are you doing in here?"  He asked gently, "You're wearing my sisters prom dress."  He told her.

Poppy looked down at the twisted fabric she still had clenched between her fingers, "Oh God, oh no!"  She cried realising what she had done.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."  She repeated breathlessly.

"Poppy it's alright just sit down let's talk about this."  Josh said calmly.

But Poppy was not listening, she unzipped the dress and kicked it off hastily grabbing her own clothes and throwing them on still repeating, "I'm so sorry."

Before Josh could say anything more she turned and fled from the room.

Josh looked after her, he had never seen Poppy so agitated before. 
Of course he knew she had some kind of problem, why else would she be getting treatment from Dr Deign?  But she didn't really like to talk about it and so he had never pressed her further. 
Heck talking about his depression wasn't exactly his favourite topic either!

He glanced at the dress which lay crumpled on the floor, Kaya was going to throw a fit when she saw it.

He carefully picked it up and laid it out on the bed trying to smooth out the creases but there staring back at him was a huge tear in the silky fabric.

Yep, Kaya was going to freak!  He had to get this fixed before she found out.

Heir_Vote

Chapter5.2