The school bell rings, signaling to the students that it's time for the day's last period. I gather up all my materials and make my way out the door, making sure to keep a lookout for the one person who loves to ruin my day. I take one look to the left, another to the right, and I'm off. Not running, but keeping a pace that's quick enough without bringing attention to myself. I move through the crowd of students making their way to class, and thanks to being so short, use them as a cover. I hear gossip, complaints, cries over failed tests; the usual sounds of the school's hallways. I work well to filter them out and keep focus on my safety, but a new topic managed to catch my attention.

"Did you hear about that virus going around? It's supposed to be mad deadly; like COVID, just a lot worse. I just hope it's deadly enough that it gets us another quarantine" a girl says.

Her friend, with an annoyed look on her face, reprimands her lax response to the news. "Don't make light of a virus dumbass, these things can ruin lives even if someone doesn't get sick. Plus, if we got another quarantine, we'll be online the next day learning the same "boring shit" you can't seem to listen to!".

The two continue their little spat as I start to lose myself in thought. "A virus? Quarantine? If it's bad then that means I'm free! I'll finish school, be on break, and get away from her!". My smile stretches from ear to ear, and I struggle to keep my attention on anything but the dream of freedom. Imagine how good it feels to finish the year with ease!

Now with a renewed sense of vigor, I take one last look at the two arguing girls before turning around, continuing my walk, and bumping face-first into a giant wall of muscle. The sudden appearance of the "wall" knocks me on my ass and lets out an annoying, grating cackle before, "asking me a question" she already knows the answer to.

"Where the fuck are you going so fast?", she asks with a smirk on her face. "If you were walking normally, then maybe you would have been able to see me standing right in front of you".

Of course, it's the person I've been trying to avoid, Jean. I massage my back, now sore from the fall, and snap at her sarcastic question

"Standing?! You walked in front of me on purpose!".

Jean's slight smirk is quick to fade after hearing me talk back, and starts to remind me of my "place". "Watch it, short stack. I'd say I'm being pretty nice and if you choose to neglect that fact, I'd be glad to remind you where you stand. But besides that, is that a new top? It looks good on you, I'm just surprised you finally managed to put that body to good use".

 Jean has had a thing against me for longer than I can remember, and can't go a passing period, let alone a day, without hearing how pathetic I am. She's popular, I'm a loner. She's hot, I'm plain. I'm tiny, she's tall, and no matter how it's sliced, I'll always be less than her. I don't care about the internal politics of high school or how I stack up against the student body, but the constant teasing piles up. 

So still holding the onto the dream of a quarantine, and way past my tipping point, I stand to my feet, my head barely meeting the height of her chest, and with all my strength say, "Fuck. you". She'd never expect that from me so though short, it's more than enough to damage her frail ego.

And how her ego was bruised! Her self-serving grin ran from her face and it seemed like she was rearing to explode. God, it felt great to finally do something after all the shit she put me through.  But the bliss of seeing her mad only lasted so long  as Jean reached out to my wrist and pulled me through the hall; past my class, her class, and out to the courtyard.

"Hey! Let me go! I have class! Look, I'm sorry for saying that, ok? Just let me go please!". I yank against her grip with all my might, but I can't even budge her. She's gotten mad before, most definitely, but she isn't even looking at me anymore! 

Now away from the prying eyes of many students in the hall, Jean whips me around into a wall before crouching down to my level and finally speaking.

"Who do you think you're talking to?", she says.

I struggle to respond with her so close and squeak, "Um... it was... uh".

Jean, quick with her words snaps back saying, "It was what? Huh? I didn't hear you, so I'm going to ask again. Who do you think you're talking to? Because last I checked, it couldn't be me. I know I've been getting soft, but that doesn't mean you forget your place, right?".

I stammer, unable to get out an answer. My eyes dart around in a panic and sweat starts to form in my palms. I try to look for a way past her but my fear trumps any attempts to flee. 

Finally, though barely able to control my fear, I threw out an answer and said, "I won't forget! I'm sorry. Really, I am...".

Jean's expression softens before returning to her usual smile. "Good girl. Don't think cause you got a little cuter you're confident to talk back to me now. You're spineless. You're a loser. You don't have what it takes to cross me! But honestly, I do love the damsel act you got going on; it suits you well". Jean stands up to her full height before pulling out her phone, looking at the time, and then looking back at me.

"What time is your class, tiny?".

I look up at her and respond, "Um... 2:30...". 

"Then hurry up and go. You've got a test right? If you go now, you'll be just on time. Or you can sit here with me and I can waste your class time copying your work".

Did I just hear that right? Is she being... nice? And did she call me cute? Before I can take in all the words I never knew she used and sentences I couldn't imagine she could make, she pulls me back to reality with a stern yell.

"GO", she shrieks, "Before I change my mind". Standing up and backing away, Jean  finally gives me the space to leave... but I can't shake what she said. Cute? She thinks I'm cute? Her?

I make it to class in time for the test and as the school day comes to an end, I'm on the train and on my way home. While I'm sitting on the bus and scrolling through TikTok, I see a video titled "New Virus That Shrinks The Populace!" filled with giant red circles and an obnoxious AI voice reading from that too was probably generated..

"That was the virus those girls were talking about?", I think to myself, "Really?". I let out a heavy sigh, ashamed I could be so gullible and sad that I have to be with Jean for little longer.

 I put away my phone for the rest of the ride until I get home, resting my eyes here and there until I reach my stop. As the train doors slide open and I walk out, a man walking in sneezes right in my face without so much as an apology as the doors close behind me and I'm left on the platform.

"A terrible end to a terrible day", I whisper, "Gross".