" You're awfully quiet Miss Student Body President." Leala commented. I thought there would be some more suspense to what she'd do next, but Leala had her target set already. Meridith flinched at hearing her name mentioned. Leala was closing in, the incomparable image of seeing her standing so close to our laughable forms, made her look like something out of folklore or mythological legends. Her shadow casted under Meridith like an abyss. I'm too scared to cry, scream, sweat, anything, I'm grounded like a plant; rooted by fear and so was Meridith who was too scared to look up because she knew Leala was peering down at her. My heartbeat sounded like a drum in my ear.

" Look up Miss President" Leala commanded. Tentatively Meridith obliged and slowly looked up as high as she could with her eyes, then having to crane her neck up to finally be able to see Mt. Leala staring down at her. " Aren't you going to try and order me to stop? Give me a detention? Report me to the principal?" Leala was merely toying with her. " C'mon, where did your back bone go all of a sudden?" She asked patronizingly. I'm sure Meridith still had her backbone . .it was just much smaller.

" I-I'm . . .afraid, if you don't stop I'll have to give you a dete-" Meridith's voice lacked the slightest bit of conviction or weight.

" What's that? I'm afraid you're going to have to speak up my tiny class president." Leala taunted.

" P-please stop!!" Meridith said, her voice sounding more like a squeal of fear than an authoritative

command.

" Stop? And what will you do if I don't?" Leala pressed, it's a forgone conclusion that Meridith had no

leverage in this situation, but Leala loved hammering in how powerless she was.

" I'm afraid . ..I'll have to have you suspended for all the rules you broke and contact the police about

everything you've done. ." Meridith sheepishly said, embarrassed to even pretend she had any control.

" No kidding Miss President? Well, let me fill you in that we're playing by MY rules." Leala responded,

and plucking up Meridith in between her fingers and continued her scare tactics by bringing Meridith right to her face. " And guess what? You have absolutely no authority and I am the law, jury, judge, and executioner."

With that being said Leala returned to the desk of doom I think I may call it and carelessly dropped

Meridith on top. The inevitable outcome is Meridith dying, that much is insurmountable, but I find myself with some sort of demented curiosity of what method Leala will take this time.

" How much is your life worth to you?" Leala simply asked. Meridith seemed apprehensive to answer,

this may be another game for Leala to humiliate her, but who was she to deny a slim chance of hope.

" Anything. .please! Anything! Just don't kill me, please, please!" Meridith quickly begged, hoping that deep down Leala had something resembling pity in her.

" Admit everything you've done, now." Leala demanded.

" B-but, I did-" Meridith started, but she stared right in Leala's eyes and she immediately retracted her

soon to be fib. Leala then reached into the desk of wonders and took out a long fairly thin piece of paper, it's a receipt.

" These series of receipts have all the purchases you used with the council budget and what I find

particularly interesting is that while you've only used about 75% of the money allotted, I see the remaining 25% used for cosmetic products, clothes, and other luxuries." Leala explained and Meridith's face grew guiltier by the word.

" Okay, okay! I admit it, I-"

" You had your chance and now you're going to show me how much your life is worth. You will do what I say, or else I'll administer punishment myself. Hit yourself in the face."

Meridith looked puzzled. " Hit myself?"

" Yes. Do it like you mean, square in the face as hard you can. Now." She clarified.

It seemed like an easy enough request, but Meridith didn't have any experience with self-harming herself and here she was being asked to deck herself, she knew Leala would call her out if she half stepped. Without further ado Meridith held her fist out and launched it straight into her own face.

" Very good." Leala commented sounding fairly amused. Meridith held her face for a second, having no idea she could do that to herself, she felt some blood leaking out of her nostrils.

" Tell me, who ran against you last election Miss President?" Leala asked. This time Meridith thought

better of lying and decided to answer truthfully, after all Leala already seemed to know all the answers.

" No one."

" Why ?" Leala followed up.

" I have my friends bully or beat up whoever runs against me. Or if someone does attempt to run against me, I fabricate stories to make people not want to vote for them." Meridith said without resistance, it's funny how she thought little of her actions back then. But now, she knew was reaping what she sowed big time.

" Do you know why I dropped out of the last election?" Leala asked.

" Because, I told my friends to wait until you went to the bathroom and to hurt you until you resigned."

Meridith was breaking into a cold sweat as she admitted to her wrong-doings, by this point I could

practically sense when Leala was ready to pounce.

" Take this." Leala said handing Meridith a freshly sharpened pencil. In Meridith's small hands it was the equivalent of a spear, with the sharpened lead being the head.

" Drive it into your thigh, as hard as you can." Leala ordered. I know nothing should surprise me by now, but I can't believe she's making her target actually punish themselves and not in simple slap on the wrist. More like, I want you to mutilate yourself.

Meridith began quivering as tears built up into her eyes, there was no use reasoning with Leala. She

closed her eyes as she held up the pencil, she braced herself and went full force into her thigh. I turned

my head, and all I heard was the frightening sound of Meridith attempting to hold her scream in as blood trickled down her thigh, once she removed the pencil it leaked out more steadily.

" How does the rest of the student body feel about you?" Leala continued her questioning.

" They hate me." Meridith answered in an anguished groan.

" Why?"

" I shirk all my work onto them, never let them give their input, while I enjoy all the perks and receive

the majority of credit for all successful events." Meridith defeatedly said.

" Your other thigh." Leala simply said. Meridith had nothing to lose at this point, tears silently streaming down her face and drove the pencil into her thigh leaving herself with a matching hole and steady leak of blood coming out. Meridith could barely stand from the pain.

I always knew Meridith had a lot of pride even compared to the other 4 students, she definitely was the

most untouchable. Leslie, Travis, Anderson, and Xavier were all bad, they just made no effort to hide it.

Meridith though had others carry out her dirty work and kept a straight facade smiling in your face

knowing that she arranged to have a knife driven in your back.

Like everyone else I never thought I'd see her in this precarious position, and she was practically giving

herself up. She was the size of a doll and at the total mercy of the most unassuming girl in the class. All

the more disturbing that Meridith's eyes told the tale of someone who was staring death in the face.

" Were you sorry for anything you did?" Leala asked. If this was fantasy, Meridith would say yes or say

she's seen the error of her ways, but this is very much real, and Meridith would only be fooling herself to say she regretted anything, and if she didn't believe it there's not a chance Leala would.

" No." She flatly said.

" You're done." Leala said in conclusion. What does that mean? Could Meridith have possibly satisfied Leala enough to spare her. I watched Leala scooped Meridith's form into her hands and stand up. She then crouched down and let Meridith fall onto the floor. For a moment Leala stood over Meridith and just watched the small girl writhe in pain.

" Just to be clear, you are going to die now." Leala said in a matter of fact tone. Meridith looked like all of her hopes and dreams were shattered before her eyes. That simile I doubt does any justice to how Meridith feels. There's no words that describes knowing that your life was in someone else's hands, that death by their hands was inevitable, and that nothing you say or do will stop them.

" Please! I've done everything you said!" Meridith begged and sobbing hysterically.

" I recall saying, I was your judge, jury, and executioner. I have asked your crimes, I find you guilty, and I am sentencing you to death." Leala said, unphased at Meridith's pleas.

Meridith crawled closer to Leala despite the pain she was in, willing to do anything to make her reconsider. " Spare me. . PLEASE! PLEASE! WHAT WILL IT TAKE!?" She begged, even going as far as remaining on her hands and knees to beg (granted it's probably too painful for her to stand anyway). Meridith was so desperate she even started to kiss on Leala's shoes. Leala didn't respond right away, instead choosing to see how low Meridith would stoop to save herself. I hope it stops soon, this is nothing short of dehumanizing.

" Your death. So I'm killing you" Leala finally responded. The response made Meridith freeze where she was and she simply stared at the ground with a look that I can only summarize as hopelessness, the hopelessness of someone broken.

" B-but . . .you can't." Meridith devoidly said.

" I can." Leala reassured.

" You . .won't"

" I will." Leala now began to lift her foot.

" . .I'll .. do anything . ."

" Good, just lay there." Leala made her stance clear and nothing would divert her.

" . . .You're . .a . MURDERER! THAT'S ALL YOU ARE , A COLD BLOODED KILLER! YOU'RE OKAY WITH MURDERING ME!? MURDERER! I DON'T CARE WHAT I'VE DONE, AT LEAST I'M NOT A MURDERER! EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE IS NOTHING BUT MURDE-"

Meridith's sanity was gone and so was her life when Leala put her foot down on Meridith mid-sentence with enough force to kill her. For good measure Leala even smeared her foot on the ground and Meridith was nothing but an unrecognizable red pool of mush that no one would ever know was once a living human being. And Leala walked away like nothing happened and drew a line through Meridith's name.