Chapter 3

3.

She ended up wiggling around awkwardly. The crowd almost laughed her off the field.

After that, she never tried to force me into a public performance again.

In my past life, when the freshmen held their first mixer, she dragged me along.

She was skinny and looked good in anything. I had a bit of a tummy and a slouch.

"Lacy, we're besties. Let's wear matching outfits!"

She pulled two identical, tiny crop tops out of her closet. She shoved one into my hands.

The shirt fit her perfectly.

On me, it squeezed my arms and made my stomach bulge over my jeans. It looked ridiculous.

I tried to change into something else, but she stopped me.

"Keep it on! It's cute. This is what's trending in the city. You'll look like a total hillbilly in your own clothes."

Jade took me to the co-ed mixer and sat me right next to her.

I was nothing but a prop to make her look better.

The guys across from us were whispering and pointing. "Look at that girl. She's trying so hard to be pretty. Her stomach is practically in another zip code. LOL."

I looked at my bursting seams and kept my head down. I was terrified that one move would rip the fabric apart.

I didn't know how to do makeup, but Jade had a full face of glam.

She tried to brainwash me. "I'm so jealous of your natural look. You're so brave to show your real face. I have to use so much makeup to fix my features..."

But at the mixer, she changed her tune completely.

"Don't blame Lacy for not wearing makeup. I tried to teach her, but she's just a bit messy and doesn't care about hygiene. I guess she just doesn't care what people think."

Jade acted so pathetic, as if I had spat on her kindness.

Compared to her, I looked like a zoo animal on display.

I was shy and didn't know how to defend myself. Everyone just believed her.

Because I was such a bad contrast, the guys gave Jade a nickname: "The Girl of the Millennium."

Later, the academy announced a Top Ten Singers competition. Jade intentionally hid the news from me.

But she didn't know I overheard other students talking about it. I successfully signed up the day before the deadline.

On the day of the auditions, she was shocked to see me in the waiting room.

"Lacy? What are you doing here?"

I smiled slightly. "Why? If you can compete, why can't I?"

Jade was flustered. "I told the class rep not to tell you about this..."

She realized she had slipped up. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that."

"I just know you hate performing in public. I told him not to bother you so you wouldn't feel pressured."

"See how much I care about you?"

She patted my shoulder with a guilty smile on her face.

"Students, prepare for the auditions," the judge announced.

Almost everyone in school knew Jade, the Millennium Beauty. They all looked at her through rose-colored glasses.

"Jade, I bet your voice is just as beautiful as your face..."

Jade shook her head modestly. "Oh, stop. I'm an instrumentalist. Singing is just a little hobby for me."

"That's even more impressive! You're not even a vocal major and you're this confident!"

The girls around her kept sucking up to her, making her lose herself in the praise.

After the first round, the teacher announced the final qualifier.

Jade's name hadn't been called yet. She was getting anxious.

"The final contestant to move on... is Lacy Vance."

Jade stood up abruptly. "That's impossible! You must have made a mistake. I'm Jade Sterling, not Lacy Vance."

She kept winking at the teacher as she spoke.

"No mistake. It's Lacy Vance."

The teacher gave her a cold look.

"Our competition is strictly based on merit. We don't allow any back-door nonsense here."

I followed the teacher into the next room.

I left Jade standing in the hallway, her face burning bright red.