Chapter 3

With a malicious grin, she left the room, leaving me dumbfounded.

What had I done to this woman that she hated me so much?

A deep breath later, I had regained my composure and started to clear the table. The hungry wolves that they were had greedily devoured everything. Only one pancake was left lying lost on the plate where there had previously been a high mountain of them.

I was happy that there was at least something left that I could eat for breakfast. Just as I was about to reach for the plate with the last pancake, a large hand rushed past my head and literally snatched it from under my nose.

It was Blake, who rolled up his prey into a kind of wrap a second later and took a bite, grinning. Despite his size, I hadn't noticed him. He could move as quietly and gracefully as a cat.

"Was that yours?" he asked, chewing and staring at me challengingly.

Without thinking about it, I complained: "That was my breakfast. I haven't eaten anything yet!"

When something flashed in his eyes the next moment, I immediately regretted my words. What had I been thinking?

He took another slow and enjoyable bite of the rolled-up pancake and smacked his lips at me: "Good. You're fat enough as it is. Eat an apple instead."

I stared at him speechless and tried not to let my emotions show. I had cried too many times because of them and had sworn to myself that they would never again have my tears. I didn't want to grant them this triumph. Even though Blake's comment hurt me, I managed to put on my hard-earned poker face.

Again I saw something flash in his eyes before he grinned contentedly and devoured my breakfast with one last big bite, leaving me standing there without saying a word.

It wasn't that I was overweight, quite the opposite. I actually felt pretty comfortable in my own skin and, in my opinion, had curves in all the right places. Sure, I wasn't an exaggerated beauty like most of her friends and I wasn't a size zero either. But that wasn't what I wanted. As far as I was concerned, he could have as much fun as he wanted with his stick-thin, rigged-up broomsticks, but my weight was none of his business.

After I had quickly tidied up the kitchen, I had to hurry. I wrapped myself in my much too big black wool coat, grabbed my cloth bag with my school books and once again had to almost run to the bus stop.

To my shame, I had to admit that I was totally unathletic. Despite that, I could run faster than a normal person at any time. I just managed to catch the bus. Because of the cold, I tried to warm my hands in my coat pockets and luckily found a hair tie that I thought I had lost. I immediately tied my hair back into a high bun as usual and then leaned back in my seat to at least relax a little before class.

When we arrived at the bus stop in front of the school, I got out and looked at the large building with the wide staircase leading up to the front door. The name of our school, "North-Moon High School," was emblazoned in large letters above the door.

Inside the school there was already a lot of chaos. The students were running through the corridors, standing in small groups and talking or getting their books out of their lockers.

However, nobody paid any attention to me. I had no friends and most of my classmates and mates had been ghosting me for years. But I was already used to that.

Before class, I wanted to get a book from my locker, so I went over and opened the locker door when suddenly a girl from my class stepped next to me.

"I'd love to trade places with you, Cindy," Tara Greenwood moaned exaggeratedly, opening her locker, which was right next to mine. She was incredibly pretty, with a radiant smile, flawless dark brown skin, and wavy short black hair.

But she was completely in the dark. If she knew what the triplets were really like in private, she would certainly no longer want this.

I was surprised that she suddenly spoke to me. Usually she and her friends completely ignored me, so I asked tonelessly: "Why?"

"Well, because the Alpha Triplets are divinely perfect!" I suddenly heard another voice say, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and I slammed the door of my locker to see who was saying such nonsense.

It was Ramona Thorne, but everyone called her Mona. She was also in my class and the most popular girl in my senior year. Incredibly pretty, with her brown almond eyes, long dark hair and petite frame, she would even fit the triplets' profile perfectly. She and Tara were best friends and as luck would have it, my locker was right between hers.

I shrugged my shoulders indifferently and whispered ironically: "Of course, Prince Charming one, two and three..."

Tara giggled girlishly and said, "Oh yes, that's good. You're absolutely right."

Mona shook her head and said dryly: "No, the only Prince Charming is definitely Ashton."

Tara sighed dreamily and admitted: "That may be true for Blake, he's more of a sexy bad boy, but my Collin is definitely Prince Charming for me too."

"It's fine with me, you can have it if you like," Mona replied, shrugging her shoulders disinterestedly.

Wow, that was definitely an interesting conversation. I had to grin, I wouldn't want one of the triplets even for free. If they welded them to me, I would try to rust myself away from them...

Suddenly Mona looked at me carefully and frowned, which made me very uncomfortable. I immediately lowered my gaze to the floor. Had I said something that upset her?

"You know, without that weird edgy sloppy look, with a little makeup and a decent haircut, you would definitely be pretty," Mona mused while she continued to look me up and down with narrowed eyes as if the sight of me was causing her pain.

Almost imperceptibly, I stiffened in front of her. Was that a compliment or an insult? Maybe both.

Tara immediately took up her friend's idea and suggested enthusiastically: "Oh yes, with something more feminine and figure-hugging perhaps. You should really think about that!"

I looked at the two girls in silence. Mona was wearing a dark blue sweater over a white long-sleeved blouse. She also wore a short blue and black checked pleated skirt and high dark blue stockings that went above her knees. Black lace-up ankle boots with wide heels rounded off her outfit.

It looked incredibly elegant on her, as if she were a student at an elite foreign school. Tara wore exactly the same outfit as her friend, only in burgundy and beige tones.

They really had taste and probably thought I was the biggest fashion Grinch in the world.

I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and nervously played with the sleeve of my oversized sweater. My clothes were usually baggy or worn out, Victoria took great care to ensure this. I could think about the girls' tips, but unfortunately I didn't have the money to do so.

"Um... thanks..." I answered Tara quietly and embarrassedly just as the bell rang to start class.

My two classmates gave each other an annoyed look, rolled their eyes and reluctantly strutted towards the classroom. I followed them silently at a distance and sat down at my desk.

In the last class, our math teacher Mr. Roberts entered the room and I was probably the only student who was looking forward to his class. He was my absolute favorite teacher and math was my favorite subject. In today's class, much to the chagrin of most of my classmates, he handed out our graded exams from last week.

When Mr. Roberts put my work on the table with a smile and said: "As always, full marks, well done, high-flyer," I was delighted with his praise.

He was the only person in my life who had always been nice to me and for that I really loved him.

Then he walked on and his expression became more severe as he stopped in front of Mona and Tara's tables: "As for you two, you're once again clearing the field from behind..."

With a shake of his head, he handed them their work and I was able to sneak a look at their scores. Ouch... just about double digits. Even from a distance, the papers glowed redder than Hamburg's Reeperbahn at night...

"You two will come to me after class for an extra assignment. After all, such creativity in wrong answers has to be rewarded," he said ironically before handing out the remaining tests.

The two girls groaned in displeasure and hung their heads. A few minutes later, when the bell rang to signal the end of class, most of the students stormed out of the classroom as if they had been stung by a tarantula.

A general feeling of exhaustion was spreading. However, since my bus wouldn't arrive for another fifteen minutes and I didn't feel like freezing my feet outside in the cold, I decided to make a few notes and stayed seated.

Just as I bent to the side to grab my fallen cloth bag, someone passed by and roughly caught their leg on my head.

"Ouch," I said quietly as I raised my head and rubbed the sore spot.

It was Marlon Peters. The big, red-haired, muscle-bound school football captain. He looked at me angrily, as if it was my fault and I had just hurt him and not him hurting me. Maybe it was even intentional.

"Be careful where you aim your oversized bird's nest," he grumbled, looking at me unimpressed.

I opened my eyes in shock, made myself small out of habit and apologized quietly with a: "I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow and stared at me in surprise for a moment, then reached for my hairband and undid my bun, just like Blake had done this morning.