Birnam Wood High School

I never thought I would be the reason that Isabella Martinez, Queen of Birnam Wood High School, lost everything. I didn’t believe I had it in me to take down the most well-known girl in the town of Dunsinane. Of course, people are not always who you think they are, a statement normally said about others, but in this case, I am the person who isn’t who I think I am.

I’m new in the dreary town of Dunsinane, I moved here from New York City and let’s just say I’m not used to being able to walk the sidewalks without accidentally stepping on a literal rat. Despite there being more rats than people in New York, I usually enjoyed living there, so when I found out that my parents were getting a divorce and I was going with my Mom to this small town I had never even heard of, I was furious. I begged to stay in New York with my Dad but I knew that wasn’t possible. My Dad traveled a lot so he was hardly ever home in the first place and he planned to travel even more after the divorce was settled and my Mom and I moved out.

You can fill in the rest of the story with however many gas station stops you want to on how I got here but I’m here now and I’m here for good. As we drive through the deserted sidewalks, I wonder if there was actually a population above two in this damn town when all of a sudden, we drive past the high school I would eventually be attending. The building stuck out in this dead town and it seemed as though it were alive. There were crystal clear windows everywhere, gorgeous flowers lining the entire building, and, my favorite, the football field seemed as though it was magical with how much it appeared to be glowing. Mom noticed my change in body language when I caught a glimpse of the school and confirmed that this is the school I would be attending and that it was the only high school in town anyway.

I began excitedly thinking about the memories I would eventually make in that very building. I was thrilled… about school… the football field must have cast a spell on me because the last time I was excited about school was field day in the third grade. I ended up getting food poisoning the day before and couldn’t even go, everything seemed to go downhill from that point of my life on. Perhaps this move really was for the better because looking back, I don’t recall many good memories from New York, I just knew that it was all I had ever known and before this point, I thought it would be the only place I would ever call home, but Dunsinane may just change that.

It was the first day of school and to say that I’m nervous would be an understatement, I am petrified. Those inviting crystal clear windows now seem daunting, the football field still seems magical but the overwhelming feeling that everyone can see the outline of my bra through my shirt and the pools of sweat under my arms makes it so I can’t think of anything else. I enter my first class and I feel everyone’s eyes on me as I take the only open seat in the room. As I take my backpack off and put it next to my chair, I am approached by a girl. This girl was not any ordinary girl, she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen and I don’t say that lightly. She introduced herself as Isabella Martinez and that she wanted to get to know me and introduce me to her friend group. It all went downhill from there.

Don’t get me wrong, my friendship with Isabella was pretty perfect, she became my best friend and I became hers from the moment she approached me on the first day of school. But now, I was alone in a room with Austin, Isabella’s boyfriend. As the guilt of what I had just done washed over me, I realized that I needed to tell Isabella what had happened between me and Austin. I shared these feelings with Austin and he became furious with me because before, I had promised him that Isabella would never know. Then Austin came up with an idea that would rid me of my guilt but protect our images.

To be completely honest, this plan was probably the most selfish thing Austin and I could have come up with and looking back, I should have just been honest with Isabella about what happened but Austin convinced me otherwise and we followed through with his plan. Since Austin and Isabella were dating, Isabella would send explicit messages and pictures to him. Austin used those pictures and faked a screenshot of her sending them to another guy. He then leaked this around the entire school. While he did this, I fake screenshots of Isabella talking crap about me to her other friends and leaked them around the entire school.

I know, I know, this is by far the most awful thing we could have done to her but it was the only way to justify Austin and I hooking up. So the next day at school, Austin and I show up and everyone begins comforting us and saying how awful Isabella was. I began to fake crying and excused myself to the bathroom. This is where I run into Isabella. Her eyes are puffy and her mascara is smudged and it seemed as though she tried hiding her tear-stained face with concealer, but it didn’t work. I tried to speak but she cut me off and then left the bathroom. I felt ashamed of myself.

Things began calming down around Birnam Wood High School, I was the new Queen Bee and Austin was the same person he always was. We ended up getting together after everything and turns out, we were actually perfect for each other. Isabella is quiet in all of her classes and leaves classes as soon as the bell rings. Part of me still feels bad about what Austin and I  did to her but most of me is just happy about how many friends I have now. However, this was not going to last.

I was called down to the principal’s office with Austin. My heart dropped to my stomach and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I knew what this was about and I knew that everything that I had become over the past month was about to come crumbling down. I felt as though nothing is but what is not and, sure enough, when I got down there, hand in hand with Austin, our parents were there and even a police officer was. Everything that happened after this is a blur but long story short, we were expelled and the rumors began spreading like wildfire. We would get angry parents coming to our doorstep to curse us out. We were put in a situation where we would have to move for our own safety and that’s what we did. Before then however, we stopped by at Isabella’s house. Her parents looked angry beyond belief but they still let me in.

Isabella was on her phone in bed and looked up when I was in her doorway. I began apologizing to her but she cut me off again. She got up and came close to my face and said something that will forever haunt me.

“I have nothing to say to you, I don’t want to hear your worthless apologies and I never want to see you again. More is they due than more thna all can pay.”

I finally realized there was truly not a place for me in this town any longer and I accepted the move and left her bedroom.