Chapter 59: Stop the hating

"I just hate you, I hate you, I hate you so much," Cassandra kept on yelling in the girl's restroom of Chelan college. After what Carl told her, she was not able to control herself so she ran to the restroom to let out her sorry. Crying so hard and screaming into the wash basin with the hope that she was alone in the room.
"Cassandra...," Sophie called out as she walked over to where Cassandra was. She was locked up in one of the toilet rooms too, and she kept on hearing noises till she decided to see who it was, and she peeped only to find out that it was Cassandra.
"What could be the problem with her?" Sophie thought to herself, as she walked over to where Cassandra was. She had heard screams of "I hate you" from Cassandra. "Was it possible that she was screaming it to Carl?"
Since Sophie had known Cassandra, she had not noticed her getting interested in any guy. So it shocked her that Cassandra was crying so bad and that for a guy, even though she was not sure.
"Well, that is why I have to confirm," She chuckled lightly to herself, "maybe it is a good opportunity to get back at Cassandra."
"Cassandra," she tapped on Cassandra's arms as she got to her. Sophie's face so caring like she no longer had a pathetic life, and was an only friend.
Cassandra kept on wailing, as she still was not ready to face anyone. Till Sophie, turned her face to her.
"What is it, dear?" Sophia asked Cassandra, with a little hint of mockery in her voice.
Cassandra could not even find the strength to reply to Sophie and kept on sobbing a little bit lower than before into her palms.
"Poor girl," Sophie started, "I understand if you don't want to tell me. But don't tell me you are crying this much because of Carl, it will be so wrong you know."
"Can you just leave me alone, Sophie?" Cassandra turned her face to Sophie, and voiced out, with sorrow still evident in her voice.
"Don't be harsh, Cassandra," Sophie pouted, "I only noticed you crying, so I decided to come to help you as the friend that I am. Have I done anything wrong?"
"Thank you for your help, but can you just go away, I want to be alone," Cassandra babbled, suppressing the urge to release more tears.
Sophie felt sincere pity for Cassandra as she had gone through that pain before. But what fun was it, if she does not pick on Cassandra. It was a sad sight to witness, but still, they had their differences to settle out.
"Cassandra dear, I am going to leave you. But I feel like you should think about something. I promise I am not trying to mock you even though it feels interesting," Sophie assured Cassandra, waiting for a response from her to continue.
After staring for a few seconds at Cassandra who was so bathed in sorrow, and not getting a response, Sophie felt it was a sign to continue. So, she decided to continue anyway.
"What I am just trying to say is this. See how you are in so many tears, and if I am sure, it is definitely because of Carl that you are feeling this bad. It's possible you saw him with Luciana, or he probably rejected you again and I'm sure it's because of Luciana," Sophie informed, trying to shift all the blame to Luciana, and Cassandra turned her face to Sophie, staring intently.
"If not for Luciana, he won't have rejected you, I hope you are aware of that?" Sophie probed, with her chin raised.
"I don't think you are right. When he rejected me the first time, Cassandra was not in the picture," Cassandra voiced out after a long time of crying so much and keeping to herself.
"I understand if you can not see it, but what I am saying is true," Sophie persisted earnestly, trying to make Cassandra see her reasons with her.
"This was exactly what I faced with Raymond, Alyssa was the cause of all my problems. When I decided to get back at her, it felt like I was wicked and you know, every other thing you people said. But it was so painful, I was the one in the picture. At least we all know that I am the one that liked Raymond that much, then Alyssa came from nowhere," she voiced out sorrowfully, raising Cassandra's face to hers with her hands.
"What else was I supposed to do, and right now you are in tears, meanwhile Luciana is possibly laughing and enjoying her time with Carl. I'm not that forgiving to not pay back those things, and I trust you are not also," Sophie ranted, trying to build an ally with Cassandra sneakingly. She wanted to give herself the satisfaction that she was not wrong and decided to use Cassandra as bait.
Cassandra stared at her for so long trying to hit on Sophie's point and was not surprised when she realized what Sophie wanted her to do. Sophie needed Cassandra to see Luciana as an enemy, and that way begin to plan revenge for her.
It did not just end there, the very root of her idea was to make Luciana an enemy, and if Cassandra goes against Luciana, it was going to make her, Sophie, stronger. The Chancellor had warned her that if she chose to remain in the school, then she had to prepare to change, because if the school authorities ever hear of any issues of her bullying and the likes of it, then she was going to leave, and with a very bad report that will make it difficult for her to get into another college.
At that moment, her main aggression was not on Cassandra or even Luciana, but on Alyssa. If she wanted to get back at Alyssa, she either had a choice to make Cassandra hate the three girls which were Luciana, Jessie, and Alyssa, or distract Luciana with Cassandra. Making it easier to get to Alyssa.
Hazel had given up on her when she brought the issue of revenge up again. She still talked to Sophie like a friend will, but she was not ready to get herself involved in any of those dramas anymore, as she could not predict what may come for her.
"Sophie," Cassandra called out. Her voice was clearer this time, and someone that was not seeing her face will have no idea that she had been crying.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but you need to change for your good and stop chasing clouts. Are you trying to make me hate Luciana because of Raymond when it is obvious that she is not at fault? Firstly, you know the first time he rejected me, Luciana was not in the picture," Cassandra muttered, as she had nothing to hide from Sophie anymore. She may have had if Sophie did not go to her diary and read it, but as there was nothing to hide, she had to tell Sophie her mind then.
"Luciana is just another innocent and happy girl, like Alyssa, that her luck shined better than both of us and they got the guys they wanted," Cassandra said and the expression on Sophie's face darkened.
Regardless, Cassandra kept on saying her piece of her mind, as she still was not done. "If you look at it closely, we are possibly the problem. You know, Luciana was even the one that permitted me to see Carl, even as his eyes showed that he was strongly against it. Now you are trying to make me hate her. Am I not foolish if I do that?" Cassandra questioned Sophie, expecting no answer from her.
She took a brief second break to assure herself that she was on track, and still allow the words to sink into Sophie's head. "As I said earlier, it is nobody's fault if our lucks are not good, and it just shows we should work on ourselves. Stop the hating, it is so obvious that it's taking us nowhere. Their lives are progressing, and we are so stuck to our past hurts. I don't know for you, but as for me, I am done trying to stir up a fight. I want to experience true love also. So, I will just see if I can work on myself, " Cassandra concluded, trying to force a smile as she did.
She turned on a tap and poured the water on her face trying to wash away the tears and sadness she felt, then tore out a paper towel to dry her face. All through the whole thing Cassandra was saying, Sophie was short of words and kept on staring at her.
She had no idea if it was the way Cassandra spoke like a changed person that shocked her more, or if the shock was from the fact that Cassandra wanted to just let Luciana go without any paying back. "Whatever Carl had told her, must have done the job," Sophie said internally as the transition to her, was quite quick.
When Cassandra was done, she picked up her phone and was making her way out of the restroom till she turned and stopped, "I am sorry, Sophie," Cassandra blurted out, "I am the one that showed the video of you to the Chancellor, I am sorry," she pleaded, raising her hands to her face, then left as she also did not expect a reply from Sophia at the moment.
Sophie's lips spread apart hearing what Cassandra said. All along she had been blaming it on Jessie or even Luciana, and she failed to realize it could be Cassandra.
She was surprised as Cassandra said it was her, and it began to come clear to her, that the girls had possibly not done anything to her, and that she was just hating them for no special reasons. On closer thought, Alyssa was a friend of Raymond even before she came into the picture, and Raymond had blatantly refused her the first time she tried to be so touchy with him, "was the problem really with her?" Sophie asked herself.
Maybe there was still a large chance to change.
Remembering the conversation she had with her parents when the report of her misbehavior got to them, she was disappointed in herself. They were indeed surprised, but they had known their daughter so much to not expect any less, so their reaction to it was quite normal.
On that particular day she had a conversation with her Dad, he pointed it out to her, that if she wanted to change, it was her choice as he had tried his best. He also said it clearly to her, that the last thing he was going to do, was to take her to the relative's place for her to be groomed, as she was no longer a kid anymore.
He made her understand that whatever decisions she took about her life were not necessarily to impress them, but for the fact that she will be meeting a larger number of people as she develop more, and it was going to cause her more harm than good if she had not become a better version of herself.
The only punishment which was not bad after all, that her Father meted out to her was that the driver was always going to take her to college and pick her up so she will not have time gallivanting around for nothing.
That day, she begged and told him how much she was going to change, and work on herself, which he decided to take in good faith hoping for a good report about her.
Back to the present, Sophie was lost in thoughts, still at the spot that Cassandra left her in. On the day she promised her father that she was going to change, she had just said it to fulfill all protocols. But right now, a strong part of her realized she had to change as it was clear she was heading nowhere with the way her life was playing out.
Sophie breathed in a very deep breath, then pushed her hair backward, and made her way out of the restroom.