The Diary That Held The Votes Against Me Chapter 01

Our dress code required us to keep our hair out of our eyes. I ignored it and deliberately let my bangs grow long enough to hide half my face.

Our homeroom teacher warned me over and over, but I refused to listen. Eventually, the boy next door I’d grown up with volunteered to deal with it himself.

In front of the entire class, he dragged me to the front of the room and hacked my bangs to pieces with a pair of scissors.

The second the jagged scar across my face was exposed, a collective gasp went through the room. Everyone looked openly disgusted.

Only he smiled.

He knew perfectly well that I’d gotten that scar saving him, yet he still shot the prettiest girl in our grade a knowing look.

“I told you the scar made her an ugly freak. You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Now you can stop worrying about her stealing your spot as the prettiest girl in our grade, right?”

The room erupted in laughter, and I couldn’t hold back my tears.

For the next three years, that label followed me everywhere: ugly freak.

On graduation day, the prettiest girl in our grade handed me his journal, barely holding back a laugh.

On the page was a heading:

[Top Ten Ugliest Girls at School — Vote Tally]

Under my name were row after row of tally marks.

He met my stunned stare and said flatly, “I lost a bet to Sloane Bennett, so I helped her put together the poll for fun.”

“I cast the final vote that put you in first place.”

“That scar really does ruin your looks. I couldn’t pretend otherwise and vote for someone else.”

Tears slipped over the jagged scar on my face.

I took the journal as laughter rang around me.

When I got home, I called my mom.

“Mom, can you book me an early-morning flight to Melbourne for the day after tomorrow? I want to come live with you.”

*****

Fresh tears still dotted the journal. The ink had bled until my name was impossible to make out.

But none of it made me feel any better.

There was a knowing edge to Mom’s voice when she answered.

“I’ve told you before—men are no damn good.”

“You got that scar saving him, and now he’s disgusted by you and pushing you aside because of it.”

“Nora, once you get to Melbourne, I’ll find you the best scar specialists and have them put together a treatment plan just for you. I’ll be at the airport when you land. See you there.”

At that moment, Julian Pierce’s house next door was loud with voices, the backyard hazy with smoke from the grill.

A dozen or so classmates lounged around the yard with paper plates of food fresh off the grill.

Someone suddenly brought me up.

“Where’s Nora? She’s not seriously still mad about that poll, is she?”

“She’s probably at work. Isn’t she saving up for a trip with Julian?”

“Come on, that poll was just for fun. Who knew she’d take it so seriously?”

“Honestly, first place wasn’t exactly unfair. How many people do you know with a scar that long across their face? It’s creepy. Julian, you know I’m right.”

Every eye turned to Julian.

I stood at the window, holding my breath as I strained to hear his answer.

Julian gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah.”

The whole group doubled over laughing.

I went cold all over.

When I was eleven, I’d stepped between Julian and a local punk with a knife.

The blade cut into my face, leaving it covered in bright red blood.

At the hospital, Julian held me tight while tears ran down his cheeks.

He promised he would never make fun of that scar for as long as he lived.

But he’d changed.

Sloane suddenly lifted her phone, her voice dripping with fake guilt.

“I’ll call Nora.”

“This is all my fault. I thought it was just a stupid poll. I had no idea she’d react this badly…”

A ringtone suddenly blared through the quiet night.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

Panicking, I fumbled to end the call.

Seconds later, a text popped up.

It was from Julian.

Julian: [Come downstairs. Don’t make things awkward for Sloane.]

The message was brief and flat.

I didn’t want to go down there.

My reflection stared back at me from the moonlit window. My face was pale and streaked with tears, my hair a mess, and even I was startled by how wrecked I looked.

I’d listened to people mock me for years.

I’d had enough.

I tossed my phone onto the nightstand and pulled the covers over my head, shutting out the laughter outside.

Before long, someone unlocked my front door with the keypad.

The heavy comforter was yanked off me.

Julian froze for a moment when he saw my tear-streaked face. Then the disgust returned.

“What are you even crying about? It was just a stupid poll. Did you really have to make things awkward for Sloane over it?”

“You were home the whole time. Why did you lie and say you weren’t? Come downstairs and join the cookout.”

Years ago, whenever the scar made me so self-conscious that I cried, Julian would hold me gently and say, “If you don’t want to do something, Nora, I won’t make you.”

His arms had once been the place where I felt safest.

Somewhere along the way, Sloane had taken my place.

By the time Julian dragged me next door, everyone was staring.

With nowhere to hide, I hurriedly wiped away my tears and stood there, not knowing what to do.

One of the boys kicked a cheap folding chair toward me.

“Sit. Wouldn’t want you turning around later and saying we bullied you.”

Someone nearby snickered.

I knew exactly what they were all laughing about.

The night before the state merit exam,I’d stayed late at school to study.

The second I opened the classroom door, a bucketful of ice water poured down over my head.

Laughter exploded around me.

Sloane, who’d led the prank, was doubled over laughing.

“Nora, everyone says you always reek of sweat. Do you ever shower?”

“This ice water was supposed to be for that fat-ass homeroom teacher, but you walked into it instead. Works out, though. Now we can finally wash that stink off you!”

All I’d wanted was to be treated fairly.

Somehow, they’d twisted even that into something they could use against me.

I looked to Julian for help.

He deliberately avoided my eyes. Instead, he brushed mild barbecue sauce over a batch of grilled chicken and set all of it on Sloane’s plate.