From the moment Grace set her eyes on Cal she knew she wouldn't like that tall, blonde bitch.

Who does she think she is, just waltzing in on a scene she knew nothing about? Talking shit like she owned the place even though she was just a loser transfer student.

The lead of her mechanical pencil snapped off from the force Grace was using on the surface of her notebook. Honestly, she was just blankly writing down whatever her history teacher put on the whiteboard without giving it a second thought. Focus, Grace," she thought to herself. That dyke isn't worth sabotoging your grades over.

Being the top of her class didn't come without it's share of backbreaking work. Allowing herself to lose focus even for a little bit only compounded the work she'd need to do after school. And homework/studying already took up nearly every minute of her time at home. Perhaps that why the school day drama was so appealing to the tightly-wound future valedictorian. And this new girl was so interesting that it was bleeding into her thoughts in class.

But there would be time to think about how Grace would exact her revenge on this "Cal" girl. For now, she had to focus on the social impact of the transatlatic railroad.

--

It was now time for Grace Jordan's least favorite class of all time – team sports. Unfortunately for Grace, she couldn't get out of completing that treacherous gym credit – her father told her that he wouldn't ask for a waiver from the school since "she could use some lessons in coordination".

So here Grace was, walking out of the girl's locker room to join her class in playing volleyball. Only, today there was something more unbearable than having to physically exert herself for an hour with other sweaty high schoolers.

"What's she doing here?" Grace hissed at her friend Jeanette.

The red-head followed Grace's eyes to the other team on the opposite side of the volleyball net. "Oh, I guess we're playing against the general health class. And the dyke's one of them."

When the tall blond noticed the two girls staring, she gave an infuriatingly sarcastic wave.

"Oh, great," Grace mumbled. "This class was already an eyesore."

"I know right," Jeanette crooned. "But at least we're not on the same team with her – she might try to make a pass at us." The red-headed laughed in a way that was strikingly similar to a Disney villain.

"Alright, everyone, let's get started!" the gym teacher, Mr. Roach, yelled out.

As everyone got into their positions, Grace couldn't help but feel some anxiety. Cal looked like a natural-born athlete and Grace was skinny and horribly uncoordinated. She'd have to try her best to not look like a complete idiot in front of her newfound enemy.

Grace ignored the butterflies in her stomach and gathered her resolve. She could do this. She was basically fucking perfect, after all. She could pull off one lousy game of high school volleyball.

--

Needless to say, Grace was wrong.

While Cal was performing countless spikes and basically ball-hogging the entire game, Grace was fumbling around, hitting out of bounds and completely missing passes. She even accidentally hit herself in the face with the volleyball while trying to serve. Oh, her blood was boiling when she saw Cal's snickering face from across the net.

She was hoping that Cal wouldn't fit the tired stereotype of "tall people are good at sports", but unfortunately, she did. Very well.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Roach told the class to wrap up and head to the locker room. Grace zipped out of there before Mr. Roach even finished his sentence knowing full well that Cal's class would be coming as well.

Jeanette followed Grace, visibly unsure of what to say.

"That bitch," Grace snarled as she ripped her locker open. "She was totally laughing at me."

"We can't let her get away with that!" Jeanette exclaimed.

Grace pulled her t-shirt off roughly, elbowing someone from behind in the process. "Hey, watch-" She turned on the other girl, prepared to chew her out, but came face to face with none other than the snarky amazon herself.

"Oh, hi there, Grace," Cal greeted, a disgusting smirk on her face. Grace had half a mind to slap it off her right then and there, but she was too lady-like to get into a physical altercation. Also, she would definitely lose in a fight.

"There's a whole locker room for you to walk around in," Grace snapped, "so why are you running into me, you stupid bitch?"

"I guess I wanted to check out that athletic body of yours," Cal replied.

Grace remembered that she was standing there in just her bra and her face turned red. She clutched her gym shirt to her chest. "Get out of here before I file a sexual harassment report, you fucking lesbo!"

Cal laughed and walked off to a different isle of lockers. She was completely infuriating!

Grace turned back to her locker and changed into her normal day clothes. "We're definitely not going to let her get away with that attitude," she grumbled, and Jeanette enthusiastically nodded in agreement.

Who even cares about gym anyway? Cal could go ahead and use her athletic skills to sling rocks like the chimpanzee she was.

--

The day seemed like it would never end.

The bell for seventh period rang and all of the students began pouring out of their classes to go home. Grace headed towards her math teacher's class to ask a quick question about the homework. She honestly just couldn't wait to just leave and go home...not that she'd be doing anything but studying anyway.

Mrs. Burns was sitting on her computer in her now empty classroom when Grace approached her. "Oh, Grace, hello!" she greeted happily when the honor student walked in.

"Hi, Mrs. Burns," Grace began, flashing her usual fake smile. "I just had a question about tonight's calculus homework."

"Oh, yes, come in!"

Grace opened her textbook to the question and Mrs. Burns explained the proper sequence of steps to solve it. Once she was finished, Grace let out a quiet sigh.

"Thank you, Mrs. Burns," she said, preparing to leave.

"Oh, hold on a second, Grace!"

Grace reluctantly paused, maintaining her empty smile. God, what now? Since Grace was a bit of a teacher's pet, her instructors often got her to do extra work for them or tried to convince her to join a club. In return she tried to keep the delicate balance between being on her teachers' good sides and protecting her own time and autonomy.

"There's a new student that came into my class a little late and I'm worried about catching her up on the material," Mrs. Burns began. "I would stay behind and help her myself, but the national math competition is coming up in less than a month and the math club's trying to get prepared."

Oh no, it can't be...

"Her name is Callie McCarthy. You've probably met her already."

Oh boy, have I.

"Uh, yes," Grace replied. "And I'd love to help, Mrs. Burns, but I've already got my plate full as it is and-"

"Oh, please, Grace!" Mrs. Burns begged, her voice becoming desperate. "It's only until she gets caught up on the material and we'll compensate you for it. I really have my hands tied with this!"

Grace's eye twitched as every atom in her body wanted to scream "no" to the request. Not only was this more to pile onto her ridiculous mountain of schoolwork, but to do it for a girl she absolutely hated? There was absolutely no way!

"Alright," Grace sighed.

Mrs. Burns beamed. "Oh, thank you Grace! You really are the best student I've had in all my years of teaching."

Grace was a goody-two-shoes at heart and was ultimately weak to her superiors. It already took everything she had to say no the first time, but there was no way she could insist as well. And Grace really hated herself for it.

"I'll tell Callie to meet you at the library after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if that works for you," Mrs. Burns stated.

"That's perfectly fine." Grace's fake smile intensified to hide her fury and pain.

Fuck this fucking day.