EPISODE:5

LETS CONTINUE:

Riya chuckled, a low, syrupy sound laced with smugness. 😏 "Thought so," she said, flipping her glossy hair like she was starring in a shampoo commercial. Swish!

Her heels clicked against the bathroom floor as she pivoted dramatically. "Some days are just… extra special, aren’t they?" she purred, her voice dripping with theatrical cruelty. And with one final, taunting wink 😈✨, she strutted out of the washroom like she was walking a red carpet — leaving Sarah standing there like a soggy lettuce in a thunderstorm. 🥬🌧️

Sarah stared at the mirror, her reflection a perfect portrait of Mortified Teen Girl, Level: Expert. Her cheeks, still burning 🔥 like they were powered by a thousand suns, glowed so brightly she could’ve replaced the overhead lightbulb. With a tiny whimper, she softly bonked her fist against the counter. Thud.

“This,” she muttered with the grim certainty of a tragic opera heroine, “is going to be the longest semester of my entire life.” 😩🎭

That evening, any hope for peace was a complete fantasy. 😵‍💫

Her brain transformed into a 24/7 cringe cinema 🎥💀, looping the day's disasters on an endless reel. David’s smirk. Her disastrous "I don’t know." The cackling of classmates. Riya’s milk-curdling smirk. UGH! She buried her face in her pillow. “Whyyyyy meeeeee…” she moaned dramatically, like a Shakespearean ghost. 😩👻

Even sleep offered no salvation. When she finally drifted off, it wasn’t into peaceful dreams of puppies and pizza. Oh no. Instead, she found herself running — literally running — through a creepy math forest 🌲📉 where x's and y’s grew on trees and quadratic equations chased her with red eyes. “Solve meeee,” they whispered in creepy voices. “FACTOR MEEEEEE.” 😱📚

Morning arrived like a slap in the face. 🥴

Her alarm, the traitorous beast, had apparently taken the morning off. 😤⏰ “You had ONE JOB!” Sarah groaned, bolting upright with hair that looked like a startled porcupine. 🦔

There was no time for breakfast, no time for brushing hair (a tragic bun would have to do), and certainly no time for dignity. Clutching a half-burnt piece of toast like it was a survival tool 🔥🍞, she ran out the door with her backpack flapping behind her like a cape in a low-budget superhero movie. 🏃‍♀️💨🦸‍♀️

Panting, disheveled, and dangerously close to crying, she arrived at the bus stop — ready to collapse into a puddle of exhaustion and social anxiety. And there, like a glowing anime character drawn in sparkles and sunshine, stood her bestie. Pinky. 💖🌈✨

Pinky — the human embodiment of a glitter explosion. The extrovert to her introvert. The chaos to her calm. The spice to her rice. 🍛🔥

“PINKY!” Sarah gasped, barely able to breathe.

“Sarah! You almost missed me!” Pinky squealed, bouncing on her toes like a caffeinated rabbit. 🐰🩰

As they waited for the bus, Sarah, overwhelmed and still twitching from the stress, launched into a full-blown retelling of The Great Math Catastrophe™. Every detail, every stammer, every soul-crushing second of that humiliating scene with David.

Pinky listened with wide, sparkly eyes for a solid ten seconds… and then she exploded. 💥🤣

She bent over, wheezing, tears of laughter streaming down her face. She clutched her stomach, shaking like a jellyfish in a washing machine. “Y-YOU SAID… ‘I DON’T KNOW’?!?” she squeaked. “IN THAT TINY MOUSE VOICE?!” 🐭📢💀

Sarah looked like she’d been emotionally slapped by a thousand sarcastic emojis. 😣 “It’s NOT funny, Pinky!” she whined, stomping her foot like a toddler.

Pinky gasped for breath. “Oh my GOD it’s so funny I’m gonna pee.” 🤣💦

Sarah groaned and leaned against the bus pole for support. This was her life. A never-ending sitcom starring her as the socially awkward lead. 🎬🎭

As they boarded the bus, Pinky finally calmed down, wiping her tears with a tissue she had stored in her unicorn pencil case. 🦄✏️ “So,” she said, still giggling, “what are you gonna do? Hide in a locker for the rest of the year?”

“I was thinking of switching schools,” Sarah deadpanned. “Or countries. Maybe I’ll move to Antarctica. I’ll live with the penguins. They don’t ask math questions.” 🐧🇦🇶

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I’m being realistic.”

They arrived at school, and as they walked toward their classroom, Sarah suddenly stopped, dread wrapping around her like a cold, sweaty blanket. 😬

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

“Oh no you don’t.” Pinky whirled around, grabbed her by the backpack strap, and yeeted her through the classroom door like a determined babysitter dragging a toddler into daycare. 💪🚪

“Nooooo!” Sarah whisper-screamed, flailing like a confused sea otter. “You betrayed meee!”

Their seats — last row, side by side — were waiting, like two little traps set by fate. They sat, Sarah still glaring at Pinky, who offered her a peace offering in the form of a glittery sticker. 💖✨ (It said "You Got This!" with a smiling donut.)

The first period dragged by. History, taught by a professor who sounded like he was powered by sleep mode. 💤📜 Sarah scribbled random doodles in her notebook while her brain screamed “Math class is next! Run! RUNNNN!”

When the bell rang, she felt like she was being led to the gallows. 😵‍💫🔔

Then… she had a lightbulb moment. 💡

“I’ve got it,” she whispered to Pinky, her eyes lighting up with the kind of brilliance only born from desperation. “I’ll skip. I just… won’t go to math class.”

Pinky blinked. “I’m sorry. What?!”

“I’ll run away. Or fake sick. Or hide in the janitor’s closet.” 🧹🧼

“Sarah,” Pinky said firmly, “No. We’re going in there. Together. United. Brave.”

“I’m not brave. I’m barely functional.” 🫠

Cue: silent war. The Great Math Debate of the Century™. 💥 They threw pointed glares and exaggerated hand gestures like two mimes having an argument in slow motion. 👀👉🤷‍♀️🙅‍♀️

And then…

The door opened.

David strolled in like he owned the place. 😎

"Morning, everyone!" he said,

his voice chipper and smug, like he knew something they didn’t. He paused. His eyes scanned the room, and for the briefest of moments, they landed on Sarah — and lingered. 😳

Sarah froze. Pinky froze. Even the air in the room seemed to hesitate. 😶

David’s smile widened. “Where did we leave off yesterday?” he asked the class. But his eyes? His eyes were totally asking her. (ಠ_ಥ)

Sarah straightened like someone had shoved a steel rod down her spine. She forced a smile that screamed, Please let me vanish. 😬💀

David turned to the board, beginning his lesson, and Sarah felt her soul float above her body.

Oh yes.

This semester was going to be chaos.

But hey…

At least she had Pinky.

And… maybe, just maybe, she’d survive.

(Maybe.)

📚💔🥲✨

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***