This wasn't the same note or the same wish. In fact, this note didn't affect Athena at all. Instead, it would affect the two people who hated her the most. And as it turned out, those two people were Nadine Ferguson, who hated her because she thought she was a witch (which wasn't too far off, actually), and Sarah McMillan, who hated her because she saw her as a freak and someone who motivated the other Goths to always oppose her (and being admired and loved by the other students was more important to Sarah than anything).
Nadine was outside, sitting on the school grounds, holding hands with her two friends Tina Shepard and Paul Anderson. They were forming a prayer circle. They did it every morning at this time, like a ritual. The school wouldn't let them do it in the school, so they were forced to do it outside. She was meaning to talk to the school administrators about that. It seemed totally unfair that they would keep completely harmless religious practices out of the school, yet they allowed students to dress like sluts and freaks. Maybe the sin was so deep in this school that it could never be cured. Nadine had thought more than once about transferring to a different school. But if she did, she'd leave behind her two best friends to fend for themselves, and she couldn't do that to them.
As she prayed, her mind drifted. It never did that before. She began to think about those Goth freaks. It was disgusting how they lived their lives, dressing like witches and vampires. Evil. But then an odd thought occurred to her: At least they're displaying individualism. Where did that thought come from? It seemed to come out of nowhere. Did she just give a compliment to those Goth freaks? What was wrong with her?
"Nadine? Is something wrong?" Tina asked.
She opened her eyes and turned towards her, not even realizing til now that she had let go of her friends' hands. "Huh?"
"We weren't done praying yet," Tina said.
Nadine was about to say something, but her eyes drifted to her left and gazed across the school grounds towards a couple of black-clothed girls. Why was she thinking about the Goths so much?
"Nadine?" Paul asked.
"I've ... I've gotta go," Nadine said, standing up.
"But what about ..."
"I'll do it later. I really have ... have to go," she said. Then she ran towards the school.
Tina and Paul looked at each other. "What was that all about?" Tina asked.
"And then he said ... Sarah, are you listening?" Tiffany Sanders asked. She was Sarah's closest friend.
"Huh?" Sarah uttered, turning towards her. Tiffany and her other two friends (Melissa Smith and Jessica Davis) looked at her strangely. "What?" she asked, getting a little annoyed.
"You were really zoned out there for a minute," Melissa said. "What were you thinking about?"
Truthfully, Sarah didn't want to tell them. It would be too embarrassing. They'd wonder if she had lost her mind. Why else would she constantly be thinking of the Goth crowd? Oh, she had thought about them before, but always with disgust. This was different. She was thinking fondly of them. As if she actually liked them. But where were these feelings coming from? They seemed to come out of nowhere. They certainly weren't her own. Or were they? Maybe she hated the Goths because she was jealous of them? No, that didn't make any sense. Why would she be jealous of those freaks?
"Earth to Sarah," Jessica said, waving her hand in front of her face.
Sarah's eyes darted towards the girl.
"You zoned out again."
"I've ... I've gotta go. I'll see you girls later," she said.
"Where are you going?" Tiffany asked.
But Sarah didn't answer. She just walked off without a word.
