"Shalin"... "Shalindrea?"... "hmmm Rea", I muttered as I was picking out what username I should put on my TekTuk account. As I said "Rea", I suddenly had flashbacks of my past. Remember when I said I was bullied during high school? It wasn't even because I was mean or I did something horrific. I knew that I looked really basic and average. Short, tanned, curly-haired girl. I didn’t look like the typical popular girl in school, however, I didn’t mind this. I was really just fine being classified as a nerd. One thing I hated though is that my classmates always said I looked like Igor. I mean like I know I'm short, and I had braces but sheesh, why were the kids so mean before? My parents have always taught me that personality exceeds all. Well, they were partially right of course. Let's not forget that we have to be smart, or athletic, and the most important of them all, looks. 

Since my first name was too long, my friends and classmates called me Shalin. Okay, I'll admit, I was definitely a huge nerd. I wasn't even the cartoon-loving nerd. I just really loved reading books, specifically fanfics. I was a fangirl to this boyband named "Two Direction." Very inexperienced with love, and I knew I was probably very naive. At least I had amazing friends! Or so I thought.

It was my senior year. I am finally glad to be able to get out of this hellish school. I thought I would've made friends at least. But, no, I think I was even ranked as the loser-est in the whole batch. Not gonna lie, it was pretty embarrassing. I only had 3 friends. I was the most outcasted. However, I said to myself, it'll all be fine. At the start of the school year, I met this boy. His name was Anton and he was quite popular. 

Something about him seemed really familiar, still, it must be nice to be as popular as him. He was friendly and just basically outgoing. That is the reason why I was really shocked when I became seatmates with him. He started a conversation casually. I started to admire him. He was kind, and he didn't judge me or what anyone else thought of me before he even knew me. So when he had basketball games in the school, I made sure to attend the games. I even cheered for him. I knew people were giving me stares or even snickering behind my back. I just didn't care about them, but slowly I wanted to care for him. 

I know my insecurities were soaring high, so I had to change myself. I wanted to become a friend that he won't be ashamed of. I started joining all kinds of club activities and volunteering. Heck, I even joined soccer, and I didn't know I had quite a skill. I was definitely flattered as Anton also started supporting my soccer games. I felt so alive. Just heard someone cheer my name... "Shalin, you can do it." It was all too new for me. I did score goals, and Anton and his group of friends cheered for me. However, why didn't I notice my friends didn't?

During the fashion show season, the class needed volunteers. My two friends said I should definitely join. I told them of course, I couldn't. Literally, my class is filled with one of the prettiest girls in the whole batch. None of them volunteered though. It is a bit extra work. Suddenly, my friend said my name loudly, that it got the attention of the class, and that gave them an idea. Long story short, I volunteered cause they wouldn't stop. Even the pretty girls suggested that I did it. Fun for them. However, I did hear a familiar voice. It was Anton. He decided to volunteer for the male's side. This definitely made me feel more calm. I wasn't nervous anymore. It's funny how a single person can erase every single worry in the moment.

I knew I liked Anton when he called me beautiful for the first time. The modeling show that I accidentally got into, was an elite one. I had prepared so much. Thinking back, no one knew this but, my dress was sabotaged. The theme of the show was an Eco-fashion show. 2 days before the show, the fashion student who was in charge of making my dress, was crying. She said that someone had destroyed the dress and all that was left of the materials was just an article of white clothing and some silver paper. I felt so cheated on. It was just unfair. I saw every other model's dresses and they were beautiful. One was made out of bottle caps that were hand-sewn and painted. I just couldn't believe the situation I was in. I told this to my friends, and they just told me, to wear it and it won't make a difference. I cried on my way home, my brother even comforted me by buying me online cosmetics in my favorite game. It didn't matter to the fashion department, it didn't matter to the class, it didn't matter to my friends, but it mattered to me. 

Thankfully, I had a wonderful family who helped me make a pretty white dress that had silver origami attached to it. My mother even took me to a salon to get my hair and makeup done. That day, I went to the school and it felt a bit different. People were suddenly staring at me. My teachers and some of my batchmates complimented my looks. As I was in the rehearsal, I asked my friends to watch over my dress and shoes. I was really nervous. 

As the show was almost starting, I was too nervous to even think about what Anton was feeling. One of the supervisors came up to us and said, we needed to do any pose at the end of the catwalk. I asked Anton if he had any ideas. We both had thought hard. Then Anton suggested that I should just trust him and hold his hand when he offers it. I was like cool with it. I was more worried if the people would even like my attire. Anyway, the show started. At first, it was a solo walk, I didn't really get much cheers. It kinda hurts when your classmates don't even support you after putting you in this situation that you're in. When Anton came, he got so many cheers. He was definitely popular I can tell you that. As I was lining up at the backstage, my heel strap suddenly ripped! I was so shocked. These were new heels that my mother bought for me just to wear to the fashion show. I was in a panic. I didn't know what to do when Anton came back, he saw what had happened. He ran quickly to some room. The males' solo walk was almost finished. Anton came back with black electrical tape. He asked me "Would this work?" I quickly nodded and asked him to put the tape around my ankles, just so that my heels would fall off. I was a bit embarrassed but it was good timing, and we started to walk. When we came out, people cheered. And at the end of the runway, he offered his hand. I trusted him. He spun me around. Loud cheers suddenly arose. I truly felt like a princess. We looked at each other and smiled. It was one of the best moments ever. 

After the show ended, everyone congratulated Anton, but I did get some compliments. It was a good feeling for me. I felt like I was finally changing my reputation. One thing that struck me though, was not once did my friends come to me and congratulate me. Were they even my friends in the first place?