I Can Do Better

[Pandora Metzger]

Pandora Matthias entered the girls' bathroom and immediately her light green eyes narrowed. It wasn't as busy as it normally was, but already there was far too many girls in here for her liking. "Move." Pandora hissed as she pushed her way past a couple of older looking students. Despite being only eleven, Pandora wasn't really scared of the older students. Well some of them did intimidate her a little bit, but that was because they were old enough to the point where Pandora was even out of her league. But anything less than a fifth year and it didn't bother her too much. Every person had a flaw or a weakness, and that made Pandora feel less threatened by almost anyone she came across. Pandora shoved her skinny body past a couple more students and finally found herself standing in front of the mirror, one of her favorite places to be. To some, it might be saddening that Pandora was so young yet still so obsessed with vanity. But in Pandora's mind, it was just about all she had. Pandora pulled out a make-up kit she had tucked under her arm and pulled out a small case of blush. Her cheeks were looking a but dull today, and Pandora didn't want to look like a corpse.

Half-way through applying her make-up, Pandora noticed a girl standing next to her by the mirror, perhaps primping herself just as Pandora was. An almost cruel smirk rose to the young Slytherin's lips as she lowered the brush. "Try all you want, unless you do your make-up better, you're going to look ugly no matter what you do." Pandora shrugged her shoulders snottily as she went back to putting on her make-up. There were other girls still in the restroom, all who had probably heard what she had to say to the girl, but no one dared to say a single thing. Truth was, the girl wasn't ugly and that was enough to worry Pandora a little bit. Pandora felt like anyone that looked even somewhat pretty in her mind, was competition, and competition needed to be destroyed. The worse Pandora could make them feel about themselves, the worse they often looked. It was sort of like mental warfare. Which was more often not even more dangerous that a physical one. There's no worse feeling than having someone attack your self-esteem and Pandora knew this very well. ​

 

[Bridget Riley]

Before Bridget's day had even started, she already knew it was going to be a disaster. She had just woken from a nightmare about Orland forcing her to use dark magic, resulting in her Azkaban life sentence. Bridget woke abruptly, her forehead damp with sweat and her duvet splayed awkwardly on the bed. Sitting up, she checked the watch on her bedside table. "Ten thirty?" Bridget muttered her thoughts aloud, wondering how she could have slept in so late. No wonder she'd had a bad dream. Pushing the covers off, Bridget slipped on her robes, brushed her hair and headed for the girls' bathroom without making her bed. She hoped it wouldn't be too busy there, since her face was unnaturally pale and there were slight rings under her eyes as a result of her dream.

Bridget pushed open the bathroom door, disappointed to see that there were several girls hanging around. Though she didn't judge them, she couldn't understand why girls would stay in the bathroom and chat. It seemed pointless when there were more hygienic places to hang out in with nicer views, too. Ignoring the other students, Bridget headed over to one of the sinks and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Jeez, you look dreadful, Bridget though, careful not to speak aloud this time. However, it seemed a student standing at the mirror next to her had read her mind. As the girl spoke, Bridget's jaw almost dropped. Was she serious? And was she talking about Bridget? She had to be, everyone else in the bathroom looked just fine. It was Bridget who looked a state. The girl who had spoken was in fact very beautiful, and it was clear she knew it, too. She bit her lip, knowing that it was pointless to retaliate. Bridget did favour those who were kind and considerate, and strove to be like this herself, but the anger was already boiling up inside her. "At least I don't have to cover myself in make-up to make myself feel less insecure," She replied bitterly, satisfied that she'd said the right thing and hadn't stumbled over her words. However, the moment she realised what she'd just done, guilt and dread began to creep through her, turning her freckled cheeks paler than they already were.

 

[Pandora Metzger]

The thing that pleased Pandora the most, was being able to see that what she had said to the girl upset her. If the things she had no affect on someone, it wasn't as much fun for her. When they reacted, it usually meant there was possibly some sort of truth behind it. Why else would they waste the time to react if they didn't have a reason to defend themselves? Pandora finished applying blush to her rosy cheeks and put the brush away. Once that was done, she then pulled out some chap stick and lip gloss. Pandora took extra time and care to make sure she took very good care of her lips. The girl that Pandora had insulted finally spoke back, and Pandora laughed softly. "It's not insecurity when you already know that you're more beautiful. Besides, don't you want to look decent when you go out? People might actually want to be friends with you if they didn't think you were such a lazy slob." Pandora shrugged her shoulders and dipped the wand into the lip gloss, then brought it up to her pale lips. Instantly a shiny coat of gloss covered inch of them. Pandora wasnt so sure that she liked the color though.

"Seriously, have you ever heard of blush? You look as pale as a marshmallow! Or are you just embarrassed to realize that I'm right?" Pandora smirked. Weirdly enough, the other day she saw her brother Blaine, and Vladimir talking to the girl. Why on earth would they want to talk to her? Pandora had half a mind to tell the girl to stay away from her brother and Vladimir, mostly because she didn't want the girl's ugliness to rub off onto the two of them. Or worse, what if she was forced to hang out with the girl? If the girl could learn to dress herself properly and actually made sure she looked decent, it wouldn't be too bad. But after the insult she said to Pandora, she was convinced that the girl didn't care what she looked like? Maybe she was poor or something and she couldn't afford things like that? But Pandora didn't care, If she really wanted it then she would find a way to make sure she looked presentable whenever she went out into public.​

 

[Bridget Riley]

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Bridget's fears that she had said the wrong thing were soon reinforced by the Slytherin's reply. On any usual day, Bridget would never have retaliated in the way she did. She was still in shock that she had let herself get angry over someone so petty. It just wasn't worth it. However, as she was about to turn away, the girl said something which caused Bridget's feet to root to the spot. She glared at her own reflection in the mirror, gripping the sink. Closing her eyes, she used a tactic her Mother had taught her several years back. She took a deep breath in and counted slowly in her head, ignoring the giggles coming from the other students listening in on their conversation. People DO want to be your friend. Don't let it get to you. Don't let it get to you. Walk away! Thoughts swirled around in the young ginger's head, and yet it seemed to make no difference to the way she was feeling. She exhaled, her grip on the sink loosening slightly as she relaxed and forced a smile onto her lips.

Bridget was fully aware that the girl was only trying to make herself look (and feel) better. Shooting back witty responses was only going to reinforce her feelings of superiority. Now in a more calm, relaxed state, she opened her eyes and looked at her acquaintance through the mirror. A genuine smile spread across her face, and a little colour even returned to her cheeks. "No, you are right. If only I had your looks-" She paused to shake her head and sigh in mock sadness, gazing upwards, "-I might be able to make some real friends. Sucks to be me, aye?" Bridget had to violently bite her cheek to stop herself snickering, but allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest at the prospect of what she'd said, but the cause wasn't fear. It was excitement.​

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