Ruth couldn't be happier with her life. Things were going on perfectly for her. She was receiving good grades in her examinations, which in turn lead her to be praised by her parents. Marge was with her and Ruth couldn't have asked for a better best friend. She already had the best!!

Over the stretch of these two weeks, she had become quite close friends with Mark. He had become officially a member of her and Marge's little group. They were always seen at lunchtime together or the quick waves and conversations in the halls.

Mark didn't have any friends. Sure, he was one of the most popular students of the school, but people just used him as a social influence. His first real friend was Ruth. He had to admit that she was quite shy and nervous in their first meet, but as time passed, she had grown comfortable with him. He was beyond happy to have her as a friend. After school, they used to meet up and sing their favourite songs in duets and chatted their worries and problems away.

Although, he felt that Ruth was hiding something from him. As soon as the practice for the play was over, she always disappeared without a trace. He had tried asking Ruth a few times, but she always dodged the question skillfully or either provided him with lame excuses that were too lame to be believed. But Mark respected her privacy, so he let the matter go.

~~~~~~~

The final pieces of the play were coming into place. The tailors were called to take the measurements of the students participating and the play was only a week away. Mrs Abbot had been quite happy with the performance of the students, except she was always in a bad mood when it came to Sarah. She had to tolerate Sarah and was often seen swearing to herself that she would never take Sarah again in any of her plays in the future. But for now, she was helpless as she couldn't select any other girl to do it and perfect it in such a short time.

"That girl has given Mrs Abbot more grey hair and wrinkles than I've ever seen in my whole life", Marge said grumbling to Ruth.

"True," said Ruth, glancing at Mrs Abbot who indeed looked a lot tired these days. She was running around, calling the students to assemble in front of the tailors.

The dress rehearsal was tomorrow evening and Mrs Abbot had assembled all the students to give their measurements. Mrs Abbot always used to keep at least one week gap between the dress rehearsals and the main performance. All the students who were a part of the play, whether it was the main cast, understudies, or the support staff, were allowed to witness the final dress rehearsal of the play.

Ruth and Marge were leaning against the stage with their arms crossed casually as Mark went forward to give his measurements.

"You know Mar, if you hadn't persuaded me to go for this audition; I would never in a million years had become such good friends with Mark. Moreover, I would never have met Mr Joseph without whom, I would be glossophobic all my life."

"Chillax, girl!! No need to get so emotional on me. I already know I'm awesome, you don't need to remind me that."

Ruth just shook her head in exasperation. "You are right there; it just boosts your ego."

The two girls burst into laughter which was soon interrupted by a raging, ear-piercing shriek by Little Miss Perfect also known as Sarah Finnegan.

"HOW DARE YOU TRIP ME? I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY ARE YOU SO JEALOUS OF ME? YOU JUST WANT ALL THE FOCUS AND SPOTLIGHT ON YOURSELF? WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU? AND LOOK AT THIS, YOU JUST RUINED MY BRAND NEW CLOTHES AND SPOILED MY HAIR. YOU ARE FIRED. I'M NOT GOING TO DO A PLAY WITH YOU ANYMORE. MRS. ABBOT, JUST KICK HIM OUT OF THE PLAY AND CAST SOMEBODY ELSE. HE WAS USELESS ANYWAY."

Mark stood there with his eyes tight shut, fists balled and jaw clenched. Mrs Abbot had enough and seemed to lose all control over her temper and her face was all red. She was about to burst over Sarah when someone else beat her into it.

A loud smack resonated in the room and people were shocked to see that shy, sweet and calm Ruth Russell stood in front of Sarah who was holding her cheek where she had been slapped.

Ruth hissed in a low menacing voice, "Listen you pompous, little brat, don't you ever dare to say something to Mark again. He didn't trip you. Just have a glance under your feet and I'm sure your eyes work perfectly fine enough to see that it's a thick wire, not somebody's leg. He never steals the spotlight from you. I think you should raise your standards to be worthy enough to share the stage with him."

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A/N: Oh! So Ruth was finally fed up with Sarah. What will happen next? How will Sarah react to this?

I was initially going to publish the whole chapter at once, but then it became too long.

Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment!!