I made my way towards the cafeteria. Everyone, as usual, cleared a path for me in the halls, pressing themselved against the walls and lockers, kicking loose papers out of the way so I wouldn't trip on them.
I slammed open the doors of the cafeteria, heading straight toward my table in the center of the room. Five of my best girls joined me at the circular table, and the rest of my club scattered themselves into three nearby tables. Earlier in the year, they had had to glare at misinformed freshmen to get them away from the center of the cafeteria.
But now, even only one month into school, everyone knew how things went around here.
I sat down at the center table, crossing my skinny-jeaned legs and folding my hands on top of the table, my pink nails shining.
Then something happened that will always be remembered at Hudson High School.
A girl came up to my table.
She looked no older than 14. She was definitely a freshman. She had red hair down to her shoulders, freckles spattered her cheeks, and her eyes were green. She wore a plain, light blue T-shirt, white sweatpants, and white tennis shoes. She was the essense of plain; yet so, so far from normal. She was so plain that her appearance couldn't fit in.
My perfectly make-uped eyes narrowed as she flounced toward me, her hair bouncing and her smile sparkling. I had to admit, she was fairly pretty - though I would never admit it out loud.
"Hi! My name is Shana!" she greeted me in a perky voice. The people in the cafeteria who hadn't already fallen silent did now. There was no sound in the whole room except for Shana's cheery voice, which echoed after her eccentric greeting.
The thing she said next almost stopped my heart.
"D'you want to come over after school and hang out?" she asked, still smiling brightly.
I gave her a cold stare, my very coldest, even worse than the ones that froze the seniors in the hallways.
I don't know what her thoughts were, but - still grinning widely - she said, "I suppose you're already busy. How 'bout you call me? Or text me! Whenever you want!" She whipped out a post-it from her pocket and scrawled a phone number on it. She stuck it on the table in front of me and gave me a sparkling wink. She turned and skipped out of the cafeteria.
I turned around to watch her leave. Every single pair of eyes in the room did the same.
On the back of apparently plain shirt were three words:
This is great, yet again, Flight. I love how she totally ignores the girl's death-stare. The preppy girl seems a bit too desprate to be the main charrie's friend. I wonder why... =3
__________________
Here's my personal info. Don't hesitate to contact me if you ever need anything! <3
After ten days, the entire school just accepted it as normal that she would approach my table at lunch, ask me to hang out after school, and leave [after I replied with a stiff glare] with her hair bouncing and face sparkling.
She was the strangest person I'd ever seen. And yet, though most of me wanted to avoid her at all costs, there was an odd sensation in my heart that made me want to know her better.
So one day, I texted her.
I had kept the post-it with her phone number. I didn't know why, but I would soon be glad about it.
During third period one day, I texted her with this message:
dont come up 2 me @ lunch 2day. ill meet u aftr skool on the cornr of elm rd.
Sliding my silver enV shut, I slipped it back into the pocket of my jeans just as the bell rang for class to end. Not even a moment later she replied:
okay! thank you christel.
A bit surprised at her response, I headed to fourth period.
That day at lunch, the school was shocked. Shana sat by herself at a table in the corner. She did not get up to speak to me, as I had requested. But everyone expected that she would, and was let down.
Shana wore the same shirt she had eleven days ago, the blue one with the phrase Peace, love, Jesus on the back.
I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, but I figured it couldn't be too good. What would everyone think if I had gone to "the weirdo's" house? I knew this wouldn't turn out well.
The moment she saw me, she gave me a single wave of her hand, complete with a sparkling smile. Instinctively I waved back - without the smile.
I walked up to her, my Hollister bag over my shoulder. She had a white backpack; I'd never seen anyone else with it before. It didn't have a zipper; instead it had a large flap that came down over the pocket and buttoned there, to keep it secure.
"Where'd you get that?" I asked her in a slightly superior voice, gesturing toward her backpack.
She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Oh, this?" she realized, shrugging her backpack off. "I made it."
There was no boasting in her tone, no "I'm-better-than-you" sound at all. Later I would realize that this was one of the many differences between us.
I said nothing, only looked at her bag with a neutral expression. I looked up at her after a few moments.
She was smiling again, her green eyes glowing.
"Doesn't your face hurt from smiling so much?" I asked her in a snide tone.
She shrugged and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Not really. I guess my face is just used to it." Still smiling, she gestured down the street. "Shall we get going?"
I jerked my head in assent and we set off. In silence.
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Her house astounded me.
Not the house itself. It was completely normal, almost like mine.
But the people in it.
When we entered, Shana called out "Hi Mom!" and a tall, slender, red-haired woman came in from another room, wiping her hands on her jeans.
"You must be Christel!" she said brightly. "Shana has told us so much about you!"
Now I saw where Shana got her sparkling, unwavering smile.
"Hello, Ms...?" I trailed off, giving her a somewhat fake, apologetic smile. I didn't know her last name.
"Just Elena will be fine," she assured me cheerfully.
I nodded. "Then hello, Elena," I offered.
Her smile widened, if that was possible.
/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\
Her brother was just strange.
He was in seventh grade, age 12. He had, however, dirty blonde hair, and he seemed to be on the shorter side, unlike Shana and her mother.
"So you're Christel!" he exclaimed when Shana introduced us. He tilted his head and examined me for a few moments. "You're even prettier than Shana says."
My face reddened as Shana burst into laughter. She grabbed my by the hand and, to even my surprise, I did not protest.
^^ I didn't really know how to end this part...so yeah...