I'm the girl no one pays attention to.
The girl who's not exceeding in her classes but isn't failing.
The girl who gets bumped into in the hallway because no one notices her.
The girl who sits alone at lunch.
I'm the girl who might as well be invisible.
But for the first time in my 2 years of high school, I wasn't invisible.
I was very much seen, actually.
People said hello to me, teachers remembered my name, no one bumped in to me in the hallway, and everyone wished they could sit next to me. That's right, me.
All because of one boy. One boy could influence my life this much and change the way I will look at the world, forever.
Let me tell you about this boy. It all started on a Friday.
"Good morning Alison. Happy birthday sweetie!" Before I could even open my eyes, I knew that was my mother. Only her gentle wake up could make me smile. Oh and she was the only one who ever said happy birthday to me.
"Good morning mom. Thank you." I sat up and smiled. "Sixteen! My baby's sixteen!" She pulled out a beautifully wrapped box from behind her back. "Now I know you said no presents, but I just had too." I sighed while keeping a smile on my face. "Thank you mom. You know you didn't have to. I know money has been hard since-" "Non-sense! It was your grandmothers. I know she would've wanted you to have it."
I knew my mom didn't like when I brought up how my father left us for a 26 year old, but now she's just pretending it hasn't even happened.
"Well thank you mom." I opened the box to see a beautiful gold necklace with the letter 'A' hanging on it. "Oh mom it's beautiful. Thank you, I love it." I held my hair up as she put it around my neck. I gave her a hug and hopped off my bed to get ready for school.
As I approached my school I realized something. I'm as basic as they come. Blue jeans, white shirt, and black worn out converse. My hair in a messy pony tail, no makeup, except for the absolutely necessary mascara, and simple cherry Chapstick on my pale lips.
Just then is the moment when Lisa Montgomery decided to spill her remaining low fat latte, all over me. "Ooh. Sorry about that. Can't blame me for not seeing you, I mean no one ever does." Her little group of prissy, stuck-up, glamorous friends, of course laughed at her corny joke. Luckily, that was all she felt like doing to me, at the moment, so she kept walking.
Just when I thought I could not embarrass myself anymore, I bumped into Luke Patterson.
I've only spoken to him once before and that was in the hallway when he stepped on my shoe and briefly apologized. Hey, at least he apologized, that's more than what most people do.
But besides that brief encounter, I've never spoken to him. "Oh hey, um... you're all wet. You might wanna change before pictures today." Stupidly, I asked "Pictures? What pictures?" He laughed. "Uh, the school pictures, the ones everyone has been taken since kindergarten. Never heard of 'em?" "No. I mean yes I've heard of them but I didn't know we were taking them today." Sympathetically he said "Well Sarah works in the drama department, she might let you borrow something from the costume closet if you promise to audition for the spring musical." I smiled. "Thank you. my pictures come out terrible every year, last thing I need now is a big coffee stain in this years pictures." "I'm sure they'll be fine. I don't understand how anything could look bad on you." I looked at him in disbelief of his compliment. Then I blushed so much my tan cheeks completely turned pink. "Well I gotta get going, but good luck with the pictures." I smiled "Yea. ok. bye." He barely heard me because at this point he was already halfway across the parking lot walking towards his friends. This made the whole coffee stain thing become completely irrelevant.
I spent all of 1st and 2nd period daydreaming about Luke and I. I was never that "what should we name our children" kind of girl. But in this case Makayla and Justin will do nicely.
Third period is when we took our pictures. I borrowed a bright pink long coat from the costume closet, after a very long session of compromising with Sarah about the part I would play in helping out with the school's play this year. I have never hated my outfit more. After I returned the coat to its rightful owner I bumped into Luke on my way out of the auditorium.
"So how'd the pictures work out for you?"
"Uh, I borrowed a coat-jacket-thing from Sarah."
"Coat-jacket-thing?"
I laughed. 'He must think I'm stupid' I thought. "I'm A-" just as I was about to finally tell him my name, after 3 and a half hours of daydreaming about him, I was hit in the head with a football. Not even my head, my forehead, as in my face. Great this is exactly what I need, a concussion on my birthday. I fell to the floor as 4 or 5 football jocks ran past me towards the door. "Oh sorry about that, that was my fault." One of them carelessly let me know. I stood up, hand on my head.
"Hey are you ok? Those guys are jerks."
"I'm fine."
"Let me take a look." He put his hands on both sides of my face, holding my head, locking eyes with me.
"What's your name?" He said.
Big surprise. "You don't know my name?" I asked stupidly.
"Oh I know your name, I just wanna make sure you know your name."
"Alison."
He looked at me still waiting for the rest of the answer.
"Skye." I added on with laughter.
"Ok then." We both laughed. "Here take my number in case that head gives you anymore problems, I could give you a ride. Or if you just wanna call me, you know." He smiled. His smile could end wars.
He wrote his number on a piece of paper and flirtatiously put it in my hand.
I walked away as his attention drifted onto something else. Was it just me or was this turning into a really weird day. I walked into 5th period late as can be. Mr.Malone, my history teacher looked me up and down and asked "Are you in this class?" I didn't want to feel offended but I did. I've been taking his class for 2 years and he doesn't remember me? Lisa was there. "See Alison, told you no one notices you." Again her little clique laughed at her joke. "Well take a seat then. And I'll see you at detention next week since you were late." I've never gotten detention in my life. "But-" "Sorry, you disrupted my class." With that he continued his lesson on The Great Depression. If Luke's number cost one hour of detention, it was definitely worth it.
