Suddenly Popular

Chapter 1

   Sweat was dripping down her face when Brianna awoke, trembling. She pushed away from the quilt, tied her hair in a messy bun, and headed to her tiny bathroom. The cold water splashed on her face calmed her down a little but her breath was still heavy. She tiptoed back to her bedroom and grabbed her phone.

Three unread messages.

"Weird," she thought. "Nobody ever texts me."

Her heart began racing when she began thinking about the most impossible and worst-case scenarios. It was the summer vacation and there was no reason for anyone to message her. Zoey and Sam were probably hanging out and had made plans for the entirety of the holidays while she was to spend hers in a summer camp.

She despised the idea of not being able to be near her parents for a couple of weeks. The longest she had ever left her home was for a field trip that was supposed to last for a full week but Brianna was so homesick that she left on the second day. Not to mention that she was fourteen and everyone made fun of her for crying with her favorite stuffed toy.

"Don't listen to them, Bri. The bond you have with your parents is extremely special and nobody can understand it better than you do. You know what's best for you," her best friend said.

"But they'll hate me. I'm already the black sheep in our grade," she sobbed.

"You're the most incredible person I have ever met and don't let others' opinions get to you. It's what they want and you're better than that. I love you."

Her best friend had always been there for her, both in the good and the bad times. She never really was the black sheep, she simply did not fit in well. She did not enjoy the same things as her classmates did and her social awkwardness limited her to make new friends.

She glanced back at her phone and opened the first message.

"Briii! I'm going to miss you so much. Can I come at 8 am to say one last, final goodbye? Please please please."

She smiled. Zoey always had so much energy and even though it did feel overwhelming at times, she had always been there for her. She felt guilty for thinking that Zoey would deliberately not invite her to hang out with her and Sam. After all, she was not going to be there for a couple of weeks.

"Aw, I'm going to miss you too, Zo! See you tomorrow at 8 am!" she replied.

It was incredible how much closer Sam, Zoey and she had become the past couple of weeks. She had confessed the bullying to Zoey, who had forced her to talk to her parents, who then had forced her to go meet with the principal of her school. It was the most embarrassing moment of her life and she had been annoyed at both her parents and Zoey for days but once Melanie got what she deserved, she felt relieved.

She stopped thinking about the past and looked back at her phone.

"Hi Bri, I know you hate goodbyes but I really wanted to see you one last time before you leave," she read, frowning.

She realized the third and final message had been sent by the person and she scrolled down.

"Sorry, Zo stole my phone and wrote this. However, she's right, I do want to see you one last time!"

Brianna softly laughed. Ever since they started hanging out, Zoey tried to make Sam and her fall in love but she missed one detail - Zoey was the worst cupid ever. She was not discreet at all and stealing their phones to send cheesy texts to the other was part of her many failures.

"It's okay, Sam, don't worry! See you tomorrow (with Zo I'm assuming haha)!" she typed.

She turned her phone off and fell into the arms of Morpheus.