𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.

𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩.

I stood in the lunch line, waiting for my turn to get my food. I looked at all the kids. Some trying to blend in, others trying to stand out. People always wonder if those kids hate each other, but I don't think so.

I think they need each other. The shy kids can blend in because the loud kids stand out. And the loud kids can stand out because the shy kids don't. They balance each other out.

"Hey!" 

I snapped my head up. The lunch lady stared at me annoyed.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry." I said quietly.

She sighed, "What would you like?"

"Just a salad please."

After I got my food, I found Zachary and sat beside him.

"Oh, hey! How'd you like the school?" He said as he opened his bag of food from home.

"It's alright. Pretty typical."

I looked behind me and saw Cho looking around the room for a seat. I called them over and we all started talking. About random things. Like books, games, shows.

I always want to ask someone if they like something I like, but what if they don't?  What if they've never heard of it, or worse, hate it? What if they start hating me for it? That's why I don't tell them. I can tell the animals, or whisper secrets to the wind. They stay hidden that way.

I felt a sharp poke on my back. The same poke from earlier at the lockers. I turned around and saw Blossom smiling awkwardly.

"Heyy bestie. Can you come with me to get my lunch? I don't wanna walk alone, it's like, super embarrassing."

I sighed. I never have understood that about girls. Why do they always go to get things together? But, I needed more friends, so I agreed. We walked to the principal's office, which was a surprise.

"Yeah, my mom's the principal. She lets me keep my lunch in here. We just have to go get it and leave."

I glanced around the room. A lady was typing away at a desk, and chairs lined the wall.  Only one of them had a kid in it.

He had light blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. His blazer tied around his waist, he had band-aids all over his arms. He glanced up at me. I waved hi to him. He shot his middle finger back in return.

"What a mean person." I whispered to Blossom.

"Oh. Him." She furrowed her brow, "His name is Oliver. He's a lunatic. He's always getting sent here. No one likes him."

"Hmm, maybe no one's given him a chance." I said back to her.

"I doubt it." She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Blossom's mom wasn't in there, so she just got her bag and left. When we got back, Zachary was talking to Cho about something. I guessed it was that game he was playing on the bus.

"Did you two have fun?" Zachary looked at me, then Blossom. He smiled.

"Yes Zach. GETTING MY LUNCH was very fun!" She put a lot of emphasis on the "getting my lunch" part. She sighed and sat down. I sat down too.

I picked at my salad. I wasn't very hungry, so we just talked. Blossom did a lot of the talking. But I managed to squeeze in a few words.

Before we knew it, the bell rang.

"Finally! Recess!" Zachary shot up. As we stood up, he was already out the door. The rest of us chased after him.