The Girl

AUTHOR"S NOTE: This is a short story I wrote for my English class. I would appreciate any comments and thoughts on it. Thanks in advance for reading! (And yes, it does really end there. it's not a typo.)

SIDE NOTE: Dedicated to @Tangled_Piya for making an AMAZING cover!

Copyright 2013

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     I'll bet you know her. Well, you know her, but not really. I'll bet you've seen her in the hallway at school. But you didn't really see her. Your eyes saw her, but your brain didn't register the fact that she was there, that she existed. If it did, you probably chose to ignore it.

     The girl who raises her hand, but never gets called on. The girl you pass in the hallway everyday, but you never say hello. The girl who always has her earphones in or her head in a book. The girl who you have never heard speak. The whole world just goes on living like she's not even there. 

     Now that I've brought her up, you might be able to picture the girl that I'm talking about. You never think about her, never notice her. Deep down though, maybe you feel that nagging sensation, like maybe you should have smiled at her on your way to class. Maybe deep down you might feel a little guilty. But you don't do anything about it, do you? No. Instead you push it down farther, ignore it. I'm sure someone talked to her. It's not my job to say hello to everyone. That's what you think. The problem is what if everyone else thinks the same thing? What if no one talks to that girl? She just goes on, never being noticed.

     You know who I'm talking about now, don't you? You have a clear picture in your mind. Good. Keep it there; she's all top easy to forget. And you might want to start remembering her.

~

     Like many others, this story starts in the hallway of a high school. There's a girl sitting by her locker. Rowdy teenagers rush by, attempting to catch their firends before class. The girl is wearinga sweater and jeans, name brand, just like verybody else. the girl holds her cell phone in her hand, an Iphone, just like everybody else. She looks like everybody else too, straight hair, straight teeth, no acne. It's not like she's freakishly different. The only thing that is different about her is the fact that she sits alone. Completely alone.

     She isn't texting anyone with her phone, she's given up waiting for a text. No one comes up to her locker, no one waves. She sits at her locker and instead of getting her books out, like she's supposed to be doing, she watches the student body. The hallways empty, the bell rings. She's late. The girl stands up and walks to her class, not bothering to get a late slip. the door creaks as she walk in. The teacher turns around to look at her. Her heart skips a beat. Maybe this year the teacher will yell at her, tell her to go get a late slip. Her hopes are quickly crushed; the teacher simply shrugs and turns back around. The girl walks back to her seat, in the front where everyone can see. No one smiles, no one nods, no one even acknowledges the fact she was late. She'd swear she was invisible, but she could see herself in the mirror. The girl sits in her desk, refuses to take out a pencil or a peice of paper. By now, she has decided that bad attention is better than being ignored. However, she has yet to be noticed doing something bad.

     The class period goes by, the bell rings. the girl continues to sit in her seat. No one comes up and asks her if she's okay. No one even asks her to move. Eventually she sighs and gets to her next class. The hallway is full of people yet she might as well be ona deserted island. She walks slowly, trying to get in someone's way. She wants someone to get mad at her, someone to push her down. At least she'd know she actually exsisted. 

     The girl trudges into her science class, taking a seat in the front of the room. She is the only one in the room without a science partner. Halfway though the class a man walks in, the principal. Nest to him is a student, a red haired boy. The girl doesn't recognize him, her mind runs a blank. The girl is in shock, does a double take for a second. If anything, the girl takes great pride in the fact that she knew everything about everyone in the school, even if they didn't know her. She knew all the secrets of ervyone, whisphered between classmates and overheard in hallways. For exapmle, she knew that Sydney Martin, who sat three rows away from her in English class, was having trouble coping with her parent's nasty divorce. She knew that Sydney's best friend, Alison Green, ran over Sydney's dog yesterday. Sydney didn't know that yet. Hence, you can imagine that the girl, the one who knew everything, was confused.

     The principal introduced the boy as Max Reed, a transfer student froma bad high school a couple miles away. He would be attending there the rest of the school year. Then he exited the room. Max Reed stood awkwardly by the desk of the teacher, hands in his pockets. His face was red from embarassment and his palms were sweaty. He was terrified of being the new kid. The girl sensed this in a matter of seconds. The science teacher took a sweeping glance around the room. There was only one empty seat.

     The girl's heart fluttered in her chest. This was it. The only empty seat in the entire room was beside her. He'd have to notice her. Yet the teacher's eyes seemed to fly right past her. For a second she almost raised her hand but then she took it back. She didn't want to get too hopeful, only to be let down again.

     Max Reed was nervous. He wasn't thinking. The science teacher kept searching the room for an empty seat when there was clearly and empty seat right in front of him. Max reed hurriedly rushed to the empty seat, beside a girl ith straigh hair, straight teeth, and no acne. The girl beside him jumped and turned towards him, staring. He blushed and turned his head toward the teacher. For a second the man looked startled, like he hadn't even noticed the empty seat in front of him. Then he nodded and turned towards the board, continuing his lesson.

     The girl stared at the new Max Reed. He had sat next to her of his own choosing, he had noticed. She felt like the class could hear her heart beating from forty miles away. Inside she felt like screaming and smiling and dancing, not necessarily in that order. Someone had noticed her. She was real. She wasn't invisible. It wasn't until poor Max Reed blushed did the girl realize it was probably weird to stare. She leaned back in her seat and stared striaght at the board, even though she didn;t have a pencil or paper to take notes with.

     Max Reed couldn't stop sweating. He was nervous that his deodorant would wear off and that the girl beside him would think he was a freak. He bent down to get his binder from under the desk. Pulling out a peice of paper for himself he noticed the girl beside him didn't have any paper at all. He was tempted to ask her if she wanted a piece but he didn't want to be awkward. Was it awkward? Butterflies filled his stomach. Stupid parents, making him switch schools in the middle of the year. he got himself a peice of paper and started taking notes. The girl beside him continued to stare at the board, no paper, no pencil. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Hey, do you need some paper or something?"

     The girl smiled.