The Destined

Chapter Three: Avani

    Avani    

Science seems to be officially the worst class ever. Everyone who has had Miss Darling in the past says she's the worst and they were right. Eighth grade already seems like a nightmare.

I walk out of science as soon as the bell rings with Jesse on my left and Katie on my right. They are complaining about the school uniforms and I pretend I'm listening. Then I spot Melissa. I hear everyone call her the loser kid in this school, the crazy geek, the band nerd (although I don't even think she is in band), and Captain Shyness. I saw her name engraved in the headboard in our room.

"Guys," I interrupt, "I have something to take care of."

"Wait," Jesse whines.

"Go hang with Reese," I tell her, and then I am already walking away.

I walk up to Melissa. She is flipping through her folder as if she's looking for something, leaning against the wall of the hallway. Her curly brown hair falls over her face, and she is pushing it away with her fingers, frowning as if she can't find what she is looking for.

"Hi! You are Melissa, right?" I ask.

She lifts her head, her eyes narrowing as she sees me. When she speaks, her voice is flat. "Yeah. What do you want?"

I don't know what I want, actually. I tried to find an excuse to talk to her after I saw her in science class. I was just curious to talk to her. All the popular girls always make fun of her, and I just laughed along. I hated being mean and selfish, but now it is just automatic.

"I was wondering something. See, I brought a little extra stuff from home as I was packing to come here, and my space is kind of overflowing right now. And I wanted to ask if you could, like, give me a portion of your bed drawers," I say. I cringe on the inside when I realize how fake all of this sounds.

"Why do you need so much stuff?" Melissa asks. I could tell she figured out I lied by the way she says this al exaggerated and stuff. She closes her folder and folds her arms. "Wait, never mind. You're one of them, aren't you?" Then, she starts waking away.

"What? Wait! Is that a yes?" I call after her, but she doesn't even turn my way. I shake my head. It doesn't matter anyways. If I was caught hanging out with her – or Meredith and the new girl – all my friends would turn on me, then stoop me down to the loser's level.

I slip away from the classrooms and walk back up to my dorm, frustrated. I left my math notebook there earlier and I have a feeling I might need after realizing what the eighth grade teachers might be like, giving us work on the first day and all. When I walk in, I see Melissa's bags scattered on the floor. One of them has opened and a couple of books have spilled out. I read some of the titles, and notice she reads only nonfiction. Trying not to step on her stuff, I walk over to the bookshelf by my bed and pull my notebooks out. A photograph slips out and falls down on the ground. I quickly realize what it might be just by its stained back. Already, I could feel the lump in my throat. My hand slowly reaches down to pick it up. No matter how hard I try not to, I catch a glimpse of their faces, two quick profiles, their glasses of wine clinking in the middle as the waves behind them clash onto the shore. I could feel the tears coming on, and I quickly urge them away as soon as the photograph of my parents is pushed back into the bookshelf. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I must not cry. Please, don't cry right now.

Then I look at the time and realize that the bell rings in one minute. I race out the door, hoping to make it to class in time and pretending the photo never did slip out.

☾☾☾  

I slide in to my seat in math class just before the bell rings. As my breathing slows down I look around and see that none of my friends are in this class. Even worse, I spot a smiling Meredith and Anna, waving me over. Oh great, I think. I just hope they won't start talking to me.

"Hello," says a tall, thin lady standing at the front of the room. "I am Mrs. Hill and I will be your math teacher this year at Brookfield!" Mrs. Hill walks over to the board and messily scribbles her name on the white board with one of those dry-erase markers that barely contain any ink. "Since it is the first day, I want everyone to know each other! That's why we are going to start off with an activity. Everyone, find a group of three."

Immediately, everyone in the room starts moving. I try not to make eye contact with Anna, but she still calls me over. "Hey, Avani, do you want to be in our group?"

I don't respond. Not yet, anyway. I look around the room to see if anybody else needs a group. Sure enough, everyone is partnered up and ready for the teacher to speak again. When I can't find anyone else, I walk reluctantly over to Anna and Meredith. I take an empty seat to their left and try not to talk.

"Ok, so now that you are all in groups guys, I would like you all to tell your partners your names and at least three interesting things about yourselves. You have three minuets."

Anna decides to go first since none of us wanted to speak. "My name is Anna and... I guess I love traveling."

Meredith goes next after I don't say anything. "I'm Meredith – obviously – and I like to spend time with family and with friends." And then there's silence. Meredith turns to me. "Avani, it is your turn to talk." She raises her eyebrow, her face cold. I shrug it off. She's not popular. I am. I am better than her.

"My name is Avani and I like music," I mumble quickly. I quickly realize how stupid I sound.

"Cool," Anna mumbles. She looks down at her hands and then back at me, smiling. Something inside of me tells me she probably isn't that bad, and yet I feel the eyes of others, watching me from time to time. I am one of the most popular girls in this school. This has to be the last time I can hang out with them.