Imaginary Pip

3

I couldn't believe my eyes. That girl - she was the exact image of Pip, messy hair and all. But it just couldn't be her. Pip was a figment of my imagination - someone I had made up to keep myself sane. She wasn't real.

But, that girl. She looked exactly like her. How could it not be Pip?

My brain must have stopped working for a moment, because Michael was snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"Earth to Stella!" He said.

"What?" I said, clearly a bit irritated.

"Miss Katie dismissed us. We have to go to class."

"Right."

Luckly for me, everyone in our class had the same lessons this week so that we could find our way more easily. Me and Michael were following the Pip lookalike, and I just couldn't stop staring at her. She looked so elegant when she was walking and it reminded me so much of Pip. She would always prance around the corridors in front of me and I would just watch her and laugh at the foolishness.

"Hey, that girl... she didn't go to your middle school did she?" Michael asked.

"No! What made you think that?" I said.

"You're always watching her with that weird expression on your face. Like you know her every move or something."

"Well, I just... observe people more." I can't tell him about Pip. I've only known him for about an hour and a half. He would leave me as a freak, and then I'd be all alone, or with Pip.

Now I really want to speak to Pip. I called for her inside my head but it just didn't work. She wasn't coming. Maybe she's abandoned me for good... maybe she's gone to make friends with some other, more interesting kid in the school. Maybe I'm not even good enough for an imaginary person.

Nope. I'm being ridiculous. Pip is probably just sleeping or something like that. Anyways, I have Michael for company. I wouldn't be that lonely if she left now. It would sting, but I'd still have a friend. Wait, does Michael see me as a friend too? Maybe he just wants to talk to me when walking and then leave me once he finds some new friends. It wouldn't be the first time. I have to check though.

"... Michael?" I said nervously.

"Yeah?" He replied looking puzzled.

"Are you and I... friends?"

He laughed. I felt my stomach drop. "Of course we are friends! Why would we not be?"

I started laughing too. I was so stupid to think so slowly of Michael. It's probably just the fact that I haven't had a real friend before, and it's getting a but confusing for me.

We laughed all the way to our first lesson, English, before settling down in our seats. I was sat next to the girl with dark hair, the one who was hanging out with the blond one at the beginning. I decided to try and make conversation with her.

"Hi" I said with a bit of fake enthusiasm.

She ignored me, so I tried again. "Hey!"

She ignored me again. I can't even fathom how rude someone has to be to ignore the girl sitting next to them twice.

I decided to try one more time. "Hello?" She rolled her eyes at me. "Ew, what is your problem? I don't talk to freaks like you so stop."

Well, at least I know two people I need to avoid in high school. I would have responded but the teacher had called for silence in the classroom so I held my tongue.

English was actually really fun. The teacher handed us our notebooks, which were a dull yellow, and a list of books she wanted us to read by the end of the school year. Luckly, there were only 10 I needed to read on it as I had read some of them in middle school for fun.