Kismet

One

"Your name?" The teacher sitting at the table in front of me asked.

"Arman Joy", I said sheepishly.

"Okay... Here it is. Your schedule for the school year. Have a nice day." She said with a wink and a smile.

I never had a teacher look at me like that. I guess my makeover is coming in handy. When I said to myself I wanted to get over what I was, I was serious. So an aggressive makeover came along with it. My childhood friend, Noni, helped me with all of that. She's been begging me to let her advance my looks since freshman year. She discovered makeup and her outfits got ten times as expressive as soon as she entered this school. She wanted me to glo with her but I wasn't ready. So once she got the text she was too ecstatic. She came over in less than 5 minutes ready to raid the mall.

She was so much more than me. She was beautiful and smart. Dark skin with a buzz cut and a fade that'll cut your fingers if you touched it. She was always speaking of female energy and the flower of life and civil problems in the United States. I don't know why her vibes never rubbed off on me. Oh well.

But Not only was it a physical makeover but a mental one as well. That even includes saying the 'd' word. I don't feel the need to dwell on it anymore. I just take my medicine and keep it moving. But even then those crippling thoughts always end up back into my head.

Speaking of Noni, as I'm walking away from the table I see her standing in a group in the far left corner of the cafeteria. Usually, I run away from these type of situations to avoid drawing attention to myself, but before I could register what I was doing I found myself standing behind her.

"ARMAN!!!" she turned around and hollered even though I was standing in front of her.

"Your outfit.. Eyebrows.. Everyone look at my masterpiece!" she shoved me in the middle of the group and made me twirl.

I was wearing ripped high waisted jeans, a white baby tshirt that acts as a crop top, a thin gray cardigan with red 515 New Balance's.

The group consisted of two guys and two girls including Noni. Looks like I was the odd piece. I recognized most of them from pictures off of social media and the stories that Noni tells me.

"Guys I'm pretty sure you know Arman but I'm reintroducing her. Possés this is Arman and Arman this is Monaé, Brian, and Kaz."

I didn't recognize Kaz from anywhere. He was breathtaking. He had a caramel complexion with a very strong jaw and beady green eyes. They were all looking at me smiling but Kaz was wearing this crooked smirk. It was charming if you ask me.

Noni noticed that I was staring at Kaz. "Oh yeah, Kaz is a newbie from Florida. I saw him asking for friends on Twitter and I volunteered to help him out."

"Why is the attention on me?" He asked melodramatically, placing the tips of his fingers on his forehead and turning his head slightly to the right.

I laughed lightly. He turned to look at me and smiled back. I put my head down quickly and swept my hair behind my ears.

"Okayyyy", Monaé spoke lightly "Cheers to new beginnings!" she was a cute petite mocha girl with dreads. One look at her and you're healed. I loved her already.

"Agreed, agreeeeed" Brian said licking his lips and rubbing his hands. Then proceeded to reach down to hug Monaé at her waist. She smiled into his chest. He came off as intimidating. His eyes looked black against his dark skin. But when he smiled he revealed a big perfect white smile. That was the indicator that he was the goofy one.

The warning bell rung and the cafeteria rose in chaos. "See y'all after school?" Noni yelled over the noise. With our schedules in our hands everyone agreed and went their separate ways.