Just a Number

Chapter One - Tinker Bell

Chapter One - Tinker Bell

First day of school. Piece of cake, right?

Wrong.

Being the new girl could result in either one of two ways: immediate popularity or complete disaster. I was hoping for neither.

I didn't want to be noticed. I didn't want to be seen. All I wanted was to peacefully blend in with the crowd at Roosevelt High School, maybe make a friend or two, or finally become part of the bigger picture.

But life has a funny way of interpreting things.

Roosevelt High School. Known for its great academic and athletic records, but not exactly praised on its ways of achieving them. Apparently, some teachers may be stricter than others, some may be overly lackadaisical, and some may take extremist virtues and drastic measures to force all the too in-depth knowledge they can up your ass!

But that's just what I've heard. No reason for worry, right?

I stepped out of my new baby blue Suzuki and silently took in my surroundings, surveying the parking lot, baseball diamond in the distance, and a couple of fields even beyond that. From here, I could see lone towering trees, isolating themselves from the forest behind them. I took a mental note of the serenity of the fields and focused my attention back to the hyped-up activity going on around me.

There seemed to be cliques everywhere I turned, all huddled up in their own little worlds. I wished I was part of one of those worlds.

I quietly laughed to myself as I randomly remembered The Little Mermaid. What a rebel.

I struggled to wipe the smile off of my face as a large group of jocks sauntered by on the sidewalk, peculiarly watching me as they passed.

"Whatcha smilin' at, Tinker Bell? You see something you like?" a strong, muscled boy in the group yelled my way. The large muscle-y kind was definitely not my type. I preferred a scrawny, but slightly toned type. Maybe he had swooping black hair and a couple of piercings. Maybe he liked to seclude himself from society...

I scolded myself for fantasizing in a situation like this. I always seemed to be thinking about the wrong thing at the wrong time.

However, I mentally patted myself on the back for not parking in the front row. Good job, E-Mae.

I did my best to scowl and pay proper attention while he and his cronies began laughing hysterically. Laughing. Sometimes, I just hated laughter. It made me freeze up because I was so unfamiliar with it. Maybe that's why I was so funny in my head...

But...

Oh no... not this, not now! I could feel the shock taking over as I must have looked like a deer in headlights. The heat on my cheeks was staggering. I always became a paralyzed, useless creature in stressful situations. I struggled to say something, anything, but the words wouldn't come out. Tell him its none of his business! Tell him you don't like anything about him! Tell him you see something, alright, but he's no Peter Pan! Saysomethingsaysomethingsaysomething.

"Uhmm... Hi." Hi? HI?! What the hell is wrong with me?

He looked taken aback at my idiot response to his obviously jeering question. He looked around at his friends to be sure if what he just heard was right.

Yes, muscle boy. I said hi. Build a bridge and get over yourself. I rolled my eyes at him. Some people just didn't understand niceness until a flaming ball of courtesy was thrown in their face. Emphasis on the 'flaming ball'.

I decided to ignore him and focus on functionality again. Like movement of my limbs.

Sighing, I noticed I was finally calming down and I shut my car door, hoping that this entire encounter would disappear from the record books and I could be restored my dignity.