Behind The Glasses

Chapter 1

   Top set in everything, unless there is an advanced set; then I’m in advanced. I hate PE, most sports that is; I have braces and I’ve got an eye test coming up. Then I’ll have braces and glasses. I am the very definition of nerd. My skin plagues me every day, an analogy is that spots are like bitchy girls; one day one will come, the next day they will return with their posse of thirty! My eyebrows have grown wonky, what a pain they are to pluck into shape! I have boring brown hair with golden streaks; streaks that expand in the summer so I get continuously asked if I’ve dipped dyed my hair. I have hazel eyes, more green than brown which is unusual.

   I sit at the back of my Maths class, everyone in here is the same – advanced. White painted walls, a horrible grey, sludgy carpet. Windows on the far wall, letting in little light; the walls drag, the occasional poster on a learning site. The topic of conversation is totally work related; no one speaks above a whisper, comes into class late or forgets their exercise book. We are all likeminded, we all want to learn. It is a torture chamber for everyone else. Class finishes, I slip my book silently into my bag, heading noiselessly for the door like everyone else.

  As soon as we are out of the door us nerds club together and begin to chat. There are two types of nerd: popular nerds and freaks. The popular nerds have friends in higher places, or popular other halves. Guess what, I’m come under freak. No surprises there then. There are only a few of us in our circle of ‘freaks’, as in few there are five; sometimes. Ryker, Amya, Xander, Brooklynn  and me.

   Ryker, where do I start? Top set for everything, tried out for the sports teams, only to embarrass himself. Ryker, who must I say is quite good looking and honestly my best friend; startling green eyes, auburn hair that grows long, he sweeps it to the side far too often. Ryker has decided that the only sport he shall ever encounter is on the Xbox. I wholeheartedly agree with him.

   Amya, we’ve been friends since we were six years old; we started off going to ballet class together. Yes, shamefully I used to do ballet. I was pretty good too, not in a big headed way, but apart from brains it was the only thing I was ever good at. Anyway back to Amya, long black hair straightened to perfection; her blue eyes are like that of the ocean. Still the famous ballet dancer, Amya is the prima ballerina that took the wrong turn. When we were twelve, she told her popular friends that a²+b² wasn’t ab²²; (with Pythagoras) it was c². From there she was socially outcast, sent to those who were at the bottom of social hierarchy; us.

   Xander the other half of Brooklynn; brunette hair that is cut short, glasses and braces like me; he though plays little sport – badminton. He’s actually quite good from what I’ve seen of him. He has washed out blue eyes, a huge contrast to his dark hair; it gives his pale face an edge; a scary edge.

   Finally Brooklynn, Xander’s other half; at first we didn’t get on at all; we still don’t. She was new, about a year and a half ago; that was when she was into both Xander and Ryker; I thought we were getting on really well, that is until we slept over at Amya’s. The witch stabbed us all in the back, there we were telling secrets, really personal stuff; and she facebooked the lot the next day! We didn’t talk to her for months. Turns out she was jealous of Amya and I’s friendship with the two boys; she thought we were too close to them. We only tolerate her sitting with us because she’s Xander’s other half; unfortunately.

   We have our little bench in the corner, hidden from all; of so we hoped. Brooklynn has her hands snaked around Xander’s neck; there is no space between their bodies. And their mouths, well, PDA! We all turn our attention to elsewhere. When Brooklynn finally prised her mouth from Xander’s she glared right at me, “Hey Harper, isn’t it time we went to yours?” I looked up, thankfully no glasses, yet, to topple from my face the speed my head jerked up. Everyone was silent, we never talked about my family; ever. Not even Ryker and Amya have been to my house; in all the years they’ve known me!