Air

The Burnouts

"You touched me, and I was a lilac sky. Then, you decided purple just wasn't for you."
-Halsey, "Colors"

The first day of my sophomore year has been nothing but Awful, with a capital A. In between classes, random strangers will run up to me and say things like, "Abracadabra!" "Turn me invisible!" Or "Your mom is a slut."

I don't understand this. Last year, I was the queen bee. I was friends with all the right people, and those who weren't in my clique admired me. I was a high school Goddess. Girls went up to me every other day, saying they wanted to be me, and sometimes even date me.

Now, everything has changed. The tables have turned for the absolute worst. I'm bullied and harrassed nearly every second. I have to hear that people think I'm an evil psychopath with a promiscuous mom. I wish I could just crawl in a hole and never come up for air. I feel horrible.

To make matters worse, I'm not in any classes with Sarafina. She's on the opposite wing of the school! We don't even see each other by our lockers, like we did every day last year. It sucks.

I really want to see my sister. I have the deep desire to check up on her. I hope she's not getting treated the same as I am. I hope she's making new friends and people are being nice to her. I want to make sure she's okay.

But, I unfortunately won't be able to do so much as converse with Sarafina until we're on the school bus headed home at 2:15.

I shut my locker door. I roll my eyes and walk away. I am filled from my toes to my head with negative emotions. I want to scream and cry and punch something and rip something else to shreds. I can't do any of the above, though, since I am in school.

Thus, I indulge myself in a bit of music. I put in my headphones, and listen to my newest playlist: School Anthems. The songs don't really match my mood. Each and every one of them is upbeat and happy. Most of these songs are by older artists and bands like The Plain White Tees, Missy Elliot, and Murmurs. I think their songs were written and produced to make cheery people even more optimistic than usual.

I can't believe that when I made this playlist in August, I thought I would start the school year off on a good foot. My head must have been trapped in a dazed and confused state. I was definitely a lot more naïve than I am now.

I strut down the hallway with "La Di Da," blasting at full volume in my ears. I am surrounded by your typical high school idiots, some of whom are dealing with break ups and make ups, and the rest of whom, like me, are just trying to make it to the next class.

Then, I see them. There they are. The burnouts stand right in front of me. I see 5 of them: 2 boys with shiny red hair and hoodies and 3 girls with Gothic makeup and long, bleach blonde hair. The boy on the far left looks like the one in my nightmare, which creeps me out a little bit. Each of them has their hands on their hips. They look so confrontational and intimidating.

I take out my headphones. "Hey, I need to get to Bio, and you guys are sort of blocking my way," I say.

"You're Anna Robbins, right?" Says the girl in the middle.

"Yeah," I say. "Look, I don't worship the devil, I can't turn you into a plant, and I don't know my biological parents. Now what do you want?"

The girl in the middle inches closer to me. There is barely any space between us. Her breasts are touching mine, which is awkward. Our noses practically meet. It is as if we are about to makeout in the middle of the hallway.

"I'm Arielle," she says. "My friends and I know about your situation. You should hang out with us. We're going to Shell Beach right now, if you want to come with us."

"I'm sorry, I don't smoke weed," I say. "I'm not like you."

Arielle smiles and chuckles. She plays with my hair, and then plays with hers. She turns around swiftly. "Oh, honey," she says, "We don't smoke weed. We're just Witches, like you."

My eyes light up. I am suddenly filled with joy. I thought Sarafina and I were the only Witches in the school! It's crazy that there are others. At least I don't feel so alone now.

"I'll come with you," I say. "Count me in."