The Improvement Plan

Two

Hope went through school the rest of the day almost like she was in a trance. She didn't see Alex for the rest of the day even though she had been searching. The word that she could sing spread quickly, earning her fascinated followers who seemed to think she was just going to start singing randomly. Hope knew she was earning popularity because she was good at her talent. She also knew that none of them really cared for her as she was just the newest interest in the hallways. It would end soon.

At lunch, she walked with her tray to a table on the other side of the lunchroom. Several people stopped her and introduced themselves but her mind was stuck with the boy she had met that morning and who had taken her to her second block.

"Hey, come sit with us," said a girl with dark brown hair sitting in a plastic red chair a few feet away from her. The girls' hair was long, to her waist long, and completely straight. Hope didn't want to ignore them so she took a seat. Hope polished her apple on her shirt before taking a bite. "I'm Jessica and this is Rachel."

She swallowed her bite of the apple. "I'm Hope."

"Oh, isn't that pretty," the one named Rachel said as she fixed her bright blonde hair. She pushed it behind her shoulder and away from her face. Her smile was large and pretty. "I like that name."

"Thank you," Hope felt awkward as she sat with the two girls.

"There are more people who sit here," Jessica laughed. It was like she had read Hope's expression at all the empty seats as she had looked around her. "They'll be here soon. Don't worry, we're not losers who sit alone."

"I didn't think you were," she said softly. Hope's face scrunched a little at Jessica's choice of words, We're not losers who sit alone, and knew that if she continued to speak that way that they wouldn't be good friends.

"So strange," Rachel shook her head at a boy with his hood up and headphones in his ears. In his hands, he held his lunch tray. He walked to the same empty table that Hope had been heading towards a few minutes earlier.

"That's Alex Denburg," Rachel began to inform Hope about the boy without knowing she already knew who he was.

"People say he hides dead bodies in his closet." Rachel follows up with more information.

"He didn't seem bad-"

"In calculus?" Jessica asked.

"How did you know- "

"I know everything," Jessica said calmly, giving Hope the chills. "My friend Asher and Carrie told me about it. They're in that class too. And, Rachel, that's an old rumor that isn't true."

"I know. But he just makes it so easy to believe. Besides, he never said he didn't. Am I the only one who hasn't seen you around, Hope?" Rachel said with false hurt in her voice.

"He was actually really nice." Hope said, sticking up for Alex. "I couldn't find my next class and he helped me get there."

"All I'm saying, Hope, is that he isn't exactly what you would call Prince Charming." She sighed. "He doesn't even talk."

She found herself glancing over at the boy, Alex, who was still sitting alone being ignored by everyone around him. He most definitely did talk.

Jessica and Rachel continued to talk with her while their other friends arrived and introduced themselves. They asked about her home, her family, and what she liked to do. If it had not been for the previous judgmental conversation she would have enjoyed their company. She began to wonder if Alex had created a reputation for himself or if those around him had simple just created it for him.