A Real Life Story:
Prequel to A Real Life Sparkle
The first day of school. It's a win or lose. While you can deny it all you want, most of us want ours to be a win. Why not, that first day, might just determine how the rest of your year goes. And...
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Shandelier stood in front of her locker looking at a tiny sheet of white paper. It was the combination to her locker and the list and times of her classes given to her by the principle. The writing was awful, but she was sure she had the combination right after the seventh try. The locker just wouldn't open.
"Hey, it looks like you could use some help with that."
Shandelier turned around to see two boys and a very short girl standing behind her. One of the boys, the one who must have spoken, was smiling brightly at her. The girl looked annoyed to be in her presence, but the boys looked like they would readily help.
Aside from the urge to slap the girl, who was rolling her eyes at her a mile a minute, she also wanted to tell her she had no interest in trying to talk to her two typical boy companions.
She always got this reaction from other teenagers, love-hate. The girls didn't want her to steal their light, and the boys always thought she would just manipulate them to get whatever she needed. But everyone always wanted to be her friend for whichever reason. It was usually not a good one.
For a second she thought to twist her hair around her finger and sweetly ask for help, just because she could get away with it. But these potatoes heads wouldn't be able to get her locker open if she couldn't.
"No, believe it or not, I have everything under control," She said as she turned back to her locker.
"Yes, because she has me to guide her through her First day of school!"
Shandelier scowled, she knew exactly who that was. With a voice that she was sure belonged to a unicorn, annoying like, it could only be Penelope. She had been watching Shandelier from behind trash cans ever since their encounter at lunch.
The short girl snorted and sneered at Penelope, "Wow, you finally found someone to be a weirdo with you? Have you told her all the secrets yet? How to be the perfect loser, and grow to be nothing other than that?" Her voice dripped with fake kindness, doing the most to sound hurtful.
Penelope said nothing as she nervously fiddled with her sideways bang.
A little spark went off inside of Shandelier, and she hit her locker with enough force to make a loud, solid bang, that echoed through the halls. With that, her locker made a dull click, as it finally unlocked. She swung it open, and turned to look at the short girl over her shoulder, as if she was some gum that was sticking to her shoe.
"Yeah she's told me a lot," Shandelier started of sarcastically as she turned towards them all.
She could have gone on about how annoying Penelope had been to her within the first two hours of them meeting. But she just gripped her locker handle, and with her hand on her hip leaned over, to become level eyed with the tiny girl, to make a stronger point. And in a low icy voice, she said, "She told me how people like you, finally grew tall enough to be seen out of their little rain boots. Hope someone doesn't come along and knock you back down to where you belong."
Everyone standing there finally realized Shandelier was the type who would knock someone back into their place.
The short girl tossed her hair and left, but she was clearly embarrassed and flustered. The boys got the memo and left also, as Shandelier turned to Penelope.
"Don't worry I won't bother you anymore. I will just observe from a distance... I do not get you," Penelope said as she stared at Shandelier, puzzled.
Shandelier couldn't stand it, but there was something about Penelope. Maybe it was she couldn't understand her motives. It may have been that she knew what she didn't. But she just shook her head, "You owe me a brownie. Now, tell me what class this scrich scratch is supposed to be."
After their last confrontation, with Penelope helping her with her class location Shandelier actually didn't see much of her for the rest of the day. It wasn't that she was looking for her. Or at least she didn't think she was. It just was strange, for the most of her first day of school, Penelope had been peeking at her from all sorts of hiding places.
