It wasn’t that I didn’t want friends. Keeping my secret took its toll on my social life, and more prying eyes wouldn’t help a thing. It was hell, trying to remain inconspicuous, whilst dodging the verbal punches thrown by my classmates. I’d got used to being by myself, and become learned in the art of blending in; but naturally, I couldn’t get by unnoticed all the time.
The mild swelling in my cheek had subsided by the next morning, and my face returned to its normal pallid shade. I regarded myself in the mirror with a sigh: dark brown hair curled uncooperatively around my face and into my eyes- which were of a similar shade- and an unhealthy smattering of freckles dusted my nose. I could see why people chose to victimise me, I wasn’t exactly a difficult target.
Pushing my wire rimmed glasses up onto my nose, I pulled on the first hoody and jeans that my groping hands could retrieve from my closet- I’d long since given up making an effort in the wardrobe department.
After parking my car in the usual spot, I reluctantly headed into school, wary of the torment to come. If we wanted to keep this fiasco working, then Daniel was going to have to pull out all the stops. Turning the corner to my form room, I caught sight of Tiff leaning casually by the door. I waited for a while, but inevitably, I was going to have to walk past her.
Keeping my head low, I made a beeline for the door, hidden in the shadow of a passing crowd. Tiff was not to be fooled though, and, with a shove, I was catapulted into the classroom, landing in a heap on the ground. All eyes turned to me, and, simultaneously, everyone burst into cruel laughter. Burying my pride, I hid the blush creeping up my face inside my hood, and made my way to my seat with as much dignity as I could manage.
Gradually, attention was drawn away from me as Tiff entered the room, and began her daily routine as ‘the most important person ever to grace this earth’.
Looking around at our class, it was clear to see which groups held the power. They banded together around the room, leaving only me alone at the back. It was a close knit system that ordered the hierarchy, governed by money, and who knew who’s dad. New students were accepted somewhere around the middle, unless Tiff saw some promise in them of course- but in my case, I was steadfastly rooted at the bottom.
Tiff’s overtly girlish laughter was ripping through my ear drums when the door all but flew off its hinges.
“Eh, sorry: wind caught it,” muttered the intruder, crossing the classroom in a few easy strides to deposit herself on Mrs’s desk. There was silence in the room, as Tiff stared in stunned silence at the girl. New students were very rare- especially in the middle of a semester- and Valley High had certainly never encountered anything like this before.
She lounged on the edge of the desk, absently playing a game on her iPod, and pretending not to notice the eyes rooted to her movements. Her jeans hung loosely off her boyish hips, exposing a studded belt fastened with a hotdog buckle where her shirt rode up- a regular slogan tee, declaring ‘I make the Baby Jesus cry’. Around her neck hung a black triangle pendant fastened on a silver chain, and piercings littered her face and ears; yet her unusual attire was not what had captured the class’s attention though.
It was the accepted custom that girls were to have long, meticulously puffed hair, with optional highlights. No one dared to venture away from this law for fear of prosecution, but once again the new girl disregarded the pre-agreed rules.
Bleached white hair was piled into a mess of waves on top of her head, whilst the sides and back were shaved to a length more common for a boy. The tips faded from pink, to purple, to blue, and a few strands were even striped.
“Seen enough yet?” she enquired in a lazy tone, sweeping her eyes around the room, apparently taking it in for the first time. People awkwardly looked away and began forced conversations to cover their tracks, whilst sneaking glances in her direction every so often. Even Tiff was momentarily thrown off balance by her sudden appearance, and resigned to her position on Daniel’s lap, warily scoping out the new competition.
I remained seated, assuming that her gaze had passed me by unnoticed, and continued to watch her from beneath my curtain of hair. I could see her glancing around occasionally, and the way her fingers only sometimes moved on her iPod screen; she clearly wasn’t as engrossed in her game as she was making out. Her gaze lingered on Tiff for the longest, and a somewhat perplexed expression crossed her face. There was something hiding beneath that facade that I was unable to place, and for the first time, I wished that I would be noticed.
Once again the door opened- but far more gently this time- and Mrs Poppy entered the classroom, doing a double take as she was confronted by the sight of the girl slouched on her desk.
“Ah, hello there,” she managed to force out. “You must be Alexandra Whiting I assume?” The girl lifted her gaze to Mrs Poppy slowly, and considered her for a moment before answering.
“Yeah, but it’s just Alex if you don’t mind,” the girl replied nonchalantly.
“Okay, you can be Alex, as long as I never discover you abusing my desk like that again. You can sit anywhere,” Mrs Poppy grinned with her usual humour. The class sniggered as one, and Alex dropped her gaze for only and instant before strutting directly over to me.
“Can I sit here?” she requested, gesturing to the empty seat to my left. Muffled laughter came from Tiffany’s direction, and I cringed inside, preparing for the humiliation that was to come.
“Oh, I wouldn’t sit next to that,” Tiff scoffed. “She’ll probably try and touch you up or something.”
Everyone seemed to find this insanely funny, and I bowed my head lower, wanting to melt into the desk.
“I know that I’m insanely attractive and all, but honestly sweetheart, you’re far to fake for me,” Alex smiled sweetly at Tiffany, earning a wide eyed silence in response. “Now, you never answered my question.” She turned back to me, and I met her eyes for the first time; the striking green held me for a moment, patiently waiting for my reply.
“Sure,” I choked out.
Mrs Poppy’s class continued without the slightest problem- a very uncommon thing indeed. Everyone seemed in shock after Alex’s blatant destruction of the social rules, and I still had no clue why she would decide to sit with me. I so badly wanted to talk to her, but I couldn’t work up the nerve to start a conversation. She seemed content to work silently, seemingly waiting for me to speak in my own time.
An hour passed in silence, broken by harsh sound of the bell cutting through the room, causing me to jump, and the corners of Alex’s mouth to lift slightly. The commotion of people leaving began around me, and soon only a handful of the slowest people were left. Looking to my left, I saw Alex staring perplexed at her timetable- the school really was hell to negotiate for the first week or so. Gathering my last reserves of courage, I glanced at her timetable.
“History, same as me,” I said more quietly than I had intended. “We could walk together if you’d like.” Her emerald eyes caught mine again as she smiled back at me.
“I think that sounds like a very good idea indeed”
