The Big, Black Sheep

Chapter 1- Pushed

"Oh no, I'm fine." I stared at the plate of very greasy, very salty, very cheesy tater tots that my best friend Angelica pushed in front of me. I slide them back towards her, shooting her a polite smile. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth formed a thin line.

"You don't ever eat lunch, Vee. You sure?" I waved her off as I always did and took a sip of my bottled water. Never did I see a creation so gorgeous than what was on that plate. Never have I ever wanted to pounce over the table for some food. My stomach growled in protest, so I chugged the rest of my water. Angelica stuffed a few tater tots in her mouth, still staring me down. "Are you on some kind of crazy diet, Venus? You better not-"

"Shut up, Ang! Don't ever call me that!" I covered my face, looking around to see if anyone heard her say my full name. "You know that I hate being called that." I took out a second bottle of water with a resentful sigh. "No, I'm not on a diet. I'm just not hungry."

"From the way you're downing that water, I would say otherwise." My best friend shamelessly stuffed more of the gooey deliciousness into her mouth. I bite my lip, forcing myself to look away from her plate and focusing on something in the distance.

Angelica and I always sat outside for lunch, so there were so much stimuli to keep me busy. A couple of freshmen were wrapped around each other, making out on the school fountain in the middle of what we called "The Commons". Horns were honking in the parking lot to my left and a few people shuffled towards the impatient driver. The smells of the Friday Food Trucks only made my food craving stronger, so I faced away from the wind. That was when I noticed someone looking at me. And I mean intensely looking at me.

He showed no hesitation when I caught his eyes. He leaned against the arts building, playing with something that he stuck between his teeth and tapping the wall to the beat of a song that I couldn't hear. He was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt that clung to him in all of the right places, showing off his flat stomach and toned arms. He wore low-hanging jeans that showed too much to be in dress code. His light brown hair was messily strewn on his head, swiping against the lower part of his ear. And his gaze was burning a hole through my head. I looked away, embarrassed, and shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Angela gave me a funny look before turning around to see what I was gawking at.

"Oh, bad boy hottie staring at you hardcore at 12 o'clock, my friend. Go say hi." I glanced at her, then back at the boy, shaking my head when we made eye contact again.

"Not happening," I squeaked. I took another sip of water to lubricate my dry mouth. Angelica groaned, popping her last tater tot into her mouth before getting up and dumping her tray.

"I'll be right back," she said, straightening her pink top and smoothing it over her hips. There's one thing that Ang and I have in common: we're both overweight, though Ang is the curvaceous model type and I was just flab. Her hair was long and strawberry red and her skin was as pure as porcelain. Her legs were hella long and grew longer with the five-inch heels she insists on wearing every day. I was just fine in my over-sized man tees and jeans, thanks.

I paled in comparison to her. I had shoulder length black hair and caramel-colored skin. I never dressed up unless I had to, and I just didn't exude as much confidence as Angelica did on an everyday basis. I hid the little curves that I had because they were dominated by fat rolls, and if I could get away with wearing my favorite leather jacket every day, I would, but the Georgia heat never called for that.

Angelica approached the guy who had only looked away from me to glance over at my quickly approaching friend. She stood next to him, and even though her heels made her about 5'9, he easily towered over her. As Ang was speaking, the guy's eyes planted onto mine again and I could feel my face heating up under his intense gaze. He smiled at something Angelica said, responded, and then turned to disappear into the building that he was once leaning against. Ang came back to me, a smug smile on her face.