SHATTERED

Chap :12 : Unwanted Change

Reyna's POV

When bad things happen, they seem to happen all at once, and you honestly feel like the Universe is out to get you. Like suddenly you are a magnet for all the problems.

First i had to burst out at mom like that, later upon self-reflection I regretted it a lot , then felt angry for regretting it and upon further analysis of our conversation I concluded both of us were at fault , her for provoking me and me for flaring up like that and saying too much. After that I promptly forgot about the whole ordeal.

Second thing that happened, happened at school. It has been happening for quite a few weeks actually and as days go by I'm slowly becoming more aware of it. I hate the sudden change but there is nothing I can do about it. when I was new at my school in grade four , the first friend I made was Susan, at the time she already had a group and I just tagged along with them. There was this girl in that group called Avery , Avery was the type to go around in pairs or groups and talk and giggle about people behind their backs, I didn't like her much and I stayed clear.

As time passed out little group grew, Tamanna came in grade five and Neena in six, and on the first day of seven I found myself in a completely new class with no close friends at all. I had virtually no one to talk to as I wasn't the type that could easily make new friends. Now in grade nine thinking back , it was on the ''Parent-Teachers '' meeting day that I first in all my three years of having lunch together ....I actually talked to Avery.

It was mainly because our seats were joined together and as we awkwardly waited for our turn to be over , staring at the clock and counting the minutes didn't make the wait any more bearable. Now I can't remember exactly what happened or what we talked about , all I remember is, it had something to do with Agatha Christie books and how I found classics slow and boring. In the end she never lent me those books nor did I read any as per my English teacher's instructions but from that day on wards Avery and I became best friends. We virtually had nothing in common and yet we clicked.

Two years later and we still are really close friends. On the days she's absent I find myself constantly checking the door to see if by some weird chance she isn't absent only really late. All through the day I miss her when I think of something funny and want to share the joke but there isn't anyone I can talk to because of my awkward personality. When I go back home, I whine into her ears about how much I hated the day without her and how many times I cursed her and where the hell was she and why was she absent yada yada yada. Then even before she asks I send her all that she missed.

Due to my fighting back during the few times I was bullied , no one dared to bully or tease me again. I liked it that way, made me feel like I was some sort of a gangster lady. So whenever they picked on Avery, I gave those boys and girls hell. If you ever read any shoujo manga , there are some scenarios where the stronger girl protects her cute , crybaby best friend from mean boys like some sort of a stupid idiot knight till that friend grows up and doesn't need that childish protection anymore or grows up and doesn't mind being teased.

One fine day I wake up and realize we are all at that age where the class is no longer divided into the girls and the guys but that the chasm is no longer there. Suddenly the definition of popularity changed, it no longer meant how many friends you had but what guy had how many girls liking him or what girl was called the prettiest among the guys or how many guys you talk to or how many guys had a crush on you.

Things like that and more. Now the girls came to school with manicured nails , flashing nail polish and nail art when it was prohibited , to look bad-ass. They came to school with messy hair buns or half their hair purposefully hanging over their shoulders or complaining about bangs that refused to stay put when I could see them tugging at the clips trying to make them come out half way through the day. Then came push-up bras and shaved legs that guys couldn't keep their eyes off. Guys with their mo-hawk hairstyles and gel-ed hair and accidentally spraying cans of "Axe" during class. Now dirty jokes were a common thing . It seems practically every thing has a double meaning and "sounds wrong" .