Different

Chapter 1.

                    Hi! I'm Kalila, but my family calls me Kali. When most people say that they usually say "my friends call me.." but not me. I don't have friends. You see I have a genetic condition called Cleidocranial displaysia or as I call it, "CCD." Having CCD means I was born with little to no collar bones; in my case none and my teeth came in incorrectly. In fact, they're all still baby teeth and I'm 15. I get called many things by my peers at school, one of them being "Hippo." I don't get called that because of my weight, but because when I smile I only look as though I have have only two teeth... which is why I don't do it often. School is awful for me..as is any other social interaction I'm forced to face. If i had a choice, I'd never leave my home but.. Mom says I need "fresh air." Personally, I don't see why I need air. Lots of people don't think I deserve it. They're always telling me stuff like "Jump off the Manhattan bridge!" or something as simple as "die." I live in New York, New York so the Manhattan bridge one is fairly common. Whoa sorry; that got real depressing.. Anyway, today is Sunday..my least favorite day of the week. Most people love Sunday. It's the weekend and the day to celebrate God but I hate it. All day every Sunday all I can think about is school the next day.

                 "Honey, get ready for school!" My eyes slowly opened as I heard my mom's voice from the hallway outside of my room. "Okay Mom!" I replied grunting as I started to force myself out of bed. I trudged my way to the bathroom and almost tripped from my fatigue. I had spent all of last night forcing myself to worry about school the next day. "Oh how I love the perks of anxiety." I thought to myself sarcastically. Once I made it to the bathroom injury free, I peed and washed my hands. Next was my least favorite part of the morning..brushing my teeth. I got my toothbrush and everything ready and started. Usually I try to keep my eyes closed for this but I never could. I stared dead at myself in the mirror as I brushed them. My eyes started to well up with tears. That's when the thoughts start running through my head. "Why am I so ugly?" "why did I have to be the one in a million people born with this?" I started crying even more but forced my depression down as I wiped the tears away that had been running down my cheeks. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and left it at that. I didn't feel like trying today. Eventually I made my way back to my room and chose an outfit for the day. Even I knew that you needed to at least look slightly presentable in high-school, so I picked out a cute white lace crop-top and a pair of high rise denim shorts. Along with that I wore the same shoes I wear everyday; my maroon old-school vans. I grabbed a plum for breakfast, grabbed my black back-pack, and ran down to the bus stop. All the way from the bus-stop to the school, I sat silently and listened to my playlist through my headphones.

                     After about a 15 minute ride, we were parked in-front of the high-school. As soon as the bus doors opened everyone practically started pushing through one another to get off. "Geez. It's not like Wendy's gonna hold you hostage." I thought to myself. Wendy is our bus driver. Shes a very sweet lady about in her late 50's. She knows I'm always the last to get off the bus and once I finally
do, she always talks to me. She always compliments me on my makeup, and or clothes or hair; and I have to giggle when she says it, but she often tells me what a beautiful smile I have. I approached her today and in my sweetest tone possible said "Good morning, Wendy. How are you?" It took her a minute to realize my presence, but once she did she replied with a cold "good." I was instantly worried. Wendy's never been noticeably upset with me.. or anyone for that matter! "Wendy are you alright?" I asked calmly. Tears started to form in her eyes. "No sweetie, I'm really not." she said. She then started uncontrollably sobbing and unexpectedly pulled me in for a hug. "Kali, why are these children so mean to me? They think I don't hear their jokes about my weight or age from the back of the bus, but I do! Further more, they yelled obscenities at me as they left the bus this morning!" she said, crying. I wanted to start crying myself. I felt a huge lump in my throat while she had vented to me. "I..I'm so sorry." I managed to stutter out. We hugged again and I headed for the doors; she grabbed my arm gently and smiled at me. "Your hair looks so cute today, Kali." she said. I thanked her and headed to home-room.
I stopped at my locker to drop off my back-pack before heading to home-room. I closed the door and turned around to feel heavy breathing on my face causing me to shut my eyes as tight as possible in response. "Open your eyes, freak!" I heard a slightly squeaky male voice say. I did as I was told and sighed in annoyance. Standing before me was the local idiot, Carter and his 2 goons Nolan and Danny. I have to give him credit though, Carter was the only one "man enough" to approach me. His stupid, cowards of "friends" just stood behind him and snickered. "Hey idiot, are you gonna say anything?" He yelled in my face. All I could smell was his putrid breath, and I wanted so badly to mention it, but decided to refrain to avoid more drama. I took a deep breath and said, "Last I remember Carter, I wasn't the one who got an F in art class." I couldn't help but smirk as I said this. I was honestly so proud of myself as I had never stood up to that jerk before! Nolan stepped into sight and almost automatically said "ooooh bro! She's got you there!" He then looked over and gave me a shy smile. Danny gave him a small, but noticeable glare as he walked back behind Carter. Carter however, gave him a look as cold as ice with his eyes as dim as a dying flashlight. Nolan then looked down and I could just barely see him mutter "sorry" under his breath. The 3 finally walked away and left me alone for the morning after that. The thing about Nolan is.. he's different. I've known him since kindergarten, so about 10 years. Nolan Jenkins is a tall, buff guy. He has light, almost platinum blonde hair that's cut short except for his natural side bangs that hang over his face. He always wears band t-shirts; although I've found his favorite to be Slackabees. I must say, Nolan is the least awful out of those idiots.