There's this girl.
Let's call her Elaine.
Elaine is a very nervous girl.
She's often found shaking, due to some sort of panic attack. She doesn't like social interaction, because she feels everyone hates her.
And it's true.
No one likes this small, nervous girl.
"She's so shaky." They'd whisper when she walked past. "Is she sick or something?"
Elaine would smile, and pretend she either didn't hear, or didn't care.
Oh she heard and she cared.
Elaine would just walked through the halls of her school, pretending to be a happy girl.
She'd do normal things, going to algebra, science, literature, history. Then she went to art, her classes on taxes, and gym. If you just saw her like this, you would think she's normal.
But she's not.
She is top on the 'Weirdo' list in school.
Sometimes, before she cut her hair, she would come to school with her hair in pigtails, which had been dubbed unfashionable for a couple years now. Or if she didn't have a hair tie she would use a pencil to put it up. Which was just something considered strange.
And now that her hair is short, she wears odd hats to cover her messy hair, or will put in some kind of childish head band.
Over all, this is one weird girl.
In science, the teacher said the dreaded words parter assignment.
Usually, said teacher would choose the pairings. But today, he said to choose your own partners. Like in any school age scenario, everyone immediately looked to their best friend or their lover.
No one looked to Elaine.
That's when the panic started setting in. First, it was just this little seed in the pit of her stomach. But as everyone stood to grab their partners and supplies, her hands started to shake lightly, seeing everyone having their friends and looking at something under a microscope. Soon, her whole body started to shake.
By now, Elaine knew how to hide her nervous shaking. She rubbed her arms as if she was cold, though she was wearing multiple layers.
About a half hour later, the teacher, we'll call him Mr. Jon, walked up to Elaine.
Now, Mr. Jon was probably Elaines favorite teacher. He understood her. He knew what its like to be awkward and anti social.
"Hey, Elaine?" Mr. Jon walked up to the small girl and looked down at her.
Elaine stopped playing with her pen and looked to him. Mr. Jon was VERY tall. "Yes, Sir?" Elaine answered softly, so as not to let her shaking voice show.
"Who's your partner?" He asked, leaning on the desk Elaine sat at.
"Me myself and I." Elaine made a feeble joke, earning small chuckle from the older man.
"What, are you too good for everyone?" The man pushed up his glasses, smiling impishly.
Elaine gave a small smile accompanied by a smaller laugh. "No, sir. I'm just incredibly awkward." She admitted. "And too awkward to go up and ask someone if I can be their partner."
"That's horrible." Mr. Jon gave a sympathetic look. He then scanned the room and pointed. "How about you go join Dianne and Liam?" He asked.
A small look of panic must have flashed across her face, because Mr. Jon then laughed. "Hey, they're just as weird as you." There's that label again... Elaine thought. "And they won't bite."
Elaine stood on shaking knees. "Okay..." she said softly, then walked off. She clutched her notebook to her chest, as if this where the only thing keeping her alive.
She awkwardly walked up to the two she had been told to join. "H-hi." She stuttered. "I-I'm going to join you guys, okay..?"
"Why does she have to go and join us again?" Liam said from his position looking into the microscope.
Elaine winced slightly.
Dianne punched him in the arm. "Liam you're so rude!" She laughed.
Liam laughed and rubbed his arm.
"This is why I don't talk to people..." Elaine laughed, though she meant it.
Dianne grabbed her hand. "Don't listen to Liam. He's a jerk." She then left Elaine and started goofing off with Liam.
At every little joke that Elaine found funny, she tried to stifle her laugh. But she just ended up giving off a little snort.
The pair would look at her every time, and Elaine would shrink a little more into the shadows.
Panic was all Elaine knew by now. She was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm, and close to tears.
She couldn't wait for the day to be over.
Again, this story is true.
