Footnotes

Chapter One

foot·note \-ˌnōt\

noun

1 : a note of reference, explanation, or comment usually placed below the text on a printed page

-Fingerprints-

     So I read a lot. So I don't attend high school let's-get-so-intoxicated-we-get-alcohol-poisoning parties. So I'm not as sociable as the girl next door. So what?

Things shouldn't be recklessly done. Things should be carefully planned out and carried out with equal care. I strongly believe that people don't just exist for nothing, and contrary to what others think, we should not wait around for the world to show us our purpose. Interpret it any way you want, but all I know is, my perception is probably more reasonable than yours.[1]

I want to be something. I want to do something amazing. I want to leave my mark on the world. To scatter my fingerprints over every possible surface I find.

My life is not boring. I get straight A's, and as far as I know, that is a good thing. I have a couple loyal friends, and I even have a BOYFRIEND. Ha. Suck on that. This geek has a social life.

I mean, sure, some people bother me sometimes, like Carrie Tyler, a typical popular girl dedicated to fulfilling her mean girl duties, but not physically and never enough to get to me or make me want to commit suicide.[2] Not all nerds are helpless and wimpy. Not all nerds can't stand up for themselves. Not all nerds wear thick rimmed glasses, always get their hair stuck in their braces, stutter when they speak, do everything the teacher tells them to, or have such irregular teeth to deserve the nickname "Snaggletooth".[3]

Speaking of, I'm never using the term nerd again. It sounds so unflattering.

Oh, and one crucial thing. Not all ner- intelligent people are unattractive.

I have natural light blonde hair, blue eyes, and high cheekbones. Whoa, I just defied nature, didn't I? Not exactly. People are just so accustomed to stereotypes that anything breaking the pattern is therefore immediately categorized under ANOMALY.[4]

Another attractive and intelligent person I know is my boyfriend, Aidan. Aidan is cute in a protective, organized person way. Aidan works out, and can do amazing things with a computer. Unlikely combination. Is he an anomaly too? Gasp.

Another thing about me: Footnotes. Footnotes keep things organized. I've been using them since the fifth grade, whether it's a novel, a diary entry, or an essay. Please, don't ask.

Anyway, let me run over my to-do list one more time.

1:00 pm - Freshen up

1:30 pm- Meet Aidan and the rest

I glance at my watch. 1:45. Can't be. I'm late. God, that is so unlike me. I break into a half run.

My phone vibrates in my dress pocket. I tap my earpiece to answer the call.

     "Annalise Newton." I always answer my calls this way. I'm not a big fan of stereotypes, as you might have already noticed. Hello is too mainstream for me.

     "Annalise? Are you alright?"

     "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I fish around my satchel until I find the packet of 'trail mix' I've been saving. It consists of chocolate chips, peanut butter M&M's, malt balls, gummy bears, and crushed almonds and walnuts. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, you see.

     "Well, you are late. Very late. I was worried something might have happened to you." The concern in his voice is heart melting. I pause halfway in scooping up chocolate chips and gummy bears and pouring them into my mouth.