HOW TO DISAPPEAR

:P

When it comes to communicating with anyone else, she has always spoken for both of us. Even if someone directs their question to me. I hesitate, and she jumps in to answer. It's just the way they are. Like how I always tied her shoes for her. I was better at it, so she never really learned. Now she just buys shoes that buckle or zip or slip on. And I don't talk.
"All you have to do is say hi," said Jenna. "Thats how we became friends, isn't it? You said hi and rest is history."
"I was five,"  I said. "I didn't know any better."
She laughed. "So, pretend you're five again. You're sitting cross-legged in the grass chewing on a popsicle stick when a girl with tragically unfortunate bangs walks out of the house across the street. She looks like somebody cut her hair with a machete. Say hi to the poor thing."
I sighed. "It's not that easy. You know how I am."
Her face filled the screen again. "It's know exactly how you are. That's why you need to do this. Or you'll spend the rest of high school alone and miserable. Hiding in the bathroom, probably." She did know me. So I promised to say hi to someone at school today. And the somebody I've selected as recipient of my greeting is Hallie Bryce. Her locker is right next to mine, which regularly puts her within earshot of whatever sound I can force from my vocal cords. I won't have to go out of my way or approach anyone. I clear my throat to make sure it's still working, and that's when I spot Hallie's gloriously perfect dancer bun gliding down the hall toward me. Immediately, my pulse is pounding in my ears.