The Cracks In Her Mirror

Chapter Three

            It wasn’t until her third day back at school that Ginger stepped foot into the school cafeteria. She dreaded it for a long time. She was scared of it. She feared having to walk through the masses with her new face. People would certainly stare and talk and maybe even point. She didn’t know how she would deal with that. She had actually put an effort into what she was wearing that day. She figured that if she was to be the subject of conversation, she might as well look decent. She wore a nice lavender cardigan and light wash jeans. Her hair had been pulled back into a sleek ponytail. As she navigated through crowds of teens, she certainly got a few looks. People shamelessly whispered and stared at her. Ginger tried her best not to care. With all of the strength she had left in her, she put on a brave face.

            It wasn’t long before Ginger found her friends. They were seated in their normal spot. It had been a large dark blue circular table filled with the school’s elite. She quickly spotted Lil and Nina sitting with Carter and a few others. Ginger was comforted by the familiar sight of the people she used to spend all of her time with.

“Hi guys,” she said with a wide smile. The smile faltered when all of their eyes turned onto her. They seemed surprised, as though they hadn’t expected her to show up. They even looked a little uncomfortable. Carter was the first one to show her anything that remotely resembled kindness.

“Hey Ginger,” he spoke, “Sit down. We missed you around here.” She gave him a closed mouthed smile and sat down in the round seat beside him. The rest of the people at the table greeted her short after. Then it got quiet. It was a torturous kind of silence as people at the table exchanged awkward looks and avoided staring in Ginger’s direction. Ginger wanted to get up and walk away. She had never felt more unwelcome in her life. The only reason she stuck around was because she figured that if she couldn’t be comfortable around her friends then she wouldn’t be comfortable with anyone. She thought that if they could get past this initial awkwardness, everything would be okay. She just had to see it through. After some thought, Ginger cleared her throat.

“I can see out of both my eyes,” she informed them, “…In case any of you were wondering.” The boy sitting across from her seemed slightly amused.

“Good to know,” he said. Ginger nodded. He was a regular member of their crew, but for some reason Ginger never remembered his name. It was something simple like John or Jake. Lil and Nina glanced at each other inconspicuously but Ginger still noticed.

“I really like your shirt,” Ginger nodded towards Nina, “It’s a pretty color.”

“Thanks,” she replied, “I stole it from my sister.” Lil grinned, and just like that, a conversation began. They spoke about clothes and school gossip that Ginger new nothing about. She tried to smile but for some reason, the conversation felt forced on her part. She felt like she was an outsider in her own group of friends.

            She didn’t know if it was because she looked different. It shouldn’t have changed anything. She was still the same person she always had been on the inside, for the most part anyway. It was the way they looked at her that had changed. Her friends used to worship her and she loved it. They went to her for advice on everything and seemed both to envy her and admire her at the same time. Now, they avoided looking at her and only responded to her when she addressed them directly. Nevertheless, she was determined to get things back to normal. She wanted her old life back and she was going to take it.

            A boy that went by the name of Cleavon approached the table minutes later with a red tube of lipstick in his hand. He seemed nervous. Nina looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain why he was standing before her. Cleavon dressed in green plaid pants and a checkered blouse. He had thin rimmed glasses and he wore his long hair slicked back with jell. He was a walking punch line. Ginger almost felt bad for him in the presence of all of these judgmental people, which was a new feeling because she had usually been the one passing the judgment.