Rainbow Daydreamer

Chapter Two

Later that afternoon after Cassie had left Gwen decided go for a walk. It was a nice crisp autumn day and she wanted to take advantage of it before the cold really set in. She grabbed her favorite purple hoodie with a gold logo that read, Stay Calm and daydream, put on her sneakers and headed for the front door.
"I'm going out for a little while," Gwen relayed to her mother who was sitting in the living room pouring over copious amounts of paper work.
Her mother looked up, "Sure sweetie but please be back in time for dinner. Your father is coming home early and would like us to have a family dinner for a change"
"No problem Mom", Gwen said already halfway out the door, "Love you!" She called and proceeded down the driveway.
Gwen looked as much like her parents as water did a mountain; in other words not at all. Her mother was short with light brown hair and brown eyes. Gwen's dad was tall, blonde and a little heavy set. And Gwen? Well she was somewhere right in the middle. Not too tall, average weight and a lot of red curly hair. Her eyes were sapphire blue and her face was covered in freckles, she inherited these from her grandmother.
Her older brother Danny and little sister Jess were the spitting image of their father and mother. People always joked that Gwen was adopted. She wasn't.
She turned down a side street and headed to the park near her house, her feet crunching dead leaves everywhere she stepped. Gwen didn't notice, she was lost in thought.
Why, she wondered, am I so different than Cassie? They looked, talked and acted so differently from each other.
Cassie was tall, very slim and big chested, especially for a 14 year old girl. She loved glitter and makeup. And was forever obsessed with boys. Whereas Gwen was nerdy, loved books, (Gwen wasn't even sure Cassie read books outside of school), and preferred hoodies and jeans to dresses and skirts. Not that Gwen was a tomboy, she just really loved her hoodies.
Gwen and Cassie had been friends for years now although she wasn't sure as to why. Cassie never missed an opportunity to put Gwen down or laugh at her for her love of Magic Daydreamers or any other thing she liked for that matter. She'd even criticize Gwen for not actively seeking a boyfriend.
And Gwen did have a boyfriend for a few weeks last year. They'd kissed and everything. But like all 13 year old romances it was over quickly. There was just no chemistry between them.
When it really came down to it, Gwen just felt, well, different. Like there was an unseen force separating her from all the other girls at the school. But Gwen really didn't know what it was.
As she made her way into the park she looked around and saw her.
And Gwen knew she had the answer to her own question.