Jenny
I stuff my books in my backpack and swing it over my shoulders. I trudge down the hallway over to Drew’s locker. “Hey Drew!” I say cheerfully. My voice is tiny and crackly. He whirls around and grins when he sees me. “Hey Jenny.” He says enthusiastically. “What’s up?” I ask casually. “Nothing much. Did you hear about all the kids getting sick?” he asks excitedly. “Yeah. It’s only four kids. That’s not a huge deal.” I remark. “But in a two day span?” Drew asks raising an eyebrow. “Maybe it’s the end of the world!” I say with fake enthusiasm. Drew shrugs and turns his attention back to his locker. He’s so cute when his blond hair is like a mop head. I smile and look at him more while he keeps collecting his books.
We walk down the hallways looking for my friends. After school, I hang out with a group of girls I know. We scream and run around and do stupid things but it’s really fun. If we’re lucky we go on crazy adventures like burying ourselves in leaves and starting snowball wars. I walk beside Drew while we search the school. “You think maybe I could get sick?” I ask hopefully. “Why would you want to get sick?” Drew asks. “If I get sick, I don’t have to go to school.” I explain grinning. Drew smiles and says nothing as we continue forward. I see my friend Katy and run over to her giving her a hug. Me and Katy run off to find our friends and Drew runs after us. Katy has big brown eyes and dark black hair. She’s short, flat-chested and dresses in black a lot. She also has a small crush on another kid named Hunter. I never told anyone but she also has problems with self-harm. We run down a concrete path with a big dip in the middle. It was filled with rain water. “It appears there is a puddle blocking our path.” Katy observes. I lean over. “Get on.” I command to her. She is tiny and only 90 pounds. She gets on my back and I give her a piggyback ride over the puddle soaking my boots.
When she gets off me, I notice a high school boy named Nick eyeing me. “Lesbian!” he calls out. He and his friends laugh. I laugh a little too. “Bitch!” Katy yells at him. “Shut up you freaks.” He teases making his friends laugh again. Katy scowls at him. “Don’t be a buttwaffle!” I shout back. They just laugh. “Let’s go.” I say before she can fight him. The two of us go inside. “Where’d Drew go?” she asked. “I dunno.” I say looking around. “You should dump him.” Katy says walking over to water fountain. I raise my eyebrows. “Middle school relationships don’t last. He’s mean sometimes.” She points out. Drew isn’t mean, he just sugarcoats stuff. I don’t mind. “I promised I wouldn’t ever dump him. I love him and he said forever.” I argued. “That’s what they all say.” She says leaning in to take a sip of water. It squirts her eyes and she shrieks. “Karma!” I yell out. I take her place by the water fountain and move my mouth as close to the faucet as possible and the water squirts into my mouth. “Nice job, Jenny.” She says with a mocking tone. I roll my eyes. My stomach rumbles. “Gah! I don’t feel good.” I say. “Ooh. Why don’t you just let Drew carry you to the nurse.” She teased. My stomach flip-flopped. “Nah. I weigh too much for that. I’m too fat.” I say even though I shouldn’t. “Yeah you are.” Katy jokes. I laugh and scowl at her cruelty. Then I vomit all over the floor. People around me laugh and point. I hear these biscuits laughing and I just close my eyes and try to block them out. They may be mean but they’re probably suffering too. I smile to myself and try to ignore them.
