We Are Infinite

o n e

m i a / o n e

I'm not big on believing in fate. Destiny, kismet, the whole lot of it sounds like a load of sugarcoated exaggerations. I don't believe that we have one life to live, and that during that set period of time, however long it may be, we are meant to meet some people.

I'd rather we set out on a search, a mission of sorts, and design the life we want. There's no name on your wrist, the name of your other half. You've got to find someone and make them yours.

This is what I've always believed, and it's what I'm telling myself as I catch a glimpse of someone I'd rather not cross paths with. I duck my head lower into my hoodie, my eyes scrutinizing the ground as I try not to make eye contact with the boy standing across from me.

Life has dealt me some pretty difficult cards. I am aware that some people have it much worse, but it does suck to be me sometimes.

If you're pretty, you're supposed to be heartless. This is what's been drilled into my head by Mom, ever since I was eleven or twelve, and things like outward appearances and physical features began to matter. I was told that when you're pretty, the world falls at your feet, and when the world falls at your feet, you have everyone wrapped around your little finger . . . So tight, that if ever unraveled, it would have left a red welt around your finger.

There must be a flaw in my code, though. I see the way the more popular, more outgoing girls at school are, the way they shrug off admirers and throw away roses. I also see the way smitten boys look at them, the way their faces are slightly shadowed with hurt when their feelings get discarded.

I'm not blind, but I'm also not the type of girl that Mom used to think I'd be.

So when Kade Lawson, son of the schools principal Mrs Lawson and all-time leading scorer of the schools soccer team, unexpectedly falls for you, life gets pretty hard. I duck into the door of my Biology class, breathing out a sigh of relief when I see that Kade has given up and is walking to the opposite end of school now.

It's only as I'm sliding into my seat in class, that I realize he's not given up at all. A huge bouquet of red roses lay on my desk, with a tiny note. I allow myself to skim over the words, but just barely, thereafter chucking it in the bin.

The handwritten words on the page are asking me to meet with Kade by the bleachers, after soccer practice, which is one thing I am most definitely not going to agree upon. I sigh, nevertheless flipping open my Bio textbook while I wait for the class to fill up.

When Mr Grayson walks in, his eyebrows are drawn together in a frown, a look of bafflement my classmates and I are common with. However, this time, it's directed at me.

"Mia Lynch? The principal wants to see you in her office. Now, please." Mr Grayson catches my look of perplex, and shakes his head. "I don't know what it's about."

I walk to the principals office, wondering what could be happening. I've never been called to the office before. It's not that I'm a good, rule-abiding student, it's more that I'm more in the shadows. Less known. I'm just another face, in a crowd of unknowns.

Mrs Lawson looks ticked off. Her expression is taut, thin lips pulled into a grimace, but it's as if she's attempting to keep her composure. This scene unfolds like a movie, in front of me, and as Mrs Lawson goes on to tell me that she'd like it if I accepted her sons offer to go on a date with him, I begin wondering what alternate universe I've stepped into.

. . .

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