Random Bits of My Brain

The Secret to Ultimate Happiness

"The one who laughs the loudest is also the one who cried the hardest."

Alicia's P.O.V

As I finished the punch line, I watched as everyone laughed. Pleased at my "rule", as Michael my long time boyfriend calls it, I smirked in satisfaction. 

Until my eyes landed on the new girl.

Bianca. 

She was looking over at me, her lips twisted a little, eyebrows furrowed, and disapproval clear in her eyes. 

Tearing my eyes from hers, I scowled and huffed. 

I don't understand what Nathan, Michael's brother, saw in her. What made her so special that he, himself personally, invited her to the table and sat next to her. The contrast between them was almost shocking. He was the tall and blonde, she is frumpy and mouse-haired. He was outgoing and joking, she was an introvert to the extreme and had a habit of just staring at people, as though she could see through their soul. 

Ugh! Something about her just got on my nerves, whether it was the way she surveyed everyone or the way everyone just blatantly accepted her. She rubbed me the wrong way, and I just know that I can't let my guard down, even for a second. If I did, she'd know all my secret. 

About before.

"Ali!" I was shook out of my reverie by my friend, Megan. I know, I know, how incredibly cliche. The blonde cheerleader with the even more blonde (brain wise) sidekick called, almost always, Megan. But Megan and I have been friends since preschool, when she decided that my brother's friend could suck her ass and poured her juice on his head when he tried stealing my candy from my lunchable. Although she wasn't that bright, she is the best friend a girl can have. I will always remember the times she let me stay over when things got out of hand.

"Yeah, Meg?" I asked semi-boredly. Although she sounded over-excited and a little breathless, I figured it was just two ants fighting like last time. 

"Bianca's standing up to Manny!" At her words, my head sprang up from staring at my sandwich. At first, all I saw was Megan's curled blonde ponytail but when I looked around her, I saw Bianca's mousy hair leaning towards the school bully, Manny. And you do NOT want to mess with him. Standing at 6"9 and weighing almost 250 lbs, even I stood clear of him. If not for the fact he and Michael were teamates on the football team, I would just never see him at all. But there she was, the 5"5 girl, leaning towards him, her shoulders tense and her finger jabbing the air barely an inch from Manny's eyes. 

Straining my ears a little, I could make out words like, "someone your size...steroids...bully...muscles...fuck off...JESUS!" Then, Bianca spun on her heels, leaving a wide-eyed Manny behind her. She turned to a tall and lanky mess of a guy kneeling on the floor picking up what looked like scetchbooks and an assortment of different sized black pens. Bending down, she whispered something into his ear and handed him a couple pens. Focusing even harder, I realized that Bianca was helping up Marcus, the school creepy with his habit of lurking around corners, drawing black and white designs, and never smiling. So imagine my surprise when as she finished saying something, he laughed and blushed.  

Glancing around the table, I saw that everyone was entirely focused on Bianca's little act of kindness and I wasn't the only one with wide eyes. Suddenly, Megan gasped again. Snapping my head up, I saw that Manny was done standing to the side and was striding over to Bianca. Tapping the little brunette on the shoulder, he glared at her down his nose. Standing up instantly, she poked him in the chest again, giving him an upward head tilt. It was quite comical, really. There was more than a whole foot height difference and watching them was like a pixie flitting around a giant. But apparently, her poking was working as Manny slowly backed up again and she continued her lecturing. 

Soon getting tired of her antics, I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my seat, trying my best not to care how everyone else in the crew was completely infactuated with the short brunette. I didn't know, understand, or even care to understand what's so special about her.

What I did know is that I was going to have a talk with her. 

A serious one. 

Bianca's P.O.V

Ever since Nathan invited me to sit with them, I could tell that Alicia hated me.

Though I still remember how adorably awkward he was.

I know he must feel awkward, considering I uncovered his biggest secrets minutes within meeting him. I know that it's intrusive to just ask people why they're so sad, but I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to help.  

My caretaker had taught me that the ones who laugh the loudest are also the ones that have criest the hardest. It didn't take long for me to uncover the secrets of already half the school. Perks of being an angel I guess...

Sitting at the table during lunch, I listen carefully to Alicia tell the story of how she got the pizza boy to give her free pizza for a month just because she claimed she didn't have money. As everyone laughed and high fived her, I pursed my lips in disapproval and gently shook my head. Removing my eyes from her, I look around the courtyard to see that Marcus from my art class was being harrassed. 

Without a second thought, I swung my legs around the edge of the bench much to Nathan's protests. Stalking over to the large shape hovering over Marcus, I tapped on his shoulder. Fustrating me, the guy merely shrugged me off, with a growl. "Hands off," before he continued bothering Marcus. 

Clearing my throat, I poked him harder, I said, "hey big guy. If you're like this, I wonder how big your mama is." At my provocation, he turned, a scowl clear in each line of his face. The second he was fully faced towards me, I swung a tightly closed fist out, aiming at his stomach. "Haven't you ever heard the Golden Rule?!" I screamed, pointing my finger in his face and waving it around. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! Would you like me to follow you around bullying you? Thought not! And how are you so big anyway? Steroids?! Wouldn't surprise me!" 

Leaving a shocked guy who I knew as Manny behind, I turn to Marcus and lean forward to whisper in his ear. "Doesn't he look like one of the orcs from Lord of the Rings?" Marcus chuckles nervously and quickly flips to a page of his notebook with the logo for Lord of the Rings on it before clasping it shut and continuing to shove various black pens into his case.

Feeling a small but firm tap on my shoulder, I turn to see that Manny has finally snapped out of his daze and was now glaring at me, a supposedly menacing look on his face. In my opinion, he looked vaguely constipated. "Listen here, little girl--" Manny began but was rudely cut off by me. 

"Oh buddy you are NOT going there!" I say, getting all up in his face again. Another lesson I learned is that in order to survive, you must not be weak. Weakness is your biggest enemy, not the man or woman you're facing off. As I continue to lecture him, I let a small amount of Shine to come through. Not nearly enough to fully change him, he must do that himself. Just enough to make him open to the idea of coming out of the closet and stop intimidating others using his physical attributes. 

Finally, Manny grabbed my finger and after taking a look at my upraised eyebrow, he dropped it and left. Shrugging, I turn back to Marcus and hand him his last pen. "See you in art!" I saw cheerfully before prancing back to the lunch table. 

As I sat down, I grabbed my sandwhich before looking up and around to see that everyone was staring at me with awe. "Sooo," I say, breaking the silence. "What's up his ass?"

Everyone burst out laughing. Everyone except for Alicia, that is. 

Noticing my stare, she pursed her lips before mouthing, "Bathroom. Now." Nodding, I quickly bade Nathan goodbye before packing up.

I had a feeling I've been found out.