Experimental Magic ✔

Something Beautiful

Meadow walked the halls with her books tucked under her arm and her brown bag lunch in hand. Her first set of classes went better than she could have ever imagined. All her professors were so vibrant and passionate, she could tell how much they loved and believed in what they did. They welcomed her into the class with open arms and even asked for her opinion on the topics they discussed. It was so unlike the soulless drones at her old school who expected obedient silence and only smiled when they got to punish someone. She finally felt like she belonged. 

But then it was lunchtime and those old insecurities started creeping in again. Finding somewhere to sit in a room full of her peers intimidated her. Even though everyone had been friendly and nice, she was still the new girl. She didn't have a set group of friends like everyone else. She was completely alone. 

She watched her classmates filter in to the cafeteria, already in their own little groups. She felt like the only kid in the world who didn't have anyone to sit with. She wanted to be confident enough to walk right up to someone and ask them to let her sit with them, but she wasn't. Instead she freaked herself out and ran back to Markos's office.

Markos was sitting in his office writing up a lesson plan for a class he had right after lunch. His class was in less than an hour and he hadn't prepared a single thing. He had let the procrastination get the better of him. Again. He really needed to stop doing that. 

"Can I eat lunch in here?" 

Markos looked up from his desk to see his little sister standing shyly in the doorway. Her shoulders were slumped and tucked in. She let her hair hang over her face, using it as a shield. His face fell into a frown. He was disappointed and hurt. And he thought it was going so well. He couldn't help but wonder what happened.

"Don't you want to eat with your friends?" 

"I don't have any, remember?"

Meadow meant to sound sharp and snarky, but it came out small and sad. There was no hiding the hurt in her voice. 

Markos bit his lip as he tried to think of what to do. He was torn. He didn't want to push her away, but he also didn't want to be her safety blanket. He wanted her to get out there, have fun, make friends, get in trouble, you know, be a kid. That was never going to happen for her if he let her hide away in his office. But at the same time, he didn't want her to feel like he was throwing her into the lion's den. 

He debated whether to shield her from the world or encourage her to push herself outside of her comfort zone, and then it hit him.

"Have you met Kimi Boggan?" 

He had Kimi last semester and boy was it an experience. She was like an unstoppable ball of positive chaotic energy. She'd interrupt him about every five seconds and had side conversations constantly. He couldn't even count the number of times he held her after class to talk to her about her behavior, just for her to do the exact thing the next day. She was a handful, but she was beyond friendly, adventurous and unafraid to be herself. She was exactly the type of friend Meadow needed. 

"No," Meadow said weakly. "I don't know who that is." 

Markos sprung from his chair and ushered Meadow out of his office. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began walking her down the hall with a big smile on his face. He could already see Meadow and Kimi eating cookie dough while they dyed each others hair and swapped journaling tips. They were perfect for each other.

He scoured the halls looking for Kimi, but she was a tough one to find. She was constantly bouncing in and out of classrooms or running through the halls. He remembered what she was like in class. He could barely get her to sit still for more than five minutes.