The Pros and Cons of Being Alice Turner

Chapter 3

She didn't say anything to Alice that day, just kept glancing in her direction as Mr. Duffield lectured about mutations and 'bad science'. Alice sighed and scrawled a little note on the paper she had made into a square. She was nervous and started writing like an awkward geek.
'Hey so, I don't know when the hell you put that note in my journal, but um thanks? Your cute in a non baby way or whatever too. Do you, like wanna eat lunch together sometime?
Also, why do you want to be my friend? And are you gay? I'm asking because nobody talks to me and I'm kind of a bitch(the friend thing not about you being gay((lol))) plus, what would we talk about? Also this is Jaysus.
(heart)Alice(clover)'
Alice folded the note into a paper swan and, when the teacher had his back turned, made it crash on her desk. Alice waved with jazz fingers at Riley.
In geometry, someone handed her a note. "Um I guess this is for you? Someone gave it to me and ran off saying it was for Alice." She nodded and took the note without any emotion. It was from Riley.
'Um wow, I guess... well I have something to say. I'm gay. XD lol so I don't know why I want to be your friend, I kinda tried to explain in the first note. I don't really know you and nobody has said anything(bad or good) about you so um yeah. We could have lunch tomorrow. It depends on if you I guess, I don't know what you're like lol.
#YOLO (jk)
P.S. Jaysus can be our baby
x Riley x'
She couldn't help but crack a smile. She felt like just then everyone in the classroom gasped and stared at her; one of them yelled about the apocalypse. Really no one noticed the ghost smiling.
It went on like that for the whole week. At first it was awkward and they didn't talk much, but Alice was trying hard to be as nice as possible.
Riley wasn't as shy as she had first seemed, and that surprised Alice. They both made inappropriate jokes about sex all the time and with each joke, there seemed to be a bit of a charge in the air.
I don't enjoy this. I can't enjoy this. "Loosen up, she's not Him or the conspiring Goddess." Damn subconscious.
Friday while she danced,(she told Riley that she had to talk to a teacher) Ms. Perrin pointed out that her dancing wasn't as good as usual. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit distracted."
"Oh?" She sat down and motioned for Alice to as well. Ms. Perrin started messing with her hair, making it stand up so that all the right partially-shaved parts showed. She smiled when she got it just right.
Even as Alice began to tell the instructor what had happened and how she felt about having a friend again, something she would never tell anyone but the teacher, she kept thinking, "She's so beautiful. When she dances she's even more beautiful. If we were close age-wise, I'd probably fall in love with her, though of course I'd never say that."
"I see." Ms. Perrin said as Alice finished. "Well I think you like this girl. It's never too late to change." She smiled dazzlingly. "Just don't forget about our dance time, 'kay?" Alice nodded and stood, for once murmuring a goodbye as tears stung her eyes.
She sat outside the library and opened her notebook. Cons: on the track to fucking up my balance. She scratched out friendless on the list of cons and wrote in "some people talk to me" on her Pros section.
I don't think I'm ready to have a friend. I haven't really spoken to anyone much on a friendly basis, minus Ms. Perrin, and for all I know she could be acting; she was in a dance theatre at one point.
Either way, I know this new friend will find out just how loosely my head is screwed on and then what? She'll leave.
Alice was just changing the familiar teacher's name when she heard a voice above her. She looked up to see a question in this strangers eyes.
It was a boy. His bleach-orange hair wasn't long enough to be 'long', but it also wasn't short. It was kind of a skater's in between. He had brown eyes with little flecks of amber in them.
Alice stood and tilted her head. This wasn't a complete stranger; she felt like she'd met him before. "Um, I asked you where C hall was?" The dream. "Oh my god." She said. The boy now looked bored. "I'll ask someone else."
"Oh hell no, you're not getting away." She grabbed his arm, oblivious of her uncharacteristic behavior. "I've seen you before. You were in a crazy dream of mine." The boy raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh really?" She nodded and he sighed. "Except, your hair was darker."
"Oh." He grabbed a lock in his fingers, as if forgetting what color it was. "I did it last night. We... ran out of bleach." Seeing him act slightly insecure, Alice felt like it was her fault. "I like it." She blurted, releasing his arm.
The boy smiled slightly. "I'm Zane." Zane. "Alice." He stopped for a second, then nodded. "So was your dream in Wonderland?"
Alice frowned at the joke. "If you must know, it wasn't; it was forest. I must admit, you were a bit more self-entitled there." She smiled. Something else uncharacteristic. Zane smiled back, relaxing a bit. "Just wait a bit. I'm a completely entitled." She giggled, a genuine, girly fucking giggle.
"Alice!" A female voice said behind the boy. Riley. Alice felt her cheeks burn. "Fuck." She said aloud. He raised his eyebrow again. "Hey Riley. I was gonna go get you, but I was working on my English assignment."
"Right, yeah I was asking her where C hall was, which by the way I still haven't gotten the directions for." Zane commented. Riley quickly told him the way. "Who's that?" She asked guardedly once he'd rounded the corner. Alice shrugged. Really, she didn't know him, he just looked really fucking close to the boy in her dream.