Chapter 2: Chapter 2
I got distracted again, and looked at the new girl, who had now put her oboe together and was shuffling through music. She was wearing a short skirt that looked like it was barely allowed according to the dress code. As a section leader, I felt it my job to be friendly to her, even though she wasn’t in my section nor grade. I could help her feel welcome and tell her if she needed anything she could come to me.
It was just the polite thing to do, really.
After practice, by the time I put all the drummer stuff away, Becca had disappeared and I was surrounded by my fellow drummers asking me questions, so I didn’t have the chance to talk to her, but I knew I would soon enough. I went to my next class, journalism, which was my second favorite class in school. I loved writing almost as well as music, but right now drumming took first place.
As far as I was concerned, the rest of the day was pointless. I made good grades, and generally liked all my subjects, but I didn’t really fit in with the rest of my classmates, and hadn’t for years. I was very short, with long brownish-blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and a giant pair of glasses. The glasses I’d gotten two years ago, and honestly I just wasn’t a very good glasses-picker. But I soon realized many people judged me based on my glasses alone, saying I was ugly, so I continued to wear the glasses on purpose just to be a bitch. It kept the shallow people away from me. My real friends liked me for me, at least that’s what I told myself, and if anyone wanted to judge me on appearances they could just stay away. Ever since I’d gotten my first job I’d made sure to buy clothes I actually liked, like flare jeans and khakis. I felt pretty good about myself most of the time. Sometimes I felt insecure about my body, so I would exercise more or eat less to make myself feel better. I sometimes felt like I should push myself to try to have the perfect body, but perfection always eluded me, no matter what I did.
I sat quietly through the rest of my classes, not really talking to anybody, until my fifth period class, Nutrition. This was just an elective I’d picked because I didn’t know what else to do, and I refused to take any more math classes if I didn’t have to. I didn’t know how to cook, so I figured why not? As I walked in the room, I realized I was one of the few seniors there, and surprisingly I saw Becca, sitting at a table alone.
This was my chance. I felt nervous for some reason as I approached her. My heart pounded, and adrenaline rushed through my veins, but I forced a smile, and eased calm into my voice.
“Can I sit here?” I asked.
She looked up at me and nodded. “Sure.”
“I saw you in band. I’m a drummer. Have you been making it to all your classes all right?”
She nodded, and then two sophomore guys joined us at our table and we all started talking until the teacher finally interrupted. We didn’t do much besides go over the rules that first day, but I was having a much better time than I expected.
After Nutrition was lunch.
“Do you want to sit with me and my friends?” I asked Becca.
She shrugged. “Okay.”
“I’d rather get the salad bar, what about you?”
“Sounds good.”
I was more fascinated by her the more we talked, grabbing salads. Her height tricked me into feeling like she was older, but I guess two years isn’t really that big of an age difference, assuming she was fifteen. She could be sixteen. She smelled nice, I could tell that. Was her skirt really too short or were her legs just super long? I snapped out of it and scanned around for some people to sit with and saw what I was looking for: a group of band kids.
“This way.”
We sat at the crowded table.
“This is Becca,” I re-introduced her. “She’s my buddy.”
Her face reddened and she smiled as everyone started eating.
I got carried away talking with the two guys I was in a garage band with. We called ourselves The Maniacs. I noticed Becca talking to some of the others, so she was getting a good start. I thought about asking her if she needed a ride home, but that might be too much for one day, so I forgot about it.
My next class was stupid. Even though it was Honors English, it was full of the types of people who never talked to me. I found a seat in the back near a quiet, tall, brown-haired guy named Mark who I had gone to prom with last year. His face turned red as he said hi, and I smiled.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone