Barren school hallways always creep me out, and they’re empty hallways except for that one girl that was left behind after the lunch bell rang, and everyone dashes from their seats like angry piranhas. And when you step on the shiny floor it looks like it’s a sea and your drowning, but all that’s just an illusion, just like pushing open big heavy doors that lead to the cafeteria where the animals all sit down for lunch. You see that girl over there? No. Not her with the silky gold hair, and silent blue eyes. Not the girl who every guy in the world would love to be with. Not her, the girl behind her. With big bulky glasses because her mom won’t let her get contacts, and the green eyes that look like moss on a tree, and she’s holding a book up under her nose. That girl, behind the ridiculously fabulous girl, is me. Although most people tend not to see me; my invisibility is a cloak I don’t wear with pride.

I sat alone, eating my low-carb apple flavored pudding, not bothering to look up when I got hit in the back with something unpleasant. I could hear that ridiculously fabulous girl chatting animatedly about the shoes she’s going to buy. I don’t get why people would even care about that, but even if they didn’t, they pretended like they did.

“Yeah, Daddy’s going to get me some hot pink pumps with gold lace and trim. They look fabulous.” she stressed out the word with a lisp everyone ignored.

“Ohmigosh Jessica!” So that was her name… “I can’t wait to see them!”

“Yeah. I know. They’re totally designer brand.”

“Which designer?” a girl asked. Her hair was bleached extremely obviously, and her nose looked the same as Jessica’s…

“Does it even matter? The point is that I’m rich enough to get hot shoes that Madonna probably wore!”

“I really doubt your daddy can afford shoes that hot.” I mumbled under my breath. With no one to talk to my self-babble got quite uncontrollable at times.

“Wow you’re so lucky!” everyone cooed over Jessica and her soon to be shoes, even though she didn’t even have them yet. People were so into material things.

When you’re our age, and finally Juniors in high school, things start to stand out even more then they did when you were in kindergarten. Back then it was “Can I borrow your crayons?” now its “Can I borrow your car?” The worst we did was steal crayons, not boyfriends. That’s why I choose to fly solo. But of course, Jessica and every other girl didn’t see it that way.

Just yesterday there was a cat fight in the hall because some girl’s boyfriend broke up with her for someone else. Honestly, if he liked you he wouldn’t have broken up with you? But people these days just don’t care. They’re all about reputation. Your reputation is your name. That’s my problem; I don’t have a reputation, so I don’t have a name.

“It’s not so bad being alone, I mean… no stress or anything besides homework and test. Sure if I was rich like her I’d have friends but they wouldn’t be real friends, they’d just be brain washed zombies… or actual zombies like from Diary of the Dead!” I used to have someone to talk to, but then mom got a job so I was back to being alone again. I’ve always been a loner, it’s not that bad especially since I’ve moved a few times and I never really had to say goodbye to anyone except for the neighbors.

When the bell finally rang I made sure I was the first one out of the cafeteria. No point in being late for class, right? I was still reading my book, not looking where I was going when BAM that punk ran into me, making me drop all of my stuff on the floor.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Here let me help you!”

“No it’s fine… I got it.”

“To late.” I saw a messy mop of hair that was obviously a boy’s way of saying he over slept. A minute later I was staring into warm brown eyes, that reminded me of melted chocolate over a stove. “Here.” He said handing my books.

“Uh thanks.” I muttered walking away, but he followed.

“ Are you new here?” His rich voice questioned and caught me off guard as I turned around and saw him following me.

“No. I’ve been coming here since 9th grade.”

“I’ve never seen you around before.”

“No one has…” I muttered to myself.

“What?”

“I said then you must not pay much attention.”

“Is that so?”

“Apparently.”

“Well how about I make it up to you. Coffee, me, you, after school?” Was he really trying to ask me out on a date. Please. I’m not Jessica, I don’t need a boy, and boys don’t even look twice at me.

“Sorry. Can’t. Loved to. Busy. Bye.” I told him quickly, walking away.

I heard him laugh to himself, “See you around.”