Setting Up 1D

I've been starving ever since English after a kid named Vinnie talked about how food was part of his life. If you're wondering what I said in English, let's just say it wasn't very interesting to most people. It was more comedic than informal if you asked me.

Anyway, after English, and Science, I put my backpack inside my locker, and went over towards the cafeteria to get myself something to eat. I got myself a tray as I waited in line, seeing people have a fun time as they ate their food.

"Hi, um can I have that-" I said, being cut off by the lunch lady as she poured slop all over my tray. How kind of her to do that. She didn't even tell me what I wanted, she just poured, this! I preferred salad than this but, we can't all get what we want now can we?

I looked around the cafeteria, looking for some place to sit. I walked over towards an empty seat beside some people, placing my tray as one of the people sitting there put their feet on the chair, so I wouldn't be able to sit there. I picked up my tray and headed to another place, more and more people telling me that it was taken or that I couldn't sit there. They even shooed me away from them, as if I was a fly or something. The whole cafeteria was already occupied and I didn't know what to do now. I tried to go eat some place else, but the person in charge told me that I wasn't allowed to leave. So that's how I ended up eating beside the trash can. I looked at people who pointed to me, seeing them laugh for how pathetic I must be. It didn't fuss, I mean who else would be sitting here? Me of course.

"Hi there," I heard an Irish accent say, looking up to see the weird, mystery girl who disappeared in English class. She's back?

"So, how's it going?" she asked, sitting beside me as she got out some crisps from her paper lunch bag.

"Fine, I guess?" I responded as she nodded her head at me. Her messy hair was finally tide up into a nice braid, already being able to look at her face, which was covered with nothing, no make up or anything. She had a few freckles on her rosy cheeks, and big brown or hazel eyes that were filled with curiosity. She looked, actually, very pretty, which I for one know that all the boys are going to be falling for her, while the popular girls try to brainwash her with their gossip and their way of thinking. Why is she even trying to be friends with me in the first place?

"Do you have any friends?" I asked her curiously, seeing a smile grow in her face as she began to laugh.

"Yeah, I do! Those kids named Greg, Kenny or as they call him "Kellogg", Henry, and Ferdinand in the table over there." said Jade, pointing to the jocks at the right side of the lunch room.

"Dulce, Riley, and Gene right there." she said, pointing at the hipsters and punks right behind the tough bullies.

"Marcel and Don," pointing to the nerds right behind the populars.

"Salma," pointing at the foreign student.

"Oh and Mackenzie!" she said happily, pointing to the girl at the corner of the room who was all alone eating an orange while reading her book. She's the girl people referred to her as bookworm.

"Okay, so out of all your friends today, you just had to come and eat with me?" I said to her surprised since I can't even make one friend in a year. Imagine a day!

"Well, yeah! You seemed lonely and I decided to sit next to you. Is there something wrong about eating with you?"

"No, no. Just weird." I said awkwardly.

"You expected to have the most horrible day today didn't you?" she said as I shrugged. She seems to know about my expectations more than me.

"I don't get it why people can be so negative these days!" Jade said, taking a sip from her juice box.

"Anyway, I bet your wondering why I never came back to class, right? Well, the secretary kept me in after I called my dad, and I don't know why she didn't let me back out." Jade said, munching on her crisps.

"Why did you have to call your dad?" I asked shyly.

"I left my inhaler at home and I had problem breathing in class,"

"You have asthma?" I said to her surprised.

"Oh yeah, had it since last year. My dad has it as well so the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree." she said, continuing to sip on her juice box. That explains why she started to breathe as if she was about to cry.

"Oh," I said, poking at what looks like macaroni and cheese, or Alfredo pasta

"What's that?" she asked me, pointing at the slop on my plate.

"I have no clue!"

"Well, seems like it's breathing." she said, squinting her eyes at the pasta, poking it with my fork.

"Your not going to eat that, right?" she said as I shook my head at her.

"Of course not! I'd rather starve than eat this." I said as she laughed.

"Your funny, I'm Jade, Jade Horan." she said, shaking my hand eagerly.

"I kinda knew that," I said as she handed me over some crisps from her lunch bag.

"Losers!" We heard a girl say as I shrugged with embarrassment.

"We might be losers, but at least I'm not a twig with no bum!" Jade replied back as the whole school looked at Jade, surprised at what she said.

"Well at least I'm fit-"

"Fit? Ha! A stick is fatter than you," said Jade laughing, most of the people in the cafeteria beginning to laugh as well.

She might not be so bad after all.

We both got up from the floor, seeing people crowd Jade as they all gave her a high five or a thumbs up for her comeback on that bitch.

"This is what I mean by giving a chance to everything! You don't always have to be negative." said Jade as we headed out of the cafeteria. Maybe she's right? Maybe I do have to give everything a chance, but then again, not all happy endings exist. In her world she probably lived all happy and carefree like nothing is going to harm her at all! She probably has a mum and a dad beside her, probably 24/7, a dog and a brother who seem to love her a lot! While I have a mum who travels nonstop, and a dad who rarely talks to me and a brother who hates my guts! She seems to be living the dream! I wanted to say that to her straight out, even scream it at her face, but I didn't want to ruin my chance of making a friend.

"Well it isn't easy for some people," I mumbled as Jade's friends came over to her, saying things like "That sassing you did to her was awesome!" or "That made me laugh!" and "OMG LOL!". While they kept saying things like that to her, I was being shoved away from my only friend. Jade doesn't seem to need me, I mean she's becoming like a popular person, and before you'll know it, she won't even remember who I am.

I walked over towards my locker, getting my things out from there, even my comic book as well, as some popular girls came out from the girls bathroom. Trying to ignore them as much as possible, I pretended to be busy in my locker, sticking my head inside it. I didn't know what else could do! But out of nowhere a girl "accidentally" spilled her drink all over me!

"Sorry, comic geek!" said a red head with too much red lipstick as she pushed me onto the floor, laughing with her other little friends. A brunette with messed up short hair and a blonde with medium length hair, seeing the blonde look back at me sincerely. She mouthed I'm sorry to me as she continued to walk with her other friends.

This is great! I've barely made a friend today but at least I know that I've made three enemies today. Now I have a huge stain on my shirt! Can iced coffee stain clothing?

I walked into the bathroom to clean myself up as I grabbed paper towels, trying to take the stain off my shirt. I knew it was a bad idea to not bring a sweater to school! Now my only white shirt has a huge coffee stain! I got out of the bathroom as I tried to find a lost sweater in the lost and found, but the only thing that I found was a bulky knitted sweater that a guy must've lost. Better than nothing right?

I walked through the halls, seeing people point at me as slight giggles whispered across the school, feeling as if I was being haunted by their laughter. Hearing all the laughter made we want to hide from everyone, hide from all this humility, from the pain...

I quickly went walking over towards the library, the only place where I could actually let myself go, walking in between the bookshelves covered with different types of books, looking in between the spaces between the books where people spoke quietly. I should be in P.E already, but skipping a class never hurt anybody, not even the people hurting me. The library was pretty big, I mean it also had more books downstairs, but this part of the library seemed so peaceful.

Nobody here to say how ridiculous I look, nobody here to laugh at me, no one here to make me feel useless, just me.

I looked around, reading the titles of some books as I tried to find for a place to read this comic book I found, until I saw a girl laying on the ground. Her hair laid across the floor as she read a familiar book I saw earlier this morning.

"Um, hi?" I said softly as she looked up at me, fear in her eyes.

"Oh I'm so sorry! Just....uh lost track of time! I'll be...erm in the gym shortly!" she said, startled as she grabbed her bag, got up and was about to leave the library.

"No! I wasn't sent by the gym teacher." I said to her as she looked at me, confused.

"Then, why...are you...erm here?" she said, settling her things down onto the floor.

"Just to get away from all the drama," I said as she nodded her head at me, sitting back onto the floor to read her book again.

"So, what are you reading?" I asked, her green eyes looking at me skeptically.

"Um...Beautiful Darkness...."

"Well, that's cool!" I said to her happily as she continued to read, trying to ignore me.

"Look, Mackenzie-"

"Mackenzie is what adults call me, I prefer Mack," she corrected me.

"Okay, Mack, look I'm sorry that I treated you horribly this morning. It's just that-"

"You didn't want to be treated horribly from those girls, I understand..." Can she read minds or something?

"But still, if I didn't do anything then that just makes me a bad person." I told her as she shook her head.

"No it doesn't, it just makes you human," she said as I gave her an odd look. What did she mean by that?

"Well, human or not, I was still a bad person." I repeated to her as she smiled. Her cheeks showing two dimples on both side.

"Okay then, your forgiven?" she said awkwardly, beginning to laugh.

Maybe we are alike to each other.

"I'm Sonny," I said to her as she shook my hand.

"Mack, so were you having a rough day too?" she asked me, pointing to my bulky sweater.

"Yeah, I got a coffee stain from that red head girl who said that she "accidentally" spilled her coffee all over me." I said, lifting up my sweater to show her the stain.

"Wow, that's pretty mean. Well, I got pushed in the halls by some girls and when I fell, I hit myself on the wall..." she said, showing me her bruise that she got on her forehead. Ouch!

"That must hurt!"

"No really?" she said sarcastically, putting her book down.

"So, is your hair normally that curly or do you curl it yourself?" I asked her, leaning against the bookshelf.

"It's naturally like that," she said, twirling her hair.

"I'm thinking of straightening it tomorrow." Mack said, seeming disgusted with her hair.

"Alright," I said as I spotted something weird on her wrist. Is that a bandage?

"What's that?" I asked her, pointing to the white band-aid wrapped around her wrist.

"Oh...uh...it's nothing..." she said, pulling her sleeves down which made me wonder even more on what it was.

"Were you doing a sport or something?" I said, knowing that boxers get those type of pains on their wrists.

"Um...well you can say that," she said, seeming as if she was trying to hide something from me.

"So...did you make any friends?" Mack asked curiously, as I slightly nodded my head at her.

"I know that this girl Jade wants to be my friend but, I don't know?" I answered, seeing her shrug.

"I rarely paid attention to people who wanted my attention, but that girl Jade seemed nice..." she said, getting an orange from her backpack.

"Don't we have to go a do an elective?" she asked me as I nodded my head at her, pulling out a paper somebody gave me during Science class.

"There's drama, music, cheer, sports, mathematic decathlon, gardening, and so much more...." I said, seeing her give more attention to the orange than me.

"Well then, I'll stay here and read." she responded, eating the orange.

"Why? Doesn't anything seem interesting to you?" I told her as she shrugged.

"I don't know? They sorta do but I'd rather stay here." she said simply, understanding her reasons of staying in the shadows, but realising that I can't stay here. I promised Mum that I'd try to do something, and I can't break that promise.

"Well, come with me to an elective class!" I said begged as she shook her head.

"Like I said, I'd rather stay here and be left invisible for the rest of the school year..." she said, removing strands of her hair away from her face.

"Okay then, I guess this is goodbye?" I said, getting up from the floor, seeing her give me a weak smile.

"I'm guessing? It was nice meeting you before, well you changed. It was fun while it lasted!" she said innocently, her dimples showing off.

"It was nice meeting you too, before...you turn into just another memory." I said, walking away from her as I headed out the library. What did she mean by "before I changed?" I mean, yeah everybody changes because of growing up but what did she mean by that?

Anyway, I got out of the library and headed towards a few electives I thought might be fun. First elective, music. I got near the door of the music hall, and I expected the music to be classical, relaxing, but the only music I heard was the sound of screaming, and out-of-tune instrument playing coming from the classroom. I peaked my head into the room and I saw people fooling around, throwing paper airplanes, talking, and a few people trying to learn how to play an instrument. I saw the teacher sitting in his chair, reading a magazine as if nothing was going on. The teacher must've gave up on teaching kids music a long time ago, because he seemed to have this whole relaxing gig all planned out for him.

So music is out of my list.

Next up, cooking! I walked over towards the room where the elective was held, and I began to smell the sweet, creamy, aroma of food coming out of the room. I looked into the window, and saw people putting trays in the oven, waiting for the food to be finished.

This class doesn't seem so bad! That was until the teacher announced that they'll be having a test on kitchen safety rules, which didn't seem to grab my attention, so cooking was off my list.

Last but not least, cheerleading...

Yeah I know it doesn't seem like I would make it, but I like to dance and do gymnastics! Got that trait from my mum. But it's worth a try to actually make new friends from people out of my status quo, and to do something I actually enjoy! I went into the gym, and I saw girls in the bleachers, waiting to try out for the cheerleading squad.

"Um, bitches aren't allowed here!" I heard a voice say, turning around to see the red head back.

Oh great!

"Yeah, and by the way, what's with the sweater?" said one of her little friends, laughing at my appearance. I opened my mouth to say something to her, but now words came out. I was silent...

"If your not here to try out for the team, then I think that you should get your ass out of here!" said the same red head, pointing to the door. I knew cheerleading was a bad idea! I quickly did as I was told and left, roaming the halls to see if anything else seemed fun, but nothing seemed interesting to me.

I'm not an artist, I'm not writer, I'm not a genius, I'm not an actress, or an athlete, so what else is there for me to do?

Maybe Mack was right, maybe I should've just stayed with her in the library, talking and reading about nonsense. Now that seemed fun, but I'm guessing I ruined my chances for that too...

Notes

****Jell-o!
Okay, so quick questions, who's your fav character so far?
Does Sonny remind you of anybody?
Why did Jade really leave the classroom?
Please comment and vote!