What Makes You Special (The Story of a Cell Phone Mixup)

Chapter One: In Trouble

"I can't believe that it's the last day of school! I'm super excited for vacation."

Heather grinned like an idiot as we walked to our respective classes. As long as I had known Heather, and that was at least ten years, she had never been discreet about anything. She was always enthusiastic and a little over excited about everything.

"Yeah, I am too," I said slowly as I brushed my hair out of my eyes. "but then it'll be over and we'll be back in school again."

"I know." She gushed. "But next year will be different. We're going to be Juniors. Oh my gosh, isn't that amazing, Kyla?"

I laughed. "You say that every year, Heather."

"No I don't. It isn't every year that we get to be Juniors in high-school." She pointed out.

"Fine!" I said, but I smiled has I raised my hands in surrender.

"Whoops! I almost walked by my English classroom. See ya for lunch!" Heather smiled and waved before she opened the door and walked in to class.

As I walked down the hall to my classroom, I thought about how lucky I was to have someone like Heather for a best friend. It wasn't because she was the most popular girl in school, but because she was the sweetest and the funniest. Of course, most people wouldn't have thought that those characteristics would have gone with the popularity; but if you threw that together with her platinum-blonde hair, her deep blue eyes, her beautiful face and her 5'6" model-worthy figure, it all made sense. I was popular in my own right, but with the cheer-leading captain, Heather Evans, behind me, I was easily the second most popular girl in the school. Most people wouldn't have thought that a Sophomore could be cheer-leading captain, but they clearly didn't know Heather. Becoming captain had been as easy for her as rolling off a log.

I sighed. I wished that I was as pretty as my best friend. I would admit that I was pretty with my sparkling green eyes and wavy brown hair and I did have a figure, but nothing could make up for the fact that I was, well, short. I was 5'2" and I knew that I would forever be 5'2"; world without end, amen. Besides, I could never be as pretty as Heather. She was gorgeous and that's all there was to it. Sometimes I wondered if the reason I'd never had a date had to do with the fact that I was always in Heather's shadow. Guys would get interested in me and then they would meet my best friend. I didn't blame her because she didn't do it intentionally. In fact, had she realized what was going on, she would have been horrified. But I really didn't care. Dating would probably mess up my life anyway.

I checked my watch. 9:15. Great, I was ten minutes late for my Biology class. My teacher was going to kill me! I opened the door and---

"Sanchez?!" Mrs. Howard yelled, right on cue. I swear she didn't know I had a first name!

"Sorry, Mrs. Howard." I mumbled as I sat down.

"Detention! One hour after school in the Cafeteria!"

"Detention?! But it's the last day of school!"

"Like I care! Detention, Sanchez, after school!"

"Whatever." I muttered to myself, and I pointedly ignored all the smirks and curious glances that other students were giving me.

Detention on the last day of school was unheard of. I mean, what normal teacher would ever do that?

"A whole hour of my summer vacation down the drain!" I thought bitterly to myself. I admitted that it was possibly a little bit too dramatic, but I didn't care. Mrs. Howard and I had never been 'bosom pals', and today was just another example of how nasty she could get.

"I think I just broke a school record for getting into trouble." I said under my breath. I was pretty surprised with myself. "Well, there's a first. Too bad I can't get into the 'Guinness Book of World Records' for it!"