“Alright” Wheein said happily. Maybe this would be her first friend. She and Joy arrived at the classroom together. “Thank you so much!” She thanked the other with a bright smile as she walked in and took a seat. Seated almost directly in the middle of the class room another girl greeted her. “Hey I’m Amber and you must be... new here” she chuckled at her own joke and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you I’m Wheein.” The teacher had the class settle down and gave the usual first day lecture.
for the entire duration of the walk to class, joy tried to listen to what Wheein was saying about moving to a new school but her mind kept wondering to her former best friend. this was supposed to be "their year". the year they became the women they'd always talked about being. as she half-minded the new girl she couldn't help but wish with all of her heart that it was Monica by her side. Getting to the class, joy sat at the back of the classroom, a contrast to her usual seating choice; at the front, center of attention. as the lecture went on she forced back tears think of the horrible accident that alternated her plans of this year. once class was over the emotionally overcome girl fleed from the classroom to bathroom where she quickly fixed her makeup and checked her phone for any messages. "how are you holding up", read the message from her boyfriend, Ryan. she read the message and shoved her phone back into the purse. as she exited the bathroom she bumped into the girl from the office. "I know youre new and don't know your way around but this is my walkway and I'd appreciate it if you'd stay out of it" She harshly said to the girl before rushing away.
Wheein stood their silently before walking off to her next class. She was late as expecting since she didn’t have any help from the girl she thought would be her new “friend”... guess not. As she was listening to the teacher talk she got a little sad, thinking about her old school, old house, even her old friends. She left everything behind for her fathers new job. It was difficult to pay attention but she found a way. Amber was luckily in this class too so she helped her with directions to the rest of her classes. Wheein was always a ball of sunshine once people got to know her, it was becoming difficult to stay positive on her first day. She heard the whispers from other students about her being the new kid. It hurt some of the comments, a few guys even made some pretty sexually suggestive comments as well.
joy had hid in her car all morning smoking weed from a small pipe she'd gotten from Monica for her birthday the previous year. crying and screaming the lyrics to Monica's sappy indie playlist seemed to be therapeutic for the troubled girl. seeing it was lunch time, joy knew it was time to pull it together. lunch was the most important 30 minutes of the day. the time where all gossip and news were to be exchanged. where social hierarchy was to be fully enforced. where everyone waited to see how the most popular girl in school was holding up after her best friend died. slipping on sunglasses and spraying herself with perform she got out of the car and confidently walked into the cafeteria using the fact that all eyes were on her a booster. she grabbed a bottle of water from the vending machine and quickly took her place at a secluded table with Ryan at the back of the cafeteria. not wanting him to pick up on her weakened state she kissed him and divulged in small talk for what felt like hours.
Once the bell rang for lunch Wheein walked alone to the lunch room. She couldn’t help but be sad, the smile she once had on her face was gone. She looked blank but her eyes spoke for her. she was extremely sad and missed her old life. Reaching into her bag she grabbed her wallet and took out the little bit of money she had left. Walking over to the lunch line she bought herself a slice of pizza and a coke. Taking a seat alone at an empty table. She saw a girl waving at her and gesturing for her to sit at their table. It was that same Amber girl from before. She hesitantly stood up and walked over to them. Amber introduced all of her friends to Wheein. She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. Shy once again but happy.
joy scanned the room and played a game her and Monica used to play their freshman year when they were nobodies. they'd look around and choose people they'd rather be. it was silly but it gave them hope and passed time. today, she'd rather be anyone else other than herself. she caught the eye of the new girl from the morning and noticed that she had already made a friend, a genuine one. something about the connection they seemed to share enraged joy. tell Ryan she'd be back, she quickly got up and sauntered over to the table where the two girls happily engaged in conversation. she sat down at the table despite not being invited and interjected herself into the conversation. "what lame summer camp stories are we sharing today" , her voice thickened with bitterness, she picked a fry from the unfamiliar girls tray and nonchalantly placed it in her mouth. looking her in the eyes as she did so, daring her to rebuttal.
Amber scooted her tray away from Joy and rolled her eyes. Wheein got quiet, she was embarrassed. Amber noticed this and whispered to the other “don’t worry about her, she’s done stuff like this before...”. After hearing this Wheein kept her head down and ate her food quietly before sucking it up and turning to Joy. “Hey, I remember you from this morning... it’s nice to see you again” she spoke softly and in a calm tone.
joy resisted the overwhelming urge to reach across the table and slam amber's face into the slice of cake in front of her. she directed her attention to Wheein and gave her the most malicious smile she could muster. "oh, the pleasure's all mine. how did you go from me to that" gesturing towards Amber as she said "that".
Wheein looked away “well to be fair you literally... pushed me away earlier so... I don’t know” she looked up at Amber to try to get some kind of guide on what to say. Amber just shook her head in a disappointed way. “I still want to be your friend though, I want to be everyone’s friend” she smiled shyly as she looked back down at her plate.
joy looked over at Ryan before answering, coming up with a devious plan. she smiled once more at Wheein, this one a softer one and stood up, looking down at Amber she held out her hand to Wheein "come with me babe. I owe you a tour"
