Snowflake

Twelve

The PE exam, my worst daymare, a nightmare that actually happens. The most painful and sweaty two hours of your life where your limits don't matter as long as you are still partially alive. You are stretched into an elastic woman, broken into pieces, and yelled at by hundreds of deadly monsters who want to eat you alive. Including your annoying competitive classmates that think they are the next Lionel Messi or Usain Boat;  just to clarify, you are not! So sit your butt down on the floor and respect the people who can't climb the rope in less than two minutes!

" Umm, you have 30 more seconds Muvrett. " He yelled.

Yeah I got this Mr. Chavez that is why I am still up here, just appreciating the view. It's definitely not because I am too scared of going down, and letting go of the rope too quickly, and crashing into that smelly blue mattress, and breaking my neck.

" Come on Sloan, don't be such a baby. "

Oh, look who it is! Jennifer, again. In addition to her being the party thrower and cupid she is also great at sports. I mean to be honest I am just jealous at this point. I wish I was good at sports and could talk to people, and not have twenty panic attacks a day. And be confident about my body and wear tight shorts. I just wear leggings, since we are required to wear form fitting clothing (which is hell) might just as well try to get some coverage. Some people are just confident showing their bodies which is awesome. If you like your silhouette then other people will too, mostly, unless you are on social media. But I don't like mine.

" Come on, slow Sloan. Stop being such a baby. " Yelled Jennifer again.

Ok, so negativity and toxic people should never be responded to. But then again, it is so hard not to; especially if you have crafted an amazing comeback in your head.

" Stop being such a baby. " She insisted.

Just ignore her. I keep telling myself again and again.

" Stop being such a baby. "

La ri ri, la ra ra.

" Stop being such a— "

" Stop being such a bitch! " I finally answered.

And with that amazing relief I was able to get to the blue mattress with my feet first, within 8 minutes and a half. My record time, not to brag.

When I finally looked at my classmates again they were all looking at me with wide eyes, including Mr. Chavez. So as a mentally stable individual I ran to the locker room. I don't know if I am happy or just sad. I defended myself, but I also let the pressure get to me. It felt good at first but now I don't even know how I feel. Plus men use the word bitch to put women down and now I did the same thing.

" Umm, Sloan? " A soft voice called.

" Yeah, hi Olivia. " I was still kind of dizzy, while my brain was trying to focus on her face.

" You know my name, that is interesting. " She said looking down.

Olivia and I have been in the same class for the past two years so I should know.

" You also know mine. " I answered, trying to end this conversation.

" I just wanted to say that, it was really cool the way you stood up to Jennifer back there. "

Really? So calling out people for being annoying is cool? I wish I knew that earlier! I am good at complaining.

" Well thank you, but it was really a low point for me. I don't like to be mean to people without even knowing their reasons, but you know mistakes are supposed to help us through life. So, yeah... I guess."

" Cool. Are you going to lunch? " She asked, changing the tone of the conversation.

" Yes. "

" Can I come with you? "

Wait, someone wants to have lunch with me, like a girl friend (probably not such a big deal). It is to me though, this is two awesome companions in one week. That never happened before. Am I socializing?

I need to text my parents. They are going to be so proud.

" That would be great. " I answered finally getting up.

The lunch today was hamburgers, so I'm glad I brought my own food. I got the zoodles from yesterday, and I bought an orange juice, cause I think after those two laps on the field my vitamin C is long gone. Olivia only got lemonade and some coleslaw.

" So,...you are a bit of a mystery Sloan, tell me? Who are you? "

Someone is artistic. Why is everyone saying that I am a mystery? I mean I don't do a lot of talking but that is because people don't talk to me. The funny thing is that I think I am very easy to decode.

" I'm, I don't know, myself! I guess..."

" Corny humor? Is that your thing? " She asked, cutting me off.

" I guess a part of it, yes. My humor consists of cheesy bad jokes and unpopular references that no one ever gets. What about you? "

" I love cheer. Actually,I want to become the captain of the team this year. I have a younger brother named Phoenix and I am obsessed with Netflix right now. Like in an unhealthy way. "

" Wow? " I was confused and impressed at the same time.

She just seemed so determined and strong. Everything that Olivia said was so sure, I should learn some of that confidence.

" What is it? "

" You're just so sure of things. " I answered.

" I'm not. I am just confident, we should all be. Women are all the rage right now, we are everywhere. Guess what? We are powerful. "

" Yeah I know that. It's just hard to remember sometimes. " I said with sincerity.

Sometimes even though I know I shouldn't be scared to do regular things like walk alone at night, or take public transportation by myself. I still am. There is always that thought on the back of my mind. What if a creepy guy showed up? What if he followed me? Those stories on the news also don't help. Sometimes even though you feel strong, you have to give in to some exclusively female safety rules.

" I know. That is why I got it tattooed. "  She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a 'You are Powerful' tattoo on her forearm.

" You have a tattoo? " I was surprised.

" It's right in front of you. "

Yes, I definitely see it, it's just a way of saying it. I am feeling slightly dumb, and uncool at the moment. Why does my personality switch so much? These damn hormones!

" How did you convince your parents to let you get it? "

" Well I just asked my mom. She couldn't care less about what I do with my body. "

" That's cool, not so much the not caring part, or the other part really... Well, my parents would never let me do that; they are quite progressive, but. Actually it is probably for the best cause I would probably get a Marvel reference or something."

" So you are one of those people? " She asked while taking a sip of her lemonade.

" No, I don't really classify myself as those, but yeah, I do like to read comic books and what not. "

" You should really talk to my brother; all he does is read those magazines around the house and talk about that nonsense at dinner. "

Classifying me as 'one of those people' was fine compared to 'magazines' and 'nonsense'.

" Not technically magazines though, comics. And, they are actually really complex and well thought out stories with high quality illustrations and designs."

" If you say so... "

I will defend my comic books to my grave, and they are not juvenile. Thankfully the bell rang because I did not know where to take this conversation anymore. Now I just have to worry about more awkward conversations at James' football game.