All Those Other Girls

Mindy

The car pulled onto the school driveway. Mom waved goodbye as I got out.
"Love you, honey!" She yelled.
I waved, sheepishly and sighed. Today was going to be interesting.

I thought about what mom had said in the car while I walked to my locker. Her voice rang inside my head:
"Just try to make some friends, honey. I promise it will be worth it."
I sighed. I didn't know what to do. But I could at least try. Then, if everything went awful (as I expected), I could run home and watch reality shows for the rest of my life. All I had to do was try to make one friend.

I opened the door to the science lab, clutching my books and trying not to drop them. I didn't need any attention drawn to me. I sat down at the crusty desk in the back of the classroom, my usual seat. I eyed a girl in the front. Her hair was silky as she swung it around, and her lipgloss was carefully layered across her lips. Her name was Mindy. I had heard that she had transferred here from California. As far as I could see, Mindy didn't have a single flaw. She was gorgeous, she was confident, and rumor had it that she spoke four different languages! I looked down at the pale blue, baggy shirt I had picked out that morning. I could never go up against Mindy. Never. I glanced back at her. She turned her head towards me, and her eyes met mine.
'Oh god.' I thought. What was I supposed to do? But before I could think of anything, the strangest thing happened. She smiled. At me. I was amazed. I looked behind me. Surely she wasn't smiling at me. But she was.

The bell clanked, and I stood to go to 2nd period. I walked towards the door, still in a daze of the lesson we had just learned. I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I turned around, alarmed. Right there, still smiling, was Mindy. I dropped my books.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, kneeling down to help me pick them up.
"Oh, um, sorry." I said sheepishly, snatching them into my arms.
"Oh no problem." She said, her blue eyes shining in the light.
"I'm a little clumsy, I guess." I replied, shrugging.
She laughed, lightly.
"Not as clumsy as me." She looked at me, "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you around before..."
"Oh you probably haven't...I'm not big on attention." I stared at the ground, but I remembered what mom had said. "Um I'm Zia." I said, quietly.
"Oh hi! I'm Mindy. I just moved here from California." She replied, holding out her hand.
I shook it.
"Really nice to meet you.." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"You too! Gosh, you're really pretty." She said, kindly. She looked at my hair. "Where'd you get such nice hair? It's so long and silky."
I couldn't believe it. This blonde, Barbie supermodel thought I was pretty! I was in awe.
"Oh, um it's genetic." I answered.
"Wow." She said, still gazing at my hair. Then she looked at me, again. "Anyway, I was about to walk to next period. What class do you have?"
"Math." I replied.
"Oh same! Cool, we can walk together then." She answered, starting walking out the door.
"Cool." I said, following her out. This was going to be interesting.