YOU BELONG WITH ME , Ben Plunkett

not-so-pep-rally

I hated big crowds—which is why I especially didn't want to go to the Pep Rally my school was having this morning.

So, instead, I sat beside the lost-and-found with my best friend Mandy Yang. I had my nose in a book, as per usual, and Mandy kept refreshing Harvard University's application page, checking the status consistently.

She'd applied super early—Harvard being her first and only choice. I appreciated my friend's dedication, but sometimes it made me worry that Mandy was too dedicated.

"Girl—you checked ten seconds ago," I chuckled. Mandy's impatience was making me anxious. "Please, stop pacing. You're making me nervous," I squirmed, chewing the side of my nail.

"I'm sorry," Mandy sighed, taking my severe anxiety into consideration. She tapped on the hand that was in my mouth, trying to subside my bad habit."I'm just so stressed,"

"Just, take it easy, Mandy," I smiled softly, reaching out for my friends' shoulder. "There is no way Harvard would reject you,"

"Let's hope not," Mandy put her phone in her pocket and began tossing jackets into a  donation box, while I cozied up against the pillar, and resumed my reading.

"Mandy Yang and Jasmine Ortiz! What are you girls doing?" Ms Chen asked, her heels clicking against the floor as she walked through the gymnasium doors. "We have been over this. You cannot skip pep rallies to steal from the lost and found,"

"Ms. Chen, I-I'm not stealing—I'm donating," Mandy explained. The woman didn't look convinced, even though the box stated very clear that these were donations. "All right. All right, fine," Mandy dumped the contents of the box back into the lost and found bin.

"I hope you're happy," Jasmine spoke up, frowning at the now empty box.

"I'm a high school guidance counselor. I'm never happy," Ms. Chen reasoned.

"You're not gonna actually make me sit through that thing, are you?" Mandy questioned.

"I am!" Ms. Chen smiled. "Oh, look at that. I guess I am happy sometimes,"

I stood up from the ground, rubbing my hands over my pants to wipe away anything that I might have sat in.

"Fine," Mandy sighed out.

I shook out my hands, as I looked to Ms. Chen with pleading eyes. Her smile seemed to falter, slightly, and she nodded her head.

"Why don't you two walk in together, huh?" she asked. Mandy held out her hand for me to take, and I let out a shaky breath as we walked towards the gym. "Have fun!" Ms. Chen cheered.

Mandy led me straight in the direction of our other best friend—Ben Plunkett. I was extremely grateful that there was enough room for the two of us to sit beside him.

I gulped as we walked past everyone else on the bleachers, not making eye contact with any of the students who I felt, staring, and heard, whispering.

Mandy sensed my nerves and squeezed my hand in reassurance. "Do you want to sit next to Ben?" she had asked, and I felt myself let out a sigh of relief. I nodded.

Ben, Mandy, and I had been best friends since forever. The two had grown used to my anxious ways, and had been the only people to fully understand what I had been experiencing. They were both extremely overprotective—Ben, more than Mandy—which was why I always made sure I was beside him in big crowds.

Ben smiled sweetly, as we sat down. "You okay?" he asked me, as he was bopping his head to the loud band music. I let out a breath, and nodded.

"Whoo! Go Bulldogs!" Ben whooped, as Mandy shot him a look.