Who Needs A Leader? Not Us!

Chapter 1: In The Beginning...

Tears streamed down her face. The moment had finally come. In. Out. In. Out. Trying to focus her breathing, the girl knew that unless she gained control, she...Okay, sorry, but that's not the story you are going to be reading today. Yeah, I know, I might as well yell "Psych!" and I'm sorry to play you like that, but I figure now you have a higher chance of being hooked? You see, statistics say that you only have, like 5 seconds to make your first impression, so, I had to make use of those precious moments! Oh well, hopefully you won't be disappointed in my REAL story. Don't worry, I won't explain my whole life to you, just a fraction of it. Up until this point, my life was actually pretty mundane. I like to think it got interesting, I mean, that first sentence might pop up somewhere in future chapters, but first, I have to give you some background. Trust me, that's the only way you will truly understand the awesome parts. Actually, now that I think about it, my experience is really similar to a book I remember reading at school one time. Maybe by the end you can guess what book I'm talking about! I suppose I'll start with the arrival of my new best friend.

At the time, I was 16 and in the middle of my Junior year of High School. When I was five years old, my family moved to the current city that we occupied. Due to the length of our living there, we knew lots of other families. Sadly, however, I wasn't the best at making friends. The list of fellow students I talked to in a day at school was so small it didn't even seem like a real list. I could literally count them on my hands.

For example, when I got off the bus at my school, I would go sit in the gym with everyone else, but I was that person that sat by herself, plugged in headphones, and popped open a book. I guess that was part of my problem. I did not want or care about making friends. I had much rathered just get out of that place, get to college, and do something important with my life. I know, I know, that's a pretty bad attitude and I realize that now, but then, I didn't understand the importance of the journey as well as the destination.

Typically around 8:40 (right before the bell would ring and everyone would go to class) my friends would start to arrive. My group of friends was basically a group of people who had nothing in common with each other, but they each had one thing in common with me. For instance: Kai-She was an amazing musician and actress but didn't completely fit with the thespians, Richard (or just Rich)-knew how to speak French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian/Ukrainian, Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, and Polish (and was learning Spanish), Apollo-He was really good at soccer and football specifically but also a bunch of other sports, Arabela-She was the best artist at our school, and Dappin (or Dap)-He was on the debate team, math team, science olympiad team, robot team, engineering team, chess club, and was secretly the school's mascot.

Kai, Rich, Apollo, Arabela, and Dappin. They had nothing in common whatsoever. The only reason they even knew each other was through me. Kai and I did plays together, Rich and I practiced Spanish together, Apollo and I had P.E. and played soccer every day, Arabela and I had art class together, and Dap was on the Debate team with me. Each started off middle school just knowing me but gradually got to know each other over the years and we all became just one big (or small) group of friends.

No one came, no one left. I assumed they all had other friends in each of their social circles, but they made it clear that we were all best friends. There was only one other high-schooler that I talked to on a regular basis but technically, we barely even talked at school. The only times he would acknowledge me was say something rude or offensive. Unless of course he was in front of adults. Or our parents. Who, by the way, were best friends. And he lived across the street. You see, during kindergarten and 1st grade when I first moved to 'that' city, our parents pushed us to be friends and honestly we didn't know what to make of each other. During elementary and middle school he figured out that it would be better for him socially to ditch me and even go so far as to embarrass me daily. Eventually he got over it and tried to apologize in the eighth grade. Arabela told him that I wouldn't forgive him, ever. It was just middle school drama and I hadn't even told Arabela to tell him that but he got angry at me and didn't talk to me for two years. He slowly began acknowledging me more and more, but like I said, it was only to criticize me. This was easy for him because he got good grades, played almost every sport the school had to offer (except golf and volleyball), was musically talented, and, I'll admit, good-looking (I'd never say it to his face though). Because of all this, he was well-known in our school. Most people listened to and liked him, and that fact in itself made me dislike him even more.