The Label Maker

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE PICKUP AND DROP OFF

At lunch, Gwen plugged her earbuds in at her table and worked on algebra. She didn't want to hear people gab about the blog. She didn't want to hear anything about it. It was just a stress reliever. Now it was a big controversy between the whole school. She never thought her blog would get any views. She thought everyone would over look it, but she was wrong. It was all anyone would talk about. No matter who they were, popular or not, they were discussing it with someone. And if they weren't discussing it, they either heard it or were listening to it.

After only half of one day, she was ready to cut her ears off. Chris wouldn't shut up about it. Gwen had to turn her music up almost maximum volume to drown out her theories and opinions about the blog and who they Label Maker could be. She munched on her carrots slowly. she didn't eat much of a lunch. All the talk made her lose her appetite and willingness to listen. She finished her homework long before she finished her carrots. She sat and ate quietly, letting her music drown out the teenage population of Riverbrook. There was a tap on her shoulder that made her jump. She ripped her earbuds out of her ear and turned around. She was facing Leo. She sighed in relief knowing it was only him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologizes, grinning.

"No, it's fine," she says, smiling back. All the members of her table were looking at her. "Um, Leo this is Emma, Chris, Emily, and Anna. Guys, this is Leo," she introduces. Leo waves a hand. He sat down in the empty chair in between Chris and Gwen.

"Feeling better?" He asks in a low voice. Gwen didn't understand at first. For a moment she sat there puzzled. Then she understood.

"What? Oh yeah. I'm fine, I just, this blog thing and the Label Maker, I'm already sick of hearing it," she sighs.

"Are you serious?" Chris butts in. "I think it's cool. It's a good idea."

"Really?" Gwen asks.

"Well yeah, I mean, the Label Maker is clearly a girl. She's super passionate about her writing. No guy would write like that, no offense," she adds. "But she's right. We all do need to be put into our places. She is making people think about who they are. She's making people think about the things they have done."

"Well when you put it that way," Leo sways. Gwen glares at him. "Oh come on Gwen. She isn't wrong. I think it's a good thing. I mean the Label Maker does really put people in their place. She doesn't care about their feelings. Maybe with this blog people might start evaluating their action," Leo evaluates.

"Mmm, your friend has a point," Emma laughs.

"I mean, I totally get it. I just, it's getting a little irritating," Gwen admits.

"You never get irritated. What's going on?" Her best friend asks.

"I don't know. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep," she lies. The only reason she wasn't getting enough sleep was because she was up late reading blogs and writing her own.

"Welcome to high school sweetie," Anna teases. Gwen nods her head in agreement. Who knows. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it was good that she had supportive friends. Maybe it was good that so many people were talking about it. Maybe it was a good thing that her blog was an overnight trend. For the more people who read it, the more people to see.

The more people to label.

✎✎✎

The second half of school was exactly like the first. Lots of notes, lots of questions about lessons, and of course, lots of talk about the Label Maker. Gwen didn't let it bug her. She realized that she was going to have to get used to it. She figured that in a few days everything would go back to normal and her blog wouldn't be the main topic of every conversation. She's even heard teachers discussing it throughout the day.