Phantom [h.s]

Three

"Hi"

I look over at Max, who has seated himself next to me, in the same seat he was yesterday.

I nod to him as hello, then look back at the chipped dark blue nail polish on my dumb that I've been focusing on picking away.

"What's up?"

As nice as he seems, I really would rather be alone than talk to someone as bubbly and outgoing as Max.

"Uh, nothing really," I answer. I don't want to be rude to him; I just don't want t get to know someone enough so they can judge me about my depression. I guess it's silly, but it makes sense in my head.

"Well, this class is definitely my best," he says, smiling and leaning back in his seat as other students begin to fill the classroom.

I wrinkle my nose. "History?"

"Don't like it?"

"Hate it."

"Why is that?"

"I don't care about a bunch of dead people that did shit in the past, honestly."

He laughs, and I manage to smile slightly.

"There's a smile, at long last!" Max says dramatically and I shake my head to prevent the small smile from becoming any larger.

"Don't get used to it," I say, looking back at him.

"Why not?" It looks so good on you."

"That is so cliché of you to remark."

"Cliché is my specialty." He smiles and my own small smile grows just a tad.

The bell rings and I feel like I've possible, maybe, almost made a friend.

·

"I'm glad you decided to sit with us, Jane," Max says as he sits across from me at lunch table. There are a few other people already sitting there, and I try to muster a smile for them.

"Yeah," I say quietly as I feel their stares all glue to me.

"That's Ria, Nate, and Jenna," Maz says pointing to each person as he goes. Ria has long black hair that spins over her shoulders and honer colored eyes, and she looks up from the sketchbook to smile at me. Nate is tall. Really tall. If I was a friendly and outgoing person, I would ask him how tall he is, because he almost looks like he could give Shaquille O'Neil a run for his money. Jenna has hair so blonde it's almost white and teeth to match it. She grins at me, displaying her blinding ivory smile.

I nod to each of them and look down at my salad, tearing open a packet of ranch dressing to put on it.

"So, Jane," Ria says, twirling her pencil between her fingers. "Where're you from?"

"California," I answer.

"Oooh, nice, "Jenna says. "By the beach?"

I shake my head. "Not really."

"Oh," Jenna says, smiling and nodding again.

I really suck at socializing. I'm just not very interesting to talk to. I'm not excessively funny, as I observe Nate to be; or excessively smart, as I observe Ria to be. I don't have many good traits, honestly.

I just sit and eat and think about H.S., and the beautiful necklace I found in the box.

Max insist on walking me to my sixth period class when lunch ends.

"...So just don't get on her bad side, she's not afraid to fail students," he rambles on about my English teacher as we stop in the classroom.

"Thanks," I say. I look at the clock on the wall and then back to Max. "Well, I should get going."