Ditch The Suspenders

C H A P T E R | 1

I got on my knees as I took a daisy in my hand, closed my eyes, and slowly breathed in the enchanting smell of the flower. My soul felt at peace and I never wanted to leave this beautiful meadow of daisies.

The sound of the birds chirping above me, sounded like a familiar melody from my childhood, but I couldn't exactly pinpoint the name of the song.

"Anais?" a faint voice called out my name. "Anais, we are here."  I looked up at the sky, confused. Who was that? There was no one else here, yet someone was calling out my name.

"Anais! Wake up! We're here. You're going to be late to class again if you don't hurry up," my mom frantically shook my shoulder. I let out a heavy sigh when I realized it was only a daydream. A daydream that was too good to be true.

This may sound dramatic and cliche, but when it comes to high school, it's a living hell for someone like me. We all know those popular girls on campus who have all the boys drooling over them. Well, I'm definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum. I was the stereotypical nerd with the big-squared glasses, suspenders, and braces.

Every morning I tried finding an excuse to miss school, but my mom wasn't a fool. She knew every trick in the book, and I was left to suffer the cruelty of my peers everyday. If only my mom knew the things I went through on a daily basis, maybe she'd understand why I dreaded going to school, but I didn't want to add more pressure on her. She already had enough on her plate to handle.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie," my mom chirped while I faked a smile and waved goodbye. If only things were that simple.

"Aww, did your mommy drop you off at school again?" The plastic barbie, a.k.a Claire Young, cooed out as she saw me walking through the gates. Her bright green eyes darkened a shade.

Although those ghostly eyes creeped me out, I managed to say, "Yes she did," without daring to make eye contact with her again.

"For crying out loud, Anais. You're a junior in high school and you still can't drive? If being a nerd isn't pathetic enough as is." Her laugh rang in my ears along with the laughs of the others surrounding us.

"I—Uh—I," I stuttered as I fidgeted with my fingers like I always did whenever I was nervous.

"Save it for someone who cares about you, nerd." Claire hissed, rolling her bright green eyes and sticking her hand out to my face like the queen bee she was. Her blonde hair bounced up and down as she walked her sassy ass away. There was no question as to why she was the queen bee. She had the entire package; the sass, the face, the body.

"Too bad nobody does," Travis snickered as he appeared out of the blue behind Claire, causing everyone—especially the girls—to laugh louder. The entire football team gave him high-fives as they cheered on their star football quarterback. He had all the girls swooning over him like he was the fresh prince of bel-air, except for one girl. That girl being me. I would practically gag at the sound of his name.

I had to get away from there before things got worse, so I made a mad dash towards the cafeteria. Unsurprisingly, they didn't even notice when I left since they were too busy laughing their asses off. They only bothered to pay attention to me whenever they wanted to humiliate me in front of the entire student body.

I was so caught up trying to get away from them that I bumped into my best friend Vanessa. This girl, who I called my best friend, was stunning. Her skin color was much lighter than my cinnamon skin and her piercing hazel eyes, made me super jealous of her.

Her popularity status was up there among where Travis and Claire were ranked, and it made me wonder at times why she stuck around hanging out with me, of all people, when she could easily be hanging out with the other popular students. I was pretty much the school nobody, but not even that scared her away. If that doesn't prove a true best friend to you, then I don't know what will.