Breathe

Chapter 2: Meet the Plastics

I nibble slowly at my sandwich, fighting back tears. I don't know why I'm crying. Today hasn't been awful. It's actually been okay. I just can't handle my emotions.

The bathroom door swings open with a bang, sending a jolt of energy through me, and waking me from almost a mental slump of despair. I pray that whoever it is will just pee quickly and go, not bother me, not ask questions. Nobody cares enough to do that. Cady. What makes you think they want to help you?

My prayers, unfortunately, are not answered, as a pair of black doc martens and another pair of comfy looking converse stand right in front of my stall.

"You have been in there a very long time! You're either doing drugs, vaping, or constipated from using drugs!", a particularly vivacious voice calls out. I hear another, deeper voice laughing. I snicker at the thought that someone would think I would do drugs, having never even held hands with a boy. I then realize that I should end this little drug rumor before it gets out, so I hop up and swing the door open.

In front of me stands two people, a boy and a girl, one tall, one barely taller. The boy looks nice, with very rosy cheeks and a mess of sandy blonde hair. Hes wearing a George Michael shirt with a blue flannel over it. I smile at him. I get a good vibe from him. "Hi, I'm Damián. But you can call me Sasha fierce. I am unapologetically gay, and absolutely loving your hair color!" Damian reaches out and takes a lock of it. "See Jan, this is the color that I want!"

I turn to the girl, and I'm struck. She's tall, taller than me by several inches, shorter than Damián by about 2. She has raven black hair that slowly makes its way to blonde at the tips, and her eyes are a honey like brown, and a dark plum color covers her lips. She's wearing fishnet stockings underneath ripped jean shorts with a plain black shirt and platform doc martens. I realize that I've been staring at this girl way too long, and I ease my gaze. "Hi. I'm Janis." She states plainly, extending a ring-clad hand to me. I shake it, surprised by how strong her grip is. Pardon my language, but this girl exudes Big dick energy.

"Um, Hi. I'm Cady. And I wasn't doing drugs, I promise. I... I was just" I stammer. Damian laughs.

"No need, Cady. We understand, High schools a bitch." He takes my hand, and I feel a warm energy run through me. "We know its tough being new, so we thought we would be your starter companions until you get your grip here!"

"Basically, we're gonna help you, Caddy. I know its Cady, but I'm gonna call you Caddy. Anyway, why did you stop being homeschooled?"

Do I tell them I'm from Africa? They don't seem like the kind to judge someone for being different, so I go for it. "Well, I just moved here from Kenya. So, I wanted to get socialized..."

Janis snickers. "You'll get socialized all right." The snicker sounds familiar. I brush it off.

Damian takes my hand and leads me out to the lunch room, walking me from table to table and making a lot of the same observations that I made earlier. We laugh together, as Janis walks behind us, plucking unfinished food from people's trays. We make a full circle of the room, not stopping until I notice two familiar faces. It's the two girls from the hallway. They're sitting next to each other at a table near the front, joined by another, much blonder girl. This girl is perfect. Her dark blonde hair falls in large curls, her blue eyes pierce through whoever she looks at, her pink lips look ready to bite someone's heart out. She's wearing a white denim jumpsuit, white platform heels, and a shiny "R" necklace. I don't even have to ask. I know. This girl is a predator. The Apex Predator.

"Yeah, we call those three the plastics. That girl your staring at, that's Regina George. She will murder you with her bright pink smile. That brunette one, the one jittering with fear? That's Gretchen Wieners. She's nice, but if you tell her one secret, it will get out, no doubt about it. And that other blonde one, that's Karen Smith. She's the dumbest person you will ever meet. She's simple, hot, and will probably end up as a hand model someday." Damian explains to me.