Katie
No one notices me.
Just like no one notices the silent trees along the roadside as they drive into an unfamiliar town in a car with unfamiliar people, or the unclipped blades of grass here and there on the lawn of a stranger's house. No one notices the tiny yellow flowers growing along the sidewalk to an unfamiliar school, or the tree with cascading branches next to the crowded stairs to the ugly metal doors.
Only I notice those things, and they seem to be the only things that notice me. As I sat in the uncomfortable seat of the stuffy van on the way to this strange city, I noticed the beautiful trees, swaying in the wind as if saying a solemn goodbye. I noticed the blades of grass the lawn mower missed as I hesitantly walked up to the three-story house that I would have to call home, where a man in a wheel-chair waited at the doorstep. I noticed the tiny yellow flowers along the sidewalk of my new neighborhood, where I made my quiet, lonely walks in the cool mornings, humming a song my mother used to sing me to sleep with.
And as I stepped off the crowded bus behind my two foster siblings, a girl with bright green hair named Kayla and a dark-skinned boy named Austin, I blinked sunlight out of my eyes and almost immediately spotted the tree.
It was shorter than the few trees on the lawn of the school, but its branches were wide and hung low over the grass. It stood a few feet away from the school doors. I glanced at it a few times as I silently followed Kayla and Austin down the sidewalk, which had no little flowers, over to a set of burnt red tables.
Kayla approached one table, where a boy with dusty blond hair and pale grey eyes was reading a thick paperback. The boy looked up and moved his backpack so Kayla could sit next to him. Austin shrugged and sat across from the blond, whipping out his phone and taking a selfie. He always did that. Well, and break out in song. I'm glad he chose the selfies, not solos.
I stood silently by the table wondering if I was invited. Kayla had lived here all her life, with her foster brother slash secret crush Cecil, and knew just about everyone. Austin liked to hang out with Kayla the past summer, and probably knew all her close friends already.
I was just about to sit down when I heard someone behind me.
"Hi, are you new here?"
I spun around, my backpack just barely missing the shoulder of the girl before me. She gasped slightly and backed up a bit, her hands out.
"Sorry!" I tried for a smile and pulled the strap of my pack back over my shoulder. "I – uh, didn't see you..."
"That's okay, it wouldn't have been the first time I've been whacked by rebellious backpack," The girl looked around my age, with long reddish-brown hair that was just staring to grow a darker shade of brown at the roots. Her skin was paler than mine, but not nearly as light as Kayla's Irish complexion. A blanket of freckles stretched underneath her eyes like a garden of brown dots under a window of hazel. She smiled, displaying green braces. With a shy gesture, she held out her hand.
I tensed up. This was the first girl I've met today. Would she be nice? Would she laugh at my strange hobbies?
Before I could decide, she introduced herself.
"I'm Miranda, Miranda Gardiner. With an 'i'."
I nearly collapsed in shock. Blinking a few times to clear my head, I let out a soft laugh.
"My name's Katie, Katie Gardner, without the 'i'."
Miranda burst out laughing. She clutched her stomach and sat on the grass. She looked up and smiled at me. "No way! That's hilarious!"
"I can't believe it either!" I held out my hand and helped her up off the grass. She dusted the stray blades off the seat of her skinny denim jeans, then grabbed my arm carefully, pulling me to the side of the lawn. I didn't even look back to see if Kayla or Austin noticed. This girl seemed very nice, and it was strange that we had very similar last names.
"This is my favorite spot in the whole school," She said as she led me to the stairs, the swarms of students flooding inside the doors. I thought she would take me up the stairs, but instead she crossed the sidewalk, squeezing past teens in a hurry, and made her way to the other side of the stairs where the little tree was.
Up close, it was even more pretty than before. Its leaves were a dark green, and its long branches hung lowly towards the ground, creating a little cave underneath its canopy. Miranda let go of my arm and sat in the grass, the tree above her. I quickly ducked under and seated next to my new friend.
"This isn't actually in the school," I noted, glancing up at the branches just a foot away from my face.
"I know. I hate this school and every single one of the plant haters inside of it. You were the first person I've ever met who likes plants."
"Wait, how do you know that I like plants?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Well, first I noticed that you handstitched flowers on the pockets of your overalls," As she said this, I glanced down at them, realizing I was wearing the pair with the flowers. "Hand stitching takes time and is pretty difficult, especially if you're a beginner like me, so you must have a reason to take the time and effort to stitch daisies and marigolds on your butt. Next, your shirt has a flower on the chest where a pocket would be, and underneath your unmanicured hands are dirt. Now, I know it doesn't sound very convincing, but most girls our age always have pristine nails. That is, unless they use their hands on a regular basis. And judging by the dirt under your nails, the flowers on your clothes, and pin that reads 'Go Green' on your backpack, I guessed that you liked plants."
I sighed and shook my head, in awe at her observations. "You totally just went Sherlock on me. That's amazing."
"I know. My dad tells me I have amazing observations skills and should become a private detective or a police officer. I'm more into carnations, not criminals."
I snorted and shook my head again. "Wow. Not only are you very nice, but you're hilarious."
Miranda shrugged and held her knees to her chest, glancing out of the curtain of leaves. A flash of confusion crossed her face, then an unusual frown, like she was thinking really hard.
"What? Are you reading someone?" I scooted closer, hoping for another extravaganza from my unusual new friend.
"Sort of," Her face was contorted in bewilderment.
"Is it a new kid like me?" I couldn't help myself. I do love plays, musicals, and the occasional four-night Netflix binge-watching marathon of Sherlock, all four seasons.
"Not at all," Miranda glanced at me and gasped. "Oh, I see."
"What?"
She smiled and pointed out of the tree. There were two brunet boys standing under the shade of another tree, this one taller than the one we were sitting under. One was wearing a dark plaid shirt over a white tee, with jeans and a pair white Adidas, and he looked a year older than me. His younger friend, who looked like his brother, was in a white and grey striped t-shirt, camo cargo pants, and navy-blue Reeboks. They were both facing the school, but the older of the two kept glancing in our direction.
"You see the hot brunet over there?" Miranda asked, and I nodded. "That's Travis Stoll, and his younger brother is," She reddened in anger and twisted her mouth slightly in distaste. "Connor. They're the trouble-makers of the school, and always gets sent to the principle's office for stealing a teacher's phone or setting off stink-bombs in Coach's office."
I frowned. "That's rude."
"That's the Stoll Brothers for you. They're our versions of a gang at this school. Avoid letting them know where you keep your wallet. I dated the younger brother one summer, but it didn't end well."
"Will note. But why are you suddenly gasping and frowning at them?"
"Travis was looking over here. Now, it may have seemed like nothing, but if you've ever met Travis, you'd know that he and his brother will do whatever it takes not to go to class. The flu, chicken pox, no gas, traffic, a sudden case of insomnia. They've done it all, had it all, faked it all. Travis hates school, so why would he be looking over here so intently? I got to thinking he might not be looking at the school, but something near it. Someone, to be precise. But who in the world would he be staring at?"
"Who?"
"Well, based on the level of redness in his cheeks when he saw you looking at him and the fact that he's known me forever and has never liked me, hated me in fact, he was staring at you."
I was speechless. A hot boy was crushing on me? It was unbelievable, just like how this Sherlockian girl with almost the same last name as I was becoming my friend faster than you could say 'a sudden case of insomnia' five times upside down.
"N-no way. That's impossible."
"You think it's impossible for someone like Travis to like a drop-dead gorgeous girl with your looks? I firmly disagree with you. He is crushin'!" She sang the last word, widening her eyes and giving me a funny look.
"I really don't think so," But as I looked back at him, I saw him blush and quickly glance at his feet, turning to face his bored-looking brother and mumbling under his breath.
"Whatever," Miranda stood and helped me to my feet as the loud bell rang. "But if it's true and you guys become a thing, please make sure to not befriend his younger jerk of a brother..."
I nodded, and my arm tingled as she linked it with her own, practically hopping up the steps of the school.
Wow. School hadn't even started, and I already made a really great friend who loves plants just like me, and had a hot boy crushing on me.
And, might I say, I think I was returning the crushing, if you know what I mean.
But a shy girl like me would never have a chance with a guy like him.
Right?
P.S.
I know the picture isn't actually real fanart of Katie, but I couldn't find a decent one of her, so I tracked down this gorgeous photo that totally resembles her, in my head at least.
Peace out,
- Burgundy Wolf
;)