• I walked through the hallways, staring at my feet. I knew people were staring. I was wearing a shirt much too large for me, and pants that looked like capris. My converse sneakers flopped and splahsed for every step. They were a size 10, my brother's old pair. Of course, my brother had unusually large feet, and now wore a twelve, so what the heak, give the freakishly huge sneakers to the me, small thirteen year-old.

    I thought that today would be a great day to enjoy the morning sunlight, and embrace the coming of Fall. When I had walked half a mile, a giant grey cloud had appeared from the horizon so that to make sure that Eric Coonts was soaked for the first day of school.

    I took out his schedule, and looked for his homeroom. Ugh, he had Mr. Erbe. The few minutes that they would have to spend with him in homeroom, would probably ruin the whole day. I shrugged, and walked inside. My shoelaces must have untangled because of how wet they were, if that was possible, because the second I walked inside I face-planted on the disgusting floor of the Health classroom. The janitors always seemed to ignore this room because it smelled odd. I was lucky that onl a few students were there. Most of them were outside talking to missed friends that hadn't been able to visit. I didn't have any friends. There was nobody who would be wanting to "catch up" with me.

    I sat in a random seat in the back of the class. A person I had never seen before was sitting next to me. She stared at me for a second, and then turned back to her book. I couldn't read the title.

    "Um, whucha' reading?" I asked, trying to make some conversation.

    "Horror," She said, simply.

    "Huh," I looked on my desk. Why didn't I have a book to look at. Then I felt like an idiot. I didn't know why, though.

    "It's about vampires," she added.

    "Oh, so you're a Twilight fan..." I shrugged. I didn't really like the whole fad, but I was desperate. It certainly wasn't a time to be picky.

    "No. That's an assumption."

    "Oh. Sorry."

    I stood up, and started my way to another desk. As I walked away I could feel the burn of her stares. I quickly turned around. She was looking at her book.

    She looked up at me,"Are you trying to impress me or something?"

    "Uh, no. No, I just thought you were...um, staring at me," Now I really felt like an idiot.

    "Now why would I do that?" She asked. This time turning her head and squinting her eyes, suggesting that it was obvious. I was confused. I thought she hadn't stared at me.

    "I don't know." I must have looked extremely confused. I was.

    "Oh, don't you..." She looked back down to her book.

    I turned around, completing the 360 degree turn. I went to the desk next to the one I had been sitting in. I began taking out the pencils out of my backpack. I had learned last year how to make a complex structure out of ten pencils. When I finished, there was no more satisfaction then when I started.

    When is the bell going to ring?

    I sat impatiently, tapping my fingers. Suddenly, the girl started staring at me. No, she was looking at the air around me. I was starting to think that she was a very odd person. I was surprised when she stood up, and sat in the desk next to mine.

    "So you do not know?" She said.

    "Know what?" I responded, feeling like I should know whatever it is.

    "Oh, nothing," She put a friendly smile on, even though it was clearly fake. I thought that she would go back to her seat, but she didn't. She just sat there, seming to look over my head, out the window. Something was strange about the way she stared. She wasn't staring out the window at all, her eyes were focused for a closer object. Perhaps she was trying to cross her eyes, I thought. No, something told me that if this girl wanted to cross her eyes, she would have just done it. Then her eyes widened a bit, but there was still no emotion on her face. I decided to stare aboe her head, level the playing-field.

    After thirty seconds of doing so, she asked,"You do!" She seemed so happy, like a gap in her heart had just been filled.

    "No. I don't. What are you talking about?"

    Her smile turned into an embarassed frown,"Oh, well... I guess I should go."

    "Mm."

    I found that if you answered "Mm" to any question, it would be accepted. It wouldn't necessarily be a "Yes," or a "No," it would simply acknowledge that I heard him/her. She walked back to her desk, and resumed reading her book. Then, she quickly turned her head above mine again, and stared. She looked... scared this time. Suddenly, without moving her legs or shifting any body weight, she fell off her desk, and smacked her head on the desk behind her. She seemed to expect the fall, she put hands behind her head, and closed her eyes as it happened.

    I ran over to her.

    "What was that?! Are you okay?" I probably sounded a but too panicked. I was surprised that no one else had even seemed to notice her fall. She didn't seem too surprised.

    "I'm fine, thank you." She chuckled. Then she smiled. Except this time it was real. I smiled back and wondered what the hell this girl was all about.



    Then the bell rang.