The Walls Caved In

Eric had specifically said we were going to meet with some of his buddies.

When I think buddies, I think guys. Boys who like to goof around and get dirty and scrape their knees and elbows on asphalt. Not bubbly girls with sun-kissed skin, perfectly matched outfits, and pin-straight hair. Oh, and the one guy friend of Eric's that was there? He was no better than his companions, with his ironed jeans and wandering eyes.

It made me sick. Yes, their beauty made me sick to my stomach. Suddenly, the nerves that had been bouncing around in my stomach were catapulting themselves into the sky. There was no way I could compete with these people. No way they could accept me.

Eric gripped my hand as we walked together, and that might have eased the nervousness. The relief I had was short-lived. The the butterflies were flying again - the girl sitting closest to the guy skipped towards us and threw her arms around my boyfriend.

I swallowed over the lump in my throat, and the fluttering in my stomach, pulling a decent smile onto my face. I continued to silently tame the butterflies, as Eric hugged each of the other two girls, and shook hands with the boy among them.

"This is my girlfriend, Joy," Eric placed a hand on my back, pointing out his friends as he spoke their names. Brooke, the girl who had approached us first, with the dark hair and the tan skin. Kelsi was short with a slim waist, and Alicia was much lankier, with long limbs. Daniel seemed to fit perfectly with all three of them, his hair lighter than Brooke's and smile coming just as easily. Brooke seemed to trap his hand in hers, I noticed, as soon as she resumed her position next to him. Eric and I sat comfortably on the grass, looking up to the four of them on low benches. Conversation started effortlessly, thanks to Eric, who quickly began talking. I did all I could to listen.

"Do you go to North?" Kelsi asked me, tugging on a piece of her hair. She was the first of them to address me at all, and I flustered a little as I answered her,

"Um, yea." There were two high schools in our town: North and South. Here I was, a North High Salamander, sitting on the lawn of my rival school with a group of Chameleons. If I had any friends at my own school to tell about this, they would think me to be crazy.

She nodded. "I knew you didn't look familiar," Brooke said. I nodded my head, pulling my hair from the back of my neck. It seemed as though they were all looking at me now, expecting me to say something.

"Um, I think I'm going to get my water," I told Eric, standing to go to the parking lot. I needed a way out, if only for a moment.

I shut my door to the car, taking a swig from my bottle. I weighed it in my hand, slowly making my way back to the group. The perspiration on the side cooled my palm and slicked my fingers, which I then wiped across my heated forehead. Who cares if my hair looks like crap now. Who cares if I look like I'm burning in the sun, if I'm breaking a sweat out here. Those girls are crazy, barely uncomfortable in this blazing heat. I was already uncomfortable around them. I was nothing special in their circle. I was barely noticed in their circle.

I had caught glares from Alicia, Brooke and Daniel, who seemed to only be glaring because the girl attached to his hip was. The only one who seemed to be on real speaking terms with me was Kelsi, and she still seemed sketchy in my book. Maybe I was just pathetic and paranoid. Yea, that would be it.

"Please tell me you are not screwing with her," Kelsi said. I stopped walking immediately, moving back into the area between the school walls and the line of bushes.

"What?"

"Is she, like, a charity case or something?" Brooke added.

"No, that's not what I mean," Kelsi said.

"Its what I mean. Why do you hang out with her? She's not like anyone you've been with here." I couldn't tell now, who that was. It wasn't Kelsi.

"She's nice, Lee. She's just a little shy. There's nothing wrong with being a little shy."

"What I'm saying is, you shouldn't be screwing around with this girl, Eric. She is nice, we all see that, which means you shouldn't toy with her!"

Eric's voice was loud now, harsh. "I'm not toying with her, guys! I like her, is that so hard to understand?"

I smiled slightly, hearing this. The smile fell only a second later.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Of course. I mean, she's a freak."