Shattering Crystals

A group of girls spontaneously burst into laughter, the joyful sound echoing in the school hallways. I search for the source, and find that a petite girl with wavy brown hair is the cause of it. Lorraine Boudaire; that girl that Mar – the voice – had mentioned. She’s the popular new girl, who everyone wants to befriend immediately before she gets an established reputation.

She kind of already has one, in the popular group. And I am proud to say that I am slowly being accepted into that group. Because of Jesse. Sure, at first they were like why the hell is he dating her? But they’ve warmed up, and I’ve found that they are a strange clique. Everyone hates them, but everyone wants to be them.

I get to sit with them at lunch, though. Today will be the first day sitting with them, which is a bit intimidating. Jesse told me that I could bring Leilani, though. “Leilani” and “popular” don’t really mix, but I’ll be glad to have her there.

I enter the cafeteria, breathing in the slightly disgusting smell of lukewarm school lunches. The sound of excitement and friends catching up with each other fills the large, spacious room. I get in the lunch line, silently staring down at the sea green floor tiles as I figure out what exactly to say to Lorraine today.

I’ve decided that if Lorraine knows what I’m talking about, if she really is in the same situation as me, then I have to go along with it. I have to know. And if not… I guess I’ll be telling my mom that her daughter has a seriously screwed up mind.

I have to subtly hint at it. I have to make sure that no one else knows what I’m talking about, exactly. I don’t think I can get Lorraine alone, because she’s always followed by at least one pathetic worshipper. There has to be a code.

But I don’t have a code established with her. So that idea is a no. I think about what this mysterious voice has told me. Maybe I should tell Lorraine the whole story.

Yet that still has problems. Everyone would immediately write me off as a freak. I don’t even know what Jesse would say. I’ve spent so long trying to get to him, and I can’t lose him now that I’ve got him.

The voice was telling me a story. I decide to tell Lorraine a story of my own. Mention the names, the situation, and see if it brings any abnormal reaction from her. I can tell her that I “wrote a story” and want to get her opinion on it. Then again, she could think it sucks. And down goes my reputation.

I purchase my lunch and then nervously sit down at the table in the back of the room. My chair scrapes against the dirty floor and I cringe at the sound. The sound itself is bad enough, but it seems to be announcing “I’m here, look at me, I don’t belong here”.

Leilani is already there, with her purple lunchbox. She sits across from me, smiling. She seems nervous, too. First day at a new table. One mistake can get you shunned for life. Like I said, “Leilani” and “popular” don’t really mix. She’s always been the funny (and somewhat annoying) one. She’s not afraid to be weird, unlike the members of this table.

Lorraine sits down next to Leilani’s right, acknowledging her with a quick smile and a “hi”. She then turns to the other end of the table, talking to Elaina, resident bitch. I wonder if I should tell her now.

Then Jesse takes a seat next to me. I turn to the right, smiling at him like an idiot. And he smiles right back.

“Hey,” he says, leaning over to give me a hug. A part of me is disappointed that he didn’t go right in for the kiss, but another part of me is glad. I wouldn’t know what to do. And I don’t want to end up like Jake (hot guy) and Savannah (resident slut), who are basically making out at the end of the table.

“Hi,” I say back to him. I don’t know what to say next. I used to be able to talk to him somewhat easily, but now I’m just nervous. I can say just one wrong thing, and then he’ll be gone.

“Sorry about the party,” he says, and I forgive him right then and there. His teal eyes are mesmerizing, and I wonder if it’s even possible for someone to be this attractive. “I had no idea that a storm was gonna come…”

“Not your fault,” I tell him.

“I know, but still… Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.”

“I got you a present though. But I forgot to bring it to school today.” He smiles sheepishly. “We should hang out today. I can give it to you then.”

I know I should ask my mom first, but I say, “Sounds good.”

“Cool.”

He then turns to talk to someone else. I just sit there awkwardly, taking small bites of my greasy school pizza. It’s disgusting, but there’s nothing else to eat.

Leilani doesn’t say anything either. Apparently, when you’re not part of the clique, sitting at their table doesn’t make a difference. Not if you’re not one of them.

So I figure that now is the time to talk to Lorraine. It’s not the perfect timing, but it has to be done. Time is running out, anyways.

“Lorraine?” I say, hesitant.
She turns immediately away from Elaina and towards me. “Yeah?”

That’s also the thing about Lorraine. She’s nice. She’ll talk to you, no matter who you are (unless she ends up totally hating you). And there’s this other thing about her, especially her eyes. When she looks at you, it’s like you’re the center of the world. Like she’s completely focused on you, and you’re the most important person at the moment. Now that I notice this, it’s not a surprise how she got her high social status.

“I was reading a story yesterday, and I thought you might be interested in it.”

She gives a weird look, but it’s not insulting. It’s just weird, because I barely know her. So how would I know what she’s interested in? “Uh, okay. What’s it called?”

“It’s called… Diana Crystal.”