We Are All Broken

With this being my first day at Greenleaf High, I stood in the corner of the lunch room, secretly watching the people around me. I was a people watcher. That’s pretty much all I did. Since I had no friends, I just watched the people around me. I watched as two people walked up to each other, smiling and talking. I saw a little blonde headed girl stumble her way through a crowd and finding a seat all by herself. I couldn’t help but smirk at her situation. It was very similar to mine, but she looked awkward by herself unlike me. My head quickly snapped back towards the popular group. I could tell they were popular with the way people quickly moved out of their way. They seemed to be heading my way. “Hey emo,” Autumn, the ‘leader’ said, sneering at me.
I remained silent. “Emo whore,” someone coughed. Everyone erupted into laughter. I crossed my arms, trying to block out their voices.
“Why the hell are you here?” Valentina, said, “You’re a complete waste of space.”
My arms tensed, “Worthless gay,” another added.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. I could feel warm tears forming behind my eyes. Everything went cold and I felt numb. Suddenly, I felt a warm hand warp around mine and I was pulled away from the group. I looked down at a girl who had pulled me away. “I’m Scarlett,”
“Kai,” I said simply. She quickly drew a butterfly on my arm. “What’s this,” I asked my voice hoarse.
“Butterfly. It means I want you to stop cutting. If you cut before it fades, you’ll kill it. Don’t kill me.”
“Isn’t that called the Butterfly Project?”
“Yeah, it worked for me. Maybe it will work for you.”
I gave her a weak smile which she returned. “There’s still a few minutes of lunch left. Want to join me?” I nodded.