The Darcy Project

School wasn’t the same as the televised teen dramatizations they’d let me watch for the last two weeks at the lab. No one picked on me, people didn’t swarm me in the halls and in my first period, Physics, the teacher didn’t make me get up in front of the class. She merely gestured to me, saying my name and asked everyone to be kind to me.

One of the few truths from the television was the staring. I was working busily on the assignment, one I discovered was extraordinarily easy, when I looked up to find the majority of the class watching me. Part of me wanted to assume it was purely because I was a new face to them. But deep down I knew it was because I looked perfect.

I wasn’t allowed to truly admit this to myself, because humility was a trait of perfection.
“Hey, I’m Bryant,” the boy beside me said, pulling my focus away from the assignment. I looked up, meeting the stare of a good looking boy with golden hair and blue eyes. I smiled warmly at him.

“I’m Darcy,” I said for the sake of being polite, because my name had already been announced and I doubted he’d forgotten it in the half our since it had been said. He nodded, the grin remaining on his face. He was a playboy; I knew that without even having to fully speak to him.

Bryant’s mannerisms were practically screaming he was a heart breaker. From the way he casually leaned towards me, as if I might be something special, but his latest conquest was probably on his mind. The lazy grin he was trying to dazzle me with was set on his face as a lure, saying, ‘hey, I’m gorgeous, but I’m so nonchalant that I’m not attainable’.

“Well, welcome to Berkeley. If you need a tour guide some time, or just want someone to kill some time with, I’m all yours.”

Perfection meant I had to indulge this boys flirting. I didn’t mind, his words weren’t hurting me or anyone else. In the future I’d have to be careful not to lead him on or anything, but for now our encounter was harmless.

Bryant allowed me to continue on with my work and when the class ended he walked me to my second period, gym.

“Have fun,” he said, grimacing at the doors to the gym. “Mrs. Tyler can be a real bi-“ he caught himself, “pain. She can be a pain.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said, waving to him and entering the girls locker room. A sign on the white brick wall read in blocky writing, Mrs. Tyler, with an arrow pointing towards the row of lockers. Girls were chatting animatedly, opening their lockers, dawdling on getting into their gym clothes. I strode past them, smiling at those who looked my way.

I reached the end of the long room and saw an open door with a window beside it, revealing Mrs. Tylers office. She looked up as I stepped in, her dark brown hair pulled off her face to reveal a scowl.

“You the new kid?” she asked gruffly, and I might have felt intimidated if she weren’t so thin and bony. After being a gym teacher she probably had developed an impressive amount of muscle, but as she sat there in front of me I couldn’t help but think how fragile she appeared.

“Yes, that’s me,” I said, stepping further inside, “I’m Darcy Evans.”
Before I’d left the lab, I hadn’t had a last name. Now that Micah was my legal guardian I was Darcy Evans. If people were to ask I was his niece. I wasn’t technically allowed to answer the question of who I was, because the niece story was a lie. Perfect beings didn’t lie. It was just something Micah had to say to those who were curious.

“You can sit out today, but you better have gym clothes next time or you’ll be running laps until you do get them. In your casual dress.”

With that said, Mrs. Tyler stood, reach an inch or two taller then I was, and exited her office. She stormed passed the changing girls, her eyes dead set on the doors that led to the hall by the gym. “Hurry it up, ladies!”

I followed her, once again giving a smile to those who stared at me and hurried into the gym. Sitting on the bleachers was another girl and a guy who both were dressed normally. Their features were very similar and my brain quickly put together that they were twins.

I climbed the bleachers, sitting beside the boy, smiling at them.

“Hello,” I said, earning wide eyed glances from the two of them.

“Uh, hey,” the girl said, peering at her brother for a moment. He just looked at me again, before pulling his hood over his head. Which almost made me laugh. It was as if he thought the piece of material would make me forget that he existed.

“I’m Darcy.”

“This is Marcus and I’m Marie,” she said, nudging her brother who gave me another fleeting look from behind the black hood. The twins had fair blonde hair and pale skin, seeming out of place among the tanned citizens of California. But we were in Berkeley, where the sun didn’t shine twenty four seven like in LA. The sun was filtered out by the thick greenery and dense cloud cover that only left for the summer.

“Did you two forget your gym clothes?”

“We’re new,” she said simply, unable to keep constant eye contact with me. Mr. McMillan back at the lab had been the same.

“Really? Me too,” I said, “did you guys just start today?”

Marie shook her head, a grudging look forming on her pretty face, “No. We just hate gym.”

I laughed as Mrs. Tyler appeared. The bleachers had filled during the brief conversation. Roll was called, the class officially started and I held short, shy conversations with Marie until the bell rang. As I left the gym a girl with chocolate brown hair appeared beside me, a grateful smile on her face.

“Thank you for talking to my cousins,” she said sincerely. I looked back at the twins, who were trailing behind the crowd leaving the gym, talking with significantly less enthusiasm then the people around them.

“Marcus and Marie are your cousins?”
She nodded, waving at Marie who returned it awkwardly.

“They haven’t really made any friends,” she said, frowning still staring at Marie. “I’ve tried to get them to hang out with my group, but they didn’t really enjoy themselves.”
She smiled at me. “You got them to be the most responsive so far. So kudos to you.”

I laughed, nodding.

“I’m Lily,” she said, extending her hand. I shook it gently.

“Darcy.”

“Well, new girl, how about you eat lunch with my gang after third?”

“Cool, sounds fun,” I said, grinning. Lily tucked a curled lock of hair behind her ear, pulling out her cell phone, returning a text.

“Awesome,” she said, her voice distant. She shut her phone, coming back into the conversation, her smile refreshed from the distraction, “Cool, cool. My cars in the front parking lot farthest to the left by the car dealership. It’s a little blue Mazda.”

After that we parted ways and I couldn’t help but feel a little excited to have been accepted already. I’d noticed Lily in gym, she was popular with plenty of boys falling over each other to impress her. As I sat in English I thought about my lunch plans.

“Did you see her in physics? She was throwing herself at Bryant!”

The words had been hissed behind me, and I subtly cocked my head to the side, turning so I could see the girls in my peripheral. There were three of them, leaning in towards each other. Gossip. That was also something I’d seen on TV and knowledge of it had been
programmed into my mind.

“What a slut,” one added, flicking her bleached blonde hair.

“What kind of name is Darcy anyway?” the first one who had spoken said, looking away from me. I sighed, ignoring them.

Everyone was entitled to their opinions.

I wasn’t bothered.