Chapter Two

“You are not a mistake. You are not a problem to be solved. But you won’t discover that until you are willing to stop banging your head against the wall of shaming and caging and fearing yourself.” – Geneen Roth.

MAISIE

BEFORE I KNEW IT, it was Friday. And I was happy because it was one of the most peaceful weeks of my school life. Nothing out of the ordinary happened but somehow, the Bs left me alone. And for me, that was a really big deal. Apart from the usual silly pranks like making me trip or knocking my things out of my hands, no other incident happened. It was as if I was somehow partly invisible.

Maybe wishes do come true.

And it was all thanks to the new kids. Most people were too busy with them – either trying to be their friends or trying to date them. I was in neither category but I was so grateful that they took all the spotlight. I was grateful that they were keeping the queen Bees so busy that they didn’t have time to torture me.

I’d already heard some things about them. Apparently, they’re from the UK, they’re twins and in their senior year. Just as I had predicted, Brittany dumped her boyfriend before the end of the week. Everyone was talking about it. When you’re like me and have no friends, you tend to get information from overhearing people. From what I’d heard, the new guy’s name was Alexander, and his twin was Avery. I had a few classes with each one but only one with them both. From what I’d observed, Alexander didn’t seem like the bad boy type and Avery didn’t seem like the mean girl type. Not that I was watching them or anything. It was just hard not to notice them.

When school hours were over, I walked out with a smile on my face. My mom was already waiting for me in her car. When I hopped into the car, she gave me a suspicious look.

“Well, this is new.” She said as she studied my face.

“What is?”

“You’re smiling. You never smile when you’re walking out of school,” my Mom pointed out.

I shrugged. “Just felt like smiling.”

“Good day?” She started the car.

“Something like that.”

“Or is it a boy you like?” She had a teasing smirk on her face.

“That’s not possible.”

“You don’t like boys? She inquired, raising an eyebrow, smirk still in place.

“I do. It’s just that the boys in my grade are… repulsing. They’re annoying, mom. And besides, I don’t have time for that right now, my priority is my studies.”

And no one would probably look at me twice, let alone have a crush on me or want to date me, I mentally added.

“I’m sure they’re not that bad. The right guy will come around. You just wait.” She smiled.

I highly doubted that.

***

My excitement for the weekend was short-lived because it went by in the twinkle of an eye. I had the feeling that this week wouldn’t be as blissful as the last which left me feeling anxious.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror that morning. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

When I walked into the school, it seemed as if people were still hung up about the new kids. It felt like I was invisible to them and I loved it. It was what I had always wanted. It was during lunch break that I realized I wasn’t as invisible as I’d thought. It happened in the cafeteria. I forgot to pack lunch and I was starving so I went to the cafeteria to buy food. After getting what to eat, I headed towards the doors because I didn’t want to eat in the cafeteria.

Suddenly, my food tray was flipped. A gasp left my mouth as I stared at the food now plastered on my shirt. I heard laughter and I looked to see the Bs.

“Oops. I didn’t see you there.” Brittany said, batting her eyelashes. I concluded there and then that that was the only thing her brain could come up with every time she did something to me. Her minions stood on both her sides like puppets, ready to agree to any stupid thing that pops out of her mouth.

I could feel eyes on me and all I could think of was getting out of there. I did just that, not daring to look back. A moment later, I found myself in the bathroom with an extra shirt I’d gotten from my locker. I always had extra shirts in my locker for when stunts like this were pulled. As I was about to enter a stall to get changed, I heard a toilet flush before the door opened. The new girl walked out of the stall. Our eyes met before her gaze shifted to my shirt. I held my breath, waiting for a snicker or a snide comment.

“That sucks. I’m sorry that happened to you. Accidents like this happen all the time. It happened to me once.” She smiled as she talked as if recalling the memory. She walked to the sink and washed her hands.

I was taken aback by her comment but I knew that she was mistaken, mine was definitely not an accident. I didn’t know what to say to her so I just settled on thanking her for her kind words.

“Hi. I’m Avery. I’m new here.” She stretched a welcoming hand towards me. I bit my bottom lip and stared at her hand for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not to take it.

This beautiful polite person is introducing herself to you, Maisie, the least you can do is to be nice and introduce yourself back. I listened to my subconscious and took her hand, deciding not to leave a bad first impression.

“I’m Maisie. Not new here.” An awkward chuckle left my lips. “ Nice to meet you.”

She smiled. She actually smiled and she was even more beautiful with her nice set of teeth on display. Her smile was contagious.

“I see you have an extra shirt. Always be prepared, right?”

I shrugged, the corners of my lips turning up slightly.

“Let me leave you to do your thing. See you around, Maisie.” She gave me a nod and left.

“You too, Avery,” I whispered to myself as I entered a stall. I found the whole encounter bizarre because she was nice to me and she also said she’d see me around.

I guessed that she hadn’t heard about me yet. She hadn’t heard about the school’s recluse. When she does, she’d act like this little interaction never happened.

Boy, was I wrong!