Miss Lonely
By Cassandra Sunn

She looked so out of place standing there after school that sunny January afternoon. While the other girls were wearing too tight jeans and those cutesy little shirts, she wore grey leggings that bagged a little at the knees and ankles and a grey short-sleeved shirt that went about halfway down her chunky thighs. Tied around her plump waist was an off-white jacket with thin horizontal stripes. Her long dirty-blond hair was up in a high ponytail. Her fingernails had dirt under them and small remains of red nail polish. She had a large light blue backpack and three heavy books in her arms. Her round face would have been nice looking if it weren’t for the half frown on her full lips. Her eyes squinted behind gold rimmed glasses.

With a sigh, she plopped her backpack down under a nearby tree. She took out a Diet Pepsi, gulped a little, and put it back. She gave a small smile and a half wave as a tall brunette with a volleyball sweatshirt walked by. She got no reaction and quickly turned to hide her hurt. A blond with a pink backpack and a blue “Roxy” shirt walked up.

“Hey, Phoebe, what’s up?”

Phoebe smiled. “Nothing much, Diane. And you?”

“Josh is bothering me again.” Diane launched into a story of what her little brother had done. Phoebe nodded occasionally, tuning Diane out slightly. When Diane stopped ranting, Phoebe rolled her eyes.

“Siblings are the worst! Cindy’s not that bad, but she’s no angel.” Adjusting her shirt, she laughed. It was a forced laugh.

“Diane, where is the bus?” A girl with black pants and a white shirt walked over and put her forehead on Diane’s shoulder. “It’s late. Again!”

“It’s always late. I hate that damn bus.” Diane curled her upper lip.

Phoebe nodded in agreement, but she was still in her own world. She quickly shook her head, as if coming out of a trance.

“Bus!”

Phoebe seemed actually happy. But as everyone pushed onto the bus, she lost that happiness in the crowd.

“Hey! Ladies first!” the bus driver yelled. The boys grumbled, but stepped aside. Phoebe grabbed the first empty seat and immediately got engrossed in one of her thick books. Now she was truly happy.

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Wow. This story seemed much longer on paper.

I wrote this in tenth grade. This is not fiction. It actually happened. I changed the names, but everything else stayed the same. Yes, I’m Phoebe. Hi. My life was not good. I was always out of place and had few friends. Not like now. So many friends! Haha! Okay, maybe not a lot of friends, but a hell of a lot more than in this story!

I doubt the girls I wrote about would even know it’s them. And if I told them, they wouldn’t remember. Hell, the tall brunette probably doesn’t even remember me! :sigh: Yeah, that’s life. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me. Please review.