Sara stood nervously beside Crissy’s locker. She had come to school early today, eager to tell Crissy what her brother had done. She suddenly felt like one of the cutesy little girls who stood with their friends and gossiped about boys. But this was serious, she told herself, and it was definitely an abnormal occurrence. Christoph was unquestionably the most popular boy in school, and Sara was probably the least known. She had always been one to stick to the shadows and corners, never wanting to draw any real attention to herself. Her clothes were simple and her hair never styled. Her make-up was faint and her jewelry was plain. She never spoke up in class or made good grades. She was just another student, just another girl. But now she was different. Now she was the girl that Christoph liked. She was the subject of gossip, and she felt like she was choking.

When she saw Crissy, she felt great relief and walked toward her, but stopped abruptly when she saw Christoph walking right beside her. He flashed her a grin and walked over to her with Crissy.

“Hi, Sara.” he said with unusual cheerfulness that Crissy noticed immediately. She looked back and forth between them, at Christoph’s bright grin and Sara’s flushed cheeks.

“Hi.” Sara replied quietly, looking away.

“I’ll leave you two girls to talk. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss.” he said, walking away and waving.

Crissy looked uneasily at Sara. “What was that about?”

Sara’s face became even redder. Her first thought was to tell Crissy everything that had happened. But from the tone in his voice, she was sure that he wanted her to tell Crissy. Why would he? She thought hard, and concluded that he must have some reason, that if she told, it would somehow further his own, unknown ambition. So she decided to keep yesterday’s experience from Crissy. “It’s nothing,” she lied, “I just don’t feel well today.”

Crissy knew something was going on. She wasn’t an idiot, but she half-smiled and kept her mouth shut. The change in Christoph was amazing. Even the night before, he had refrained from hurting her. He had retired to his bedroom and stayed there all night. Such behavior was shocking for him. Perhaps he was becoming well again? Maybe Sara said something to him that triggered a change. Crissy felt almost hopeful as she walked with Sara to her locker, happy that Christoph now seemed to approve of their friendship.

“So... um... did you ever find your science book?” Sara asked.

“Yeah. I’d left it in my fourth period class.”

There was an awkward silence between them for a few minutes before Kurt, one of Christoph’s friends approached. “Hey, Crissy!” he said, waving. Crissy waved back. Kurt immediately began eyeing Sara. “So... you’re Sara, right?”

Sara nodded and became tense. She just knew Christoph had told him what happened, and that he would mention it in front of Crissy. Instead he just grinned and said “You’re pretty cute. Not half as ugly as Christoph said you were.” With that he laughed hysterically as he walked away.

Sara felt her blood boiling. Ugly? Christoph thought she was ugly? Then why, she thought, did he lie so pathetically the very day before? Why did he kiss her? She felt angry and upset, but somewhere in the depths of her heart, she felt sorrow and disappointment.

It was lunchtime before she saw Christoph again, surrounded by his friends (including Kurt). She marched right up to him and grabbed his arm. She turned him around, much the same way he had done the day before in the hall. “Just what were you trying to accomplish yesterday?!” she yelled.

He smiled innocently. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean! You stopped me in the hall yesterday and tried your best to convince me that you were in love with me! You said I was beautiful and you even kissed me! Now you buddy tells me that you said I’m ugly!”

“Buddy?”

She pointed to Kurt. “Him!” she screamed.

Christoph glared at him. “Why did you tell her something like that?”

Kurt started chuckling. “Cause she is ugly. I just thought I’d mess with her.” he said, still laughing.

Christoph fixed his face into an utterly frightening scowl. “She is NOT ugly! Now, straighten this up!”

Kurt was silenced immediately and looked terrified. He looked back to Sara. “Sorry. I was just playing around. He didn’t say anything.”

Sara looked back at Christoph. “Thanks.” she muttered and walked over to get in line for a tray. Christoph followed and got behind her. He pulled off his reading glasses and slid them into his shirt pocket.

“Want to sit together?” he asked sweetly.

She faced him boldly. “You look better in glasses.” she said flatly, returning her eyes to the food and dipping out some mashed potatoes.

He quickly put them back on and took hold of the spoon she was now using to get her green beans. He proceeded to serve her everything from the bar and even handed the lunch lady enough cash to cover both their lunches, despite Sara’s protests.

“Why are you doing this?” Sara asked as he carried his and her trays to a secluded table in the corner.

He sat them down carefully and slid onto the bench. “Because I like you.”

She felt herself becoming red again and she took a sip of her chocolate milk. “I don’t believe you.” she said quietly.

He looked up from his fried chicken. “Why not?”

“Because, through all my time here, no one has given me a second glance. Now, the most popular guy in school suddenly has the hots for me. It just doesn’t make sense, and it definitely isn’t natural.”

“Natural?”

“For a guy like you to like a girl like me.”

“What kind of girl are you?”

Sara hesitated, looking at his sweet smile. She sighed. “The kind of girl that cute guys don’t like.” she said, standing up and leaving her tray where it sat. She walked off quickly, even though he called out for her to come back. She mentally thanked God that Crissy had a different lunch period than hers. She would’ve died if Crissy saw her and Christoph eating lunch together.

She stomped down the hallway, angry at herself for letting Christoph embarrass her the way he did. Maybe he didn’t mean to, but she was embarrassed nonetheless. She had acted so foolish, blushing at his words as if she actually believed them. What was wrong with her?

She spotted a nice little corner in the hall next to a window and plopped down, leaning her back against the wall. She fiddled with one of the twenty black, rubber bracelets on her wrist. She stretched it out and then back in, twisted it around her fingers, and then undid her work. She continued the motions, watching the bracelet with clouded eyes, her mind nowhere near her current activity.

“Hey, isn’t that Sara?” she heard someone whisper.

“Yeah, that’s her. I told you she was a freak.” came another whisper.

Sara glanced across the hall where two girls from her class stood, clutching their shiny pink folders in front of their chests and blinking their eyes, making their long lashes flutter prettily.

She returned her gaze to her bracelet, intending to ignore them. “Why does she always dress like that?” one of them continued to the other.

“I think she’s a dyke.” the other said laughing. They giggled for a while before walking further down the hall to greet two football players who had just walked out of a class. The shook their hips shamelessly and flipped their curly, blonde hair gracefully with their jeweled hands. Sara was disgusted.

She waited a few more minutes before standing and trodding over to her locker. Once it was opened, a small white envelope became visible. She picked it up and slowly opened it. Her cheeks became red and hot as she read the words: “I want you. Don’t you want me?” At the bottom was the name written in smooth cursive letters: “Christoph”

Quickly, she ripped the letter to shreds, along with the envelope and flung the pieces across the hall. It was all a joke. It had to be. She slammed the locker door shut and rammed her fist into it. As a drop of blood trickled from the cracked knuckle of her hand, a salty tear fell from her eye.