[goodies for my goods]
"Pencils down!" A chorus of groans seemed to fill the air of the classroom where the test was being given. Pencils clashed down onto desktops in a rumble of defeat and exhaustion. No one had been ready for this test, but the teacher hadn't cared. She never did. "Pass your tests forward." Papers rustled as they were turned to the first page, and then hands exchanged the failures until they were each taken up into one hand. "Very well. 5 minutes to bell, do as you please." A rush of wind exhaled from each individual student and then conversation muddled up into one ball as everyone began putting away his or her things.
In the back of the room sat a girl. Her head lay on her desk, her eyes closed to the world around her. She looked as if she were sleeping, but she wasn't. She was listening. Observing things from the way people spoke, the tones they used. The voice was a magnificent instrument and so many things could be told from just the mere way someone spoke of someone else. This girl always found it interesting how you could pretend to be asleep and someone would talk openly around you, without realizing you were actually listening. Secrets were no stranger to this girl, because people poured more of their secrets into her than anyone else did to their best friend.
The bell finally rang and the girl lifted her head, opening her eyes to reveal a pale blue that pierced into your soul and made you feel guilty. She grabbed her things and followed the crowd out of the math classroom into the smaller hallways. More conversations, but they were far too muddled for the girl to make any sense out of. She floated, merely a wallflower in the distance, hugged her books close to her chest and bowed her head to watch her feet as she moved - fluid through the crowds. She was used to walking alone, but today someone else had other plans. There was a tug on her shoulderbag strap and the girl looked up, startled at this intrusion to her bubble, to her lonesomeness.
"Hi." The boy said. The girl's eyes grew wide in fright, but she managed a hello in response before adverting her eyes back to the floor and picking up her pace a little bit. The boy kept up with her, though, and when she reached her classroom, she turned around and asked in a biting tone why he had insisted on following her and why he was bothering her. The boy merely laughed and shrugged, his answer simple, "I wanted to." And then he turned and walked away, leaving the girl completely dumbfounded and a little, if not quite a bit, flabbergasted. The bell rang in that instant, and the girl hurried inside after she had come to her senses.
Never before had she experienced that feeling of being talked about, but when she stepped foot into her creative writing class - a hushed silence fell over her classmates and eyes watched her. The girl shifted uncomfortably for a moment and then hurried to her seat in the back of the room, hoping to avoid the gaze of their piercing rumors, but finding it no use. She opened her binder and buried her burning face in her book. For once in her entire life, the wallflower was a topic of conversation - and all because she had just talked to the new guy. She wished herself into oblivion. She wished she could disappear. Things were so much easier when she went along unnoticed. Oh, how dreadful high school life was! Oh, how miserable gossip seemed to be!
In the back of the room sat a girl. Her head lay on her desk, her eyes closed to the world around her. She looked as if she were sleeping, but she wasn't. She was listening. Observing things from the way people spoke, the tones they used. The voice was a magnificent instrument and so many things could be told from just the mere way someone spoke of someone else. This girl always found it interesting how you could pretend to be asleep and someone would talk openly around you, without realizing you were actually listening. Secrets were no stranger to this girl, because people poured more of their secrets into her than anyone else did to their best friend.
The bell finally rang and the girl lifted her head, opening her eyes to reveal a pale blue that pierced into your soul and made you feel guilty. She grabbed her things and followed the crowd out of the math classroom into the smaller hallways. More conversations, but they were far too muddled for the girl to make any sense out of. She floated, merely a wallflower in the distance, hugged her books close to her chest and bowed her head to watch her feet as she moved - fluid through the crowds. She was used to walking alone, but today someone else had other plans. There was a tug on her shoulderbag strap and the girl looked up, startled at this intrusion to her bubble, to her lonesomeness.
"Hi." The boy said. The girl's eyes grew wide in fright, but she managed a hello in response before adverting her eyes back to the floor and picking up her pace a little bit. The boy kept up with her, though, and when she reached her classroom, she turned around and asked in a biting tone why he had insisted on following her and why he was bothering her. The boy merely laughed and shrugged, his answer simple, "I wanted to." And then he turned and walked away, leaving the girl completely dumbfounded and a little, if not quite a bit, flabbergasted. The bell rang in that instant, and the girl hurried inside after she had come to her senses.
Never before had she experienced that feeling of being talked about, but when she stepped foot into her creative writing class - a hushed silence fell over her classmates and eyes watched her. The girl shifted uncomfortably for a moment and then hurried to her seat in the back of the room, hoping to avoid the gaze of their piercing rumors, but finding it no use. She opened her binder and buried her burning face in her book. For once in her entire life, the wallflower was a topic of conversation - and all because she had just talked to the new guy. She wished herself into oblivion. She wished she could disappear. Things were so much easier when she went along unnoticed. Oh, how dreadful high school life was! Oh, how miserable gossip seemed to be!