High School Dreams

Chapter One

She was walking around with a little hop in her stride, her blazingly white teeth shining in every direction. Her boyfriend was sauntering towards her and she opened her arms wide and hugged him and then they kissed. When she finally came up for air, her golden blonde hair was still perfectly straight with no loose strands at all. I watched them walk down the hall together, hand in hand. It made me want to throw up the juice box I had for breakfast.

“How can anyone stand being around her?” I asked my best friend Sara Cleets. I’m not quite sure why I was asking her, she was almost exactly the same as perfect Catherine Brooks, the most popular girl in school, or so some people think. You could say that Sara gets a lot of attention from the guys. Her dirty blonde hair has a natural wave to it which accents her babyish blue eyes and blemish free complexion. Not to mention she is extremely skinny. The fact that she is almost six feet tall makes her seem even skinnier. She is always wearing cloths that are in style and her make-up is always done with such precision that I wonder how she ever gets to school on time. None the less, she is my friend and I was stupid enough to ask her.

I could tell by the tone of her voice that she felt slightly put back. I would’ve been too if I were in her position. “Well, she is pretty and she gets along with almost everyone. I mean, there is no reason why people wouldn’t like her.”

“Of course! How could I not have seen it before?” I sneered, “If people think you’re hot then you will just get everything on a silver platter: food, friends, guys. You name it. They get it!”

Sara’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. I had hit a soft spot and I knew it. She was always a little touchy when people assumed she was stuck up because of how she looked. “This is just like you Emily. Jealous of what you don’t have. Jealous of what you don’t even want. Let me tell you something; if you keep on acting like you are now, James will be your last name for the rest of your life. Envy does not suit you Em. I hope you know that.”

At that point the bell rang which was lucky because I couldn’t think of anything to say back to her. I grabbed my bag and walked to my next class in a huff. Everyone who was in the classroom stared at me when I slammed my books on my desk. They should’ve been used to it by now.

My temper has been on the verge of exploding a lot lately and my fight with Sara was one of the worst yet. I shouldn’t have yelled at her for saying that Catherine was pretty and I definitely shouldn’t have told her that “some” people can just get by on their looks. She hadn’t deserved that. Sara was a good all around person; she was top in almost all of her classes, she played almost every single sport there was and she had her choice of friends and guys. “That,” I thought “is what makes me so mad.” You see, Sara had been right in calling me jealous.

She had been right in almost everything that she had just said. The only difference is I truly did want a relationship. I wanted someone to confide in, someone who would not laugh when I started talking about my feelings. Sara could get that anytime she wanted. She isn’t one of the most beautiful girls in school for nothing.

Then there’s me. I’m fairly small - five foot two, five foot three maybe. My hair is naturally a nasty mixture of brown and red which I tried dying blonde but somehow it managed to turn blue. A slight case of acne can be found at least twice a month on my face. Make-up is not something I use so dark circles often appear under my eyes. I am not a total slob though. My waist is thin, though not as thin as Sara’s, and my abdominal is to die for. Many people would do anything to have the endurance, agility, fitness and near perfect muscular distribution that I have. Some people would even do anything to have my eyes. My eyes are a beautiful mosaic of color. They are mostly a blue and gray blend with a circle of dark green along the outside. Some days you can see a few light brown blotches near my pupil. None the less, I am proud of who I am. I just wish that others could feel the same way towards me.

I spent the rest of the class thinking about my life and how crappy it can be. Finally the bell rang and I left for lunch carrying more than just homework on my back.

Sara and I were obviously trying to avoid each other because I didn’t see her for the rest of the day. However, I did see perfect Catherine and her boyfriend Elias Thorton. It didn’t seem like they were having a friendly conversation. I slowed my steps so I could laugh silently at their fight.

Catherine was almost in tears and her voice cracked when she spoke, “What do you mean you want to break up with me? Why? Why would you?” This was almost too good to be true, I thought to myself.

“I’m sorry Cathy but I think I like someone else. This relationship just doesn’t feel right.” Elias’ brown eyes were not meeting Catherine’s and his relatively small feet (for a guy) were fidgeting.

My feet stopped moving. Elias liked someone else. This was brilliant. I smiled and then laughed as I saw the expression on Catherine’s face as she marched off. At this, Elias turned to face me. When our eyes met, his tan face blushed and he ran his fingers through his brown spiked hair. “Hey Emily,” he said, “sorry you had to see that.”

This took me by surprise and before I could stop myself I exclaimed “Sorry? What for? That was the best thing I’ve seen in weeks.” I started walking towards my locker again. Elias walked with me. He was smiling.

“Your friends with Sara Cleets, right?” he asked. At least I knew who the other person he liked was and why he was talking to me.

I answered in an innocent, curious tone, “Yeah. Why?” He blushed again and he looked down at his shoes.

“Well,” he replied nervously, “I just saw you two fighting earlier and I was wondering why.” Elias looked up at me again. He was so tall and his shoulders were so broad. No one knew I liked him.

“Oh,” I said embarrassedly. I hadn’t known he had seen us, “it was…uh…just something stupid.” If I could blush, I knew I would be doing just that right now.

Bright white and straight teeth flashed nervously at me once again. “Cool,” said Elias, “maybe I’ll see you around some time soon then. See you.” Then he ran off to go find his friends.

The next day, I went to Sara’s locker to tell her I was sorry for acting like an idiot. It was right before I turned into her hallway that I heard two voices I recognized. These voices belonged to Elias and Sara. I stopped and leaned against the wall, trying my hardest to act casual and still listen to what was being said. Now I wish I hadn’t.

“…doesn’t feel right, Sara.” It was Elias who I first heard, “What if Emily comes up here and finds us. It would be really awkward.”

“Don’t worry about Emily,” laughed Sara, “It would be better if she knew anyways. I’m not worried. There is no reason you should be too.”

There was a short pause and then Elias spoke again, “You’re her best friend…I don’t want her to know unless she has to. Are you sure she likes me?” He was definitely worried about something but it wasn’t him that should be worried.

Again Sara laughed. “Trust me. I know for a fact that she has a major crush on you. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen her stare at you and Cathy. Every time she did she would start complaining. Not about you of course. That’s how I could tell.”

“I never noticed her staring…”

“Oh she was. Quit looking around. Em won’t be here for another half an hour. She rarely comes any earlier than the very last minute.”

This was when I turned into the hallway. My best friend had known I liked Elias and she was still going to go out with him. My fists were balled as I walked closer towards them.. I watched as Elias and Sara said their goodbyes with an extra, “Don’t look so nervous,” and a hug from Sara. That was when I reached them. Elias was facing me at the time and his eyes widened when he saw me. “How much did you hear?” he asked in a very frightened tone. Sara let go of Elias and spun around.

My eyes narrowed even more when I saw her grin and wave. “Enough,” I said, “to know when my best friend is double crossing me.” I ripped the best friend bracelet Sara had given me on my fifteenth birthday. That had just been last year. I threw it at her. “Take it! I don’t want it anymore.” As I marched towards the door, I could hear Sara yelling my name, telling me I had misunderstood. It didn’t matter what she said. I know what I heard and I know what I’d seen. My ex-best friend was nothing more than a player.