Young Blood; Part II

              "Yeah, I think I'll pass on that, thanks."
     Colin frowns at my response and whines, "Come on, Sia!"
  It's seventh period. The teacher, Mr. Brunren, finished his lesson early and let the class spend the last twenty minutes as study hall. So really, everyone is just talking or doing homework for other classes. I sit all the way in the back corner, just behind Colin, who has turned in his seat to face me. Under other circumstances, I'd think it was cute that he always turned to talk to me, even though I'm sure he has other friends in this class, but at the moment he's not at the top of my favorites list. Mainly because he's trying to talk me into befriending someone, something I'm not very good at.
      "Just give her a chance. She's pretty awesome, really!"
    I shake my head. "I've been here two days. Can I at least have a week to decide who I want to have as my friends?"
      "No. By then it'll be too late."
      "And why's that?"
 He flashes me a grin. "Because then, you won't be the new girl anymore. You have to make your friends soon, cos right now, you've got everyone's attention."
    I shrink a bit in my seat. "That's the opposite of what I want."
   He gives me a look that tells me he wants to take back what he said. "I mean, people want to know you now. Later, they may not be interested. No offense."
     "None taken," I mumble, straightening and making a pained face. "She's a journalist?"
  "You say it like it's a terrible thing," Colin notices. "Besides, she's just...head of the journalism team. It's not that big of a deal."
 I scratch gently at my arm absentmindedly. "If she's the head of a club, wouldn't that make her popular? She should have a bunch of friends."
   He gives me a pleading look. "She's just...she can sometimes seem a little overwhelming, that's all."
"Great," I mutter.
   "She's just forward," he finishes, "She's not that bad, I promise. Just give her a shot? This afternoon, at the game."
      The bell rings. While students wander out of the room, I swing my bag over my shoulder and look at Colin. "Promise me that I'll like her?"
    "Of course not," he responds. We walk into the hallway together and he faces me and begins to walk backwards. "See you at the game!"
    "How am I supposed to find her?" I call after him.
He grins and winks at me. "Don't worry about that. Let her find you."
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     This is why I hate baseball games.
 Well, sports games in general, really.
I'm surprised to find a reasonably sized set of bleachers along the gated field, probably enough seats to hold around two hundred people. At the moment, half of the seats are full. Who knew baseball was so popular? This school is weird.
    I maneuver a ways past the student section, which is pretty packed, even though it's half past five on a Thursday. I find a row of empty seats and sit myself on the end of one, trying to blend in with the metal. Bad day to wear red, I tell myself, glancing down at my white sweater adorned with cherry-colored stripes.
   The home team emerges from their dugout, and I notice a familiar face. Colin scans the bleachers as he walks into the field, and his eyes find mine. He smiles and pulls his white baseball cap over his dark hair before winking at me. I give a small wave before placing my hands between my knees.
  "Kendrick!" Someone yells, and Colin breaks eye contact with me and rushes to the coach's side, along with the rest of the players. The other team has appeared from inside visitor's dugout and they walk onto the field. Figuring the game won't really start for a couple more minutes, I take a chance to look around.
  This is the first time I've been this far from the school building. Between this ball field and the main building, there are a few separate fields, most likely for football and soccer and stuff like that. Beyond the baseball field, woods stretch a mile or two. In the distance I can see the aligned roofs from a neighborhood along the outskirts of the forest.
  Even with Colin's helping me learn the campus, I'm still really overwhelmed. My dad always prefers me attending large schools, but this one is by far the most impressive. The whole school is enormous. I almost got lost on my way to the classes I didn't share with Colin, those classes being the first, second, and sixth periods. To add to that, there's a large number of students in each class. Even so, I didn't have many people offering to befriend me. Well...that's not necessarily true.
  When I wandered into second period this morning, I was surprised, and pleasantly so, to say the least. Second period is elective period, and at the extensive list of activities, I just picked one at random and ended up with wood shop. Now, I'll never say I'm terrible at constructing things made out of wood. I've built many a birdhouse in my day; I'm pretty sure I can handle some nails and a hammer. I'd never taken wood shop at any of my other schools, so I was kinda embarrassed when I walked into room R23 and found it almost only occupying teenage boys. Around twenty of them, actual, when I took the time to count, and four girls, including myself. When I walked into the huge warehouse that served as their workroom, the whole class was milling about large constructions of wood and metal. "Perfect timing, you getting here," the shop teacher told me, glancing at my schedule, "We're building the sets for our fall play. Hope you're handy with a drill."
  I wasn't. Whenever I tried to drill on part of one of the sets, the drill would shake violently in my hands. I was about to give up when someone behind me spoke.
 "You've gotta put more pressure on it. You can't hold it so loosely."
   Elliot moved beside me and took the drill out of my hands. "Here." He placed the tip of the device onto the screw and pushed hard, and the screw rotated easily into the wood. "There. Now you try."
       A blush comes to my cheeks as I recall this morning. I shake my head. Sure, Elliot saved me from total embarrassment, but that didn't make him my knight in shining armor. Just...an opportune hero, of sorts. I focus back on the game that's about to start. Brierfield players are in the outfield, while Woodrow Academy is up to bat. I watch a boy in pale blue step up to the home plate. He taps his bat against the side of the white plate, a grin on his face. Out in the field, I spot Colin, the shortstop. He leans down, elbows on his knees, eyes on the pitcher, waiting for him to pitch the ball.
  "Oh good, I haven't missed it!" I turn my head as a girl falls into the space beside me. She sets her messenger bag on the bleacher seat and lets out a relieved sigh before tucking a strand of lavender-streaked blue-black hair behind her ear. She grins at me. "You're alone, so you must be Sia. I'm right, aren't I?"
   She holds out a hand clad with a good number of silver-banded rings, and I take it. The rings are cold against my skin, but her palm is warm.
   "Yeah," I tell her, "Colin didn't tell me your name. Apparently, it would 'ruin the experience'."
She laughs. "Colin. Correct, as always. Denison Hill, but most call me Deni. Please to meet you."
  I take a moment to study her. In her lap she sits a large black camera bag, most likely one she borrow from class. There's her journalism side, but I have yet to discover the stuck-up prick side that I'd been expecting. I figure Colin has enough character to know a cool friend when he sees one. From the looks of it, she's the kind of person that warms up to anyone. Heck, she's the only girl I've been comfortable being around in who knows how long. If Colin is such good friends with her, then I can do the same, right?
    Deni turns to the ball field, where the game has started without us. The batter from before is now on first base, and another has taken his place at the bat. Colin is in the same position as before, close to the ground with his catcher's mitt almost touching the dirt.
  "So, you didn't to sit in the student section?" Deni asks, bringing my attention back to her.
I shrug. "I don't know. It seems a bit overwhelming. The whole school is, actually."
"I prefer the term 'extraordinary'," she says, laughing after the words leave her mouth. I peer around her and look at the student section, where students sit calmly, watching the game. It's almost amusing how intent they are towards a silly game like baseball.
   "Come to think of it, why are so many students here, anyway?" I ask, straightening back up and looking at Deni. "I didn't think baseball was ever that big of a deal, especially in high school.
   "Oh, they don't come all the time. On any other day, there wouldn't be nearly this many. But this isn't any other day."
  I blink at her. "Why do you say that?"
"Because we're playing Woodrow, and they're known for pitching fast and far. There's this one batter that almost always sends the ball over the fence." She gestures to the tall wooden wall, the same dark green as the Brierfield uniforms, marking the barrier of the ball field. "They're one of the best teams we've ever played."
  I roll my eyes. "They came for that?"
"Not for that, Sia," Deni winks at me with lavender iris' that are too insane to not be contact lenses, "but because we have the coolest outfielder in the universe."
  I immediately assume she means Colin, but then she points far out on the field to the edge of the back wall, where another boy stands. His right hand casually grips the gloved left. He has his head bent, but as the cracking sound of tough leather against wood splits the air, his head snaps up. The baseball flies nowhere near him, keeping low to the ground on its way towards the space between first and second base, but before he can focus on the pitcher again, I get a look at his face.
  The 'coolest outfielder' just so happens to be Elliot.





((Wow I didn't mean for that to seem so suspenseful, but daaaang. Haha corny, I know, but it gets better, trust me. I didn't originally want Elliot to be the 'mysterious hottie hero' cliche, and I don't even think I want that now, but a girls gotta write what her brain tells her to write. So apparently I started working on this shortly after I posted the first part, which makes me feel pretty terrible, since that was so long ago. >.<  But it's here now! Hopefully I can keep it up. School has gotten pretty stressful, though, sucking up my inspiration and such. Wish me luck!
~Squiggs))

Please don't hold this against me...

"And I wish all my friends could all laugh with each other,
and all my friends could all cheer with each other,
and all my friends could all forgive each other."

      I hate high school.
     I guess there's a reason everyone says that junior year is the hardest year. At first I thought they meant it was difficult keeping good grades. But honestly, my grades have been better this year than they have since middle school. No. Grade-wise, this year so far has been fantastic. I wish I could enjoy it, but I can't. Want to know why? Because the majority of my friends...I'm not even sure if they're my friends anymore. And sure, it's probably my fault for not coming to lunch anymore, but honestly, why would I want to? All that has to offer me is drama that I don't need and that I definitely don't want. Most of my so-called-friends don't even talk to me, or all they want to do is talk trash about one of my real friends. I'm so sick of the drama. Is it even right to call it drama? It's freaking childish. So what's-her-face told that guy you "liked" him. Oh noes, your life is over, better change your name and move to Australia. Suck it up and move on. It probably wasn't meant to hurt you.
     It's either stupid kid-fights like that, or something serious. Like, super serious, that I want to help with, but I truly do not know how. Scratch that. I do know how, and it'd be freaking easy. But it would also be costly. But honestly, what's more important to me? Someone's friendship, or someone's life.
     In short, when this song came on one of the fan-mixes I was listening to, it really got to me, enough that I almost started crying. I don't want the reason I hate school to be my friends, or lack there of. But I can't deal with this stuff. I can't deal with stupid drama and someone's suicidal thoughts that bring me to tears every time I see that person. I can't deal with the knowledge that if people just get their minds out of the gutter that it wouldn't have to be like that.
      So listen up. I'm done with everything from the past. I'm done holding stupid grudges that meant nothing then and mean nothing now. I'm done holding back when seeing a friend being hurt. I'm done letting people talk crap about the people I care about. I don't care if people don't want to hang out with me anymore. That's their choice, not mine, and I guess it means that I never meant anything to them in the first place. But from now on, I'm not gonna start drama, I'm not gonna be a part of the drama, and I'm not gonna sit back and let it run wild. I want to do everything I can to stop it. Because honestly, I just want us all, all of my friends, to get along, and I don't see why that can't happen. Call me naive, whatever you want. That's just what I want.
~Squiggs

Song: we are not friends      Artist: S