"...so then I said, "Like totally no way!' I mean I was not going to be caught dead with a guy like him. Would you? Of course not, so anyway-" my friend, Senica, was having a typical conversation with herself. With my good friend since kindergarten, Neil, on my right and Senica on my left, I walked the halls of Scottsdale High School. Luckily, I had been able to loose Audra, although I knew she wouldn't want to hang around me anyway. We turned another corner and entered the junior wing. Familiar faces crowed the hall as students rushed to find their lockers and then their friends. I shoved my bookbag into my locker and slammed the metal door. "Who's your homeroom teacher?" Neil asked me. "Mrs. Radley," I told him. "Damn, we're not in the same homeroom anymore," he said. I shrugged and watched him unload his stuff. The Senica rushed over to us again, but I had never noticed she left. "Omigod, have you guys seen what Halley Craven is wearing?! When will she learn that not only does heather gray not go with acqua blue but that she should NOT be wearing hip-huggers!" she excited informed us of an important fact for every day living. I prepared myself for another headache as Senica continued her dribble. I turned from my friends to look down the hallway. A group of kids cleared an area across from us which left one boy alone. He clutched a piece of white paper in his left hand and held his grip on his bookbag with his right. Every so often he would glance at the paper and then search for something around him. I was unaware of my hypnotical stare until he suddenly shifted his eyes to me. I blinked several times and then gave him a friendly smile. He returned an unsure grin. "Hey Neil," I nidged my friend. "Yeah? What?" he wanted to know.
"See that guy over there?"
"Yeah, you like him or something?"
"No, he just looks new that's all."
"So, go over and talk to him."
"I can't do that!"
"Why not? We're juniors now, Ariel. Not little freshmen that play games."
"You go."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because you're a guy, you can relate to anyone," I said and shoved him in the guy's direction. I watched Neil strut over to him and try to strike up a conversation. His attempt worked rather well for he returned a few minutes later with a smile on his face. "Well?" I asked impatiently. "Well, what?" he played dumb. He chuckled,"He's new here, his name is Ike. He didn't know where his locker was so I showed him." "Did you say anything about me?" I wondered. "Aww, Arie's got a crush," he crooned. I playfully hit him and he laughed," Yes, I told him your name and that we would see him around. Does that satisfy you?" "Yeah, I guess so," I said with a slight disappointment.