MY BEST FRIEND ELI ⁂ E.M.

PRELUDE

Do you remember the first time you were called annoying?

How your breath stopped short in your chest. The way the light drained from your eyes, though you knew your cheeks were ablaze. The way your throat tightened as you tried to form an argument that got lost on your tongue.

Flossie's eyes never left the floor that day after school.

She was eleven.

The laughter was the worst. The way they heckled at her clothes as tears threatened to spill down onto the young girl's flushed cheeks.

"Everyone knows Adidas have three stripes, not four. They're fakes," Yasmine jeered, pointing to her shoes that had been so worn out, from playing ball at the park, that the soles had almost broken off.

"They're not fake," Flossie stammered out. When her composure crumbled, she wanted to instinctively hide, but as the jokes littered out of their mouths, like their lips couldn't contain the words, she stood there taking it like a coward.

Yasmine had been her closest friend until the summer before fifth grade, when girls started caring about their appearance and boys attention. Then, almost suddenly, it was as if the girl couldn't be seen with Flossie.

When the group dispersed, making their way to their parents cars at pickup, Flossie begrudgingly yanked her bike from the rack outside the school. She wiped her forehead in despair when she took notice of her scroungy clothing. She was left convincing herself she could have dressed worse.

"Did you lose your status with the hotshots?" A boy asked her, as he pulled his own bike from the rack. "What was it? Oh- let me guess. You took a shot at her only achievement! Being a hot person," the brunette boy joked, trying to balance his diorama.

"You forgot dairy," Flossie stated simply, kicking up the stand of her mountain bike.

"What?" He asked confused, looking at the girl and then back to his friend.

"In your diorama," Flossie shrugged, stating the obvious once again. "You forgot dairy."

The boy who stood next to his sassy friend held back his small smile, hiding it in his sweater. But his friend didn't seem amused. "Dairy is not a food group!"

"It is too!" Flossie argued back, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Is not!" The brunette fought, showing her the diorama. "Look I got a B plus on it. Would I have gotten a B plus if I was missing a food group?" He stated surely before looking at his friend.

"You got a B plus because you were missing Dairy," the kid muttered under his breath, so quiet Flossie might not have heard him. But she did, and he proved her right. "You would have gotten an A."

Flossie laughed at the boy, "Ha! I knew I was right, thanks a lot!" She said, smiling proudly.

The brunette didn't seem too content with his friends actions thought, "jeez Eli, who's side are you on?" He asked rudely, tossing the diorama.

"I'm on no ones side," he muttered again, now pulling out his own bike. "I was just saying that she was right, Demetri."

The boy, Demetri, rolled his eyes, sitting on his bike and steadying himself with one leg still on the ground. "Yeah whatever," he grumbled annoyed. "Congrats miss know-it-all. You were right this time. Enjoy it!"

Flossie smirked inwardly, as she watched the two ride off in the opposite direction. Unbeknownst to her, those two boys were about to become the best friends she'll ever know.