Pink is my new favorite color|| Cynthia Zdunowski

Rule the School

Ella's POV

First day of junior year. Last night everyone was abuzz about Jane and Buddy going all the way. Susan ended up staying on the phone with me until 1 am venting about how upset she was, even letting in slip that her and Buddy had done it last year after he told her they'd be together forever. I feel bad for her, she thought he was only going to be with her and she trusted him, just for him to go with another girl? I kept trying to tell her that Buddy's the enemy and not Jane but she wouldn't listen and kept shooting me down. But I shouldn't have expected anything else since she also didn't believe me about me and Neil.

Keep my head down. Make it through the year. Go along with everything they say. Blend in.

I got ready for school, said goodbye to my parents, and waited on the doorstep for Susan and her mom to come get me. Once at school we met up with Dot and Rosemary and started walking to our lockers, which were all next to each other.

"Hi Ella!", I turned around to see the t-birds, Shy Guy waving at me. I smiled and waved back before turning back around and continuing on my way.

"What was that?" Dot asked, raising her eyebrows, "What? Nothing. We sat and watched the movie together last night." I replied, praying they would believe my and not brand me a slut for life. "Ella, why are you trying to steal my thunder?" Susan interjected. "What?" I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. "I was supposed to be the only one to get with a t-bird." "Calm down. I was just being nice. I don't get what the big deal is." Then Rosemary stepped in, "You can't 'just be nice' to a t-bird, they're jds," she stopped walking and put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me too "Remember before you were friends with us? When you hung around that weird girl-" "Cynthia" I corrected, "-what if you hung around those people again? Then where would you be? Here you always have some one to lend you a mirror or tell you if your lipstick smudged. Real friends."

They like all the things I like, they listen to all my little problems, they're just looking out for me. I repeat it over and over. They like all the things I like, they listen to all my problems. They're just looking out of me. Except they don't ever want to talk about movies or books, they didn't believe me when I told them about Neil, they let him take me home even after I told them what happened.

Cynthia. Cynthia remembered my favorite candy after 6 years. She would always sit and listen about the book I was reading. She came and stopped Neil at the drive in... No. These are my friends and they're the only way all make it until graduation.

We eventually made it to our lockers then headed off to our respective classes, not having time all together until lunch.

The day went as expected, classes but not much actual learning for the first day, until lunch. I walked out of the school to find my way to our table when Jane Facciano stopped me.

"Hello, you may have heard some rumors about me and Buddy Aldridge." She paused, almost as if she expected me to interrupt her, but I simply looked at her waiting for her to continue. "Wow, no one's let me get this far. Um, whatever you heard about me and Buddy, or my life in New York, It's not true." That makes sense. But it doesn't matter what I think. I decided to give her a word of advice, "Jane, I believe you, but it really doesn't matter what did or didn't happen, if people think you and Buddy went all the way, you. Might as well have. No one's going to listen to your story, and Buddy's not going to deny it."

She seemed surprised but I walked away before she could respond. I finally got to sit down with my friends and eat my lunch before going back to the routines of school.