Jungle Princess ✔

Chapter 26: Fitting In

"Are you going to throw a party for your birthday this Saturday?" Tamsin asked as she slammed her locker shut. Amarissa linked arms with her as they strolled through the corridor towards the cafeteria, where the smell of meatless bolognaise was emitted. The aroma made Amarissa's stomach grumble, even though she hated Berta's bolognaise. That lunch-lady just loved feeding them slop every day.

Amarissa considered her answer to Tamsin's perfectly reasonable question. "Hmm...no."

"Why not?" Tamsin asked passionately as she grabbed a silver tray from the pile. "You're seventeen now. You should have the right to throw a party."

"Tell that to my parents," Amarissa grumbled. To be honest, Amarissa didn't care if she didn't have a party. Her birthday fell on Halloween, so it was always either they went out for trick-or-treating in her apartment, or she had a sleepover with Tamsin. The last party she had was when she was six, and that was at Chuck. E. Cheese's. The boys were dressed as superheroes, and the girls as princesses, and Amarissa ended up crying because her father had accidentally popped a balloon. Also, her cake had gotten ruined because Garrett had poked his finger into the icing before she could blow out the candles. That may or may not be the reason why she still hated him today.

"I don't want to have another sad little sleepover, Amarissa. We've had them for the last five years! It's getting kind of old. And so is trick-or-treating, which is so elementary," Tamsin complained. "Plus, your mom's tacos makes me gassy."

Amarissa shot a look at her friend. "Don't you complain about my ma's tacos!" she scolded.

"Does she really have to add cheese and beans in the same taco? That's basically a concoction for endless hours of tooting," Tamsin criticized.

"You're Cuban, you should be used to that kind of food!" Amarissa debated.

"My dad can't cook, so we mostly just eat mom's bangers and mashed potatoes," Tamsin told her. "Thank goodness my mom is Irish."

"Well, Spanish cuisine is highly appreciated by many," Amarissa contended as they took their trays of spaghetti to their table. All last week they had been separated, with Tamsin clinging to Tyler like he was an oxygen mask (Amarissa didn't even want to get started on the kissing, which really did look like they were extracting oxygen from each other). Amarissa had also been busy due to her best friend's new bae, painting and drawing in art club. Thanks to art club she had made a few new friends. However, Tamsin was insistent on discussing birthday plans today, no matter what the cost. But as Tamsin steered them away from their usual table and towards where Tyler sat with all the social kings and queens, Amarissa panicked.

"Um, Tamsin, why are we approaching the popular peeps?" she asked nervously.

Tamsin flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned at Amarissa. "It's okay, Amarissa. You can join us. After all, I am dating the king."

Us. Us. She had said us. Not them. The past week had really transformed Tamsin, and it wasn't until she was in the midst of it all that Amarissa saw. And understood. Her friend had changed into exactly what she was afraid of. A popular girl.

There were no seats left for Amarissa to sit. Tamsin had squeezed in beside Tyler and was stealing one of his chips, laughing flirtatiously. Amarissa stood there, feeling awkward until Tamsin waved her over. "Come on, Riss. Join us."

Amarissa couldn't. It just didn't make sense. A girl like her did not fit in with this type of crowd. But a girl like Tamsin could. She was pretty. Bubbly. It was just a matter of time before Amarissa lost her best friend to these royals.

"I have to go," Amarissa stammered, taking her tray with her. She wasn't even hungry anymore. She just left it on an empty table and fled through the cafeteria doors as fast as she could. Unsurprisingly, her feet had taken her to art club. It seemed to be the only place she felt she could fit in at East Side Community High. The only place that let her be who she was.