Intertwined and Unexpected

Chapter 7: Amberlynn

Chloe was quiet for a little while. This girl took a long time to react to anything I told her. It was always Chloe world, Chloe time. I waited for her reply.

"What? WHAT?" Chloe screeched. I took a step back, bracing myself for the blow of her words. This isn't what I was expecting from her.

"You seriously thought that it was worth HUMILATING me at the beginning of the school year, the beginning of a new year, for some boy? Did you know," she paused, taking a breath.

Her sharp voice returned, "That I had just moved here? That I was still getting over my parent's divorce, that I thought, crazily, that maybe things would be better, getting a fresh start? I had made some friends, I even let myself check out some guys, and what do I get for that? Some over-confident, self-centered girl pushing me over in a Porta-Potty!"

She looked at me with pure disgust, like I was some unwanted vermin that had just crawled onto her back. I took another step back, scared. I was seriously expecting her to slap me or something, just like I heard she did in lunch today.

Today. That seemed so long ago.

"I was so stupid to ever think that any place with you near it might be nice and take my mind off my family issues. I can't believe you, Amberlynn. Congraulations. You've ruined any friendship that could've happened between us. I hope you're happy," Chloe turned around and stomped away.

I watched her leave as she walked futher and further away, leaving me in the growing darkness of the night.

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I whispered to myself, "I was that girl, too."

I closed my eyes. "But she's gone now."

~.~

I stood awkwardly in the doorway of my fifth-grade classroom, unsure of what to do next.

"Oh," the teacher said. "You must be our new student, Amberlynn."

I forced a smile, shifting my blue plaid backpack to the other shoulder. "Call me Lynn," I told her, smile leaving my face.

"Class," she said, addressing the full classroom in front of me. "This is Lynn, and she'll need a tour of the school. Anyone up for it?" The teacher sounded like she was giving a challenge.

A few people shot their hands in the air right away, and I knew those were the kids that thought the world was all about them. I'd had enough of that at my old school.

The teacher seemed to sense this about me. "Bronagh?" She asked a girl in the back with blonde hair. Her hand was raised only slightly, as if questioning if it was okay or not to put her hand up. "Would you like to show Lynn around the school?"

She nodded slowly, then stood and walked to me. "I'm Bronagh," she whispered to me. What was with her accent -- it was thick and she sounded like she was trying to hide it.

"I figured," I stated. She smiled, extending her elbow out to me.

Little did I know this was the offering that would make me popular.

~.~

Keiko Orsono.

Everytime I hear that name, I grow smaller on the inside. When I open my yearbook from fifth-grade and her face looked up at me, I shrink futher in my shell, building my walls up higher and higher, wishing that no one had the courage to break them down.

Then, Chloe Murray came. Of course, she didn't really try to break down the walls. She seemed to be building a bridge over them, high above her little perfect world.