DALLA - Inspired by Itzy's Dalla Dalla

Dalla

I was constantly infuriated by society and their obsession with first impressions. To judge a person by their looks alone was enough to send me over the edge.

I was by no means the prettiest girl, and never tried to be, yet it was strange how there were two opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to 'standing out'. On one end you had the naturally beautiful, the classic princess look, or the charming, handsome prince look, and on the other, the naturally... different.

Different, or 'Dalla' as I was often described, was a word that was perhaps unfamiliar to those on the opposite end of the spectrum to myself. I chose to wear what I wanted, did my make-up differently every day and aimed to challenge societal norms. Those on the other end had the same colour hair, the same fashion choices as the current trends in the magazines, and every friendship group wore the same outfits.

I therefore didn't expect a guy on the other end of the spectrum to be at all interested in me, until the rumours began to spread.

"And what does 'interested' even mean?" I asked my best friend, Jenny.

"In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure. He keeps asking about you, watching you, trying to find out your interests." She said.

"Well, that certainly sounds creepy."

"Haha, it does a bit. But I swear. It's different."

Ah, that word again. Different. Dalla.

"So what? I'm sorry, but I really don't even care right now. I'm not even interested in any kind of 'love' or 'interest' at the moment anyway."

"Who cares? It's just a bit of fun. Keep your chin up."

I sighed. "I suppose."

As lunch drew to a close, Jenny and I carried our trays to the clearing station, which was when I spotted him. His dark eyes and sharp features really did allow him to stand out from his other friends, which was perhaps what I immediately noticed. It was nice to stand out in a world full of similarity, yet it was clear that his friends still had a similar style to him. Just as I was about to leave, he saw me, and began to advance towards me.

"Hey." He smiled, throwing his apple core into the bin beside me.

"Hello."

After an awkward but short pause, he sighed. "I'm sorry for being so awkward. All I wanted to ask was if you fancy going out for food sometime?"

A little speechless, I felt Jenny nudge me from behind.

"Uh... um, yeah... sure. Name a time and a place."

He smiled, his eyes lighting up brightly. His friends called him from the exit, urging him to hurry up.

"Here's my number." He said, handing me a piece of paper. "Give me a call!"

As he ran back to join his friends, I noticed quite a number of people within the room staring at me. There were certainly a mixture of expressions.

As I left the room a few moments later, I couldn't help but overhear some of the conversations.

"She's just pretty. She's not attractive at all. I don't get why he's in to her when he'd do much better with someone like me."

"She's just... different."

I wanted to cry, but I desperately tried to hold in the tears as Jenny chatted away in my ear.

After arranging a time with him, I began to change. I picked out a bright yellow skirt, one of my favourites, to wear with one of my favourite tops. My hair was curly, and a little messy here and there, but I didn't care. As Jenny had said, yes, it was exciting. I was excited, but also terribly nervous, with a continued feeling in the back of my mind that this was all some kind of dare between the guy and his friends. Either way, I was going to have fun, and tried not to make it the constant thought in my mind.