A Great While Ago

Chapter Three -- Noelle

"Please write a five paragraph essay on the theme of this book. Due tomorrow. Class dismissed."

I get swallowed by the massive of people, and I make myself as small as possible, anxious to get out of the crowded hallway. The girls getting ready to go off to football practice and the boys going into the bathroom to make sure their hair looks perfect and apply another layer of makeup. I weave my way through the crowd and finally make it to my locker. The door pops open after the input of the passcode. I put away my books and decide to head into the restroom before going to the cafeteria for lunch. I look in the mirror and apply another layer of my discreet chapstick, mascara, and blush. The door opens slowly and I put everything into my pocket and start washing my hands. Acting as indifferent as I possibly can, I walk out of the bathroom.

My body shrinks in the lunch line. The line moves forward slowly, each person getting handed a tray with their lunch set out carefully on it. I reach the front of the line and receive mine

"Stew or meatloaf?" tThe lunch man asks me like a zombie. I turn up my face.

"Meatloaf, I guess." I reply with a slight shrug of my shoulders.

I make my way to the end of the line and grab myself a Coke before handing over five dollars. My flats click against the vinyl tile flooring and my legs bump into the edges of the too-close tables. I feel no control as my legs drag me to the table under the big window. The ceiling seems too high, all of the loud voices bouncing off of it and coming back down, only creating more of the overwhelming noise. My eyes land on a familiar face. The only person to comfort me, the one who has sat with me countless times to eat a meal he doesn't even like. The only person who has not even once said anything offensive to me. I slip into the seat across from him. He continues staring down at his lap.

"Hey," I say, trying to get his attention. He doesn't even look up. "Rhys!" I shake his shoulder lightly.

"What?" He looks up. "Oh, hey." He takes the little black earbuds out of his ears. "I was listening to music." I nod. He pauses before continuing. "This sucks."

"What does?"

"School,"

"Yeah, it does. But you have to stay in school so that you can function properly."

"You're not my mom," he points out.

"I may not have given birth to you, but I still know you and that means that I know you have to stay in school." I give him a small, slightly sarcastic smile.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

I nod my head and my lips curl up into a triumphant grin. "I knew you would give in," My voice sounds proud.

"Technically, you can't tell me what to do." He tilts his head to the side with a hint of a smirk threatening to play on his lips, and I get transported to the moment I met him.

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"Noelle." They dragged out the l. Once again, the other girls were bullying her. Teasing her about her strawberry flavored lip gloss, the kind boys usually wear. "You think you're so cool, don't you?" They giggle. I shake my head quickly, just wanting to get out of this situation. "You're such a boy." Their mouths pull up into teasing grins.

"C'mon, leave her alone." An arm reaches out from beside me and shoves the other girls away.

"Oh look, Noelle has Rhys to save her." One of the girls rolls her eyes.

"Let's leave the two weirdos together. Maybe they can get married and die together." They walk away with smug grins on their faces.

"What's your name?" He asks me gently.

"Noelle," I look at the floor and bite my lip.

"That's beautiful. I'm Rhys."

"Thanks for getting them to finally go away." I give him a bit of a smile.

"No problem. Can I call you Ellie?" He tilts his head to the side with a hint of a smirk threatening to play on his lips.

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"Ellie. Earth to Ellie. Ellie." I felt two strong hands shaking my shoulders.

"Huh?" I shook my head slightly. "Oh, sorry."

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Do you have football practice today?"

"Yeah," he said, slightly annoyed.

"Just ignore the other girls. Who cares what they think? We have each other."

"Yeah, I guess so."

A sad look falls on his face.

"Do you wanna do something after school? Juice?" I add enthusiasm to my voice to try and cheer him up.

"Remember? I have stupid football practice."

"Why don't you just quit if you hate it so much?"

I throw my hands up in a fit of frustration.

"True," he said. "But then I would be giving in to them trying to get me off the team. Plus, I like football."

"Okay, whatever."

He walked off, like we were no longer going to be friends. But I knew better. We had a fight almost every day, whether it was about football, what movie we would see after school, or practically anything else. But, everyday, when the bell rang, he showed up at my locker and we made a plan and exchanged forgiveness. After all, he was my only friend and I was his only friend. We needed each other.