The Best Are Different

Farsa Machibi - People That Aren't Maggie

I am frozen. I can't run away, of course, because she'll think I'm running away from her. Which I would be. The girl on the other side of the field. I also can't just sit here. I had lunch, so I can't stay here much longer. I'll have to see her eventually. She'll probably talk to me. Next thing I know, I'm not alone anymore, and I eventually have to explain my conditions to her. I don't want that. 

"Damn right you don't." Maggie says from next to me. "You're a freak, remember? You can't have friends outside the ward." 

I know. I think to myself, gritting my teeth. It's extremely hard to not respond to her. 

I hear the bell ring, and relief washes over me in a cold wave. I get up stiffly, and make accidental eye contact with the girl on the other side of the hill. Her eyes are big and green, in the shade of curious-looking eyebrows. Her cheekbones are high and her face is round, framed in thick, wavy, golden-brown hair. Quite pretty, kind of unique looking from the girls from the ward. She has a free-spirited look to her, and her eyes express an almost knowing look. I stop looking at her as quickly as I started. God, how creepy she probably thinks I am. 

"Probably." Maggie comments. "Don't go talk to her. You'll make it worse." 

I rush off my next class. English. I sit down at a table where nobody else sits. I'd rather not get rejected from a group. Maggie sits down across from me, on someones desk. She crosses her legs and sits her heels on my table. Her red shoes have long, pointed heels and she wears tall black and grey socks. I've never noticed before. I look down at my own feet to avoid looking at Maggie anymore. She laughs. I grit my teeth. 

I see kids filling in the room out of the corners of my eyes. The adult who runs the class goes to her desk at the front of the room. Red hair in curls, a black pantsuit. Quite a firm look on her face. "First day of school, I know, you all want to go back to summer." She says with boredom. The other kids in the class cheer. She silences them. "But sadly, it's time for school to start again. So, first order of business, reading project. You'll be in pairs." Kids cheer. "I've picked them randomly." Kids groan. 

I'm frozen. A reading project. With another person. If I was by myself, Maggie could help me or something, but when someone else is around I definitely can't do that. 

"You will pick a book to read and write a report on for the rest of the semester. When you hear your name, go to your partner's table." The teacher is saying. Then she picks up a list, and begins reading off names. "Emilia Kevin and Brittney Evans. Danielle McKenzie and Larry Gold. Nayal Achilles and Farsa Machibi." 

A chill goes down my spine when she says my name, and the rest of her words are silent to me. Maggie laughs. "Don't look now, kid." She says. 

I, of course, look up. Of course, I know who it is already. I recognize the honey-colored hair and the dark green eyes. The girl from the hill. She sits down across the table from me, and shows a sort of crooked smile. I look away, at the corner of the room. I can't look at her. I can't risk getting attached.

"No, look at her, Farsa." Maggie says. "I can't be the only girl you've ever looked at. You'll get taken back to the ward if you don't act a bit normal." 

I look up. A knowing smirk is on Maggie's face, her black eyes glinting and her dark blonde hair, in it's tight bun, perched firmly on her head. She wants me to go crazy or something, but she doesn't want me to go back to the ward. I then look at the girl, Nayal. 

"So, what do you want to read?" She asks, tipping her head to the side. 

"What?" I ask, then blink. "Oh- I, I don't know." I shake my head to quickly. 

She smiles, looking a bit quizzical. She shrugs. "Okay. Well, I was thinking something Tolkien." 

I nod. "Sure. Okay. Tolkien." I say quickly. She smiles, and I actually smile back.