I found myself in a weird place at school. I was new. Even though it was a big school, some kids tried to get to know me. I would look at them like they were stupid, and then they’d leave me alone.
“Why do you do that?” Annabelle asked me at lunch. We were sitting together eating pizza.
I took a drink of my small chocolate milk and looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Why do you push all the nice kids away?” she asked. Her blue eyes were looking at me like she had just asked me why I was drinking chocolate milk instead of orange juice.
“What are you talking about?” I took a bite of the pizza.
Annabelle took a napkin and pushed it down on her pizza. Grease soon turned the napkin orange. After she had used a pile of napkins she took a bite and looked at me again as she chewed. “You know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen you be mean to nice people. You make them afraid of you. Like you don’t like anyone.” I shrugged my shoulders. She continued, “You know, you could be here a while. You need to have some friends.”
I took another bite and looked at her. “But I’ve got you.”
Annabelle stopped chewing and her face turned red. She smiled. “Yeah, I know.” Then she looked at me again, “But you can’t go on being mean.”
I frowned just a little. “I’m not really mean.” I hated that word. Rani was mean. I was just tough. “I only want them to leave me alone.”
“But why?” Annabelle took another bite.
I paused and thought just a minute. “Because that’s the only thing I know how to do.”
“Well, Mr. TJ, you’re very good at it.” Annabelle smiled and had pizza all stuck up in her teeth.
I laughed. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed.
“What about you?” I asked.
Annabelle frowned. “What about me?”
I tried to keep it light. “Well, you asked why I chase people away. I don’t see you talking to a lot of kids.” I finished off my chocolate milk.
“They don’t talk to me,” She said as she started folding her napkins. The grease painted her fingers orange.
“Why?” I handed her my clean napkin. She took it and wiped her fingers. Then she folded that napkin and placed it on top of the others.
“Because they think I’m weird.” She looked at me. I looked at her perfectly stacked napkins.
I smiled. “Look normal to me.”
Annabelle smiled back. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
I threw my hands in the air and joked, “One minute you call me mean and the next minute nice. So which is it?”
She never answered my question. But her eyes did. At that moment there was something about her look that scared me. In a good way. Like I wanted to keep looking. But if I did, I would lose a part of myself forever. I quickly looked away.
When I looked back, she was busy packing up the rest of her lunch tray. Annabelle paused a minute and took out her lip gloss. She put some on, and I smiled as the soft smell of strawberry reached me. She smiled and stood. “We need to get moving, or we’ll be late to the next class.” I gathered my stuff and followed the strange redhead.