October 9th, 2023
“School Council, Mathheads, Key Club, Book Club, Chess Club-”
“Thelma, you are n-not going to have t-time for all that!” Kate stared at her in bewilderment. “We only ever see you at l-lunch.”
“I’ll make time. Let’s see, what else…?”
“What else? Girl, you’ve m-mentioned half the clubs in the s-school already.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll join them.”
“What are you joining, Kate?” Blanche asked.
“I’m n-not sure yet. Maybe Drama Club. Is there, like, a f-fashion club?”
“I don’t think so,” said Alma, shaking her head.
“What are you guys in?”
“I’m not in that many,” said Blanche. “I’m in the Summit Family of Foster Kids, Chess Club… and I think I joined the Dance Club, but I never went.”
My ears perked up. Foster Kids?
“Besides the Welcoming Committee, I’m in the Latino Student Union, the Music Club, and the Anime Club.” Alma numbered her clubs on her fingers. “I think I joined the Gaming Club, but I forgot.”
“What are you joining, Diana?” Thelma asked.
“Um… I thought about the Book Club, like you.”
“Oh, awesome!” She brightened.
“And Blanche, did you say there was a club for foster kids?”
“Yeah, Summit Family of Foster Kids. It’s pretty small.”
“You think I should join?”
She shrugged. “Why shouldn’t you? It’s pretty chill. We just meet up during a free period and talk. There’s snacks and stuff.”
We finally reached the gymnasium, continuing our slow pace. Tables were lined up all along the walls, each decorated with banners and glittery posters identifying their clubs. On their surfaces were bowls of candy, info posters, and pamphlets detailing what the clubs did. A few already caught my eye; ‘Writing Club’, ‘Cooking Club’, ‘RTS Choir’.
“I’m gonna start on the left and work my way around,” said Thelma. “Diana, you want to come?”
“Um… no, you go ahead.” I didn’t want to ruin her chances. She already had a tarnished reputation being my friend.
“Anyone w-want to come with me?” Kate looked at us.
“I’ll go,” said Alma.
“I’m not joining anything else.” Blanche shrugged, going to the foster kids’ table.
My eyes scanned the tables as I decided which one to go to first. ‘RTS Track and Cross Country’, ‘Deaf and Blind Student Association’, ‘RTS BeaverNews’, ‘Summit High Tutors’.
The track team was an option…
With my stomach churning, I approached the table. There were two, one hosted by boys and one by girls. Many of their eyes landed on me, their smiles fading and their conversation screeching to a halt.
Relax. Deep breath. Yanking my sleeves further down, I put on my best smile. “Um, hi.”
One of the girls smiled and glanced at her teammates, leaning on the table. “Hi! You interested in running track or cross country?”
“Um… either one. What’s the difference?”
“Well, track runs are usually a lot shorter. There’s a series of different events we have to complete. And it’s all on even ground. As for cross-country, it’s a single run, but a lot longer, and the terrain is uneven and a lot more difficult to run.”
“Okay.” I nodded in understanding. “When are the tryouts?”
“Track is coming up next month. With cross country, you’d have to wait until next year because the tryouts passed in August, and they’re mid-season already. But you can write down your number or email.” She motioned to the sign-up sheet on the table next to her. She then slid their sign-up sheet towards me. “I’m the captain of the girls’ track team— for now, until they vote me out.” She jokingly jerked her thumb towards the girls behind her.
One of them chuckled. “It’s your senior year and you’ve been captain since 2021. That ain’t gonna change.”
She shrugged. “You never know.” She stuck her hand out. “I’m Roberta Crawley.”
“Diana Watson.” I relaxed a bit at the gesture.
“So, Diana, if you’re interested in trying out, you can write down your name.” She clicked a pen and held it out. Hesitantly, I took it and wrote down my name and email.
Roberta smiled brightly. “Cool! Hope to see you at tryouts.” She took a poster off the pile they had and handed it to me. “Here’s everything you need to know. Coach North trains us. His email’s there.”
“Thanks, Roberta.” I read the info as I walked away. ‘Tryouts are Nov 20th-Nov 22nd, 1:40-3:00, before Fall Break.’
November 20th… Hopefully I could hold out until then. I really did want to try this.
I continued to the Dance Club table. There was a small handful of students handing out printed posters and sign-up sheets, friendly smiles glinting. One girl saw me and stopped smiling, her eyes lingering before looking away. She nudged a few of her friends, who turned to look at me with disdain.
I skipped the table. I never really danced anyway…
I found the Soccer Team table. I recognized Kansas, Kyra, and Sebastian. Tony wasn’t there, though. I kept my head down as I walked past them.
‘Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club’. I remembered Harry mentioning he and Tommy used to be in there. They stopped going after Amy passed.
My eyes caught Rick’s.
We lingered for just a few moments. He finally smiled awkwardly, nodding in greeting. I returned it.
I still didn’t know who he was. He knew Amy, obviously. Maybe they were close? He reacted pretty… weirdly when I met him.
“Diana!” Blanche waved to me from the foster kids’ table. All her fellow members’ attention was now on me. I approached, my hands clenching. Some of the people there seemed a bit wary. Thanks for putting me on the spot, Blanche…
“You gonna join?” Blanche asked.
“Um… yeah, maybe.”
She motioned to a boy next to her. “Kyrone, this is Diana.”
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“The infamous Diana Watson.” He flashed a charismatic smile. “Kyrone Robinson. I’m a junior.” He shook my hand, his black skin contrasting against my sickly pale shade. “So, you’re a foster, right?”
“That’s right. 12 years.”
“14.”
I raised my brows. “A long time.”
“Sure is. You’re staying with the Fields, right?”
“Right.”
“How are they?”
I shrugged in response.
A redheaded girl turned away from a separate conversation, smiling at me. “Hi! I’m Delancey Sigourney, president of the club. I’m a senior, been with a family for 10 years! Did you want to join?”
“I think so.”
“Great! We meet every Wednesday, 1:40 to 4:10, but you can stay as long as you want. We have food, games, we tell stories, and sometimes we have special events! It’s a really fun environment for foster kids and any other students who want to get involved.”
I took the pen she gave me and wrote down my name and email. Momentarily, I glanced behind me. Some more students at the Soccer Team tables were looking at me, mocking smirks flashing.
I had to stop caring. I joined what I wanted to join.
I looked back at them, doing a double take when I saw Tony. He caught my gaze and smiled, waving. The other three were gone now.
My lips pressed together. People knew I was friends with him… but…
“How are you?” he asked when I got closer.
“Good.” I forced a smile, glancing at his teammates. A couple of them were looking.
“Have you joined anything?”
“Uh, yeah… the Track team, and the Foster Kids’ Club.” I motioned to them.
“Cool. You thinking of anything else?”
“Um, maybe the Book Club.” I looked over at the table. “What else did you join?”
“Uh, earlier I went for Gaming and Anime.”
“Right,” I laughed lightly.
“You should join. It’s cool.”
“Maybe.”
“Hey, Tony!” a girl called, briefly glancing at me.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
I was secretly relieved, quickly navigating to the other tables. I finally approached the Book Club table. The boy handing out pamphlets smiled at me. “Hi. Interested?”
“Yeah, I like to read.”
“Cool. We’re a pretty relaxing club— at least, that’s what we try to be. A lot of times, some of the ‘nerds’ like to get into really stupid debates.” He looked pointedly at a girl behind him. “Overall, we assign books to read and discuss. A lot of times, we’ll just go with homework readings. We meet every Tuesday, 12:00 to 2:00, in the library Reading Corner.” He handed me a pamphlet.
“2 hours?”
“So people can come and go depending on when they have classes.”
“Hey, Jake, could you-” A girl stopped at the sight of me. She looked familiar. Her hair was brown with blond highlights, stopping at her shoulders, and she wore very loud, purple eyeshadow. “Hi, Diana,” she said with a big smile. “I figured you’d come here.”
Confusion struck. “Um… do I know you?”
“Oh, sorry.” She giggled. “I’m Ivy’s friend, Michelle. You remember Ivy?”
Ugh, great. “Right.”
“Yeah, I don’t expect you to recognize me. I just know you through Ivy.”
“She’s talked about me?”
“Mentioned you a couple times,” she said nonchalantly. “You know, I was friends with Amy.”
I raised my brows, feigning interest. “Were you?”
“Yeah. We were actually best friends in elementary school. We drifted apart, though. It was… pretty sad when she passed.”
I clenched my jaw at her tone. “I’m sure.”
“But I see her brothers are happier now that you’re here.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Trust me, they are. Not as happy as they used to be… but they are. You’re helping them a lot.”
It was very hard not to punch her in the face. Would I be able to join this club knowing she was here? I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.
I looked down at the sign-up sheet. Thelma had already written her name, along with Alma. They could help dissolve the tension, maybe.
“I hope you sign up! You’d really enjoy our club. There’s a foster kid in here, too. I saw you signing up there.” She nodded at the table across the gym.
I glanced back, nodding. “Yeah, I did. Well, in that case, sure, I’ll sign up.” I picked up the pen.
“Cool! We actually meet tomorrow. We’re going to welcome all the newbies, so there’s gonna be some sweets. Hope you can make it.”
As long as Thelma and Alma were going, I was going. I really wanted prove to this girl that I was more than Amy’s replacement. I wanted to prove that to everyone.
I just hoped Dr. Cawman was right. If they really saw me, would they forget? Would people start treating me like a normal person?
Not that I was a normal person.
~~~
October 10th, 2023
I was sweating as I went into the locker room. P.E. was finished, and now, I had a free period.
So it was Book Club time.
I breathed steadily as I took off my gym pants. The first time I had P.E. and had to change in front of everyone, I had a small panic attack. Afterwards, I got sort of used to it, but lots of the girls liked to make fun of me.
“God, you’re so lucky. You get to be skinny,” one girl had said to me during the first week.
“Do you even eat anything? You’re so thin,” another girl said later on.
“I’m so jealous. I want a waist like that.”
I hated how they made these things sound like compliments.
Granted, I had put on some more weight. I went to the doctor one weekend and she said I’d gained a couple pounds. But I was still ‘too skinny’ to avoid the comments. Either that, or the girls just got used to making fun of me.
“Hey, Sylvia!” a girl called behind me. “Come here.”
“What?”
“Come here!”
A pause. Then a response. “What is it?”
“Just wanted to give you some inspiration now that you’re finally working out.”
My brows quirked.
“What are you talking about?”
“You should aim for that. Although, you don’t want to be too flat.” Giggles followed.
I looked behind me. Two girls were smirking at me. Sylvia, who was a bit overweight, sighed wearily. “Yeah, thanks.” She walked away.
“That was low, Daisy,” another girl commented, frowning at them.
“What? I didn’t say anything. I was just giving her some motivation.”
“You know what you’re doing.”
“Ugh, come on, I didn’t say anything. Stop gaslighting me.” The girls continued the argument as they left. I silently got dressed and headed to the library.
I checked my phone. The Book Club president told me she’d confirm the meeting in a GoodNews text.
Jamie (Book Club Pres.): Hi diana! Just letting u know that a study groups in our usual corner, so were going to the blechers nxt to the soccer field.
Why the bleachers? There were other study rooms in the library.
I shrugged to myself. Thanks, I’m heading right over. I turned and headed to where the soccer field was.
Outside, it was sunny, but a cold breeze chilled me. I untied my hoodie from around my waist and put it on. The soccer field was empty. I approached the bleachers, also finding them empty. I didn’t see Jamie anywhere. Maybe they were on their way.
I climbed the steps and sat down, playing on my phone. It was 1:05. I decided to be patient and wait.
1:10.
1:15.
Geez, where was everyone? I checked my messages again. No updates.
Oh, my Wi-Fi went out. No wonder.
I turned on my phone data. I still didn’t get a text from Jamie, but I did get a few from other people.
ihavetoomanyAPs (Thelma Williams): Hi Diana! R u coming to Book Club?
U just finished PE right?
Its getting late. U ok? Did u decide not to come?
alma_santiago2860 (Alma Santiago): Hi Diana, r u coming? Its going to end soon. Its really fun!
Remember its in the reading corner in the library
Sunflowergirl3482: Hi, Thelma. Didn’t Jamie text you? I thought today’s meeting was moved to the bleachers.
She saw the message and replied. What? No we’re at the library
But didn’t someone take the Reading Corner? My feet tapped anxiously.
Diana there wasnt any change. We’re at the library rn. Where r u?
At the bleachers next to the soccer field.
How long have u been there??
My mind flickered in realization. I wanted to kick myself. I literally wanted to smash my head on the seats.
Di im so sry, I think they were messing w u. we’re all here.
With an angry growl, I snatched my bag up and stomped down the bleachers, heading back inside. I still had some time before school let out.
Just as I got to the doors, I met three familiar faces— faces I loathed.
Ivy feigned surprise when she saw me. “Oh, hi, Diana!”
Ugh. “Hi, Ivy.”
Lisa smiled. “Nice to see you. Where are you headed?”
“Book Club.” I adjusted my backpack.
“Oh, yeah, Michelle told us you joined. That’s cool.” The other girl next to them gave me a once-over. “So, you’re a book nerd like Michelle?”
“You could say that.”
“Shouldn’t you be in the library, though?” said Lisa. “What were you doing out here?”
“Um… taking a walk,” I answered.
“Probably talking to herself,” the other girl said.
Lisa snickered while Ivy scoffed, laughing lightly. “Oh-my-God, Miranda, don’t be so mean!” she exclaimed. “Sorry. Just ignore her. She can be so toxic.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, I hope you have a nice club meeting. Michelle will tell us all about it, I’m sure. They just started reading DNA.” Ivy grinned weirdly.
“DNA?”
“You’ve never read it? It’s so relatable for you.” She looked at the other two, who smirked. “See you in class.” They walked off. I went back inside the school, looking up the book in question.
It was a book about orphans.
Touché.
Although, as I read the summary, it actually seemed very interesting… Ivy was right. I could relate to this book. But I would die before admitting that to her.
I reached the Reading Corner, where a large group was clustered with phones and books on their laps. Thelma saw me and brightened. “Here she is!”
The girl I recognized as Jamie grinned, glancing at Michelle, who sat next to her. “Hi, uh…” She snapped her fingers.
“Diana.” Alma glared at her.
“Diana. Sorry, it turned out that the Reading Corner was free after all. Silly me forgot to text you.”
“It’s fine,” I said through gritted teeth. I put my bag down and sat on the floor.
“We were just discussing our last read. You happen to read Clusters?” Michelle said.
“Um, no, not yet.”
“Really? Everyone reads that in middle school.” She cast a cursory glance at Jamie. “We’ll bring you up to speed.”
So much for Dr. Cawman’s bright idea.