Emily stared out the window as her teacher continued to lecture the rest of the class. She loved history, but her teacher had a way of making even the most interesting historical events mind-numbingly boring. She couldn't wait for school to end so that she could go home and finish reading her novel. The history teacher droned on for another twenty to thirty minutes before class ended and Emily was on her way to her next class, Art.
While walking to her next class, she spotted her best and only friend, Evelyn. While Emily was introverted, short, and cute in a girl-next-door way; Evelyn was more attractive than most, tall, and exercised often enough that she could easily pull off the athletic look. She was also an extrovert by nature who had ended up befriending Emily after the latter had been viciously bullied in middle school, providing the other girl with some much-needed friendship and support. The two of them had stuck together ever since.
Evelyn waved Emily over, "Hey Emi. How was your third period?"
"It was okay." The other girl said with a frown.
Her mood didn’t go unnoticed, but Evelyn was used to her friend’s habit of downplaying things she didn’t like and let it go. But not before playfully saying, “If you say so.”
The athletic girl smiled, gave her mousy friend a quick hug, then said, “I’ll see you at lunch.” Before hurrying off to her next class, leaving Emily to do the same.
Art class wasn’t Emily’s favorite, but she still enjoyed the opportunity to express her creativity. She added the final touches to her painting with a slight smile, proud of how the piece turned out. While it wouldn’t be winning any art competitions, it looked good for someone who wasn’t really an artist. The painting depicted a small picturesque town, covered in a light dusting of snow. After finishing her work, she glanced around the room to examine some of her classmates’ paintings. One of her classmates, Jesse, had painted an image of a serene lake, with a rustic-looking cottage built in the top right of the painting, a short distance away from the edge of the lake. Unlike Emily, Jesse was planning to make art his college major and it definitely showed. His painting was far from comparable to the works of a master artist, but it was leaps and bounds above what the rest of their class had submitted. Speaking of, the rest of the class was either at the same level or worse than Emily. It wasn’t long after she finished her painting that art class ended and it was time to walk to her next class.
Math had never been her strong suit, but she was somehow still barely able to scrape by with a decent grade. It helped that her teacher, Miss Jefferson, cared about her students and was more than willing to go the extra mile if any of her pupils were struggling or confused. Luckily for Emily, she was able to understand the lesson and didn’t need any extra help. She hated asking the teacher for help during class because she didn’t like being the center of attention; actually, she didn’t like any attention at all. She was content to blend into the background and do her work. The lesson went smoothly, and it was soon time for lunch.
In middle school, Emily hated lunch. Her diminutive frame and wallflower demeanor made her an easy and tempting target for bullies. She was never harmed physically, but in some ways, words could do just as much harm as a slap or punch. They bullied her at other times too, but lunch was inarguably the worst.
Evelyn had been a recent transfer to the school at the time, but she had a knack for reading others. While looking for a place to sit with her lunch, she couldn’t help but notice the odd sight of three other girls invading the then-unknown Emily’s personal space. The sight reminded her of a cousin who had been the target of a vicious bullying campaign. It took years of therapy and support from family before her cousin got over the trauma, and even now, he still suffers from extreme anxiety when around crowds or strangers. After noticing how upset Emily was, it didn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that the latter was going through the same thing, only this time; she could do something about it. She didn’t waste any time before walking over to where Emily sat.
To say that Emily was surprised when the other girl came to sit next to her and spontaneously started up a conversation would be an understatement.
“Hiya, my name’s Evelyn, but my friends call me Lynn,” Evelyn said with a smile.
Emily was too taken aback to say anything in reply, and the girls that had been messing with her were too cautious to say anything hurtful with an unknown factor around. So, for a time, Emily was safe from further persecution.
Lynn continued, still smiling, “Normally, I try not to stick my face where it isn’t wanted, buuuut I couldn’t help but notice that you were upset,” she leaned in and, ignoring Emily’s reactive flinch, whispered in the other girl’s ear, “and I think I know the reason why.” After pulling away, she continued, her tone playful, “You still haven’t told me your name.”
Emily finally got over her shock and replied, her voice barely audible, “Emily.”
Lynn grinned. “Emily, huh? I have a cousin with the same name. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Having never made a friend before, Emily didn’t quite know how to respond. Not wanting to be rude, she parroted Lynn’s words back at her, still soft-spoken in comparison to the other girl’s confident speech, “Nice to meet you too.” In a rare display of courage, Emily asked the other girl, “Why are you over here?”
Lynn pointedly looked at one of the girls that had been bullying Emily not even five minutes ago, before looking back at the other girl and speaking softly, “You looked like you needed a friendly face,” She paused as if thinking about something, before saying, “and I recently transferred here, so I don’t have any friends.” She uncharacteristically blushed before finishing with, “So… I guess I’m asking if you want to be friends.”
The other girl took a solid half-minute to digest what Lynn asked her, not quite able to believe that someone would go out of their way to be her friend. But it didn’t take long before she gave a very simple answer, “Yes.”
Days after that fateful meeting, Lynn was able to talk Emily into going to the school counselor and reporting her bullies. With Lynn’s testimony and Emily coming forward, the school implemented new anti-bullying measures and the bullies were given mandatory counseling. To Emily’s surprise, two out of her three bullies eventually apologized for their actions. She later learned that they were suffering from difficult home lives, and while it didn’t excuse their actions, it did help her to understand their motivations for what they did. As for Emily and Lynn, they slowly grew to be the closest of friends.
Back to the present. Soon after Emily entered the cafeteria, she saw that Lynn had already reserved a seat for her. Her friend was engaged in a conversation with a girl that Emily only knew in passing, Katrina, or Kat to her friends. Unlike Emily, Evelyn had a number of other friends. They were always polite and welcoming to her, but they were still Evelyn’s friends in the end. She quickly filled her tray and went to sit next to her bestie.
Katrina noticed Evelyn’s best friend coming over to sit with the group. She had tried to befriend the wallflower, but for some reason; Emily was only willing to open up to Evelyn. Still, she wasn’t offended and she did consider Emily to be a friend, if not a close one. Evelyn had already filled her in on the troubles that Emily had in middle school. Personally, she couldn’t figure out why anyone would bully a girl as harmless as her, but that’s neither here nor there. She offered the girl a brilliant smile.
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"Hey Emily!" Katarina called out to the wallflower.
Emily quickly rushed over to take her place next to Evelyn, but not before returning Katarina’s smile with one of her own, albeit small in comparison to Katarina's. “Hey, Kat.”
At this point, the rest of the friend group had noticed Emily’s entrance. There was Ian, a tall boy who somehow managed to get good grades on all of his assignments and tests, with little to no studying required. Then there was Leanna, a straightforward girl who was never afraid to speak her mind. To Emily’s knowledge, Leanna was planning on becoming a nurse in the future. Finally, there was Mason, a pudgy-looking boy with average grades. He planned on studying to become a dietician, the irony of which was not lost on Emily.
Of the four, Katrina was the closest Emily could come to calling a friend outside of Lynn. In fact, there was a short time when she had a crush on the girl. She liked Katrina’s seemingly endless well of confidence, the other girl was quite like Evelyn in that sense. It helped that they both had the same tastes in books. Unlike Emily; however, Katrina was far more confident. She also dressed far more stylishly, often seen dressed in artfully ripped, well-fitting clothing. Where Emily was cute, Katrina was exotic and pretty. They were like night and day in some aspects, where Kat had dusky skin–Emily had pale. Kat loved pineapple on pizza, whereas Emily considered it a crime against nature. Little things like that set them apart, but Kat was her second closest friend.
The rest of the group said their greetings before they resumed their conversation.
“So, as I was saying, the group project that we were assigned has been proceeding at a snail’s pace,” Ian complained. Because of his intelligence, he often drew the short stick when it came to projects that required more than one person. In part, because his fellow students felt that they couldn’t measure up to his quality of work, so they chose not to even bother, but also because they knew that Ian cared too much about his grade to make a fuss on the matter.
Lynn chimed in with her two cents, “I think you should ask the teacher for a new group, or explain the situation. In my old school, anyone who didn’t participate in group activities received a grade that reflected their effort.” It was here that she grinned, thinking back to a past occasion where half of her group were forced to do a separate project because they didn’t contribute.
Ian nodded as if considering her proposal. “That’s a good idea. May-” He is interrupted by Mason.
“Can’t you just fail the project? That would teach them to pull their own weight.” Mason asked.
“No. Intentionally failing an assignment isn’t something I’m willing to do,” Ian replied with a shake of his head.
Mason shrugged, “You do you, man. I’m just saying, it would be the quickest way to teach them a lesson.”
Leanna chose that moment to chime in, “Um, I think Lynn’s approach is the best. You will still have to complete the project on your lonesome, but the other students will learn a valuable lesson in the process.”
Emily silently agreed but didn’t voice her opinion. She leaned over to whisper a question in Lynn’s ear, “Are you still coming over to my house later?” The two girls had planned on studying together for a few hours before playing Halo coop. They had beat the game many times in the past, but it was still good for a night of fun.
“Of course, silly. We’re going to hit up that cafe your mom recommended too, in case you forgot.” Lynn whispered back, before returning her focus to the conversation between Ian, Leanna, and Mason. During the short exchange between Emily and Lynn, Ian had decided to go with Lynn’s suggestion.
Emily was content to silently eat her food and bask in the presence of people who liked and didn’t judge her. After lunch, the rest of the day passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. Emily and Lynn met outside of the school. Normally they would take the bus or be driven home, but today was a special day. There was a new cafe that they wanted to stop by on the way home. Emily’s mom had given her some money for the two of them to grab a coffee and cake. Money that she had given to Lynn for safekeeping, or that's what she told herself.
They said their farewells to Kat. The other three of their group Ian, Lyanna, and Mason were all busy with their after-school activities. Normally, Lynn would attend soccer practice at around this time, but she had already promised to spend the night at Emily’s. The high school they attended, Northeast High, was in a safer part of the city. So it wasn’t too dangerous for the two of them to walk home. It is worth noting; however, that both girls had cell phones.
It took roughly half an hour of walking for the duo to arrive at the cafe. Emily went to find her and Lynn some seats, while Lynn went upfront to order. She glanced at the barista’s name-tag, before making her order. “Hello, Madeleine. My friend and I would like to order one cheese danish, one coffee cake, and two tall mocha.”
Madeleine smiled at Lynn, pleased that the girl was thoughtful enough to learn her name before making an order, “That’ll be $11.50 for everything. You’ll be called when your order is ready.”
Lynn smiled, then went over to join Emily at their table. “Cheese danish and mocha for me, and a coffee cake and mocha for you.” Lynn had an incurable sweet tooth. Emily, in contrast, liked the occasional sweet, but she had nothing on her best friend’s insatiable urge to consume every source of sugar in sight.
The two friends made small talk, with Lynn talking the most, and Emily speaking up when appropriate. It didn’t take long, no more than four minutes, before their order was ready. Lynn pulled her socially awkward friend to her feet, knowing that the other girl would be following a little ways behind her. This was the norm when the two of them went into public together. It’s not that Emily couldn’t interact with strangers, because she could; she just didn’t enjoy doing so. The two of them went to pick up their drinks and respective treats. Lynn thanked the barista, and gave her a $2 tip, then followed Emily back to their table.
The pair sipped their drinks in silence, taking the occasional nibble of their treats. Suddenly, Lynn broke the silence, “Emily, I love you, but you can’t keep relying on me whenever we go into public. Eventually, I’m going to have my own life, and so will you.” She gave the other girl a soft smile, “That isn’t to say that we’ll never be together, but you need to realize that it’s important for you to be able to interact with peopl-”
Emily interrupted her before she could continue, “I know, I know. It’s not that I can’t speak up for myself, I just…” She trailed off without finishing her sentence.
Lynn offered a silent nod, knowing all about her friend’s hang-ups with people, and strangers in particular. “I know better than most what you’ve been through, but you can’t let that control the rest of your life. It’s not just when you’re with me either. Your parents have noticed the same thing, and…”
The other girl looked up from her coffee, “I know. They’ve been talking about getting me back into therapy. But they fail to realize that I’ve already put what happened in middle school behind me. It happened, I got over it. I just don’t like talking with strangers. It stresses me out.”
Her friend nodded, “Okay, but… I’m here for you if you need to talk about anything, and so are the rest of our friends.”
“They’re your friends, except maybe Kat,” Emily replied.
Lynn shook her head, “I don’t think you realize just how much the four of them care about you. When are you going to let down your barriers and let others get close to you?”
Emily sighed, before replying, “I’ll try, okay?”
Her friend smiled, before downing the rest of her coffee. She had finished her treat sometime during their conversation. “That’s all I can ask.” She said before her eyes locked in on Emily’s unfinished treat. “So… Are you going to finish that?” She asked cheekily.
Emily giggled, a rare occurrence for her, before pushing the half-eaten treat over to her friend. She finished her coffee then stood up, waiting for Lynn to do the same.
The athletic girl scarfed down the remainder of her friends' treat, before leading the way out the door. On their way out, they tossed their trash in a nearby bin, and Lynn called out to the barista, “Thanks for the excellent service!” She nudged for Emily to say something as well.
Emily blushed, squeaking out, “T-Thank you!” before she rushed out the door.
"Thanks for your patronage, come again!" Madeleine said to Lynn as the latter was exiting the cafe.
Lynn replied, "We will!" before she exited the cafe.
The two girls met up outside and waited for the crossing light to turn green, before making their way across. Only, something unexpected happened as they were in the middle of the street. The world around them slowed to a crawl, before it came to a complete stop. Followed by a glowing blue circle surrounding the duo, a circle that slowly closed in on them. It continued to shrink until the two friends were forced to hug each other, because the borders of the circle were as solid as a concrete wall. Shortly after the circle stopped shrinking, both girls lost consciousness and only an empty street remained where they once stood.