"Lexi, are you alright?" a voice next to me asked. 

I jumped and twisted my head to see who had just talked to me. It was Leah, my best friend. She had just sat down at the lunch table next to me. We both had no lunch with us, since the school lunches were terrible. 

"Huh?" I asked, confused. Leah smirked and gestured with her head to the boy sitting at the table next to us. Tyler Brown. He had curly auburn hair, bright emerald green eyes, and the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. 

"You keep staring at Tyler," Leah commented.  

"N-no I'm not!" I denied, blushing furiously. Leah raised an eyebrow at me sceptically.

"Yes, you are. Do you like him? And don't lie."

"I..." I didn't know how to answer that. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I did like him.

I sighed, and said, "I don't really know, Leah. Besides even if I did, I doubt he would even pay attention to me. I'm just.. too plain."

Leah groaned. "Come on, Lexi, don't be like that. You are not plain. You are the most amazing, nicest, unique person I know. I'm sure Tyler would pay attention to you."

I snorted. "You're only saying that because you're my best friend. I'm hardly unique or any of the things that you just said."

Leah's eyes flashed angrily. "That's not true, and you know it. I don't lie to you without a good reason. Why would I lie now?" 

I swallowed, and didn't answer. Leah sighed, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I just hate that you think so low of yourself."

I immediately felt guilty. "Sorry for not believing you."

She smiled at me. "It's fine." That's what I liked about my friendship with Leah. We hardly ever fought and when we did fight, we always made up super fast. Leah was probably one of the kindest, gentlest people I knew. But when it came to defending someone, or something she cared about, she was super fierce. 

"So, did you hear what Mr. Burnside said today in class?"

I shook my head, and Leah launched into the story. I couldn't help it, while she was talking, my eyes wandered over to Tyler. He was talking animatedly to his friend, David Montogmery. He was making some kind of gesture when his eye caught mine. His eyes widened and he stared at me for a second, then looked away. 

I sighed despondently and turned my attention back to Leah, who was still talking. 

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"...and he said that all the eight graders are getting free school yearbooks this year, instead of having to pay for them! Apparently one of the teachers is 'adopting' each of us, and paying for them for us. Isn't that awesome?" I nodded, and she continued. "He also said that since we don't have that many pictures this year, the Camera Club gets to go around the school and take pictures for the yearbook!" 

Leah was in the Camera Club, which was basically just a club for people who were interested in photography. She loved photography and sometimes we both went hiking together so she could take some pictures.

Just then Adriana, our other friend plopped down next to us, slamming her tray on the table. Her apple fell off, and rolled across the table. She made no move to grab it and I followed it with my eyes until it fell off the edge and smashed on the ground. Then I looked back up. 

Adriana was glaring venomously across the lunchroom at a blonde girl named Alison Pierce. Alison was one of the meanest people in our grade and hated Adriana with a passion. They used to be (sorta) friends until second grade, when something happened between them and they started fighting with each other constantly. 

Leah looked at Adriana worriedly. "What happened?"

She scowled, and said, "Nothing important." She picked up the pizza that was on her tray, and started eating it. 

Leah and I glanced at each other for a moment, then looked back at Adriana. "Did you know Lexi has a crush on Tyler?" 

Adriana's eyes widened, whipping her head toward me, her brown hair swinging in her face.  "Really?"

"W-what? No I don't!" I spluttered, blushing furiously, which didn't help my case at all. 

"Oh my gosh, you do!" Adriana squealed. "This is amazing!"

I rolled my eyes, still blushing. "Didn't you hear me? I just said I didn't like him. Get your ears checked."

Leah and Adrian both grinned. "No matter how much you deny it, it will still be true. You can't fool us, Lexi,"

I huffed grumpily, and ignored them. I reached for my backpack, which was resting against my leg, and pulled out my sketchbook. I opened it to a blank page, and pulled out a pencil.

I looked up to my friends, and asked, “What should I draw?”

Adriana pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. Which she probably was. “How about you draw Tyler? You know, since you loooove him.”

I glared at her. “I am currently not taking suggestions from you.” She pouted, but her eyes were full of amusement.

I looked at Leah, and raised my eyebrow. She smirked, and said brightly, as if just thinking of the idea, “How about you draw Tyler?”

I put my head in my hands. “I am no longer taking any suggestions.” My voice was exasperated. 

Before they could answer, the bell for next class rang. We all groaned. "Doesn't it feel like lunch always goes by super fast?" asked Adriana. 

Leah and I nodded. We got up, and slung our backpacks on our back. "See you in math class?" Leah asked, looking at me and Adriana. 

We both nodded. She smiled and walked away in the opposite direction we were heading. We turned around and walked to our spanish class. Just as we were about to walk through the door, Alison Pierce pushed right in front of us to go through the door, slamming right into my shoulder. 

"Ow!" I said, rubbing my shoulder. Alison just glanced over her shoulder, glaring nastily at me and Adriana, then tossed her hair over her shoulder and ignored us. 

Adriana made a move to go up to her, but I grabbed her arm. "Don't," I warned. She frowned, but relaxed. 

We walked over to our seats in the back of the classroom and sat down, just as Ms. Aldane walked into the room. She was probably one of the most beautiful teachers in the school. She had pure white hair and skin, bright purple eyes that were always shining with happiness, and was super kind. "Good afternoon, class!" she said, smiling at all of us. 

We all replied with a half-hearted 'Good afternoon'.  The teacher frowned slightly, but continued, "Today we will be reviewing the ir, er and ar verbs..."

I tuned her out, thinking about Tyler. Did I like him? Yes, yes I did. But apparently he was dating Alison. And I doubt he would give her up, just for me. I slid my gaze to Alison, studying her.

Her blonde hair was shining slightly as the sun shone down on it through the window. She had green eyes, and a perfect body. Her face was almost perfectly heart-shaped and her skin was beautifully tanned. 

She wasn't paying any attention to the teacher, instead she was holding her phone under her desk, texting someone. Mrs. Aldane wasn't paying attention to her, instead pointing to something on the smart board in the front of the room. 

I sighed, disheartened. If I ever wanted Tyler to like me instead of liking Alison, I would need a miracle.