girls

'Could they get
any more preppy?'
I say to my best
friend.
I groan loudly.
The girl looks
back at me,
with a glare
that could break
even stone.
Thankfully,
that class
is done soon.
I can't believe
that only a few
years ago, I was
one of them.
One of those
kinds of girls
who gets upset
over breaking
a nail
and then has to
ruin everybody
else's day
because her

Sometimes I try to understand,
But it’s too hard.
We are both so different,
Like from 2 different species.
They can’t talk to me like they talk to each other,
And it’s the same thing here.
I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be…
Boys and girls are all so complicated.

Jennah

I'm sitting on my heels
In the library
Again
Looking through
The science fiction
And trying to decide between
Computers and aliens,
Aliens in the future,
Future computers,
Or
One book with all three.

A pair of
Denim
Flip-flops
Appear
Beside me
And I
Look up,
Startled.
I haven't
Talked to her
For
A couple weeks now.
But I know those
Denim flip-flops

Katie

Telling Sarah anything
Means
The whole school will know
Soon.
So in Geometry, I whisper
"I broke up with Jason,"
And wave away her
Wide-eye questions,
Satisfied
That Jennah will hear.

Jennah

There's several
Theories
I've heard so far.
One says Katie caught Jason
With another girl.
Someone was eagerly telling her friends
In History
That it was Jason

Katie

I called Jason
Jennah
Today
By mistake.
He came up behind me
Put his arms around
My waist
And I said
"Jenna?"

"What?"

Jason.
Right.
Not
Jennah.

Jennah

I am acting like
The kind of person
I swore I would never be.
I'm watching, slyly
Ducking around
Corners
When she looks,
And I think
Yesterday
I actually
Giggled.
Half of me is

Katie

I'm straight, damn it.
I have
Jason
And I love him.
Or I did.
Once.
I still do.
Right?
Damn it.
I'm straight.

And my stupid, disobedient heart
Should remember that.

Jennah

Katie tells me
"Bye"
And ducks into
A convenience store,
Heads to the
Soap aisle,
And sinks
To the floor
Out of sight.
I'm kind of glad
She
Left now.

Jenna

Why do they make
Plastic fast food booths
So
Small?
I'm right next
To Katie
Our knees are jammed
Together
Our breath
Mingles
Above the sticky table.
But neither of us
Moves
Away.

Katie looks at her abandoned chicken sandwich,
Picks it up,
Examines it from all angles,
Drops it
Back
To its foil.
The fries are
Long
Gone
And the ketchup is starting

Jennah

Katie is not one of those
"I'm gonna be a (breath, tilt head photogenically)
Model"
Girls.
She actually
Eats.
Real food, too.
I like this girl.

Katie
We're at a McDonalds clone restaurant
Down the street.
It's crowded with
Kids our age
Fleeing school lunches.
I order some sort of chicken sandwich
And share my fries
With Jennah.
She has

Katie

I'm ready to
Throw a textbook at
Someone,
Preferably
My teacher.
I thought I'd have
Time
This year
To start
Drawing
Again,
Or teach myself
Guitar.
But between
School
And friends
And Jason
I don't have any time
For
Myself.

And when I do
I waste it thinking about
Jennah.

Jennah

Sarah.
It makes my day
When she
Sneers
At me
In the hall

Katie

Sarah's one of those
Long-blond-hair-blue-eyes
Types
Or would be
If she didn't have
Brown hair and brown eyes.
But when she walks
People look at her
And and when she talks
People turn their heads
To hear better.
She knows
Everything
That happens,
I think before the
People involved
Do.

"Who's that
Girl
In the
Green?"
I asked
Sarah.
The Girl In Yellow

Katie

She wears a
Bright yellow dress and a
Pink men's tie
And her hair is
Blue.
It was the second day of school.
I only see her for a
Moment
But the image of her movement is
Imprinted on my mind.
I don't even notice when
Jason came up behind me and
Slipped an arm around
My shoulders
Possessively
Like he always does.
I'm thinking about
That girl.

Jennah

I have lots of hockey today
I would like to shout hooray!
When I step onto the cold ice
It makes me feel so very nice.
I go to center ice for a face-off
As the puck drops I start to cough.
Off we go to and fro
Chasing the puck where it will go.
With Grace and Josie at my side
I feel like a bird about to fly.
I soar down the ice with the puck on my stick

So once there was this girl. And this girl's skin was white. Not just not-black, but like really white. She looked like printer paper or a new porcelain sink. She was always cold because her skin couldn't absorb light or warmth. When she went outside on a sunny day, she was impossible to look at. Because she reflected the sun.

As I lay under the stars
Without the sound of cars
I think about the girl next to me
I don’t have to see
For her face imprinted in my thoughts
Her touch hoping for lots
In the grass we lay
Wishing we could every day
Time passes without thought
Bugs fly free uncaught
Thoughts unsaid
Constantly being fed
With feelings that teach
Understood without words or speech

I just did something stupid.
I asked for closure