Irma's POV

"Okay, just kill me now!!" I said as Hay Lin bounced up to me and handed me the too cute pink flyer. "Not another sappy themed dance!"

"Oh, come on now grumpy pants, it'll be fun – it's lady's choice" Hay Lin said and I swear she practically twinkled as she did, "Oh, we can go shopping for really cute dresses and do each other's hair, wow it will be even MORE fun!

I slowly put my head against my locker and thought, "God save me from perky people."

Hay Lin looped her arm through mine and pulled me off towards biology. " Oh come on, Irma there has to be some boy you want to ask to the dance, I mean Martin's nice but if you really don't like him that way, now is the perfect time to find another boy."

I just ground my teeth and tried to think of the perfect sarcastic comeback, but was too late because just then Will and Cornelia walked up. Of course they heard what Hay Lin had said.

Cornelia flashed a wicked grin and quipped, "Irma with a boy that's not a total loser, never gonna happen. The universe is not set up for that kind of inequality."

And just like that my whole day sank like the Titanic. I mean, don't you just hate it when girls that have everything get their jollies by reminding you how inadequate you are? I mean, Cornelia's got it all great looks, awesome fashion taste, money and boys just naturally flock to her – you'd think she could at least pretend to be kind.

But instead she just continued, "I mean, what hottie would take her seriously? She's so tomboyish. Here's a hint, invest in a padded bra, you really do need more curves if you ever want to catch a guy's attention. Also, she sort of clueless about what boys want, I mean she would never stop with the snarky remarks long enough for a guy to kiss her."

Hay Lin tried to look away and pretend Cornelia didn't just blow me away – it must be great to have that kind of happiness-induced-denial. Will just stared, open-mouthed, not believing Cornelia actually had the nerve to bash me like that. And as for me, for the second time in two minutes (a new personal best) I wished I could just die on the spot.

"You know Princess Potpourri, not everyone builds their world around the boys, some of us like having a life and mind, you should try it some time, that is if you can get a loaner brain!"

Cornelia's only response was to press her hand to her head with her fingers to her head in the shape of an 'L' and mouth the word "Loser".

Just then Hay Lin stepped in, always the peace maker, "Guys please don't fight! It's a brand new day and we're all best friends."

"Yeah," Will added, " not to mention teammates. So you two need to put your bickering in check. By the way has anyone seen Taranee yet? She's supposed to check my math homework."

We all shook our heads and a make shift peace was established, then headed towards homeroom.

I was miserable in class, not because of what Cornelia had said, because it was so true. There was no denying that I was a little slow at boy-girl relationships, especially compared to her, Miss Beautiful Flirt, every boy in school would trade lesser body parts for a chance with her. Me on the other hand, every boy in school, except for Martin would pay to not have to sit next to me. My slight curves had earned me the nickname "Irmo" by Uriah and his gang. Can you say heinous?

To top it all off, I had a secret torture that only made it worst. There was one boy, to me the most perfect boy in two worlds, that I would have traded everything I own for if he would just notice me, that is notice me as a girl. But as luck and the universe would have it, he practiced kissing Cornelia on a regular basis. Yeah, the sad truth is that I had it bad for Caleb, and always had since the first time we met him. But Caleb belonged to Cornelia. Life is so unfair.

Caleb was cool, strong, and smart. A combination that none of the Neanderthals in my class had – they were just still to young to be anything more than two-legged pigs (except for Matt, Eric & Nigel – my friends had truly great boyfriends). So I was always the fifth wheel, and then the constant pestering by Martin just compounded my sad state. While I know that Martin's feelings are genuine, I just don't feel the same about him as he does about me, so every time I try to be nice and not totally decimate the guy he takes it as an encouragement.

I'll never understand why adults keep telling me that this is the best time in my life, because from what I can see, it really sucks. And I didn't see any hope for my immediate future.

What could I do, the only boy I liked was taken, would not have noticed me if he wasn't and his girlfriend got insane amounts of joy from reminding me of how low I was on the evolution ladder.

Yeah this day's shaping up just fine, and I'm not even out of homeroom yet.