The grass is perfectly green. The sky is perfectly blue. The world seems to be perfectly full of perfect people. Too bad I'm not one of them. I trip over my large feet everyday. My sister has never tripped over her perfectly tiny feet. My thin yet knotted hair falls out because I try to brush it too hard everyday. My sister has never pulled out any of her perfectly golden curls. My grades drop constantly everyday. My sister has never gotten a B on any of her perfectly wonderful assignments. The world is perfect. Except for me.

The girl's brown hair hung around her face like a curtain. Her brown eyes were downcast, watching the many feet. Her backpack slung over her shoulder carelessly. Her feet shuffled. Her jeans were "last year's style" and her shirt was much too big for her. Some girls she passed in the hall giggled, "Look at that shirt! It is so ugly! It's just too big!" The girl rolled her eyes and walked over to her friends. "Hi..." One girl, not her friend but her friend's friend, commented, "Your shirt is too big and it's really ugly." "Julie, does it look like I care?" Julie shook her head and the girl laughed. Julie, who was really Caitlyn's friend, slammed her locker shut and left. Emily and Rachel were talking among themselves, quietly and secluded. "So, Caitlyn, what's up?" the girl asked. Caitlyn frowned, "Katy scratched me again. God, she's annoying!" Katy was Caitlyn's sister; they were two of triplets. Their brother, Kyle, was off somewhere goofing off with his friends. Kyle was the girl's friend, too, which made the girl just a little popular, just a little. Kyle was nice but he was also popular and around his friends' he acted like a jerk. The girl walked over to her locker with Caitlyn behind her. She kicked it twice and knelt down to open it.

At the same moment, Kyle's friend, Ryan – who was much more of a jerk than Kyle, "tripped" over his foot and slammed into the girl. "Hey, you jerk! You did that on purpose!" the girl cried. Kyle had seen the whole thing. He was gaping, his mouth open, unsure of what to do. The girl's locker was jammed again and no matter how many times she kicked it – and Ryan – it wouldn't open. There was also a dent in her locker where Ryan had pushed her into it. Great. It was broken. The latch was bent sideways and wouldn't budge. Suddenly, the bell rang. She continued to try to open her locker as the halls emptied. She ran to the office and asked for help. No one offered any. She was alone and late. She slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. Tears escaped her eyes. She never cried at school. But here she was, sobbing alone and deserted by her friends.

"Kelly?" a voice broke through her tears and a warm hand touched her shoulder. She looked up reluctantly into a face not too familiar. At first, she didn't recognize him through her tears. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I should have done something." "Oh. Hi Kyle..." "Can I sit?" he asked softly. Kelly shrugged. "I don't care." Kyle sat. "I should have stopped him; I should have at least tried to stop him." Kelly shook her head, slowly, "It's not your fault." Kyle argued, "It is my faul--." "At least you didn't desert me like Caitlyn and Katy and Emily and Rachel." She interrupted. "I did at first. I was very close to class. About two steps away, when I put my books down and came to find you. I feel very guilty. I'm sorry, Kelly. I wish I could've done something. If only I could turn back time..." He stood up again and offered her a hand-up. She refused it, getting her hands dirty pushing herself up. He walked over to her locker and kicked it softly. It flew open. "Thanks."

That night, Kyle dreamt of sand. Endless amounts of sand. When he woke up, he found small grains of it in his bed. He shrugged and woke Katy and Caitlyn up for school.