Pearl held her breath as she watched the tall pink silhouette disappear around the corner. She let out an angry huff and scolded herself, "Stupid stupid stupid! Why can't you just talk to her? Why don't you just tell her how you feel? Gaah!" She slid down the locker until she was sitting on the floor hugging her knobby knees to her chest. There she sat, rethinking her entire sophomore year.
Pearl was tall, lanky, and lean. Her ginger colored hair was always cut short and clean, and her clothes were always fashionable to say the least. She was very smart, in fact, the second ranked in her class. She did the science fair every year and even skipped a grade in math. As for sports, she did track, but nothing more. She didn't enjoy the roughness of most high school sports, but with track, she was able to just run and let her mind go. She also was apart of the choir, frequently got solos, and did theatre. She certainly seemed like an outgoing girl, and she was for the most part, until it came to talking to Rose. Rose was a senior with long curly pink hair. She was built and somehow managed to be taller than Pearl. She was very much like Pearl in her interests, and the two of them were actually good friends.
Pearl was a lesbian, and was only out to a few of her close friends, including Rose. Pearl had the biggest crush on her, but was too afraid to tell her. With the end of the school year drawing near, and Rose moving away for college, Pearl knew that her time was running out.
Pearl heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer, which was strange since school had gotten out a while ago. She looked up and saw her friend Connie standing there.
"Is something wrong, Pearl?" She asked.
"No, I'm just… I'm just…ugh I'm so stupid." Pearl sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Connie joined her on the floor," You're, like, the smartest kid in school. Well, besides me, of course." She nudged her friend, trying to get a smile out of her, but it didn't work.
"I don't mean it like that, I'm just so bad at talking to girls I like."
"Oh, you're sad that you're too chicken to talk to Rose, hm?"
Pearl nodded solemnly.
Connie nudged her again, "Hey, don't worry about it. It would never work out anyway."
Pearl shot an angry look, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Connie explained, "Well, first of all, you don't even know if she's gay or not. Second of all, she's a senior and you're a sophomore, if she were to date a girl, she'd probably date someone her age or older."
Pearl sniffled, "But Rose says she thinks I'm very mature for my age."
Connie continued, "That doesn't change the fact that she'll be going to college next year, and you'll still be in high school for 2 more years. Don't you think she'd rather be with someone who's already graduated and isn't stuck here? I'm not trying to be mean, it's just that I really don't think it'd work out, and I hate having to see you like this. I know it'll be hard, but you have to just get over her."
Pearl's lip quivered, "That's easy for you to say. You aren't in love with her."
There was an awkward moment of silence. Pearl rested her head on top of her knees, "I'm just so lonely." She mumbled.
Connie thought for a moment before she came up with an idea, "Give me your phone."
"Why?" Pearl asked.
"Just give it, I promise I won't do anything bad. Trust me."
"Fine." She sighed, surrendering her iPhone.
Connie sat there tapping and swiping for a few minutes until Pearl finally asked, "What are you doing?"
"One moment," Connie tapped a few more times before handing her phone back, "And there you go!"
Pearl snatched her phone and looked at what Connie had done. She shrieked out in horror, "You signed me up for a dating app?"
"Well it's not just for dating, you can make friends on there, too."
"This is so absurd." Pearl exclaimed, scrolling through the profile Connie had created, "All this thing is going to do is attract horny old men. 'I know how to have a good time.' Why on earth did you put that on there?"
"Because you do!" Connie smiled, "And you shouldn't get any creepy old men because I put your settings on 'Girl looking for girls' so only other queer girls will be able to see your profile."
"Connie, I can't date someone I've met on the Internet! What if they're a murderer or a stalker or something? Besides, online dating is so desperate and I already like someone."
"Look, Pearl, I highly doubt you'll get murdered, and who said you have to date anyone? Just try to talk to some other girls. I'm just tired of seeing you so hung up on Rose. I want you to be happy."
Pearl let out a long sigh.
"Just give it a try Pearl." Connie said as she stood, "I gotta go. I'm going to be late for fencing. Bye!"
Once Connie was out of sight, Pearl stood and gathered her things from her locker. She exited the school and stepped out into the warm air. She walked to and from school everyday since she was only 15 and didn't have her license, but it didn't bother her much since she didn't live very far. She walked with her head down, absentmindedly counting her steps, until she got to the parking lot. There were only a few cars left, most of them owned by faculty members. A cherry red mini cooper at the end of the lot caught her eye. It was Rose's car. Pearl picked up the pace and scuttled over to say hello to the taller teenager who was leaning against it.
"Hey Rose!" Pearl greeted, smiling ear to ear.
"Oh, hey P." She smiled.
Rose's voice always made Pearl's knees weak, "W-What're you up to?"
"Just enjoying the weather. This is my favorite time of year, right when spring is ending and all of the plants are so full of color and life," She took a deep breath, "What's your favorite time of the year?"
Rose's eyes held Pearl's, and her brain went fuzzy.
"Um, Pearl? You ok?"
She snapped out of it, "Huh, what?"
Rose chuckled softly, "What's your favorite time of the year?"
"Oh," Pearl blushed, "I-I like the fall. When all of the leaves get blown out the trees and fall to the ground."
"I love fall." Rose smiled.
"I love you too." Pearl blurted out.
Rose looked very confused, "What?"
"Fall! I meant fall! I love fall!" She tried to recover.
Rose let out a loud laugh and gently punched Pearl's shoulder playfully, "You're so crazy, P."
The two shared a moment until there was a loud honk behind Pearl that made her jump.
Rose perked up and waved at the van that had pulled in, "My ride's here!"
A guy with long black hair stepped out of the van, and he looked to be about the same age as Rose, but he was a bit shorter. Rose ran up and hugged him.
"Your ride?" Pearl asked.
"Oh! Pearl, this is my friend Greg. Greg, this is Pearl, the girl I was telling you about."
"Yo" Greg waved.
"Hello." Pearl greeted uneasily.
"Well, we better get going so we're not late to the show! C'mon!" Rose opened the passenger side of the van, "Catch you later, P!"
Pearl waved as the two of them drove off, leaving her in the parking lot all alone. She went back to walking with her head down, but instead of counting her steps, she thought about Rose and that Greg guy. Were they friends, or were they dating? She decided she didn't want to know the answer. Pearl got home and went straight to her room, avoiding her parents. She threw her bag to the ground and sat on her bed, pulling out her phone. The dating app was still up, and she stared at it for a moment. Maybe she should try talking to other girls to get her mind off of Rose.