Amy slammed her locker shut as the bell rang for lunch. It was the second day of freshman year...and she was already exhausted. All she could remember was how, last year, everyone except her was worried about freshman year. "I'll be fine," she thought. But she was wrong - so, so wrong. The teachers were tougher, the books were weirder, and the boys - they'd gotten even meaner. Here she was, barely keeping her head above water, when all those kids who had been so worried were already thriving. Her thoughts were interrupted upon seeing her four best friends ahead of her. She ran to catch up with them. A lot had changed since eight grade - but her friendship with Alice, Tracy, Rebecca and Karen was as strong as ever. They quickly hugged each other before finding someplace to sit for lunch.
"What did you do over the summer?" Tracy asked Alice. They all usually went separate ways anyway in the summer, but it seemed this year Alice had completely vanished.
"I met some friends. I was making a movie-"
"Guy friends?" Rebecca, the boy crazy one of the group, asked.
Alice laughed. "Yeah. They-"
She was interrupted by a short blonde boy calling her name from across the cafeteria.
"Cary!" she yelled back.
"Cary? But isn't that a girl's name?" Rebecca said, looking worried.
"Seriously?" Karen huffed. "It's a guy's name."
"But what about Carrie from French class?"
"That's completely different."
"But how?"
"It just is!"
"Guys...stop..." Tracy whined.
The girls examined the boys. "What are the other ones' names?" Amy asked.
"Martin, Preston, Charles, and Joe." Alice said.
"But which one is which?" Rebecca asked.
"You are so dumb. She said it in order," Karen said before taking on a condescending tone. "Martin's the first one, Preston's the second, Cha-"
"I get it, Karen! I'm not stupid."
"Well, actually, I'm pretty sure you..."
"I am so sorry," Tracy sighed, looking at the boys.
"She's sorry Rebecca can never think straight." Karen said, smirking.
"I don't get it." Rebecca said, her eyes getting big.
"My point exactly."
"So, um," Amy began before instantly stopping herself. She almost never talked to boys before - and she sure wasn't ready right now. What if she said something dumb? What if they hated her?
"So, um, what?" Cary spoke up. "Are you stupid like Rebecca?"
"Hey!" the girl in question shouted. Amy looked down at the ground.
"She's just shy," Karen interrupted, sparing Amy of further embarrassment.
"Alice, why didn't you tell us that you met boys?" Rebecca asked.
Alice coughed. "Because."
"Because she was worried that you would be an idiot in front of them," Karen said. "Her worst fears are coming true."
Rebecca blinked. "What?"
"Nothing."
Cary laughed. "Rebecca, you'd get along with Martin."
"Why?" she stared at him blankly.
"Because he's just as stupid as you are."
"You're wrong," Karen said. "Nobody is as stupid as Rebecca." She snorted.
Rebecca only frowned, while Martin turned over to Cary. "Why am I stupid?"
"Shut up, Smartin."
Karen laughed. "Smartin. That's good. I should have thought of something like that."
"Yeah, I'm pretty witty like that." Cary grinned.
"You guys are cute." Rebecca stated absentmindedly.
"Rebecca isn't afraid of sharing her opinions." Tracy rolled her eyes.
"Even when she should," Karen added.
Rebecca frowned again. "Why are you guys so mean to me?"
"Because you're stupid," she replied. "Who else would be your friend?"
"I think you need to stop," Alice sighed.
"Fine."
"Then can we make fun of Martin now?" Cary asked.
"No, we can't," Alice interrupted. "We can't make fun of anyone."
"You ruin everything," Karen muttered.
"Whatever."
"But wait," Rebecca began again. "Why didn't you introduce us before?"
"I didn't know them until this summer."
"Oh!" she said. "You mean when-"
"Yes, Dumbecca, when the aliens attacked," Karen replied.
"Seriously?" Tracy muttered.
"An alien attacked?" Rebecca asked, her eyes getting big.
"Do you not remember the story? It was huge. Everyone was evacuated. Ring a bell?" Karen asked.
"Oh yeah-" Rebecca trailed off, suddenly distracted by a particularly good-looking boy walking by.
"Alice, how do I not make fun of her?"
"Just keep your mouth closed," she said.
"I can't!"
Rebecca, no longer mesmerized by the cute boy, came back to the conversation. "What?"
"Nothing," Alice said. "It's nothing."
Rebecca frowned. "You guys never tell me anything!"
"You never listen to anything! You're too focused on boys!" Karen argued.
"That's not true!"
"Oh, look, Tommy's waving at you!" Karen cackled.
"Where?!" Rebecca turned sharply. "Wait. You're making fun of me."
"Good. You're learning."
"Learning what?"
"Maybe you're not learning."
"Learning what?!" Rebecca repeated.
"Learning is what you're supposed to be doing in class when you're drawing hearts on your notebook," Tracy interrupted.
"I got a D on my last math test," Rebecca said.
"Better than an E, right?" Karen said. Rebecca nodded. "There is no 'E,' dummy."
"Well, I know one thing," she replied. "I don't draw hearts, Tracy, I draw flowers."
"I saw hearts."
"They were rose petals."
"Roses symbolize love."
"Only red ones. Mine were yellow."
"Can we not talk about roses?" Cary asked.
"Again, I apologize for them. They're kind of airheads." Tracy said.
"Stop apologizing. You're so freaking annoying," Karen whined.
"Stop complaining about everyone."
"Stop complaining about me. I never do anything wrong."
"You do everything wrong. That's your problem."
"Well at least I'm fun. You're so dull, it's unbelievable."
"It's actually called smart. And normal."
"Being smart is normal. Being a nerd is not."
"I'm not a nerd."
"You totally are. You won't stop talking like you're the smartest person ever."
"That's because, unlike you, I'm proud of my intellect."
"See, there you go. You're being a nerd again!"
"How so?"
"Using big words!"
"Please! 'Intellect' is hardly a big word. But I'll bet Rebecca doesn't know what it means. Do you?" Rebecca was preoccupied staring at a boy across the cafeteria, not at all paying attention to the conversation.
"Unlike Rebecca, I'm not an idiot, so I'll tell you what it means. It means..." She paused.
"...being a big ugly stupid nerd like you!"
"Well, aren't you the wittiest little girl. Let's give you a gold star."
Rebecca suddenly looked over at the girls. "I like gold."
"Kill me now." Tracy muttered.
"Seriously! It's the color of my hair," she giggled, twirled a strand around her finger, and let it fall again.
"No, your hair is blonde," Karen huffed.
"It looks like gold in the sunlight."
"Wow, that almost sounded pretty. Did some boy say that to you?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Um..." She paused thoughtfully. "Um...um...I don't know."
"Don't tell me you don't remember." Rebecca looked guilty and stared at the floor. "Of course. But we should have known. Rebecca was the one breaking hearts at like, five years old when the rest of us were on the playground."
"I wasn't breaking hearts," she replied. "I was actually making them."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Remember that really pretty heart thing that was on the wall during Valentines Day?"
"No. That was like, five million years ago."
"That was mine."
"And which tiny little boy did you give it to after?"
"We were all tiny."
"And who's your boyfriend now?" Cary interrupted.
Rebecca sighed wistfully. "I don't have one."
Karen rolled her eyes. "Yeah. After she got her heart broken in third grade, she's sworn off love forever."
"No I haven't."
"Yeah, uh, falling in love with a rock star doesn't count."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Boys don't like me anyway."
Karen laughed. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard."
"It's true."
"No, it's not. Boys are falling all over you."
Rebecca's eyes got bigger. "Really?"
"Really."
"So I have a chance at true love?"
"I don't know, most boys are stupid enough to love you, so, yes."
Rebecca jumped victoriously. "Yessss! People love me!"
"Yeah, uh huh, keep saying that."
"I will! They love me! They love me! They love-"
"Okay, you can shut up now."
"I feel the need to apologize again." Tracy said.
"Don't. This is hilarious." Cary said.
Rebecca stepped up from her seat and walked over to the trash can, where she got distracted talking to a boy.
"Ugh, finally. She's gone. Now we can have a normal conversation."
"We were fine with Rebecca," Amy whispered.
"Shut up. You're supposed to have your mouth closed."
"No, I was just-"
"Yes."
"Okay-"
"Shut it!"
"Well. Now maybe you know why you never met them," Alice said to the boys. "Sorry they blew their chance at making a good first impression. That tends to happen a lot."
"Yeah, um, we didn't make such a great impression of ourselves either," Joe whispered.
"Dude, shut up, we were perfect," Cary replied harshly.
Alice laughed. "At least you understand."
"The bell's about to ring," Tracy said.
"Leave it to the nerd to inform us," Karen teased.
"Meet you guys later?" Alice asked the boys. "Unless you've been entirely scared off."
"Yes," Cary replied instantly.
"We scared you?" Alice asked.
"No. We want to meet you guys later."
"Okay, well, um, see you." They sat in awkward silence until the bell rang, and then they all scrambled off to their classes.
