The sun was shining high in the sky as the wind swept sweetly over the bluffs. It was a beautiful day but a dry day. There hadn't been rain in Chesapeake for a month and the air was dryer then ever. Over on Maple Street; 1421 Maple Street to be exact there was even less excitement then a drought.

It was a normal morning for Leslie Lu Owens. She awoke a minute or so before her alarm and waited in bed for it to go off. She looked around at her messy room. There were clothes sprawled across the floor; and her dresser drawers were all left open. Her room might have been messy but she liked it that way, she took one last glance around her room in admiration. She took note of the seashells she had collected from the beach that were neatly laid across her vanity, the orange beads dangling from her mirror that she wore every once in a while when she wanted to make a statement, and the new brown boots she got from her Grandmother that she still hadn't conjured up the courage to wear to school. She finally dragged herself out of bed and over to the bathroom and immediately went to the body mirror to examine her reflection. She was a pretty girl with sandy blonde hair of shoulder length, and too many freckles to count. She was short and rather awkward. She had a very distinct style that no one at school really understood so she was often made fun of for it. She decided to wear her blue pinstripe pants and a silk top with jasmine flowers. When she was done getting dressed she returned to the mirror to take one more glance before heading downstairs. Even though Leslie loved the clothes she was wearing she always found something she didn't like. In this case she didn't like how the button on her pants protruded to the point where you could see it through her shirt. She made the decision to change into a simple pair of blue jeans; which would also make her blend in more. After picking out a more acceptable outfit Leslie went downstairs. Before she went into the kitchen she hoped her mom (whom she referred to as Fiona) had opted to sleep in. Much to her disappointment Fiona was already in the kitchen pouring her some Count Chocula.

"Morning Fiona," Leslie sounded quite dismal, and unappreciative that Fiona had taken the time to "make" her breakfast.

"I poured you some cereal, eat up you need your strength for school." Fiona was rather cheery this morning, which is a change because usually she is inattentive to Leslie and just bids her farewell when she is halfway out the door.

"I'm not hungry, I ate late last night"

"Well just have a few bites incase you get hungry later"

"Fiona, I'm not hungry I don't want a few bites. What is your problem? You never pay this much attention to me…ever. Are you on drugs?"

"Leslie, all I'm trying to do is be a good mother there is never anything wrong with change. I know I have made some mistakes in the past and I'm very sorry for that but we can't change that if you don't work with me. So I need you to work with me."

"I'm going to be late for school" Leslie rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple as she walked out the door.

She didn't know whether to be upset or amused with the display that Fiona put on in the kitchen. The part that was amusing was the caring mother, crack cocaine smile she displayed. The upsetting part was realizing every time she went home Fiona was going to attempt to have quality time with her. Quality time. Just the though made bile rise in her throat. Leslie decided to take the long way to school since she left early to escape the wrath of Fiona. She walked along the rocky bluffs which took her about 10 minutes out of her way. That was one thing she loved about Chesapeake, the ocean. Sometimes at sunset she would come out to the bluffs and watch the tide rise while listening to slow songs on her ipod. Leslie would have given anything to stay at the bluffs all day, but she didn't have the courage to skip school. As she approached school, Fulton High school to be exact, home of the Buccaneers, she felt an anchor drop in her stomach and her mouth became dry. She hated school, not because it was school but because no one there really understood her. Of course there were her friends who she shared the latest Fiona crisis with and who she spent time with outside of school, and then the occasional person in the hallway that she knew briefly, but she was disappointed that she had no one to truly call a best friend in a school of 3,000. She felt as if she lived her whole life just watching, never really acting, like she existed but never lived. Every year her new year's resolution would be get involved, make more friends, get a boyfriend, but the truth was she never acted on her goals because she really didn't care.

Leslie put her ipod on before she walked through the towering steel doors, to avoid any meaningless conversation that she might get stuck in. She wasn't anti-social she just wasn't very patient. Leslie's locker was way at the other end of the school, so she had to walk by all the kids that hated her (the feelings were mutual) and be subject to scrutiny every step she took. Leslie didn't care so much if people talked behind her back, but right in front of her made her feel naked in a room of hundreds. She finally reached her locker but it didn't help that Johnny Morgan was hanging around right next to it. How she wished with all the desire she could conjure up that he was waiting for her, but the truth was they had never even exchanged words before. He was a popular boy, she was vapor. This was one of those crushes Leslie wished she didn't have. Her feelings just developed one day, and suddenly he was everywhere making it extremely difficult for her to forget about him. She tried not to stare as she approached her locker but the moment she looked at him, he looked over at her. This sudden eye contact scared her and she immediately looked down at her ipod pretending to change the song. The second she looked down she ran into someone coming out of a classroom and made a total fool of herself. Days like this are what made her really hate school. Leslie grabbed the few books she needed out of her locker, and since her friends were nowhere in sight she decided to sit outside and read a book until the first period bell. Leslie made her way out the doors and to a bench in the sun. She opened her book ad sat there just enjoying the warm sun beating down on her face, and admiring the lives of others around her. It saddened Leslie that so many people just walked by without even acknowledging her presence, but it let her know where she stood in the way of things. She was a total loser, barely any friends, no boyfriend, reading a book when there are 2,999 other kids to talk to. But then something happened. It was Johnny! Walking right towards her, she looked right back at her book just waiting, then she glanced up again and He was getting closer, the next thing she knew he was standing right in front of her. Leslie's hart leapt for joy so many things were racing through her mind at one time. At that moment she wished she had picked the bench in the shade so he wouldn't notice her cheeks turning beat red.

"Hi" said Johnny sounding rather rushed

"Hi Johnny" Leslie sounded like a stripper and she immediately regretted her tone of voice. She knew now the red in her face wouldn't tone down until after he left.

"I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to-"

Leslie wanted to jump up and thank God for everything he had ever done for her. The guy of her dreams was finally asking her out. She needed an outfit to wear on their date, her normal hum drum clothes wouldn't do. Maybe, she thought she could find something to with the boots her grandmother got her.

"I'd love to!"

"Great!"

"Did you want to sit down?"

"Yeah," Johnny just kind of stared at her for a moment. Leslie was confused she didn't understand why he was being so awkward. "It's just that, I was wondering if you could move to that bench over there so me and my friends can all fit on one bench"

Leslie glanced over at the bench sitting by itself in a corner of depressing shade.

"Oh, sure I was just about to move."

"Thanks again, uh"

She couldn't believe it! He had the nerve to come over and ask her to move and he didn't even know her name!

"Leslie! My name is Leslie"

"Right, thanks Leslie!"

Leslie felt more saddened then ever and now she really wished that she had picked the bench in the shade.