A Lonely Girl

Author's Note: I do not own Back to the Future. No copyright infringement intended.

"She's so weird."

"I know."

"Why were you friends with her?"

"Who knows..."

Those words stung her like mace. She could feel her eyes begin to well, but dared-not to cry in front of her fellow peers.

Instead, she sat with her head down and her mind focused on her lunch. She could still hear the snickers coming from the other tables, but chose to ignore them.

"Hey, watch this," she heard a voice coming from the back table.

A bread roll suddenly bounced off the back of her head.

"Hey, knock it off," she yelled, as she turned to face her tormentor's. But the boys proceeded to laugh.

"She's such a square," one of them commented.

"I know."

Babs Rivera sighed then shook her head. She could say this was the worst day of her life, but everyday had been like this for the past 6 weeks.

She dipped her spoon her chocolate pudding, and began to eat it.

"Ick," she spat the bitter tasting pudding out.

"Gross, man," another boy from the back table said. "Imagine what she's like at home." The boys laughed again.

In the center of the cafeteria, a tall blonde cheerleader named Cindy Merrin, stood up from her seat. She cleared her throat then winked at the other cheerleaders. "Everyone, may I have your attention, please?"

The cafeteria grew silent within seconds.

"On behalf of the English Committee, I'd like to read an insert from A Lonely Girl," she flipped through the pages of a small blue book.

"Cindy, what are you doing," Lorraine Baines whisper-shouted.

"Back off, Lorraine," Cindy snapped. "You were the one who gave me her diary, remember?"

"But Cind-"

Cindy ignored Lorraine then proceeded on with her reading. "Chapter 1," she cleared her throat a second time, "September 10th, 1954. Dear diary, Today was a day like no other. I stood half-frozen in the hallway, as he walked by."

Babs rolled her eyes then finished her orange juice. Suddenly, something hit her (not literally this time). She had heard those words before, and September 10th, 1954 was only a month and a half ago. Something was definitely up, she thought. But Babs' thoughts were interrupted by Cindy's voice.

"He had the brownest hair, the cutest eyes, and the brightest smile. And when he passed me by, he looked up and smiled at me. I almost fainted." The cheerleaders roared with laughter, interrupting Cindy's reading.

"Shh," she hissed.

"Oh, sorry Cind. Go on," Susan Ames lowered her head.

"I saw him again, in history," Cindy continued, "He sat only two seats away from me."

Babs' heart began to race. 'Brownest hair, half-frozen, best day of her life.' She had only heard those three statements in one book - which wasn't a book, at all. It was her... She gasped then let it all out. Her diary.

"And then Mrs. Gallagher called out his name. ...Tommy Valens."

The entire lunchroom burst into laughter, this time.

Cindy spotted Babs, who looked like she was about to cry. This gave her even more satisfaction.

Babs didn't hear the rest of what Cindy said, but when the blonde kraken boomed, 'Babs Rivera' that's when she knew the entire lunchroom had unmasked her identity.

"Aww man," Stretch Stronghold, a football player from the back table said, "that human garbage disposal named Babs, has the hots for you. Man that's disgusting."

"I know," Tommy snorted.

Babs didn't bother looking in the direction of her former beloved, or the rest of the cafeteria. She knew everyone was laughing at her. She was the girl whose diary was just read to the entire 11th grade.

Without further ado, Babs lowered her head, and made a bee-line for the double doors, leaving her half-eaten lunch behind.

"Aww, poor Babsy," Cindy laughed with the rest of her friends.

"You know, Cindy, you didn't have to do that," Lorraine spat.

"But Lorraine," Cindy faced her friend, "we had so much fun doing it. I thought you, of all people, would've enjoyed it."

"Well, I didn't," Lorraine retorted. She didn't know why she felt the need to defend Babs, but did so anyways. "Hand over her diary," she said in a low voice.

"What," Cindy scoffed. "Hand it over, now? You've got to be kidding me." She started to say something else, but stopped. "You know what, you can have your little diary." She chucked the diary across the cafeteria. "Oh, and don't even bother sitting with us, tomorrow. You can have fun being a loser with your weirdo friend." She bumped past Lorraine, as she and her posse of cheerleaders, exited the lunchroom.

Lorraine sighed then retrieved the diary off the linoleum floor. 'I guess this is the price you pay for befriending someone who can't go a day without staring at herself in the mirror,' she shook her head, ashamed of giving that scum-sucking ostrich the time of day. The only reason started hanging out with her was because of that stupid argument she and Babs had about god knows what. At the time she needed someone to talk to - someone who shared a mutual dislike in Babs Rivera.

It was fun at first; venting and what-not, but she soon realized her and Babs' friendship was too sacred to throw away over something as stupid as a boy. Clutching her friend's diary, she decided it was time to get her friend back…