When Jane had gotten home that afternoon, she had gone directly to the basement or as she liked to call it, "her sanctuary." She was so angry that had ripped all of the pages out of her idea notebook. The only good thing about today is that she had made a new friend. She was happy about that, but she was still angry about the cheerleader's insult. She had thought things would be different at this school. It looks like this school was going to be exactly the same as her last school. She hated her last school. She was bullied so badly that her parents had to have a meeting with the principal to stop it. The principal tried suspending the students that were bullying her, but that made things worse. They blamed Jane for getting them suspended and bullied her even worse outside of school. One time, the bullying went way too far and her mother decided that the only option left was to move. Jane was hoping that Whitechapel would be a fresh new start. The only thing so far was that someone had at least attempted to talk to her. Nobody would at her old school because she was considered to be too weird. She would often be slumped at her desk during classes staring intensely at the teacher absorbing everything he/she was saying. The preppy girls in the back of the classroom filing their nails would secretly pass notes about how strange she was. During lunch, she would sit alone and read a book while eating. She stopped doing that ever since somebody had put a note in her book that said something quite inappropriate using vulgar language. Whenever she would walk by students, she would keep her books close to her chest in case anyone tried to book check. That had happened to her so many times and she had gotten tired of it. Most of the time, people would make fun of her clothing. She wore reading glasses that she didn't need, but wore them anyway to differentiate herself from everyone else. As much as she hated to admit, she loved being different. She loved discovering people's personalities and analyzing them. She found it fascinating how some people could be so different. She usually wore a black sweatshirt and jeans with black dress shoes. Her hair was always in one braid. She wasn't exactly socially awkward. She did have trouble trusting people. She was slightly paranoid. However, she could hold a conversation, but the problem was nobody wanted to hold a conversation with her until now. She had always wondered why so many people seemed to hate her. So what if she liked computers and spent most of her time after school doing projects willingly. She liked to build things. It was her special talent. She had taught herself. There was one project that she was dying to try out, but hadn't finished yet. Of course when she finished, she would have to work out the kinks which would take even longer. She was about halfway done with it. While she was working on it, she would secretly thank God for giving her intelligence. She worked on it a little today, but was a little tired so she quit early. She's usually not the quitting type, but she wasn't exactly in the best mood today. She logged out of her computer right when her mother called her name telling her to come upstairs. She walked/stomped upstairs to see her mother holding the door partially open.

"What," Jane asked impatiently.

"Nice tone," her mother responded sarcastically. "You have a friend here to see you."

Her mother opened the door revealing Sarah. At first, Jane was relieved, but the relief was quickly replaced with confusion.

"How did you know where I lived," Jane asked curiously.

"Looked you up," Sarah replied with ease. "You have a very nice house."
"Thanks," Jane said. "We try to keep it as clean as we can."

"Can I come in," Sarah asked standing in the doorway awkwardly.

"Tell me why you're here first," Jane said suspiciously.

"I just wanted to check up on you and see if you're okay," Sarah said.

"I'm okay," Jane said. "My dignity was a little bruised, but I'll get over it."

"That's good," Sarah said. "Not the dignity part, but that you're okay."

"Thanks for checking up on me," Jane said smiling. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Sarah replied smiling back. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Jane thought for a minute. She was about to say "sure" but decided against it when she remembered her "sanctuary." She didn't want to drive Sarah away just like everyone else.

"Maybe another time," Jane replied suddenly sad. "Sorry."

"Okay," Sarah said a little disappointed. "I'll see you at school then."

"See you at school," Jane replied a lump forming in her throat.

"Bye," Sarah said waving.

"Bye," Jane said closing the door. Tears glistened in her eyes. She sat down on the floor wondering what was wrong with her. Wondering why she has to act like such a freak sometimes. She regretted thinking that immediately after thinking it. Yet she still wondered why she was so different. She used to take pride in it, but now she wasn't so sure. Sometimes, she resented being different. She started smiling thinking about her project. Once her project is completed, she'll be able to fit in with everybody else.