It was the middle of the day and I was walking to my locker, which is- sigh- right next to Tiffany Fever's. We used to be friends a long time ago, when we were about eleven, when she went by her nick-name Nudge. But then she turned into a tall, skinny, beautiful girl with clear brown skin and long, wavy brown hair. Her hair used to be darker and more like an afro, but she thought she looked better this way. That's not a problem. Change is good. But she changed completely so that she could have more friends. That includes ditching me. I promised myself I will never be like her. I would never change for someone else.

I silently stood beside her and entered my locker combination. I saw her head turn a little; checking to make sure no one was around. Everyone had headed off to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Max." She said quietly, not looking at me and pretending to be focused on looking in her locker for something.
"Nudge." I replied coldly.
She laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. "I haven't heard anyone call me that in a while."
"Wonder why?" I muttered.
She nose-breathed a little louder, irritated. She doesn't really like it when people get snippy with her.
"You know, Max; If you weren't so freaking weird all the time you'd have more friends." She said, loud enough to be heard. Maybe she was just being a bitch. Maybe she saw her friends walk up behind her in the little compact mirror she was looking in to and didn't want to be seen talking to me. Probably both.
"Like you?" I asked.
She scoffed and slammed the door.
"Tiffany!" Someone called, obviously waiting for her to meet up with them in the lunch room.
"Why were you talking to her?" Her bitch friend Ella asked as they approached.
Nudge laughed coldly. "I was trying to be nice."
"That's the thing." Ella said as they walked out of the hall. "You can't be nice to freaks."
I rolled my eyes and walked to the library. I don't eat lunch. There are too many tables, too many people who won't let me sit with them. No, it's better to just read in the library.

I walked to one of the large wooden tables in the farthest corner of the room.
"Hey, Maxine." The librarian said politely.
"Ms. Martinez." I responded, too irritated to carry on a conversation.
She sensed this and retreated into her office as I worked on some homework. Knowing she was gone, I rolled up my sleeves, revealing the three lines I drew with sharpie.

Today there was another boy at the table across from mine. He was always at that same table during lunch, just like me. He's not goth- He's emo, just like me. He has long strawberry blonde hair that's always covering his eyes. His name is Isaac Knight as far as I know. I've never had any interaction with him, but I already respect him. We're both loners. I literally have no friends and I'm pretty sure he doesn't either.

He was in the same position as me, hair covering face, hunched over staring at a math book, sleeves rolled up. And then we both looked up at the exact same time.

It was the first time I had ever seen his eyes. They were a pale, ice blue color, almost clear. And they were focused on me.

He saw the three black lines on my arm, and I saw the three black lines on his.