AN: This is a short-short fictional story that I did for my creative writing class. I based it off of the characters from Battle Angel Alita, as well as a little bit from my own life as well. I figured I might as well just make it an official fanfiction. Please enjoy.
It was her first day of fourth grade, and she already wanted to cry. She hated being different.
"Okay, class! We'll start off the year with some quick introductions! Please stand up when it's your turn, give us your name, and please tell us a little bit about yourself. Like your age and what you like to do."
That was about five minutes ago. The girl next to her stood up to give her introductions, and Yoko was beginning to sweat, very much wishing to just sink into her clothes and vanish.
Yoko sighed to herself.
'It's been four years since kindergarten, and I still can't make any friends.' Yoko's eyes drooped to her fingers, which were picking at themselves. 'I haven't made any progress at all. Do I even want to at this point?'
"Thank you very much, Ninon!" She blinked as the girl next to her sat down, turning as white as her shirt. It was now her turn to introduce herself.
Yoko gulped as she gnawed on her lips. Fidgeting in her seat, she trembled as she slowly stood up, feeling the eyes of many children around her, staring at her from where she sat. Surrounded by an army of her previous tormentors, she felt their eyes stab into her like a thousand shots from a mad doctor.
The teacher frowned a little at Yoko's nervous form.
'I wonder how often I'll have to step in.' Ms. Gelda thought to herself. 'According to yesterday's meeting, she hasn't made too much progress on her Autism. Let's just hope that Marita's daughter can help her out…'
Yoko pinched herself, bringing her mind back to the present. Remembering to take deep breaths, she nearly yelled out, "H-H-Hi everyone! M-My n-name is Y-Yoko!"
Oh no. Her words came out like a broken radio again in front of others. Oh no, this was just like in kindergarten, with the exact same kids being the audience to her goof up. Her face burning, she put her head down, the class giggling at her mistake. Covering her ears to shut out the harsh sound, she could barely hear the teacher scolding the children for their cruel treatment towards her, but it was too late. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as she did her best to calm herself down.
'Why do I have to be so different?!' Yoko screamed at herself in her head. 'Why can't I be normal?'
She never had friends, due to her being too shy and too emotional. Normal things that would be accepted by others would bother her a lot, which ended up driving away the other children from her. It only got worse when Yoko actually threw up from when one of them tried to talk to her, making a huge mess and causing everyone to laugh at her.
'I hate being different.' Yoko thought miserably.
About an hour later, the bell rang, causing everyone to stop taking notes.
"Alright kids, that's lunch." Ms. Gelda announced to the class. "You better be waiting outside the door after the bell rings in 45 minutes. And no running!"
The children cheered in unison as they power-ran out the door, careful to not exceed the speed limit.
Ms. Gelda just shook her head at them, before turning towards Yoko, who remained at her seat, laying her head down miserably as she mindlessly doodled on her paper.
"Do you not want to come out?" She asked the young girl. Yoko shook her head slowly, and the teacher let out a small sigh.
"I understand that you don't want to go outside, but come on. Some fresh air will do you good. Here, I'll go out there with you. What do you say?"
After a minute of silence, Yoko nodded, reluctantly getting up. Taking her hand, they walked out the door to eat in the cafeteria outside.
Yoko didn't eat anything at all, choosing to just stare at the other kids having fun with sadness. Ms. Gelda noticed this while finishing up her sandwich.
"You know, you might make a friend if you just talked to them." She said, trying to be helpful. Ms. Gelda then winced, remembering just how often the other kids bullied her in the previous grades. The fact that those same kids are in Yoko's class just made her feel even stupider for suggesting that.
Her eyes widened as she spotted her target in the distance.
"I'll be right back, okay Yoko?" Ms. Gelda promised her, before getting up.
Yoko wanted to protest against her leaving, since she did feel comfortable when she was around. But all she could do is just nod her head.
Yoko grew worried when Ms. Gelda didn't return as promised. Glancing up again, she looked back down as she realized that a blonde, long haired girl was walking towards her, a small smile on her lips.
'Oh no, what does she want with me?' Yoko began to sweat. 'Is she going to pick on me like the others? Who is she, by the way? I don't remember who she is. Should I run for the bathroom? What does she wa-?'
The footsteps suddenly stopped, and she realized that the girl was right in front of her. Her eyes lingered on her pretty, black shoes, with her blue pants matching her overalls very well.
Letting out a loud gulp, she struggled to lift her head, which felt heavy like a milk carton. Brown eyes finally met blue as she finally lifted her head.
"Hi." The girl in front of her smiled gently. "My name's Erica. What's yours?"
"...Yoko." Her voice came out as a small whisper, but the girl in front of her seemed to have heard it.
"Nice to meet you, Yoko." Erica said softly, her voice the gentle harp in an orchestra of sharp violins. "Do you wanna be friends?"
She raised her hand for her, and Yoko froze, eying the hand cautiously. Her hand, which seemed to glow from the sunlight, stayed in the air, and Yoko knew that she had to take it fast, otherwise it might go away forever.
Before she could change her mind, Yoko quickly grabbed her hand, shaking it roughly, before letting it go. Yoko shut her eyes as she waited for her to inevitably walk away from her, just like the other kids.
It felt like minutes before Yoko finally opened her eyes, and stared in awe at how Erica was still standing there, patiently waiting for her to pop out of her shell.
"Are you okay now?" She just asked, her gentle smile never leaving her face. Stunned, her fingers fell off of her face as she just nodded.
After chatting endlessly with Erica, the bell eventually rang again. Lunch ended way too quickly for Yoko, who, for the first time in forever, was having fun with another kid.
"Come on, Yoko. We need to go." Erica smiled at her, before extending her hand. Blinking owlishly, Yoko's hand shook, before it gently took hers.
'It's soft.' Yoko thought, and she found herself savoring the feel of her friend's hand.
'It's a good thing my older sister Hershey's exactly like her.' Erica thought, smiling at Yoko's growing smile. 'I guess I now know why Ms. Gelda wanted me to talk to her.'
Meanwhile, Yoko was nearly bouncing in her steps. 'I made my first friend!' She nearly squealed.
Yoko, for once in her life, found that she liked being different.