-1The next morning came to fast for Maria's liking. Her alarm woke her up at 6 that morning, so she could get ready for the day. When she got out of bed, she went to the bathroom to start her morning rituals.
Once she was done getting ready, Maria headed downstairs to have breakfast and to head to school.
"Morning Maria, did you sleep well?" Bryan asked.
"Morning daddy and yes I did. Did you?" responded Maria.
"Yes, well I better be going to the office now. I'll see you tonight at dinner. I love you and have a great day at school." With that Bryan was already out the door before Maria could respond. When her father left, Maria headed to the kitchen to have her breakfast. After eating and cleaning up her breakfast, Maria headed out the door and started her walk to school.
On her walk to school, she kept thinking about who could be her new partner in biology class. She also wondered what new project her teacher had in store for her and her class. Maria also ran through the check list that she had stored in her head. She double checked all of her classes and made sure that she had finished all of her homework. Satisfied that she did, she continued her walk to school with a smile on her face.
When Maria reached the school, she walked up the steps and headed straight to her locker. Once she reached her locker, she put away all of her stuff and got her biology book and binder together. She was then on her way to her first class, biology. As she took her seat and got ready to take notes, she noticed Tess and Liz walking in and taking their seats in front of her. Every day they would take their seats in front of Maria and they would never give her a second glance. After the girls took their seats, the teacher, Mrs. Gill, started the class.
"Today we will be starting our new projects, and you all will be getting new partners for it," Mrs. Gill told the class.
"I want all of you to collect your things and move to the front of the class. I will then call two names you will then go to the table that I assign you to. Are there any questions?" Mrs. Gill asked her class. When nobody raised their hands, she told them to get up from their seats. They all got up from the seats and moved to the front of the classroom.
"Okay, let's get started. I want Liz Parker and Shane Nemo to sit in the front right here. Next I want John Grant and Dori Fin to sit at the table behind them," Mrs. Gill instructed. This continued on for about another two minutes before the teacher got to Maria's name.
"Now I want Maria DeLuca and Tess Guerin to sit at the table in the back corner. Once everyone has taken their seats I will start talking to you about your new projects and what I want done," Mrs. Gill instructed once again to her class. The class then took their new seats with their new lab partners. As the teacher started talking about their projects, Tess thought that it would be a good idea to introduce herself to her new partner.
"Hi, my name is Tess. What is your name? Are you new, cause I have never seen you before," Tess asked Maria.
"I know who you are. No I am not new. My name is Maria," she answered back quietly.
"Really? Then why haven't I ever seen you before. I know who everyone is in this class and in this school," Tess shot back at Maria.
"Yes really. I have been going to the same school as you since we were five years old. The reason as to why you haven't seen me before is because I like to keep to myself. And you really can't see someone if you have never really taking the time to see them," Maria told Tess a little bit louder this time. Tess looked a little taken back at the things Maria just said to her. Sure she had never really taken the time to get to know the people besides her brother and their friends. But it wasn't her fault that she is the way that she is. Okay maybe it was some of her fault, but that didn't make her a bad person. Or did it?
As Tess continued to think to herself, Maria took this time to go over what the teacher had handed out to them. She was reading over what she had to get done for her to get an "A" on her project. As she was readying, she didn't notice that Tess was now staring at her.
"I'm sorry," Tess told Maria softly.
Startled, Maria looked up at Tess. "Huh? What do you have to be sorry for?" Maria asked Tess.
"I'm sorry that I have never taking the time to know you. I'm sorry that you feel as though no one sees you," Tess told Maria, still softly.
"It's not you fault that you or anyone else don't see me. I just like being in the background. That way if I mess up no one will notice. It's okay really," Maria kind of lied to Tess. She didn't want Tess to know why she didn't stand out. She didn't want Tess to know that she didn't have any friends.
Before Tess could respond the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Maria hurriedly gathered her things and left the class in record time. Tess was still sitting at her table when Liz came up to her.
"Hey Tess. Are you coming to our next class?" Liz asked Tess.
"What? Yeah sure, just give me a minute to get my stuff together," Tess told Liz. With that said, Liz left Tess and the classroom. Tess couldn't get the look of sadness in Maria's eyes out of her head. She wondered why Maria told her all of that, and she was also wondering why Maria would want to blend into the background. Why would anyone want to blend into the background? Tess wondered it Maria had any friends that Tess knew. She would just have to find out who Maria hung out with.
Later that day, Tess walked with her best friend, Isabel, to lunch.
"Hey, Isabel, do you know who Maria DeLuca hangs out with," Tess asked.
"Hun, who is Maria DeLuca? If you tell me who she is, then maybe I can tell you who she hangs out with," Isabel answered back.
"She is my new biology lab partner. She has been going to school with us since I was five. She is in the same grade as I am," Tess said.
"I'm sorry; I have no idea who she is. Why don't you ask your brother? He knows about every girl at this school," Isabel joked.
"Ewww, don't joke around about my brother's sex life. And besides, I don't think that Maria is that kind of girl," she told Isabel.
"Who is that kind of girl? Who are we talking about today ladies?" Michael asked coming up from behind them. Before Tess could answer her brother, Isabel beat her to it.
"Maria DeLuca. Do you know who she is?" Isabel asked him.
"Maria DeLuca, Maria DeLuca. Hmmmm. Nope. Never heard of her before. Is she new?" he answered back.
"No Michael, she is not new. She is my new lab partner in biology. I was just asking Isabel if she knew who Maria hung out with," Tess told Michael.
"I get it little sis, no need to rip me a new one. I was just asking what and who you were talking about," Michael said to his little sister. With that Tess and Isabel walked away from Michael to find a table to eat their lunch at.