Thrown Together When I said he was the only boy I could ever love, I figured I was just being an over-dramatic preteen... Ever since we were little kids, he held a special place in my heart. Laughing, splashing each other in the pool, and talking to each other about our problems. Jess and I were pretty good friends. Our relationship, however, did not move past friendship. Quite the contrary. We moved up from elementary school to the crazy drama of middle school. I, Alyssa Dominguez, do NOT react well to drama. The solution to avoiding the vicious cliques and mind numbbing gossip: I shut myself off from the social world completely. I seldom spoke with anyone. Instead of being labeled as shy, or even dorky, I was dubbed "stuck up" and "snooty". Depressed and withdrawn, I followed the majority of my class to the local public high school. The drama only worsened, even though I remained an introvert. Whispers about me floated around the halls like fluid ghosts, and I heard them all. I came home every day feeling like I wanted to cry without specific reasons. I was unhappy, and I missed my best friend, Serena, who had moved all the way across the country right before the beginning of freshman year. I was afraid of letting anyone in, afraid of showing my true self because I didn't think I could take the rejection. Therefore, for almost a year, I had no friends. I tried turning to him, to my friend Jess. Even though we shared such a close friendship when we were kids, he seemed to have forgotten about all that. Not only did he ignore me when I tried to talk to him in front of his friends, but he literally pushed me aside. His hand connected with my shoulder, and my arm slammed against the cold lockers. I'll never forget the sound that echoed through the hallway as my flesh met metal. One cold slap that seemed to awaken my awareness. I knew I had to get out of that school, and somewhere I could truly thrive. My rescue came in the form of an all-girls private high school. I only knew a few girls who had gone there after middle school, and those three girls were always kind to me. Maybe, through them, I could find some friends. With any luck, I'd feel wanted and accepted again. Three-quarters into freshman year, I put on a plaid skirt and cashmire v-neck sweater, and prepared myself for the private school experience. It wasn't a week before I made some friends with girls who sat near me in classes, or took interest in the same clubs. Two weeks into my new school, I had established my own "circle". By the end of the year, phone numbers and myspace usernames were collected and exchanged, and pool parties were arranged. A secure circle of companions; it seemed too good to be true. I was in for a shock by the beginning of Sophomore year. Imagine my suprise when my friend, Kara, showed up to lunch with some strange girl behind her. "Hey, everyone! Long time no see! How are you Celina? Catherine? Lisa? Kate? Vero? Alyssa?" Kara was all smiles as she asked us, in turn, how our summers were. The girl she brought with her stood idly behind her. Blonde hair whipped my face and before I knew it I was crushed by the force of a very hyperactive schoolgirl. "Alyssa! I missed you so much! You'll never guess what I saw yesterday at the mall! There was this ADORABLE shirt at Wet Seal! It was white, with a baby blue butterfly on it...it totally screamed your name! I would have bought it for you, but I didn't have enough money with me. Actually, I didn't have any money with me. One of the perks with shopping with my mom, I guess! I don't need any cash." "Um...wow, Kara. That's really great! I missed you too." I tried to keep up with her, I really did. But that girl could talk faster than anyone I'd ever met. Celina, a short, tan girl who wore about 25 bracelets on each arm, forced herself between Kara and I. "Kara! You never responded to my text this morning. I had to ride the bus because of you!" She complained jokingly. "Anyway," she continued, fiddling with her bracelets, "introduce us to your friend!" Kara looked behind her, her face flushed with embarassment. "Oh! Duh. Um...you guys remember Chelsea, right? Chelsea Dannelson." All the other girls' eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh yeah!" Lisa said. "So what, are you gonna sit with us now?" Vero huffed in her trademark, indifferent tone. Interestingly enough, she had a good heart deep down inside. Really deep down. Chelsea cocked her head to one side. "Well, if you don't want me here, then I guess I can go back to my old group..." Vero stared straight at her for a moment before grunting, "No. Sit." And patted the ground between her and myself. I felt like I was definitely missing something, but tried to stifle my curiosity as Chelsea sat down next to me. She stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed before her head did a double take. Her eyes focued on mine, and I got a good look at her. Her skin tone was mocha-tinted, just like mine. She was very thin, probably around ten pounds lighter than myself, and I'm not overweight. Her eyes were big and brown; they reminded me of doe eyes. A bright smile and long, brown hair topped off her looks. As she sat in the sun, I noticed that her hair shone a golden color in the places that the sun hit. Did she have highlights, or was it just a God-given gift? "Why don't I know you?" she asked, gracing the world with another smile. "It's not like this school is huge." I flashed her a plastic smile. "I'm Alyssa." For some reason, she made me wary at first. I was afraid she was going to think I was stuck up and steal my circle of gal-pals away from me. Kara tackled me from behind and giggled. "Not just Alyssa!" she said, "Alyssa Dominguez!" She pronounced my last name in the absolute worst hispanic accent I have ever heard in my life. At least she tried, I guess. "You two don't know eachother," she continued, "because Chelsea left for jolly ol' England about two days before you came along, Aly." "England." I said, suprised. "Were you studying abroad?" Chelsea laughed. "Not exactly. I had to be excused from school for a few weeks to go. I've wanted to see London all my life, and my mom could only get tickets for that time. So, of course, I had to make up the work-" "In summer school!" Kara finished, jumping up and attempting to perform some weird tribal dance. Only Kara... "Yes." Chelsea laughed. "Which sucked, to be honest." Celina sat down across from us and stretched out her legs. "You should have asked us to hook you up with Alyssa, then!" "Oh?" she asked, blinking. "Why is that?" "Because she's Miss Smarty Pants." Vero interjected. "Smarty pants is right! But I prefer the name Miss 4.5 GPA." Kara added. "Stop you guys, you're making her blush." Catherine laughed, her palms pressed to her cheeks, making her look even more asian. She was right, I was a little flustered from all the sudden attention I was getting. I guess I was still used to being a huge introvert. "Wow, 4.5? That's awesome." Chelsea smiled and nudged my shoulder. I just shrugged. Over the weeks, Chelsea and I talked every day at lunch. We soon figured out that we had the same taste in music, loved the same movies, and lived very close to each other. Sometimes, when the group was getting to loud and abnoxious, we would take walks around campus. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we just enjoyed one another's company in silence. My friendship with her was, in one word, incredible. She was my polar opposite in every way; fun, social, and outspoken. But had the same interests and shared many things in common. One was a love for music. I played the piano and violin, and she played the flute and guitar. We also enjoyed the same kind of ice cream, mint cookie chip. One particularly warm day in early fall, we bought ourselves each a scoop from the cafeteria before leaving after classes were finished. "Do you need a ride home?" Chelsea asked me as we licked our frozen treats. "No, I'm all set. I have to stay after school for a while, but my mom is coming to get me." "Aww!" she cried, disappointed, "I wanted you to listen to a CD I burned!" "Another time." I assured her. "My mom won't be happy if I call her and tell her to turn around. Plus we're going to church tonight." "Ew, on a school night?" she looked at me in a very pitying fashion. "What better time?" I said sarcastically. We both laughed. "True, true. Well, are you sure you don't need a ride home?" "Absotively posolutely." I responded, giggling. We bid eachother good bye. Once I was sure she was out of sight, I slunk into the empty choir room. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Alyssa Dominguez: probably the sweetest person I have met in my entire life. So cute too! We have the same exact skin color, but her face and body are so much more different than mine. She's definitely not fat, not even close. But she has curves, they must be from her hispanic heritage. When I first met her, I was shocked when she took off her school sweatshirt; she looked so tiny under that big thing, but her bust is really quite...erm...bold. Who knew? Her hips are graceful, not bulky or chunky at all, and they really accentuate her teeny, tiny waist. Her mouth is so adorable, her upper lip makes a perfect bow-tie shape when her mouth is closed, and her bottom lip is the perfect size. She has waist long, curly dark hair. The curls aren't kinky, though, but big, luxurious curls. The kind moviestars pay big money to have. The most wonderful thing about her, though, is her eyes: dark as black coffee and always halfway closed. Alyssa always looks like she's deep in thought. Except when she's looking right at you...you can't help but stare back into her eyes. So mesmerizing, her gaze makes you feel like you're being given a warm hug. After school one day, she rejected my invitation to take her home. I was a little crestfallen, but I understood that her mother probably wanted to come get her so she wouldn't skip out on church (I've tried to talk the girl out of being a Catholic, but she really seems to love the religion. Except going to church, apparantly). I went to the bathroom, then got a text from my own mother. She said she was going to be twenty minutes late, so I decided to look for Alyssa. I wandered around the math wing, then the english wing, then the history wing. No Alyssa. Where could she be? That's when I heard it; a tune was coming from the music/arts wing. It sounded like someone was playing the piano. Maybe Alyssa was around there? As I passed by the instrument rooms, the melody of the piano became clearer. A beautiful sound...I'll admit, I was curious, so I silently stepped into the room and hid behind some chairs. Right in front of me was a familiar figure sitting at the piano. Her long, dark, and curly locks swayed as her fingers moved quickly and skillfully across the keyboard. I didn't recognize the song she was playing, but it hypnotized me. The fingers on her right hand seemed to be everywhere at once, belting out a lively, almost frantic melody, while her left hand flowed over a series of chords and arpeggios that were so deep, they seemed to make the whole room vibrate. She finished her song, leaned back on the bench, and closed her eyes. Plip. Plip. Something wet was hitting my feet. As I came to my senses, I realized that I was crying. Crying! How could a piece of music do this to me? It wasn't even a sad song! Embarassed and nervous that she would catch me here, I slipped out the back door and headed for the front of the school, tears still falling from my eyes, induced by hearing a piece of music with more soul in it than I had ever heard.
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