" Dani? Dani! Dani, talk to me!" Just how long had this gone on already? Man, Petra needs to stop jumping around. Some people just can't take an obvious hint." Dani! Dani! Dani! Dan-" what the heck. If I don't answer, she'll give me an even bigger headache than before. Which is hard to accomplish, seeing as my head is buzzing with storm clouds." What?" I snarled at her, hoping she'd back off. Unfortunately, Petra happens to be adept at ignoring any hostility in the air." Did you hear about the new kid? Connor filled me in! Turns out he's as lame as he looks! He can't run or catch a ball and he's not super strong. He's stupid too. An all out loser, right? Apparently, he suffers from some disorder..." she trailed off as I turned to face her, revealing my expression. Her eyes widened guiltily." Oh god, sorry, I didn't mean...your hand...oh god, can you make it stop twitching?" I need a new best friend. Preferably one who can keep her mouth shut for 30 seconds." His name?" The question appeared to startle Petra. She probably expected me to walk off and start ignoring her again." Something along the lines of Hephaestus. I think it's spelt differently though. His parents have some serious issues, eh? I mean, a god of fire? That guy? Don't make me laugh. Don't hang around with him. He's on the bottom level." Levels again. I didn't know how it worked in other schools, but in our school, we had levels of popularity. Six of them. The top level students decide which level someone belonged in, and also have the ability to move people up and down. I started in the second top level. The top level was considered the best of the levels, but the second top level were still up there. It wasn't until she met Petra. Damn, Petra. Fourth week of the year and she comes prancing into the room, turning heads with her good looks and making friends with just about everyone. She got into the top level that easily. It made me want to be sick. I was popular, and people thought I was cool, but they tended to keep their distance. I had a tendency to hit them when they came within arm reach. Not on purpose though. On the first day, she make the mistake of prancing right up to me, all wide evening blue eyes and silky gold hair, saying that her name was Petra Murdock and that she had just moved to the Bahamas and how wonderful it was to be there and how lovely it was to meet me. Yep. It was the sickening performance I'd ever seen. All she ever seemed to talk about was herself. She yabbered on and on to me for a couple of minutes. It felt like hours. I didn't listen to half of it. I didn't answer her questions. It wasn't like I got a chance anyway. The words never stopped. Exasperating? Yes. My hand thought so too. Petra ended up with a bad bruise on the side of her face and tears streaming down her cheeks as she wailed and sobbed. Pathetic? Yep. And the whole class made a huge fuss over her. Damn god, I hated her. Worse? She can back tomorrow, apologizing for any trouble she'd caused me and asking about my 'alien hand'. I didn't say a word to her, but she asked a boy named Jonty to swap desks so she could sit next to me. And Connor. He was part of the top level, and had been rated the hottest guy in school via a poll. And even as the new girl, it was as if she'd purchased him from the store. If another girl even looked at him while she could see it, she'd have a 'little word' to them at an interval. The way she flirted with him constantly from day one amused me, because her feelings were unreciprocated. She probably dreamt of the day when he'd propose to her in a posh restaurant, probably earning millions already, how she'd throw herself into his arms while all the guests clapped, the wedding bells ringing... she was pretty clueless when it came to her own crush, really. I suppose you'd call that cluelessness. Petra certainly wasn't the brightest girl in the class. She mostly just copied off me. Got into the top groups. And in exchange, helped me exercise and got me into the top level. I wish she hadn't now. been respected in popular is great and all, but it also draws attention to me and my hand. The top level isn't a large group in our school. We have about 270 kids here, spread out through 12 classes. Our class was the only one with three members of the top level in it. In fact, about 50% of the classes had no one from the top level. Top levellers barely acknowledged their existence. Low levellers were always trying to scratch their way up. But once you'd got your rating, it was rare to be promoted. And low levellers weren't exactly considered popularity material. In fact, they were more like toys to people like Petra and Connor. I was pretty lucky to end up in the top level, actually. Half the time I have to pin my hand to the desk with my other hand, but there some genuinely interesting people in the group. Apart from me, Petra and Connor from room 10, there was 16 other people. Sometimes the group split in half. Every now and then the groups changed, but my usually crowd consisted of me, Petra, Connor (urg. Why.), Jakob, Anita, Paulie, Natalia, Melaine, Sebastian and Delia. I don't even know how I keep track of their names. I barely ever talk to them anyway. Petra especially natters on to me and tells everyone how awesome I am and blah blah blah. I just listen in and make sure I observe carefully. I have some dirty little secrets on them. I'm just not so mean as to tell them. Mostly. I might if I trusted Petra. Or Connor. Or anyone who I knew. The top levellers aren't always friends. They're in the same group, but there's usually someone who wants you to get the boot. I suspect that both Natalia and Conner want me gone for good. Natalia? Most apathetic person in the group. Arrogant, unreliable and cunning. And the sportiest girl in the school. She certainly has her strengths. Of all the people in the group, she's the least likely to give in. And Connor? We just damn god hate each other. Not that Petra would notice, that moron. Petra's better at sports than being brainy. I hate Petra as a best friend, but I do have a replacement if I need it. Delia is one cool girl. She's fun to be around, hard-working, funny, organised and a general loyalist. She doesn't have a best friend yet, but she's the only person I really ever bother to talk to apart from Petra. Yep. When you got to know them, you could see why they were chosen for the top level. Good looks, strong limbs, intelligence... all that sort of stuff. And personality counts too. Which is partially why I'm still puzzling over how I got in." I feel sorry for him. What sort of parent names their child after the ugliest god in mythology?" Petra's tinkly laugh filled the air, even though it wasn't funny." His parents must suck too. We're so lucky to be special, aren't we?" She gently ran her fingers along my uncontrolled hand, and I tensed, ready for her to run away crying. But it didn't move at all for once. It wasn't something I'd ever seen before. She smiled and grasped it gently, and she dragged me across the playground, yelling a greeting at Delia, Jakob and Paulie on the basketball courts. Petra was dumb and cocky, but she balanced that with loyalty. I guess that's why I've tried to repay that.
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November 2015
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