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Kids

I don't believe in "instant friends." And there is definitely no such things as “instant best friends.”

Those are stuff in story books.

Fake. Unrealistic.

Only for the lucky, lucky, main character.

And I am most certainly not a main character. I have as much bad luck as humanly possible. More than that, in fact. Nothing goes right. Ever.

There is this quote by, oh, I think Marilyn Monroe or somebody like that. It goes along the lines of "I believe everything happens for a reason... things go wrong so that you'll appreciate them when they go right.” 

Well, guess what. Nothing ever goes right, so I have nothing to appreciate. 

That is why I don’t believe that I am a main character. They are always beautiful, flawless, surrounded by friends, and in love (by the way, their love life ALWAYS works out perfectly and they end up dating the most awesome person ever.) And they have so much luck. Nothing horrible ever happens. After all, the author can’t afford to hurt them with their fans at stake, and if they are killed, so is the story. Unless you're Magnus Chase. Which I’m not. I am Abby Kin. I am boring. Full of faults. Friendless. Boyfriend-less. And super unlucky.

And so, when Sofia came along and said hi, I was startled. No one at school had greeted me without either scorn or sarcasm dripping from their voice for years. And then I thought - she is probably just another bully. Another fake friend. Our friendship will end up just being a bet, a dare. She will leave at the first sign of trouble.

And so, I ignored her. And she followed me. She was constantly trailing behind me, always choosing the seat beside mine in class. During the few periods when our schedules contradict, she will follow me to my class, and be waiting for me by the end of it.

I continued to ignore her. By the end of the day, I was exasperated. 

“Stop following me!” I snapped, shoulder-length hair flying as I spun around.

“Sorry,” Sofia muttered, staring down at her shoes.

As I continued to shout at her about how she had followed me all day, a teacher came along. Told you I was unlucky. When someone is actually getting bullied, the teachers are blind and deaf. When I raise my voice even the tiniest bit, they think that I’m up to no good and all gather around. Not my fault my mother doesn't have the best reputation.

“What’s going on here?” Ms. Brown asked. “Oh, Sofia! Is she bullying you?”

Sofia’s eyes widened in alarm. “Oh no! No! Not at all. She was just a bit angry at me, that’s all. It’s my fault, anyways.”

The teacher glared at me suspiciously, then turned back to Sofia and softened her gaze. “Tell me if anything happens, alright?”

I huff, annoyed and ill-tempered at my bad luck. I almost got in trouble with a teacher again! One more warning and my mom will find out. And when she does… I shudder at the thought.

“What do you want, anyways?” I questioned Sofia in an irked tone after the teacher had left.

“Huh? Oh. I was just wondering if we could be friends.”

I glare at her some more.

“Please?”

I think about it. I had never seen her hangout with the bullies, or the popular girls, or the troublemakers. Infact, I don’t think I had ever noticed her before.

“I’ve never seen you around before.” I say, then realize that might be a dumb question. Just my bad luck making me look like a fool.

“I usually keep by myself.”

“Then why follow me all day? Why want to be my friend?”

“I … don’t know?”

Hmmmm. Suspicious. I tried to place her again, sure that she was trying to be my friend just to break my heart by leaving. Our friendship would just be a game.

“You just seemed like you would be a nice friend, I guess.” Sofia offered.

I snorted. Me? Nice? Friend? Sofia is obviously fake. But I decide to give it a try. I’ll still keep my guard up, of course. 

“Fine.” 

“Huh?”

“I’ll be your friend! Sheesh.”

“Oh! Great!” Sofia beamed.

I offered her a weak smile, a grimace at her bright personality that was so foreign to me.

 

As I look back, I’m not sure why I said yes. Why I went and hung out with her for the afternoon. Why I let my wall crumble. Why I told her everything. I’m not sure how we became besties. Inseparable. All on the first day, too. 

So much for “no such thing as ‘instant best friends.’”

But, for sure, “love at first sight” can’t exist...



Hi! The author here. Thanks for reading. I don't usually write notes at the ends of my stories, so I'm not sure what to say. However, this story is different. It's too short. Ha, bet you weren't expecting that. But it's true. This story is only 755 words, so I can't submit it. Which is why I'm here, trying to drag this author's note as long as possible. I would have liked to make the story a bit longer, but I don't usually write stories with nice endings, so I'm not sure what to say. I also don't know what normal girls do when they hangout, I am not that social. Sure, I'm talkative, but talking and hangout-ing is very different. Also, I am like my main character. I don't believe in "instant besties" and all that junk. Life just doesn't work that way. So I don't know what I should do with the characters to make them become so close in one day. Well, I think this is enough words. Again, thanks for reading. Have a nice day, stay home, stay safe, and bye.


Hi, author again. Sorry, I need ummm.... 63 more words. I can do math people! Yay! All this online school hasn't made me dumb! Yippee! (Me here trying to ignore the fact I had used a calculator and act like I can subtract.) Ok. So. I need to go eat dinner. But I need more words. Oof. And now I realized I hadn't talked like myself since I hadn't been with contact with my friends since schools shut. And now I'm feeling depressed cause I noticed that I talk like someone else when I'm around my family. And now I feel weird cause I'm telling this to a stranger. And now I'm thinking, who cares, I'm a stranger to them, too. They don't even know my real name. And now I feel the urge to say what my real name is. And now I'm thinking, no one is gonna like this (this story and this super dumb author's note). And now I'm thinking that probably no one would even read this, anyways. And now I'm sad. However, if you are reading this, have a nice day, stay home, stay safe, and bye.


May 09, 2020 00:21

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2 comments

Lisa Breen
01:08 May 14, 2020

Hello! I'm here from the critique circle. I really liked how your main character had a clear narrative voice. Too often, first person stories sound like they could be told by anyone because the MC has no personality or you can't see that personality in their narration. but your story wasn't like that. It felt like stepping into someone else's head. As for constructive criticism. I'd say that it's not very realistic for Sofia to be pursuing a friendship with a girl that only shows disinterest and even yells at her. She must see something diff...

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River Chase
17:22 May 15, 2020

Thank you for the feedback :)

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