An Introverted Point Of View

"Class is dismissed!" The bell stopped ringing and I grabbed my bag, slowly put in my books and homework, then watched the other students rush for the door. I was new here, so no one was waiting on me to come over and hang out, or go to the park and just chat.  

I waited in the back of the classroom.

I had some things I wanted to discuss with Mrs. Cran before I went home.

While I waited, I studied the floor, letting random thoughts pass through my head.

 Why had they chosen this type of floor? When had they put it in? Had it always been there or had they redone it a couple of times? 

"Peggy, did you need something?" I looked up to see that the room had emptied and that Mrs. Cran was staring at me. 

Okay, all you have to do is ask if you can enter the art contest, that's it.

I started to walk up to the front of the classroom, running the words, "just ask," through my head.

"Um, yes, I was wondering if -if," I paused, maybe this wasn't a good idea, maybe I should just go home and forget about the whole thing.

"Margret, is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes everything is fine." I said it too fast and I was sure she noticed, but she didn't say anything.

"Then what was it you wanted to know, dear?"

"Nothing. It was nothing, I was just wondering how your family was." I'd messed it up, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

“My family is doing very well, thank you for asking. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?” 

“No, that was all, thank you. Have a good day.” I walked out of the classroom. 

More thoughts ran through my head. 

Why hadn’t you just asked? How come making conversation was so easy for others but so hard for me? Was there still a chance for me to enter the competition? Maybe you could try-

“Hey! Watch out!” I blinked and realized that in my thoughts, I’d run into Maggie Renall who sat next to me in class.  

“Oh, sorry.” As I walked off I realized that most people would have asked if they were okay, or if they needed any help carrying their stuff. But it didn’t matter now, it’d just be weird if I went back to help after walking away. 

I stopped by the library to return a few books and check out some new ones. 

Even though I was new here, I’d already been to the library enough that I knew some of the staff.

“Only three books this time?” Asked Katey, who was manning the check out desk today, “you normally check out eight or ten.” 

You should ask how she's doing, or if she has any suggestions on books, or if she’s read the ones you’ve chosen.

“Yes, I just have other things on my mind I guess.” 

“Oh, I understand.” She smiled and handed me my books. I gave a small smile in return.

“Thanks.” I headed for the door, books in hand. Thinking once again. Maybe you could try talking to some people. Maybe make some friends. The people in books make it sound easy enough. 

I stopped at a crosswalk, hit the signal button, and waited. I almost drifted back into thought when I heard running footsteps behind me, then Maggie, the girl I’d bumped into, was standing next to me. 

You should say something. Maybe apologize for earlier, or ask why she was running, or maybe just make small talk. 

“Hey,” she said while gasping for breath, “you dropped one of your books back there.” She gestured behind us, then held out one of the books I’d checked out from the library. 

I looked down at the books in my arms, and sure enough, I was only holding two.

“Oh, thank you. I guess I didn’t notice I had dropped one.” I flashed a shy smile and took the book from her outstretched hand. No one from school had really taken the time to talk to me before.

“Yeah, no problem,” the light turned green, “I have to go, my mom wanted me home early to help with dinner tonight. Bye! See you at school tomorrow!” She started running again. 

“Bye!” I called after her. It had been nice to talk to her even though it had only lasted twenty seconds, and the fact that she didn’t bring up when I had bumped into her was- well, I don’t know, it just seemed special, like she understood what it was like to be the new girl. 

I unlocked the front door and entered our house. Boxes were everywhere, some open, some empty, others piled up on the stairs and on tables, just waiting to be opened. 

“How was school, Peggy?” Mom was unpacking boxes in the kitchen so I came and helped her put away the plates. 

You should tell her about the art contest, tell her that you're having troubles making friends, maybe ask for her advice on learning pre-algebra. 

“It was okay I guess, how was your day?” Sometimes I wish my mind would just talk for me, and that I wouldn’t filter everything I said. 

“Oh, it was good. Just getting settled into the new office and the new job.” Once I finished with the plates, I said, “I’m gonna go do my homework.”

I walked upstairs to my room and closed the door. My room was mostly unpacked. The only things that weren’t were a few desk toppers, like my clock, my paints, a few glitter pens, and a bunch of random art stuff. We’d unpacked the bedrooms first so that, as mom put it, we’d feel more settled in. 

Normally, we would have waited to enroll me in school until we had most of the house unpacked, but with it being the middle of January, my parents had enrolled me in school as soon as possible.

I finished my homework in just a little over an hour, then started to unpack the few boxes I had left. 

You could ask Maggie if she wants to come over, or if she wants to go on a walk in the park. Maybe ask her if she wants to be friends? No, that would just sound weird, ask her if she wants to just hang out, or maybe just ask to sit with her at lunch, I’m sure it's much nicer than the lonely table in the back where you’ve been sitting. You could ask her to introduce you to some more people, maybe one of them would be into art, maybe she's into art and could help you get into the contest. 

“Dinners ready!” Oh, I looked at the clock that I’d just pulled out of a box, it was five. I stood up and headed for the stairs, more thoughts running through my head. 

I could ask Dad what he thought of the art contest, or if either of them had some tips on making new friends. I could ask what it was like for them when they had to make new friends when they were 12. 

The smell of ground beef hit me as I made my way to the kitchen. Mom had set up a card table and some folding chairs for us to eat at. 

“How was school?” Dad asked me once we were seated.

“It was good.” I took a big bite of food to delay any more questions. 

Mom and Dad talked about their new jobs and about how cute they thought the town was and a bunch of other parent stuff like bills and the move. 

“May I be excused?” I asked once we were all finished. 

“Sure dear, was there anything you wanted to talk about with school?” 

This is the perfect moment to tell them about the contest, about Maggie, about making friends. 

“No.” I sighed on the inside as I put my plate in the sink and walked back upstairs. 

As I layed in bed that night, I thought of what I should say to Maggie tomorrow.

Ask her what some of her hobbies are, if she has siblings or if she's an only child. Is she into art or reading? 

Then my thoughts switched over to the art contest.

You should try asking Mrs. Cran about it again, or one of the other teachers. Maybe go look at the list of who signed up for it and ask them if they had any tips, maybe you could. . . And just like that I was asleep. 

Beep! Beep! Beep! I groaned, it felt like I hadn’t slept at all. I grabbed my watch from my bedside table and turned off the alarm, then got dressed, grabbed my bag and a book, and headed down stairs. 

I had a bowl of cereal, then started my walk to school, observing some of the other houses on our street. One across the road from us was white with window boxes that I expected would have had flowers in them if it hadn’t been the middle of winter. One of our neighbors' houses was creamy yellow with a bright red front door and green shutters. Even though the house looked ridiculous, they had brought over the best cookies I have ever tasted when we moved in last week. I kept walking towards school.   

Maggie and two other girls were talking on the front steps of the school.

You should go up and introduce yourself, maybe ask them about the art contest and if any of them are planning on entering it. Maybe they would like to be friends. Or maybe-

“Hey!” I looked up to see that Maggie was waving at me and waved for me to come over. 

Once I was standing next to them we started talking. 

“I realized that I never got your name yesterday,” said Maggie.

“It’s Margret, but you can call me Peggy.”

Ask about the art contest, or if she would like to be friends, maybe if you can sit with her at lunch.

“Nice to meet you Peggy, my name is Maggie and this,” she gestured to the two other girls standing with her, “is Kathrine and Alana.” 

You should comment on what pretty names they have, ask them what they like to do, if they would want to hang out after school. 

The bell rang and we all headed inside. 

“Nice to meet you all.” I smiled at them. 

“We’re all going to the park later today after school, would you like to come?” Asked Kathrine. 

This is your moment to get together with these girls, make some friends, ask about the contest, don’t let your introvertedness get in the way!

“Um, sure, it sounds like fun.” I replied, thinking that I should have said more.

“Great!” 

Ask if you can sit with them at lunch, you could do that thing where you swap lunches like they do in the movies. You can get to know these girls a little better. 

“I’d better get to class.” I walked off, headed towards my locker, feeling like I was going to completely mess up this friendship before it started. 

The final bell rang and I got my bag and books faster this time. Maggie leaned over to me from her desk.

“See you at the park.” She got up and headed towards the door, I followed.

Once I had stopped at my locker to grab some things, I walked to the park to meet the girls. 

This is your chance to ask them about the art contest, about anything. They might know some really good books to check out at the library, or maybe they like different things entirely. 

They were sitting at a picnic table when I arrived at the park, already in conversation.

How did they get here faster than me? 

“. . . Just love it!” Alana was saying as I sat down.

“Hey Peggy! We were just talking about the art contest” said Maggie.

This is the perfect time to ask about entering it! 

“Oh, that's really neat,” I replied. 

Just ask, nothing bad is going to come from it. 

“Are you into art?” Asked Kathrine.

“Um, yeah I guess. I enjoy painting a little.” 

ASK. ABOUT. THE. CONTEST!! 

“Oh, Painting is really fun. I’m more into sketching than painting. Are you planning on entering the art contest?” Asked Alana.

This is the moment you've been waiting for. Do not- and I mean it- let your introvertedness get in the way this time. It's time to break out of your comfort zone. Embrace this opportunity. This is your chance to get out there and do what you love. 

“Yes, but. . .” My head was a wash of emotions. “Um, I’m not sure how to enter exactly.” I’d done it. All this time I'd tried to get it out, I’d finally done it. 

“That’s what friends are for.” The girls replied. Music to my ears.