I folded and unfolded my hands, keeping them moving as if they were ignited with fire. Mr. Lee was at his desk, his glasses perched on the tip of his nose while he gently moved his finger across his laptop screen. The light of the screen illuminated his face, setting a blue-glow onto his complexion.

The weather that I witnessed a few hours ago during my quick run was now nonexistent. Pelts of rain slammed down the windows while thunder rumbled in the distance.

For the whole class, we all copied down notes from the electronic smart-board. We wrote as Mr. Lee typed from his laptop, his virtual movements projecting on to the screen. The lights were shut off so we could see the screen clearly, and I couldn't help but allow my eyelids to flutter shut, daring me to sleep and risk embarrassment. Of course, I didn't. I made sure to sit straight and keep my head up because I knew if I leaned my head down, I would be out in seconds.

Mr. Lee prepared his assignment for the class after ours, but he stopped us before we prepared to leave and make our way to lunch.

"One more thing before you guys pack up. All the cross country people who signed up please remain seated." He paused for a second and eyed the rain from the window. "We have a few things to discuss."

As the bell rang and most of the students left, a few remained seated in the classroom. Me, three guys and two girls.

Mr. Lee walked to the entrance of the classroom.

"Can you guys wait out here for a few minutes? I have to talk to a few students about something real quick." His said to the class that he had next who were waiting in the hallway, chattering loudly.

Muffled laughter echoed from the doorway. I heard a girl tell him something and he laughed again. He came back into the classroom, a trace of a smile on his lips as he made his way to the classroom phone, dialing a number.

"Amanda? Can you announce all cross country students to meet me in my room right now? It'll only be for a few minutes." He asked, his long fingers perfectly gripping the phone.

The individual on the other end said something else and he thanked her, placing the phone back in its spot. Five seconds later, the speaker above the classroom door made a noise.

"All cross country students please report to room three-sixteen. Once again, all cross-country students please report to room three-sixteen. Thank you." Then silence.

I waited patiently in my seat as more students started to enter the classroom. From seniors with strong builds to freshman with skinny, boney legs and tall figures, a variety of different students entered the classroom. Nobody paid attention to me and I was thankful for that.

"We have a lot of new students joining this year but our official meet-up will be later today at the indoor track. It's raining pretty hard right now," He said, once again glancing out the window. "But there will be practices in the rain, just so you all know. When we meet later today we can get you guys sized with the uniforms for the meets and so on."

A chatter fell upon the students but Mr. Lee silenced them by touching his finger to his lips. Some of the students giggled. It must be an inside joke or something.

"Seriously, guys. I know how long you all can take to get the slips signed so hurry up with those. We need everybody to hand them in so we can start the season. Alright, you all are dismissed."

Everyone got up while the students that were waiting in the hallway flooded in, myself getting lost in the sea of unfamiliar faces. I quickly made my way out, giving Mr. Lee a quick nod that he returned.

It was odd; it was as if nodding was better than saying goodbye. And he only nods at me from what I see during class. Only me.

I ate lunch alone like I usually did, now picking at a salad with only croutons. My hunger diminished quickly the more I picked at it, so I eventually shoved it into a garbage can. Instead of staying in the lunch room, I wandered through the hallways and to the indoor track, where there was currently only one person who was too immersed in stretching to notice me.

She had really dark blue hair that stood out beautifully and pale skin that was so clear it looked as if it were glowing. I avoided her by walking around the other side of the track, taking a seat and sitting on the bleachers.

I didn't know how long I sat there. I still had a while before cross country practice, so not keeping track of time wasn't a problem. My eyes stayed glued to the girl who eventually stopped stretching and left the indoor track, when another person entered, and then another. Eventually their figures just became blurred moving spaces, or at least that's what it looked like to me.

The problem was that I couldn't get back up after staring into space for at least an hour tops. My legs felt heavy, my eyelids weak and my bones felt like they were going to collapse and fall into a pile. I knew my face was pale; that was given. I felt almost weightless, in a way. Everything felt heavy and my breathing grew slow and I wouldn't be able to say how or when I passed out. It just happened, no questions asked. I blinked slowly, and everything went black before I could open them back up.

I knew what it was. Of course I knew what it was. Living in a shell all your life makes you expect things like this. My everyday fear of talking to people and having to interact became vivid and lively, thus shoving me out of my comfort zone and into this familiar warped world that could tear me apart in an instant. I had a panic attack.

A part of me wanted to pass out. I like to think that I could just close my eyes and shrink into a tiny human pebble, and then someone would step on me and I would be crushed and probably end up being the size of a grain of sand.

After only ten minutes, I lifted my head and everything was still the same. My body was awkwardly laying down and my neck was arched up with the bleachers, creating a madly uncomfortable ache. I stood up and checked the time on my phone, which read a quarter past two, so I had about ten minutes before the school day ended and the first day of practice would start.

I stepped carefully down the bleachers, my head aching, my heart thumping and my vision far too fuzzy to be normal. My mother once told me that when you feel light-headed, you should sit down because you might fall and hit your head if you pass out. For starters, I already passed out and I was almost positive it wouldn't happen again. But also, I didn't really care. The feeling would pass anyways.

I made my way to the nearest bathroom and practically threw myself in through the doors. I walked up to the mirror and placed my hands on each side of the sink. My eyes dropped to the drain and then back up to the mirror, which reflected my blood-shot eyes and sickly, pale looking skin. Hideous was an understatement. My veins were blue and visible under my chin and near my neck, while the purplish bags under my eyes seemed to stand out more than anything.

I stared at myself, letting the bead of sweat drip down my forehead and letting the anxiety take its toll. I waited while breathing heavily until my shoulders relaxed and my breathing became slower and normal again.

Time was passing too quickly, I noticed. After staring at my ghostly looking form in the mirror for a while, the final bell had sounded, which meant all school sports were now active. I hurried to the indoor track, my almost empty backpack slung over my shoulder and my iPod placed in my right hand. I pushed a hand through my hair and entered the indoor track, which was now full of the students I had recognized earlier from Mr. Lee's classroom.

While everyone was chattering loudly and clearly not paying attention to me, I took a seat on the bleachers secluded from the chit-chat. That was until a familiar girl with dark blue hair, the one I had previously seen running a while ago, plopped down next to me as if it were the most natural thing. Her presence automatically made me uncomfortable and I shifted awkwardly.

The water bottle she was holding began to tip over as she rummaged in her backpack with the other hand, clearly oblivious to the soon-to-be mess. It took me all my might to not tilt it back up so it wouldn't splash all over her ripped jeans. I didn't want to touch it because she'd think I'm weird. She wouldn't know why I was touching her water bottle and I couldn't simply tell her.

When the water poured out, I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds and felt some of the water splash onto my right leg.

"Shit!" She muttered, uttering a few other curse words under her breath. "Could you give me a hand?"

When she asked me, her head tilted up and her eyes locked with mine for a literal two seconds. Her nose ring, which was a black hoop and was on the left side of her nostril came into view.

It was hard not to stare. Not for the reason that she was so different, but unique. Her makeup was done amazingly, with black eyeliner perfectly covering the outline of her innocent looking bright blue doe eyes. Her eyelashes were long and thick and with them coated with mascara made them look like they should be in advertisements in professional makeup magazines. I wasn't going to lie, she was beautiful and her aura was full of nothing but intimidation. For all I know, this gothic looking girl could be the most popular in the senior class and for some reason she sat next to me.

I grabbed a few crumbled tissues from my backpack and handed them to her, making sure I wasn't impolitely staring. When she started wiping her jeans, I stole another quick glance.

It almost made me sad, seeing how stunning she was. Her hair was a perfect shade of dark blue and it went so well with her black nail polish and milky colored skin.

After she finished wiping her jeans, she sighed and leaned back, staring ahead while I awkwardly sat straight, not daring to risk any type of social interaction. I wanted nothing more than to sprint away. Hell, I was starting to have second thoughts about joining the cross country team anyways. The bleachers were madly filling up with eager students, waiting for further directions from Mr. Lee who still has yet to arrive. My anxiety was rising with every breath I took.

"I'm Vera," she said, holding her hand out to me. "Nice to meet you."

I took it slowly and she shook and then pulled back. "Sorry for barging into your personal space. I saw you passed out a while ago on the bleachers while I was on the track. You didn't seem to notice anyone or anything," she chuckled. "You were out."

I gave her an awkward smile. I didn't know how else to respond.

"What's your name?" She asked, clearly very personal.

I whipped out my pad and pen and jotted down my name.

"Poppy," she said aloud. "That's a flower, isn't it?"

I nodded.

"That's a pretty name." She commented.

I wrote down on the notepad.

Your name is beautiful. It's unique.

I showed it to her.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

We waited for a minute or two, the silence drained of the awkwardness that I had not expected to happen. For the first time while sitting next to a stranger, I didn't feel like I wanted my shoes to grow wings so I could shoot up into the ceiling and away from the chaos people call socialization.

"Why don't you talk?" She asked.

I scribbled on the notebook.

It's a long story.

"Well, Poppy, I've got time. And seeing that you're joining the cross country team like me, we'll have a lot of time." She said, smiling all the while.

I decided I liked Vera.