Being different when all you wanted to do was fade into the blackness of the cynical high school was Kaydence’s nightmare. With Emma, her only ally, who was rarely even there to help save her from the inevitable bullying that she always was stricken with.
Kaydence never really understood why her peers treated her so tribally. Once upon a time, they were all friends, but that was elementary, a lot has happened since then. Jr. High was when the popular and non-popular people became who they now are. Jr. High is also were every-one found out that Kaydence was going to therapy. Regardless for the fact that it was because her parents were going through a divorce, her class-mates still teased her, calling her “emo” and telling her to go kill herself. She hoped her Junior year would be different. But so far, she’s slowly realizing the taunting is just getting worse.
With Emma gone today, Kaydence is trying extra hard to fly under the radar. She was actually happy with her appearance today and hoped that her classmates might take notice to the fact that she’s not a freak. Her short 4’11 stature and 95 pound frame made her look like she belonged in 6th grade. Her long blond hair was in a lose side braid with a floppy beanie on top. She had on a long sleeve light gray baby doll dress that fell right above her knees with her signature torn up converse. Even though she thought she looked cute she knew, Matilda, the preps meanest mean girl, would surely have something to say. She always does. In home room Matilda looked over at Kaydence.
“Nice dress. Did you steal it from you 2 year old sister?” Matilda cackled and looked to her friends who were laughing with her.
Kaydence looked away, awkwardly adjusting them hem of her dress.
Home room was always torture, so Kaydence was ecstatic when she was chosen to go take pictures around campus for yearbook.
“Kaydence, why don’t you take Matthew along with you, and show he the ropes?” Mrs. Rose said in her high pitch Minnie mouse voice.
“Suurree. No problem,” Kaydence was questioning who Matthew was. Then she looked over to a guy standing up near wear all the popular guys sat. He was tall about 6’3. He looked like Kurt Cobain only a little buffer and with dark brown almost black hair. He had deep hazel eyes.
“Good luck Matthew. You’ll need it with suicide over there,” one of the jocks said turning around to high five his friends who were laughing and making more rude comments.
Kaydence looked at Matthew’s face to see if he was laughing at the joke, but he wasn’t. He was looking into her eyes with sympathy. A look she never saw from any of her peers. They grabbed their cameras, and left the class room.
“I’m Matthew by the way,” he said looking down to Kaydence with a sweet smile. He was clearly over a foot taller then she was.

“Kaydence,” she said smiling at the ground.

They quickly took picture of students in classes and headed back to class. A couple day’s later during lunch, Kaydence was walking to go find Emma when Skylar, one of the meat heads of the football team, came over and smacked her tray right out of Kaydence’s hands. So furious, she stormed of starting to cry.

“Sorry about Skylar, he can be a real jerk,” Matthew called racing after her. Kaydence stopped so he could ketch up.

“I’m use to it, Skylar has been picking on me since 7th grade,” Kaydence admitted, wiping the tears of her face.

“Do you know why they’re so mean to you?” She looked up at him trying to see if he was messing around but he was serious. She looked back down and shook her head ‘no’.

“Don’t worry I’ll get them to stop,” Matthew said “Umm, do you have any plans for after school?”
“Are you serious?” Kaydence blurted out before she could think. “I mean yes, no, why do you want to hang out with me?” she stumbled over her words.
Matthew looked shyly at her, ”you’re cute and I want to hang out with you.” He said.
“But your friends don’t like me,” she said in almost a wisper.
“But I do,” Matthew wiped a tear away from her face. “So what do you say? After school meet me in the student parking lot?”
Kaydence slightly smiled and nodded.
“Great!” Matthew beamed. Running off towards the gym he yelled back, “See you then”.
After school he was, indeed, in the student parking lot. Matthew was leaned up against a nice black Chevy Avalanche. Once he caught sight of Kaydence his face beamed.
“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show,” he said giving Kaydence a strong embrace.
Kaydence responded unsurely to the hug but Matthew ignored the fact and opened the passenger door for her.
“So what are we gonna do?” Kaydence asked when Matthew got in the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“I was thinking study date at the beach. I really need to prepare the bio exam,” it sounded like a perfect date. The beach wasn’t too far, only a half hour drive from town.
“Sounds good to me”.
“Do you need to call your parents and tell them what’s up or did you already?”
Kaydence shifted uneasily in her seat, “My parents split up in 7th grade. Now it’s just me and my dad, but he’s on a business trip, so I’m alone for the week”.
“Oh, I’m sorry. My dad left when I was young so its just been my mom, my little brother and me. So I kinda know what its like”.
Kaydence glanced at Matthew and quickly looked back to the trees they were passing by, “that’s why they pick on me. Not because me parents are divorced but ‘couse when they were going through the divorce my dad insisted I went to a therapist to make sure ‘my youthful mind wasn’t being damaged’. Some how every one found out at school. They started saying I went to therapy because I tried to kill myself, and they never really stopped”.
Matthew reached across the gap between them and held her hand. “No one’s gonna be mean to you anymore.”
Once they got to the beach they quickly went over some key concepts for bio, and just sat and talked. Before they knew it, it was already 7:30.
“Can I pick you up before school tomorrow?” Matthew said once they pooled up in_frunt of Kaydence’s house.
Kaydence smiled and nodded
That night she went through all her clothes trying to find the perfect outfit for school tomorrow.
In the morning she made sure take extra time on her hair and make-up.
She straightened her hair and wore a white beanie and opted for black skinny jeans and a white T. by the time she was all done getting ready the door bell rang.