I got to school and parked my car in the spaces designated for the camp goers, grabbed my bag, and hauled myself over to the crowd of students waiting for the bus. I had barely met up with the group when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and was face to face with Brittany Evans, Chelsea’s BFF. Brittany was about 5’9”, long black hair, hazel eyes, and was the kind of girl you expected to see in sports for the school.

“Hey stranger, when did you decide you like hanging around people?” She teased.

I shrugged her hand off, “I don’t. I wasn’t given much choice.”

She poked my nose, “I know, Chels told me. Figured I’d be able to keep you out of trouble.”

“Why does everyone think I need someone to keep an eye on me?” I huffed.

Brittany pointed to the other side of the group. Following her finger, I saw what she meant. The other males here were jocks. The same jocks who think I’m a waste of space.

I slumped my shoulders, defeat washing over me. “I guess coach figured I needed to be toughened up, huh?”

“Or, maybe he thought you’d appreciate the view.” She laughed a little as she redirected her finger toward the crowd of students. “Did you notice how uneven the girls to guys ratio is?”

It took a moment before I realized, she was right. While there were some guys here, it seemed like there were just a bit more ladies milling about. I looked over at Brittany and shrugged again.

She hung her head a little, “Come on, even you can’t be that low in the libido department. Or is it that none of these girls is good enough because they’re not Chelsea?”

I felt my spine shoot straight up like I’d been electrocuted, “You’re not going to say anything, right?”

“I told you, my lips are sealed.” She reaffirmed, a hint of something behind her eyes. Not glee or mischief, but… maybe sadness? I don’t know, but it flashed by faster than I could figure out.

I was going to ask what was up, but the coach showed up with the bus right then and called the students to order. The jocks and the girl councillors were getting on first, and they were motioning to Brittany to join them. I told her to go ahead and that I would catch up. And I did follow a bit behind, but I snagged a seat in the third row so I had some distance from the others making their way to the back.

I clutched my bag to my chest, sitting there as the students got loaded on, wishing I could be anywhere other than here. Even a cursory glance of the crowd had shown that it was almost all the more popular kids that were going, the attractive ones, the people who I didn’t belong anywhere near… or so the voice in the back of my head kept telling me. I hugged my pack closer to my chest, trying to shut the negative words behind the doors of my mind.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?”

A voice broke my concentration. I looked over at the girl who had asked the question. Pretty, blonde, green eyes, athletic with some bounce… Way too cute to be seen with me.

“Sorry, I can move. That way you don’t have to be stuck next to me.” I said, starting to stand up.

She reached out and pushed me back into the seat.

“I’m not asking you to move. I was asking if the seat next to you is open for someone, me, to sit in.” she said, clarifying.

I met her gaze, looking to see if I could find the telltale hint of a cruel joke, but when I couldn’t see it immediately I nodded. “Yeah, it’s free.”

“Sweet.” She said, almost throwing herself into the seat. I curled a little closer in on myself, feeling self conscious about how much space I take up in these seats.

“Let me know if you need me to move…” I mumbled, but I guess I didn’t say it loud enough because she seemed to ignore me.

The rest of the students got on and the coach gave a run down on how long it would take to get to the camp, where we would stop for lunch, and when we would get a break to stretch. He didn’t tell us much about the actual camp, but I assumed that I was likely the only one not in the loop about it.

Once things got underway, I pulled out my mp3 player and put in both earbuds. I looked out the window, trying to lose myself in thoughts beyond how much I didn’t belong here. And I almost managed to do just that, but then my seat “buddy” tapped my arm. I pulled out an earbud and looked at her.

“Do you mind if I open the window a little?” she asked, flapping her shirt a little as if to emphasize how warm she was.

“Do what you gotta do, I’m not going to stop you.” I said, looking away so she wouldn’t think I was trying to see down her shirt.

She stood and leaned over me, almost seeming to make an effort to have her shirt brush my face as she opened the window. She kind of held herself there for a second or two longer than really needed, I assumed stretching, and then sat back down.

“Better. Don’t you think?”

I shrugged, “I guess? I wasn’t really paying a lot of attention.”

She seemed a little… put off, I guess, by my answer. “You don’t seem to really want to be here. What’s up with you?”

“I didn’t volunteer to come, I was given a choice and this was the lesser evil.” I said, curling in on myself again. This girl was way too nosy… she’s probably just looking for something to gossip about with her friends when she finally gets away from me.

“Okay. I can see how that might be a bummer. But you haven’t even asked my name.” She said, looking me over.

I shrugged, “you haven’t asked mine either, so that makes us even, yeah?”

“You shrug a lot.” She said, matter of fact-ly.

I looked at her, not really sure how to respond.

“Kim.”

I blinked, confused. Then it clicked, that was her name. she was introducing herself to me.

“Jace.”

“And now we’re acquainted. See, not that hard. Now let’s see if we can’t get a smile out of you.” She said, a laugh all but ready to escape her lips.

I shrunk back a bit again, confused and wary. The only time girls like this who were not Chelsea or Brittany talked to me fell in to two categories: homework copiers or practical jokes that were about to happen.

“Look, I don’t know who put you up to whatever this is, but can we just get it over with? I know how this works, and I’d rather get everything out of the way.” I said quietly, turning back to my window and putting my earbud back in.

The drive to our first break spot was about an hour and a half or so from the onset. We all went to the restrooms and were given fifteen minutes of free time. I went and found a nice bench some distance from the others, pulled out my e-reader, and dove into the pages of my favourite fantasy novel about an ugly man and the beautiful woman who fought for his love even though he was hideously deformed. I felt I understood the man’s pains, and I always imagined Chelsea as the heroine. Brave, strong, caring, willing to face the world for the one she loved… but that would never happen.

“You know the others are over there, right?”

I looked up at the person speaking. It was Kim, coming over to my secluded spot, a gaggle of girls watching from afar.

“I know. I’m okay here. I’ve got my books, I’ll be fine.” I said, gently motioning with my e-reader.

She sat down next to me, like really close. I scooted a little away, figuring she maybe didn’t realize how much space she had, so she could be comfortable. She seemed to notice, “You sure you don’t want to come join in the fun?”

“I don’t think your friends there really want me around them. You know, different social circles. You should probably get back to them. I mean you were away from them for the ride getting here.” I said quietly, trying to not sound like an ass.

“Well, maybe I want to be friends with you. Expand my social circle.” She said, getting a little closer.

I looked away, “I doubt that…”

She stayed there for another minute or two and then walked off to rejoin her friends. Weather the laughing was real or in my head I wasn’t certain, but I felt those girls snickering and making fun of me. I knew there was some inside joke going on there, and I was the butt end of it. I hated it. I wanted to scream at them, tell them all to shut up, tell everyone to leave me alone… because I knew I wasn’t part of their world, I was some scum that accidentally got dragged along on someone’s shoes.

“Hey, Jace, we need to get going!” Brittany shouted from the side of the bus, the students getting on behind her.

I waddled myself over and got on, taking my seat from that morning. I had figured I wouldn’t be seeing Kim again, I knew that this joke she was playing on me had either run its course or wasn’t funny to her any-

“Still okay with me sitting here?”