New Faces

Mariza walked through Kingston High's crowded hallway, her turquoise hair streaks catching the fluorescent lights. Students rushed past with their backpacks and phones, chattering about weekend plans.

Near the lockers, she spotted a girl sitting alone on a bench. The girl had short black hair and wore a plain gray sweater that looked too big for her. She hunched over a book, trying to make herself invisible.

"Hey there," Mariza said, approaching with a warm smile. "I'm Mariza. Are you new here?"

The girl looked up with surprised dark eyes. "I'm Yamada. I've been here since September, but..." She glanced around nervously as a group of popular kids walked by, snickering.

"But what?" Mariza asked, sitting down beside her.

"Nobody really talks to me," Yamada whispered. "They think I'm weird."

Mariza frowned. She watched the popular group disappear around the corner, their laughter echoing off the walls. Something about Yamada reminded her of herself when she first started at Kingston High.

The Proposal

"I know exactly how you feel," Mariza said, adjusting her red and black skirt as she sat closer to Yamada. "When I first came here, I ate lunch alone for two weeks straight."

Yamada's eyes widened. "Really? But you seem so confident."

"Trust me, I wasn't always." Mariza pulled out her phone and showed Yamada a photo from the school's social media page. "See that girl with the purple hair? That's Sophia Chen. She runs the drama club and basically decides who's cool around here."

"She looks scary," Yamada whispered, staring at the screen.

"She's not that bad once you know her tricks." Mariza grinned mischievously. "Want me to help you become popular? I mean, really popular?"

Before Yamada could answer, a paper airplane sailed past their heads and crashed into the lockers. A group of eighth-graders nearby burst into laughter.

"Did you see her jump?" one of them snickered, pointing at Yamada.

Yamada's cheeks turned bright red. She clutched her oversized sweater tighter around herself.

"Ignore them," Mariza said firmly. "So, what do you say? Ready to show this school what Yamada can really do?"