“Come on, Violet! We’re going to be late for school!”

I wait by the door, holding my backpack over one shoulder. I fiddle with my keys to the car and house, tapping my foot a bit. We really can’t be late to school! Sure, it’s Monday and I hate those, but we gotta get moving.

Soon enough, I see my sister coming towards me. She ties up her short purple hair into a ponytail, and that’s when I see her heavy makeup matching her pink eyes. As soon as she reaches me, she adjusts her sweatshirt before grabbing her backpack from her cubby.

“Alright, I’m here.” Violet mutters. “Stop your whining.”

I roll my eyes, sighing for a moment. As I put my hand on the doorknob, I look back into the house.

“Bye Mom! See you after school!”

“Have a good day, girls!” Mom calls after us.

Violet and I walk out to the car. I unlock the car so Violet can jump into shotgun, and I put my backpack in the back seat. Once I finally get into the driver’s seat to start the car, I look over at my sister.

“You ready?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, let’s go.”

I start to back out of the driveway, frowning to myself for a moment. I don’t understand what her problem is most of the time. Violet always seems to be in a foul mood of sorts.

I guess I just gotta keep my positive mindset!

“Alright,” I look at Violet once I park. “Have a good day, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Violet quickly gets out of the car. I watch her, then I sigh to myself. I’m just trying to be nice to her. Does she have a problem with me?

I just shake my head before getting out to grab my own bag.

As I walk into the school alone, I start to search around for Sakasu. I could definitely use a pick-me-up from my best friend right now. There needs to be a smile on my face for the cheer squad.

I see a nearby bathroom, and I decide to pop in for a moment. I should check the mirror. Make sure my eyeliner isn’t smudged.

I walk in, and I immediately come up to a mirror in the bathroom. I lean in for a second for my check. Nothing smudged. Nothing messed up in my rush to get here. Thank goodness.

“Ugh, gosh, I hate her.”

I hear that voice, recognizing the tone. That sounds like one of the cheer squad girls talking. I hope she’s alright. Maybe I should reach out to her?

Just then, the door opens, and so does the one next to it. There are two girls from the squad, one rolling her eyes and the other sighing.

“I wish she’d just grow up.”

The one rolling her eyes looks at me finally. She stops in her tracks, gasping quietly. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. The other girl also looks over, and she raises an eyebrow.

“Well, speak of the devil.”

I start to look around for a moment, then I point to myself. Slowly, I turn around to face both girls. “I’m sorry. Are you talking about me?”

“Yeah,” The second girl says. “Just talking about how maybe you should grow up since you’re about to graduate in a few months.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What? Is that supposed to mean something?”

“Uh, yeah. We’re talking about the fact that you think you have pink eyes!” The first girl groans. “So freaking childish!”

I look back in the mirror to check my eyes. Yes, they’re pink, but I’ve never had a problem with them. I didn’t think others had a problem with it either.

“And your sister, too! Ugh, both of you need to grow up. Why can’t you just take the contacts out? What’s the real color of your eyes, Amai? Brown?”

“Uh, first of all,” I look back at the girls. “These are natural. I was born with them, and so was my sister. And second of all, don’t you dare attack my sister! She doesn’t deserve that!”

“They’re natural? I don’t believe that.” The second girl walks up to me. “And none of the other girls on the squad are buying it either. Honestly, Amai, you think you’re special? You’re just like all of us, even if you are the captain.”

“Maybe it’s time you start acting like it.”

The first girl walks up, thrusting her arms out to shove me. My backpack bumps into the sink, and I let out a yelp.

“Cut it out!”

“Stop acting like a princess first!”

“I’m not a princess! I never said I was!”

The girls laugh at that statement. They look at each other, smirking before looking back at me.

“You should get that smile back on your face.” The first one whispers. “Nobody likes a frowning cheer captain.”

Just then, Sakasu comes into the bathroom. She glares at the two girls, starting to shove her sweater sleeve up.

“Alright sophomores. Knock it off! Leave my bestie alone!”

They just look at Sakasu and laugh again. The girls start to leave, but not before the second one can bump into Sakasu’s shoulder.

“You’re an idiot for supporting that wannabe.”

The girls finally leave, and Sakasu comes over to me. She offers a hand out to me, a smile on her face.

“You okay? I knew those cheerleaders were fake.”

I sigh for a moment. “They’re just being petty. All they were complaining about was my eye color. Of all the things they could hate…”

“Hey now.” Sakasu holds my hand, giving it a squeeze. “They’re just jealous. And I know my best friend has the prettiest eyes, even if they are pink. Y’know why?”

“No.”

“Because pink means love. And your eyes are a key to your heart, meaning there’s a lot of love in it.”

I smile. “Thanks ’Kasu.”

The two of us hug for a moment, giggling. She backs up after, nodding.

“Now, I gotta get to art class. You want to walk with me until we reach your class?”

“You know I do.”

Sakasu and I leave the bathroom. Together, we walk down the hall, not really in a rush. I’ll have to part when I reach my first class of the day, and Sakasu will continue to the art wing. I wish I had art with her, but there wasn’t enough room for us to be in the same class period.

It’s okay. I have language arts for my first class.

“So, I know we don’t have any classes until this afternoon,” I say. “But I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Oh heck yeah, girl.” Sakasu grins. “You know it!”

I look at her, and I notice a new choker around her neck. I see a little golden flower on the black band, and I grin.

“Where’d you get the choker?”

Her eyes widened for a moment. She gives a nervous laugh, looking to the side. “Oh, I got it from my mom over the weekend. Something she just picked up.”

“Well, I like it! It’s pretty!”

“Thank you, Amai.”

Finally, we reach my classroom, and I look at her again.

“See you soon, girly.”

“See you, Mai.”

I sit down in my seat, and I start to pull out my materials for class. As I do so, a familiar face walks into the classroom, also seemingly in a bad mood. She sits next to me, grumbling under her breath. As she’s sitting, she reaches down to tie up her black boots.

“Good morning, Ikimono.” I greet her, offering a smile. Can’t hurt to be friendly. “How are you today?”

The girl looks up to me, her long and braided dark hair swishing bouncing on her shoulder. Her golden-green eyes stare at me for a moment as she purses her lips, sighing.

“I’m fine, Amai. Best I can be for a Monday…” Ikimono finally sighs. She goes to reach into her bag, then checks the pockets of her leather jacket. “Ugh. Okay, can I borrow a pencil?”

I nod, reaching into my own bag. I pull out a pink pencil, smiling at her as I extend it. “Here you go!”

“Thanks…”

Ikimono goes to pull her phone out after she takes my pencil, and I sigh a little. I’m not really friends with Ikimono, but I try to be friendly to her! No reason for making enemies here, right?

Besides, I just want to spread some happiness.