January 31st, 2015

Kinsky, California, USA

Ash

It was another late day in the art room for her. The girl – who stood looking at her unfinished work – had been stuck on the project all week. And while she sat on a stool pondering where to take it next, she heard a voice behind her.

“I like your painting. It’s really beautiful.”

The girl turned around. There was someone her age, a black teen with a large curly afro holding onto a pile of papers. The girl thought she’d seen her somewhere before, but wasn’t sure from where.

“Oh, um – thank you. I’m trying to figure out how to color it right now.”

The other girl put her papers down on a table, and came to approach the artwork. Even though she didn’t have much artistic knowledge, she seemed to take it all seriously.

“What about… magenta, and amber?” the other girl wondered aloud. “That’s supposed to be a sunrise, right? So maybe the whole thing follows that scheme?”

That was the very first thing the artist girl considered, and already threw out. But she wanted to be nice about it. Besides, she was still curious why she recognized this person.

“Yeah, that might be something. What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Emily. Emily Bryant.”

The artist girl’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, you’re in STUGO, aren’t you? I think one of my friends knows you.”

Emily smiled. “What’s yours?”

“Ash. Oh, Ash… Monticello.”

“That’s a nice name. Hard to forget, huh?”

Ash shrugged. “I guess.”

Emily began her walk back to grab her papers. “Are you in the art room often? We’re working on a community project with Mrs. Schaefer, so I’ll be stopping by here a lot the next few weeks.”

“Yeah… I am. Guess I’ll be seeing you.”

Emily walked over to the exit door, winking at Ash. “Yup. Seeya!”

Emily closed the door behind her, and in those moments Ash finally thought of what colors to paint.

…

As it turned out, Ash’s friend didn’t know Emily. But now Ash herself did, and her newfound connection to the president and her extended cabal put her in a much different social standing than she had been used to before.

One such example of this occurred months later, while Ash was pulling a cart back to Mrs. Schaefer’s room. When turning a corner, she was suddenly accosted by a group of girls she’d never seen before.

“Hey, you’re Ashlyn, right?” a girl with wavy brown hair asked her.

“Oh, uh… y-yeah, I am,” Ash let out awkwardly.

“Can you do me a favor? You see, my friend has a really big crush on Cole Mulaney. Like, she thinks he’s the cutest guy ever. So can you let him know that Trish MacKenzie wants to go out and take him on a date one of these days? Maybe this weekend?”

Ash, who didn’t really know how to react to such a comment, just shook her head instinctively. “I-I don’t think… I don’t think I know him well enough to do that…”

The girl’s face contorted to one of skepticism. “Really? Don’t you hang out with their group like, every day at lunch?”

Ash was beginning to grow anxious. The girl looked at her expectantly, and her two other friends blocked her exit. So it was fortunate that a voice rang out from around the corner that Ash had just turned from.

“These girls harassing you, Ash?”

The lead girl turned her head, to which her eyes widened in shock. “Shit, it’s him!” she called out to the others. The three girls began to run away, leaving Ash with some breathing room.

Cole, who sighed as he approached Ash, watched the three girls escape. “Thanks for tanking that one for me, I appreciate it.”

Another person – Sadja – came into view from where Cole had come from, a big smile on her face as she joined the others in watching the girls escape. “Trish and her gang are still after you? Jeez, how desperate is she?”

Cole shook his head. “I dunno, man. I just hope she moves on to a different target before she goes full stalker-murder mode. Maybe we could sic her on Lukas.”

Cole and Sadja continued walking, leaving Ash with her cart. However, just before they left speaking range, Sadja turned back towards her.

“Oh, I almost forgot. We’re going to go to the chicken place in a little bit. You wanna join us?”

It was only then that the two noticed Ash looked rather sorrowful. She didn’t look them directly in the eyes, instead trailing off to the floor.

“Um… I-I don’t know…”

“Something wrong?” Sadja asked.

Ash snapped out of it, looking back at the two and shaking her head. “N-no, nothing’s wrong. I just gotta… do some stuff for Mrs. Schaefer, that’s all.”

“No big deal, take your time,” Cole mentioned. “You can just meet us there if you want.”

The two continued to walk off, and Ash lowered her head again, continuing to drag her cart to its destination.

…

Just a bit later, Emily was on her way out of the school when she saw something that gave her pause. There, alone on the football bleachers, was Ash – her arms hugging her legs as she looked down at the people crossing the grass. Emily quickly said goodbye to the group she was with, and made her way up the stairs.

“Hey, Ash,” Emily asked as she sat down. “Everything okay?”

Ash didn’t move from her position. “I just… I don’t know how to describe it. I feel really stupid for even thinking about it.”

“I won’t mind. I won’t be offended, either – if that’s what it’s about.”

Ash turned her head up towards the sky. It was particularly blue that day, with no clouds in sight.

“I just feel… bad. Ever since we met I’ve gotten all this attention, all these people talking to me who would’ve never even looked my way at just the beginning of the year. Everything’s changed so much… I just feel like, like I’m using you guys for my own gain.”

Emily turned her head up to watch the sky herself. “Well, for starters… if you’re worried about something like that, it means you aren’t doing it. So I wouldn’t worry. To tell you the truth, I’ve been worried about the opposite: that by roping you in with the rest of us I’ve put a spotlight on you that you’d really rather not have.”

Ash shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. I mean, it’s a big change, that’s for sure. But I don’t mind. It’s more… I get people asking me all this stuff, about you and the others. Asking for STUGO resources, or stuff about choir, or… well, the whole Trish and Cole saga. I’ve never been in a position like that before. No one ever asks about the Art club, and even then I don’t really talk about it much anyway. It just feels so… transactional.”

Emily turned back to Ash, leaning into her. “Hey, don’t let those people bother you, okay? If they ever get persistent, let us know. You see, all this… it’s just what friendship is for. I know you’re not friends with me just because of some stupid school position, and I’m not friends with you just because you’re an artist – even though I think it’s really cool. I’m just friends with you because I like Ash. And all the others are the same way.”

Ash turned her head up, finally meeting with Emily’s gaze. “Thanks. It feels… a lot nicer, seeing things that way.”

Emily gave a comforting nod, standing up from the bench. “Hey, the group is going to Koko’s. Do you want-”

“Yeah, they told me. And yeah, I do want to come. Is it okay if I go with you, though? I don’t really have a ride.”

Emily smiled. “Of course. The more the merrier. Besides, Maurice is driving – so you won’t have to fear for your life like last time.”

Ash smiled back. She got up, and followed Emily down the bleachers.