7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Sloane
A rt class is one of my favorite classes, and by the time I get there, most of the class is already seated. I say hello to Mrs. Dale and survey the room. I must have talked to Maggie too long after lunch because most of the tables are full. A group of junior cheerleaders are at the front table on the far side. The super-artsy kids are behind them and next to them, potheads and hippies. The front table closest to the door is the black kids. I notice how each group has gravitated to those similar to them and it’s as if everyone has segregated themselves based on their identities here. Once again, I am trying to find my place in this school. "One of these things is not like the other," I sing to myself.
A girl with full cheeks and short dark hair wearing a flowered shirt at the table closest to the door smiles at me.
I smile back. "Can I join you?"
"Of course," she says. "What's your name?"
"Sloane," I say as I slide out the empty chair across from her and set my bag on the table.
"I'm Denine," she says, "and this is Myke." She hooks a thumb to her left, and the boy with dreadlocks wearing a Chicago Bulls T-shirt smiles brightly.
"It's Myke with a 'y'."
"Cool," I say returning his friendly smile with one of my own. "Nice to meet you." I look at the girl next to me who’s wearing a Boyz II Men shirt.
"Hey Sloane," she says confidently. "I'm Dawne—with an 'e' at the end."
"Perfect, I'm Sloane with an 'e' at the end."
"What made you want to sit with us?" Dawne asks frankly, her eyes sizing me up.
"Well, this looked like the cool table, obviously." I love it when I think fast and come up with a good answer.
"Yesss," Myke says then softly punches Denine's shoulder. "See, she knows."
Denine laughs at him then looks at me. "You're not wrong. We're gonna have fun at this table."
Dawne looks at me suspiciously. "Why didn't you sit at that table." She nods to where the cheerleaders are sitting.
"Do I look like I fit in there?" I ask.
She looks at me then at the girls at the other table. "Nah," she says, "you look way cooler than them."
I chuckle. "Cool might be a stretch, but I'm more comfortable here."
Dawne nods approvingly as Myke says, "Stretch!" He bounces in his chair, his white teeth gleaming. "You just gave yourself a nickname!"
I laugh and shake my head. "I haven't heard that one before." My three new pals break up in laughter at this.
Yes, this class is going to be a fun one. Mrs. Dale goes over how things will run in her class and gets us started on our first project. I like the fact that in art class we can talk while we work.
“What year are you?” Dawne asks.
“Senior,” I reply as I open my art supply box. “What about y’all?”
“We’re juniors,” Denine says.
“Yeah, we’ve got a whole ‘nother year here,” Myke says, and I feel his pain.
“I don’t envy you,” I reply. “Junior year was tough.”
Denine sits up straight and smiles. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Of course, you are,” Dawne jokes then looks at me. “She’s the over-achiever in the group.”
“I just like a challenge,” Denine says with a satisfied grin on her face.
“Well, you’re smart to have this class,” I say. “It will be a nice break from all the tougher classes this year.”
“I can’t wait for senior year,” Myke says. “Y'all get to rule the school.”
“Plus, you’ve got Homecoming, Prom, all the fun activities for seniors,” Denine adds.
“Spring Break!” Dawne adds as she does a little dance in her seat.
“I’ll be lucky if I get asked to any dance,” I say as I tuck a strand of hair behind my right ear.
Myke scrunches up his face as he looks at me. “What?” His voice rises an octave when he says this. “Why’s that?”
I shrug my shoulders as Denine looks at me with concern in her brown eyes. “I’ve never been asked to a dance, so I don’t really expect this year to be any different.”
Dawne makes a smacking noise with her mouth. “That’s just crazy. Boys are whack.”
“Hey!” Myke says feigning hurt feelings.
“Well, look at her.” Dawne hooks a thumb at me. “Why wouldn’t anyone ask her?”
“Well for one, I’m taller than most guys,” I say in a joking manner even though it’s one possible reason. “Who wants to take a girl to a dance who towers over you?”
“Would you consider asking someone?” Denine asks.
“Oh, no,” I say quickly as I shake my head. “I could never do that. I don’t think I have the gumption.”
“What about the dance where the girls ask the guys?” Myke asks.
“Yeah, Snowball,” Denine says. “You can ask someone to that.”
I shake my head again. “I don’t know, I’d have to be pretty confident he would say yes. Besides, it would feel nice to have someone ask me to a dance, you know?”
“I totally get it,” Dawne says. “You want to feel special, like someone wants to take you.”
I smile, “Yeah, exactly.”
“Don’t you worry,” Denine says, “you’ll go to prom and will be the belle of the ball!”
I love how confident and positive Denine is. I think I can learn a lot from her.