It was another crazy morning and Alicia was running late like always. She rushed to the bathroom and fixed her long blonde hair. One more quick glance and she was satisfied.                           

            “Mom! Have you seen my backpack?” She called down the stairs. “I can’t seem to find it up here!”

            “SHUT UP! You’re going to wake up your little sister!” Her mother yelled back even louder. Alicia was used to her mother always yelling. She was such a negative and angry person. She always wore the same black pants with one of her concert t-shirts. She’d been favoring her black Metallica one for the past month. Her mother also hated to leave the house. But Alicia was the exact opposite. Her personality was bright and bubbly. Her wardrobe was filled with bright colors and shimmery sparkles.

            Clamoring down the stairs in a bright yellow, long sleeved, aeropostale shirt and shorts, she spotted her backpack. It always matched anything she wore because it was covered with rainbows. Of course she had something rainbow to wear everyday. Today it was her dangling earrings and a thick bracelet. She snatched up her backpack and rushed out the door to catch the bus. She stepped onto the bus and headed straight towards the back. Everyday she sat in the same seat, the second to the last one on the right.

She plugged up her ears with the headphones and blasted the music to block out everyone’s chattering and laughter. She was so annoyed by all the younger teenagers that crowed around her. The screaming band was comforting to her somehow. She liked that they sang about death and blood. She loved the escape it gave her from reality. She felt that she wasn’t alone when she listened to her music.

As soon as she stepped off the bus she saw her friends Erin and Hope. “Hey LC! We have a story to tell you! Ah!” Although it was a horrible morning at home, Alicia forced a cheesy grin to her face. “Hurry up! We don’t have all day now do we?” they joked around. These were the people she filled her life with. The truly happy people. They always had something to say. They weren’t fake and she envied them. Only one of her friends knew her story. One of them knew what was behind the curtains of the show she was putting on for the world. One knew why she never brought anyone to her house. One knew everything.

As Erin rambled on about her boyfriend and blah blah blah, Hope eyed LC’s long sleeve as she tugged it down. She gave her a look as if to say “we need to talk” but she already knew what Alicia was hiding. They wandered the halls everyday. When they passed the counseling center Hope hesitated. Alicia kept pulling at her sleeves. Erin was saying something about another girl… “I’ll catch up with you girls later.” Mumbled Hope. “I’ve got a few things I need to do.” And she fell out of step with her best friends.

Alicia was sitting in history thinking about how bad she didn’t want the school day to end. She always dreaded going home. Her mothers’ mood only got worse as the day went on. It was only twenty more minutes till school was over. A knock came at the door and a small red haired girl entered with an excuse note. She handed it to the teacher and walked out.

“Alicia,” she looked up to the front of the room. “You’re wanted at the counseling center.” She got up and took her books with her. The halls were empty but her mind raced with thoughts of why she could be called down.

She stepped into his office and sat down in the stiff chair to face him. He turned to her and intertwined his fingers. Her appearance threw him off guard. This didn’t look like the kind of girl who would have that problem.

                “So do you know why you got called down here?” the counselor asked. She just kept her head down and played with the rainbow bracelet around her wrist. “One of your friends came down and told us you needed help.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Alicia felt her blood boiling.

                “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” she tugged at her long sleeves. “I’m fine and I don’t need anyone’s help, sure I may be on happy pills,” she made quotations with her fingers. “But that doesn’t mean I have a problem!” She was so upset that she couldn’t even remember what she had just said. She slouched back down and stared at the floor.

                “I’m sorry you’re upset. We just want to help.” He gave her that is-there-something-you-need-to tell-me look. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

                Her throat was dry as she said “I don’t need anyone’s help. And even if I did I wouldn’t want some stranger intruding on my life.” Alicia stood up and stormed out the door. She felt so betrayed. She was hurt. “How could she do this?” she thought to herself. Her bright yellow high heels clacked echoed in the vacant hall as her mind swam with questions and confusion. She put on another big cheesy smile as she walked back into the classroom. No body ever looked hard enough to notice that it’s fake.