9) Collision: Emma

It was as if Emma had met her soul mate, found her perfect friend. Someone like her. Someone who would not judge her, who would not be chased away when Emma opened up about her depression and about her anxiety. When Emma let her see who she was.

There were so many times when Emma felt like she was a burden, a dead weight to society, but Bailey was different. She did not make Emma feel like she was taking trouble to talk to her, or wasting her time. Bailey made Emma feel valuable, something that Emma seldom felt or experienced.

But, it was so stupid.

People like that did not exist in this world. She was being tricked again, tricked into trusting someone who would only be detrimental to her in the future. Someone who would only end up hurting her.

Bailey was just another typical teenage girl who would turn against her within a matter of a few weeks. She was stupid to even think that it could work. Stupid to even consider that they could be friends.

People as beautiful and kind as that did not take notice of people like Emma. Bailey would have no trouble joining the "popular" people. She was exactly what they were looking for, Emma was not. She was a freak, a weirdo, an outcast...

But she seemed so different to the other girls that Emma had become acquainted with, wolves in sheep's clothing they all were, evil vipers who turned against her and hurt her, spread stories about her. She did not want a repeat of last year. She had to be careful, she was stepping on dangerous turf.

Mrs Arense said to trust people sometimes though, to give them a chance, and Bailey did seem different. She had not listened when Katrina said those horrible things about Emma. She liked books, just like Emma and she wrote beautifully.

She had the same ideas as Emma about society and their peers. She claimed to struggle to make friends and she was really beautiful, not that it mattered what she looked like, but Emma just felt really attracted to her beauty.

It was not right, it felt strange having a crush on another girl. It was wrong, but it felt more right than any other forced crushes that Emma had had on boys.

In primary school, it was common to be asked who you liked, and it was expected that you liked someone of the opposite sex. But to Emma, who never really liked any boys, the thought of kissing any member of the male population made her feel sick. She could not imagine spending her life with a man, she could not see herself loving a man.

But Bailey was perfect. She had beautiful chestnut hair that was styled in a pixie cut, and her eyes were like the sea- Emma's favourite place.

The sea made her feel safe, calm and so happy, just like Bailey made her feel, but there was a hint of concern that she had too.

Emma was worried that she was trusting this new girl too much, and she barely knew her. She could turn into a serpent at any moment and injure Emma, yet there was also a desire present, a desire to be friends with her, even the desire to kiss her...

"She is so pretty, and she seems really kind."

Emma was sitting in Mrs Arense's classroom. It was first break on Monday, and that was the day when she went to Mrs Arense to talk to her. The rest of the week, she would just sit in the passage and read. Nobody wanted her to sit with them, and she was tired of trying to be friends with people who were visibly rude to her or made her feel unwelcome.

"Then why don't you go and speak to her?" Mrs Arense asked.

"I am a little bit afraid, I don't want to trust someone who can hurt me."

"Not everyone will hurt you. There are many good people, and you will never know until you open up a little to them. I could hurt you too, but you chose to trust me."

"I know, I know, but I am so afraid!"

"Alright then, I challenge you to sit with her one break."

Emma looked at Mrs Arense. She knew that Mrs Arense was doing it for her good, to encourage and help her branch out and make friends, and besides, she did want to be friends with Bailey. This was the perfect motivation as she always felt compelled to obey Mrs Arense.

"Alright, how long do I have?" Emma asked

With the conversation repeating itself like a stuck record in her head, Emma descended the flight of stairs only to run straight into Bailey, who was making her way upwards.

Embarrassed, Emma lowered her head and looked down at her shoes, hoping to hide her reddened face from those ocean blue eyes.

"Sorry" she mumbled in a barely audible voice

"Hey Emma!" Bailey said laughing, "fancy bumping into you!"

Emma looked up at the smiling lips. Her perfectly symmetrical face, with her sea-blue eyes nestled in the centre, and her elven nose. A light sprinkling of freckles covered her milky skin and satin smooth cheeks. A short wisp of loose hair hung beside her ear. Bailey wiped it away briskly, and Emma noticed that her nails were jagged and bitten, just like her own.

Even dressed in the uniform that was worn by every other female student in Renburg High, she stood out like the moon on a starry night.

"Sorry" Emma mumbled again, looking at Bailey this time.

"It's okay, from my point of view it felt like I bumped into you actually."

She was so pretty. And so kind! She was not rude when Emma over-apologised. She did not ridicule her or tell her to stop. She was so different to the other girls!

"I am going to the school library, do you want to come with me?" Bailey asked

She appeared to be almost begging Emma. With "no" on the tip of her tongue, Emma suddenly remembered her promise to Mrs Arense.

Emma nodded slowly.

She did actually want to go with Bailey, but she was just so used to avoiding her peers that she had almost sacrificed a chance to be friends with this beautiful girl.

She felt slightly concerned, but she had made a promise to Mrs Arense and she did not wish to break her promise. Although this was one of the reasons why she joined Bailey on her trip to the library, her main motivation was the desire that she had to be with her.

As Emma collapsed into her bed that night, she was happy.

They had spent less than twenty minutes in the library together, silently reading, side by side, but it was twenty golden minutes for Emma. It made her so happy that she got to spend time with such a nice girl.

It had been a great bonding environment too, as Emma did not have to speak. Bailey had not expected her to say or do anything, and she was perfectly fine with Emma just sitting by her side with her nose buried in a book.

Bailey had not spoken to Emma either, something that Emma was glad about. Speaking to new people made her feel nervous. She needed to just sit and observe the person first.

"She is just pretending to be friendly." hissed the voices into Emma's ear, "She is going to hurt you just ike everyone else will hurt you."

For the first time in her sixteen years of life, Emma rolled over onto her side and whispered back, "You are wrong, she is different, and I am going to prove it to you!"