II

     Samantha picked at the folds of her pleated uniform skirt, cradling her phone between her shoulder and her ear.  
     “Yeah, I know I’ll make friends eventually, Mom; it just sucks right now.  They had extracurricular sign-ups during the first couple of weeks during September.  And I kept waiting for one that sounded like me, but none of them did!  And now it’s like I can’t really do anything unless I find a church or something to join around here.  The school doesn’t let you join a club unless you’ve been there since the beginning…..Yeah…..Yeah, I know; it is awful.  But that’s how they are about everything – very, very strict.  It’s supposed to be “molding us to have strong character and responsibility skills for college.”  How are we supposed to have strong character if we can’t find any friends and we’re by ourselves all of the time?!  …..No, I think all of them have started already……Yeah, well I guess they’d send us mailings or make announcements in class, maybe…..Yeah, okay, I’ll ask my teachers…..Another call?  Oh, do you think maybe it’s Dad from work?  Okay, yeah…No!  No, it’s okay, I have homework to do anyway.  I love you, too.  Good night, Mom.”  She hung the phone on its receiver and sat at her desk, resting her chin on her palms.
     Not gonna cry, I’m okay, all I did was have a conversation with my mom and it’s okay.  Look at something else, distract yourself, come on Sammy, this is stupid.
     Her eyes rested on the acceptance letter that she had taped to the wall above her desk.

Dear Samantha,     
     Congratulations!  You’ve been accepted to High Glen Secondary School, the consistently top-rated college preparatory school in the United States.  Your test scores, writing samples, and recommendations have proven to us that you have what it takes to succeed in our environment.  Surrounded by peers who care as deeply about their education as you do, you will spend your high school years molding and shaping yourself so as to successfully compete in the higher education that awaits you after graduation.
     As you know, our dormitories are all single rooms, so as to provide our students with ideal study environments.  Your assigned move-in date is…

     Samantha supposed it was odd that she could find an acceptance letter encouraging after having already moved in to her dormitory and started classes, but it still had a warming effect on her.  She was at this school for a reason, and eventually everything else would fall into place.  Surely some other club would spring up, and she would just have to join it, no matter what it was.  She frowned, hoping she wouldn’t have to join a track team or something equally time-consuming.  But then she thought about how lonely she had been less than a minute ago and decided that even rigorous exercise for a few hours every day would be worth the pain if she could find some friends.  Until something came up, though, her lack of social life would give her lots of time to study her class.  Not surprisingly, things were so far much more difficult than middle school.
     But first…First, I’ll wander the halls a bit and see if there are any club advertisements up that I’ve missed.
     Her dormitory was devoid of any interesting bits of paper, but she decided to follow her stomach across the street to the dining hall.  She scoured the bulletin board in the entry way, which was mostly covered with “Helpful Study Tips!”  Mostly, until she saw:
Paranormal Research Team
Interested in ghost hunting?  Please come to our informational meeting!

     Samantha felt her optimism sink quite a bit.  She had sworn to herself not five minutes ago that she would join any club she saw advertised, whether she was interested in it or not.  Most clubs started in early September when they were supposed to, and if she didn’t join something now, she was going to have to wait until next semester.
     Yet when she reread the words “paranormal,” images of people with too much eye makeup and scary clothing and piercings crowded her thoughts, hostilely appraising her.  What kind of people would join a “paranormal research team,” anyway?  Her goal for joining a club was to make friends, but if she joined a club in which no one would want to be her friend, then there wouldn’t be much point.
     Feeling a bit dejected, Samantha left the entry way and entered the dining hall.  As she pulled her meal card out of her pocket, she scanned the room, noting all of the tables filled with groups of threesomes and foursomes.  She could feel the loneliness start to creep back underneath her confidence.
     Well, that seals it then.  I’ll go to the meeting, and if nothing else, I’ll have something to do on Friday afternoons.
     She looked past the tables to where she wanted to go, and for a fleeting moment, felt satisfied.

Music used whilst writing this post: Spider-man 2 soundtrack