This Girl Is Different by J. J. Johnson Read Free Book Online Page A

class during
menses.” There is giggling.
    Ms. Gliss raises her voice. “
I said quiet!
If you need a
sanitary pad or tampon, I am happy to provide you one.
Just please do not start thinking of my office as a drugstore.”
She smiles for the first time. It’s one of those
lovely, beguiling smiles you sense has served its bearer
well.
    “I encourage all of you to participate in after-school
sports. It’s not too late to join the JV or intramural soccer
or field hockey teams. And, as usual, throughout the
semester I will be having sign-ups for regional walk/jog
fundraisers: Crop Walk, Race for the Cure, AIDS Walk,
et cetera.” Finally, the woman says something I can get
on board with! “These fundraisers are not required, but
I urge you to participate. They are good for your body
and your character.
    “Now, as many of you know, it’s a big year for Cheer
Squad.” Her smile starts to sparkle. “We have an excellent
shot at making state finals. Isn’t that right, Jacinda?”
    “Yes, Ms. Gliss.”
    Ms. Gliss nods and continues talking, extolling the
virtues of fitness, sports, nutrition, and weight loss to
attain a healthy body mass index, until the bell slices
into her monologue.
    Jacinda and I make our way out of the locker room.
    “What was that about?” I ask.
    “What? Ms. Gliss?”
    “Yeah. The Cheer Squad?”
    “Oh, she’s the coach. Hi, Julie!” She waves at someone.
“It’s, like, so
Glee
, right?”
    “So
Glee
?”
    “
Glee
? The TV show? You haven’t seen
Glee
?
Seriously, I don’t know how you survive without a TV.”
She waves at another girl going by. “Ta-ta, Andrea!
Come on, Evie, let’s get you—hi again, Stiv!—to your
next bell.”
    Okay, I’m totally lost. But she’s too busy social butterflying
to explain.
    Biology, physics, and at last it’s time for lunch. Rajas—
Rajas! Yes!
—and Jacinda guide me into the serving line
of the cafeteria. And holy crap. The food? Horrendous.
Beyond horrendous. A forensic scientist would be gobsmacked.
Hamburger patties on soggy white buns…
how would you ever trace this oily gray circle back to a
cow? Uck. And the jello. Show me any food in the natural
world that shade of neon green. You can’t.
    The salad bar offers the only food bearing any semblance
of…food. Note to self: pack a lunch tomorrow.
And forever.
    I limp through the cash register line and start to follow
Jacinda and Rajas to a table.
    “Hold on,” I call to them. “It’s such a beautiful day,
why don’t we dine alfresco?”
    Rajas grimaces. “Sorry, Eve. Outside’s not an option
unless you want detention.”
    Even a total school virgin like me knows detention is
something to be avoided, so I follow Jacinda to a
cramped table. There are two empty chairs, which seem
to have Rajas’s and Jacinda’s names on them.
    “Sit,” Rajas tells me. “I’ll go find another chair.” Too
tired to argue, I plop down and Jacinda introduces me
around the table. Most of the kids smile. The placement
of their cheeks and lips are right, but there is a hollowness,
a hesitancy around their teeth. One of the girls—
Megan?—looks up from her phone and frowns, her eyes
going up and down my body, taking in my Levis, my
shabby T-shirt. Her lips purse and she looks back down,
resumes tapping her phone’s screen. The boys, in general,
seem friendlier and less judgmental. The girls need
to step up their game.
    Jacinda smiles and laughs at someone’s joke, someone
else’s bit of gossip, while I inwardly quiz myself on
people’s names. Marcie, Stiv, Megan (I’m pretty sure),
Matt, Jim. This blur of faces and hair and clothes and
food and phones and chatter, it’s more than a little
overwhelming. When Rajas returns and sets his chair
down next to me, I melt with relief, and I touch his
elbow with mine to convey my gratitude. He seems to
shiver at my touch—or am I just imagining it? Wishful
thinking? He smiles. My stomach flips, my heart
thumps. Being near him is the heart-rate