1 New School, New Me

"This school is utterly boring, is it really like this in the province? Good thing there are many trees here and the air is fresh I can just drown my lungs with it"

Aila sighed as she sat on one of the benches at school as she stared at the vast emptiness.

Being lost in her own mind, she did not notice that a girl come up to her.

"Hi! I'm Reese, can I be your friend?" she reached out her hand while smiling at her.

"Aila," she answered nonchalantly as she shook hands and smiled at Reese.

"I saw you alone and wondered if you're okay, you seem to be thinking deeply..."

"Hmm... Not really, I'm just thinking about what I will have for lunch later" Aila has this really sarcastic humor; you can't really tell if she's joking because her facial expression is always serious that's why she is often misinterpreted by others.

"Hahahaha! You silly girl! I like you more now, you can't escape from me, I officially declare you as my friend!"

She patted Aila on her shoulder.

"In fairness to this girl, she gets my humor... Hmm, I guess having a friend here is not that bad".

Aila pondered of the days ahead of her.

"Aila, you're too quiet... It seems like... You don't like it here."

Reese talked to her with curious eyes.

"Seriously, this is the only school that I know of that does not celebrate sports Fest, "

Reese burst into laughter

"Hahahaha! Are you an athlete? Looks like you are really frustrated with that."

Aila just nodded in response.

She's not sure if she should start opening up things about herself this early. She's so used to guarding her identity that she does not allow anyone to get too close to her.

Aila was a varsity basketball player of the former university she attended, that's why she was so disappointed when she saw that the school does not hold an annual Sports Fest based on their calendar of activities.

"It doesn't matter, you can just make up for it in our Physical Education class"

Reese answered mischievously to her.

"Maybe you want to join other clubs, do you like to dance or sing, or are you interested in saving mother nature or animals?"

Aila was amused with the recommendations. But she simply does not want to open up yet.

"I have no talent and I am not interested in being a hero saving the planet or animals at this point in my life,"

Reese looked at her with pitiful eyes.

"That's sad well, I am here, I am your friend now, just tell me what I can do to make your stay here at least bearable."

Aila was touched. This is the first time someone actually reached out to her with sincerity. Most people she meets backs out when she shuts them out, just like what she did to Reese; but this girl, she's different. What a breath of fresh air.

Aila is not really interested in dancing, but she's got the moves; her voice is beautiful, and she knows how to play six musical instruments; guitar, bass, any percussion instrument, piano, flute, and violin. She loves art and is also great at using different media; she also loves poetry.

When she was younger, she founded her own dog shelter, which she funded thru her paintings. The animal shelter is still operational today because of her continued support.

She also is an advocate for nature as she helped local farmers acquire technology that they can use their products to make edible straws.

Aila also often competes in beauty pageants she is also a print ad model. Apart from that, she was the quiz bee champion in her former school.

She is often regarded as beauty and brains and brawns but she is also branded as a snub. No one knows about her soft heart because she does not allow anyone to see it.

She smiled at Reese and thought to herself...

"I'm going to give this new friend a chance... Or am I giving myself a chance to have a friend?"

Reese noticed her

"Hey! You're thinking deep again, have you finally decided on your lunch? Come with me, I'll show you around the campus,"

Aila happily obliged. She wanted to explore this new school.

As a transfer student, she readily expected the attention she might get from her fellow students, that's why she tries to be as low key as possible. However, that is impossible as she stands out from the crowd.

Her beautiful face is not ordinary, it has a very regal charm to it.

Her tall stature and wonderful curves make her awfully common school uniform looks like something that one would wear like an OOTD shoot.

Reese took Aila to the school canteen to eat.

Aila started to warm up to Reese; she actually started listening to Reese's stories and even manage to let a few waves of laughter out.

"This feels great," Aila exclaimed.

"Are you really impressed with this? As in? For real? My gosh, where have you been? This school cafeteria has been voted the worst in the province for three consecutive years!"

Aila almost choked on her food. She coughed as she laughed.

"What I meant was that having someone to talk to during lunch feels great."

Reese's stared at Aila with curious eyes.

"Were you living under a rock all this time? Are you too pretty to go to lunch and talk with anyone before?"

Aila smiled and childishly said

"I am too lazy,"

They laughed and enjoyed their meal when a guy went to their table and asked Reese to introduce him to Aila.

"Hi, Reese! Do you mind introducing me to your gorgeous friend?"

Reese looked at Aila as if the guy that went to talk to them ceased to exist.

"Is this why you're too lazy to go to cafeterias?"

With a straight face, Aila said;

"Pretty much, yes"

"Awww... You're too beautiful"

The girls stood and picked up their things, but before they left Aila looked at the guy and said;

"Hi, I'm Aila,"

She smiled, left, and never looked back.

The guy was shocked, he thought that he would be completely ignored.

"I'm Kenneth!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, wanting to make sure Aila heard him.