If I hadn't known the other students in my class--growing up with most of them since we were in diapers--I would have though we had assigned seats Elizabeth and Anne, the only Pinks in the school aside from Eva, were sitting together on the front middle of the class room. Anne, sporting a new Chanel purse and Elizabeth, debuting a pair of heart shaped earrings made from dangling diamonds, were noticeably set apart from the rest of the class with an empty chair on either side of them. Mark, Paul, and Richard--the class Grays--were seated behind the ritzy pair, each donning their own twist on preppy-chic. The left side of the room was predominately Blue, with the right transitioning into Green. In the far corner, possibly forgotten by everyone else were the last two seats: one for me and one for Courtnee. Courtnee, who conveniently arrived just behind me, was the other oddball of the class. A Black, with ebony skin, cinnamon colored hair, and hazel eyes, in theory, it was hard to miss Courtnee sitting in the sea of Blue and Green, and slightly less so, with the slightest tint of Blue reflecting in my skin, my Purple skin was ostensibly another eye catcher in the room. Strangely, the opposite had proven true; in all of our years in school together, Courtnee and I seemed to exist in our own little world within the class. They rarely spoke to us, and quite frankly, I didn't mind the exclusion. I made my way to the seat, with little acknowledgement from my peers, and let my bag fall to the floor with a silent thud.
Courtnee did the same and gave me a weak smile. "How was your summer?''
"Mostly work,'' I admitted. "I didn't have much free time to enjoy it. What about you? Did you get to do anything fun?''
"I visited some family in Tennessee. I guess that was fun.'' She shrugged. "I like your outfit, by the way. In a few weeks should I expect you to be joining Elizabeth and Anne?''
Neither of us could hold back our laughter at the ridiculousness of her suggestion. "I figured since everyone's speculating about my inevitable transformation, I might as well have some fun with it.''
"That's kind of diabolical, Kat.'' She nodded her approval with an expressive grin. "So you've already made up your mind, then?''
"Not even close.'' I winced. ``Maybe I'll just use eeny, meeny, miny, moe.''
Courtnee looked as though she were about to make a joke--probably at my expense--when the teacher stood from behind her desk. It was time to be whisked into the world of dates and battles, alliances and rivalries. History had never been one of my favorite subjects, thought it was laden with interesting plots--I couldn't help entertain the what-ifs as the teacher droned on and on about the actualities. It was the alternate realities that captured my attention; the what could have been scenarios, that helped me understand why a particular battle was worthy of remembrance by name and date. I was often scolded for my wild leaps of speculation--which, I can admit were often controversial and largely unpleasant to think about. I supposed this year would be no different, especially with it being American History. The strange phenomena of teaching our own History last, would surely serve as a spring board for my unorthodox imagination. For now, I contented myself with writing the basics the teacher had begun to cover.
