"Yes! I'm so glad it's Friday! That means tomorrow is officially the weekend!" I squealed in excitement. 

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the best days of the week. Mainly because there's no school. And, I won't have to deal with annoying teachers and students. I can relax and sleep all day.

"Same! Too bad that there are only five hours until school is over." Lizzie glanced at her smartwatch.

"Yeah! I can't wait!" I raved, digging into the front pocket of my backpack.

I'm looking for my phone, which isn't anywhere in sight so far. That's probably because my front pocket is filled with sticky notes, which I passed in class with friends. Sometimes, it's too risky to text in class. You have to communicate in the old-fashioned way.

A thick piece of paper falls on the floor. At a closer inspection, it was my invite to Millicent's birthday party. Before I could grab the invite, Tracey gets it and starts reading it out loud. I still haven't told my friends about the party. I guess they'll find out now.

"You have been invited to Millicent Campbell's birthday party!" Tracey raised an eyebrow, "You got invited to her party?"

Lizzie glared at me, crossing her arms. "You actually got invited to Millicent's party?"

Judging the demanding looks on their faces, they want an explanation of everything. I mean, if I were them, I would want one, too. Especially since it's Millicent's party we're talking about. Literally, everyone at school knows who she is. 

"Yes, I did." I shrugged, retrieving the invitation.

The two of them stood dead in their tracks, frozen. They raised a suspicious eyebrow at me.

Tracey stopped and peered intently at the invitation in my hands. "How is this possible? People like her never notice people like us!" 

"Well, you see, she just invited me to the party after helping her study for history class. That's probably why. I don't know. You two are also invited!" I concluded, "I'm definitely going!"

"That's nice, I guess." Lizzie slightly frowned, "Why do you want to go to this party, anyway? It probably won't be fun."

She does have a small point. The popular students at school are into things I don't find interesting, such as fashion and sports. But maybe their parties are at least interesting.

"It'll be a dream to go to her party!" I raved, glancing at my smartwatch, "Anyway, class starts soon. I need to get to PE."

"Bye!" Lizzie started to walk down the hall, "See you later!"

Tracey and I waved, already walking to class. "Bye!"

Soon, my most-dreaded class, PE would start. That means sweating for no reason and smelling like outside. If I could, I'd skip class today. But at the same time, I don't want to be marked absent for skipping class. Eventually, Mom would find out and I'd be grounded for the longest time. 

While gulping, I entered the gym doors, not knowing what we would do in class today. From running to having unexpected pop quizzes, I'm not looking forward to doing anything.

After a while, I instantly smelled the unpleasant odor of sweat. It was typical, not much of a surprise to me, nor anyone else that has to go to this class around here.

At our school's PE classes, the girls and boys are separated by classes and locker rooms. They're located right next to each other, separated by a thick wall. Coach Jones led the boys and my teacher, Coach Moore led the girls. Here, the two classes take turns using the gym, where most sports are located, and the fitness room, where the exercise machines are. 

One week, the boys will have the gym while we have the fitness room. Another week, we girls will have the gym while the boys have the fitness group. It repeats over and over again. 

Tracey and I entered the girls' locker room. I could only see about ten girls. According to my teacher, there are about forty girls in this class period. Despite this large amount, I only have a connection with a few of them. 

Other than Tracey, I have a few other friends in this class, such as Layla Pritchett and Amanda Tomlinson. Overall, we don't have a very close friendship, but we're good friends.

"Hey!" Layla greeted us, wrapping her black, curly hair into a ponytail, "How are you guys doing today?"

I sighed heavily, opening my locker. "I'm fine. I'm just not excited about PE today."

My gym locker was a slight mess, less than my other one. Other than the empty perfume bottles I forgot to throw away, it looked fine inside. 

"PE isn't that bad, Rose. You just need to be used to it." Amanda said, grabbing her oversized, grey t-shirt.

Tracey added. "It really isn't. You just have to get used to it." 

I rolled my eyes. "It's easy for you to say. You two are on the cheerleading squad. You're already athletic. Non-athletes, like me, don't like PE that much. But you're right, I guess. I should give PE another chance."

No matter how many chances I give PE, I'll think the same about it. This is probably my most-hated class. 

"We're probably going to run on the track since it's Friday." Layla thought, "That's usually what we do on this day."

"You could be right. That's what we usually do on Fridays. I hope we're not running on the track today." 

I groaned. "Ugh. Today isn't going to be nice."

Immediately, I heard the loud voices of popular girls, who were entering the locker room. This is usually the time where the locker room starts to get crowded. 

Amanda glanced at them, motioning us to leave. "We should get going, now."

"Yeah." I got up from the wooden bench, walking out the door, "Let's go!"

We shuffled through the growing crowds of girls as we walked to the fitness room. Within a few moments, we actually make it with no harm. The four of us separated and sat on our designated spots on the floor. I sat right behind Mercedes, who didn't arrive at class yet. 

I saw her in the locker room, chatting with Millicent and her other friends. I expect her to arrive right before the late bell rings, which is moments away from now. Coach Moore shuffled through the double doors, girls rushing right behind her. They scrambled to their assigned spots, considering them as on-time for class.

Mercedes, who sat in front of me, flashed me a smile. Usually, she'd just give me a dirty look, like I was a wad of gum stuck to the bottom of her expensive, designer shoes. Maybe she's actually being nice to me now. I mean, I am invited to Millicent's party. 

"Good morning, class!" the teacher set down her clipboard, "It seems like everyone is here, so let's get started on warm-ups!" 

PE has officially begun. I wonder if it's too late to run out the door to escape class. At this point, that's what I want to do, but a million things are holding me back. I can't risk getting in trouble and getting a zero. 

● ● ●

After a long ten minutes of doing our warm-ups, Coach Moore stood in front of the whole class, grabbing her cherry-red whistle. 

"Alright, class!" she started, projecting her voice loudly, "Today, we're going to do a mile run!"

Immediately, unathletic girls, like me, started to groan under our breaths. The only people who actually looked like they actually wanted to this were the track runners. 

The teacher lectured sternly. "Cardiovascular endurance is essential to being healthy, so you can't complain. You all already know the rules to this. If you want, you can pick a partner to run with. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes!" everyone nodded, flashing a smile at who their partner would be.

I already know who my partner is, Tracey! She's always been my partner whenever we do things as a group in this class. I hardly know anyone in this class, so it isn't much of a surprise.

"Since everyone understands, let's go!" Coach Moore motioned the class out of the door.

I joined Tracey. The two of us walked right out into the actual gym, where we could hear basketballs dribbling and Coach Jones yelling at a few boys. Typical. 

"Let's get outside!" I told Tracey as we headed out the door that led to outside, "The faster we start, the faster we'll finish."

"Okay, let's go!" she said, pacing quickly. 

A few moments later, we arrived at the track, where everyone was lined up. The teacher blew her loud whistle to dismiss us to start running. I started off slow, so I wouldn't run out of breath quickly. 

Tracey questioned. "So, about this party that we're invited to, do you think it's actually worth it?" 

I guess this is a decent way of getting my mind off of running, which is something I despise. 

I slightly smiled, panting from running. "I think the party will be awesome! We can improve our social status by attending it. Won't it just be cool to hang out with kids outside of our clique?" 

It would be a dream to hang out with them. They're cool, pretty, and popular. Who wouldn't want to hang out with them?

She raised an eyebrow at me, frowning. "Won't it be weird to hang out with kids outside of our clique?"

"It might be a little bit, but at the same time, it'll be fun!" I raved, cheering happily.

"If you say so." she continued to run.

Based on the way she and Lizzie acted today, they don't think that this party will be fun. In general, they don't think the popular students here are as cool as I think they are. I guess I see something in them that they don't.

"I hear that at these types of parties, you have to make the right impression, or else, you'll never get invited to one by any of the popular kids." I continued to run. 

At this point, even if we were halfway around the track, I was already feeling exhausted. Not that much, but I definitely felt tired. 

"It's kind of true, from what I hear." she started, "What impression do you want to make at the party?"

The answer to that question was obvious. 

"I want to look great at the party! Especially for Mercedes, Millicent, and Tyler." I grinned, "I want them to notice me, at least."

She smirked. "Oh! So I see that you're trying to impress Tyler. What move are you going to make? You hardly ever made one before." 

I never made any type of move to make him read my mind and realize something. Should I make a move? If I do, what use would it make? There are so many questions.

"Well, I don't know. I still haven't decided yet." my smile fades away.

She spoke. "Don't worry. You'll figure out something."

I hope that I'll figure out something. I just need to branch out.

● ● ●

After completing a few laps around the track, adding up to a mile, everyone in the class stood on the sidewalk, waiting for Coach Moore to let us go inside.

She blew her whistle loudly. "Alright! Now that everyone is finished running their mile run, it's time to go inside. Class is over!"

I'm glad that class is over. PE class was a nightmare today. 

Everyone smelled like the mildew of sweat. I doubt that there was one person in this locker room that does not smell a single thing like it. And after we're done in here, it will smell like the store that sells candles and perfume at the mall.

"PE was tiring today." I exhale in exhaustion, "Good thing we're in the actual gym next week. We won't have to do any mile runs, then."

"You're very excited!" Layla laughed, "We're going to start our basketball unit."

"It's better than the track." I stare at the on-branded deodorant I was carrying, "Since we're starting the basketball unit in class next week, we won't get graded for accuracy in our shots. We'll only be graded for participation."

"True. I can't wait to get started with basketball. Maybe we could shoot some shots with the boys." Tracey gushed.

The statement Tracey just said made my cheeks flush light red.

"Y-Yeah. But I'm not good at basketball. If Tyler sees my trashy shots, he'll most likely just laugh at me and think of me as a fool!" I complained.

"Don't worry, Rose. I'm sure you'll do fine." Amanda reassured me.

"She's right." Tracey agreed, "Anyway, we should leave. The bell will ring in a few minutes."

"Yeah, you're right. Let me clean all of this up, first. If I don't lock this up, people will gladly take them." I stuff my supplies into my locker.

I glance over to Tracey, who was now finishing freshening up.

"You know, Tracey. You can shoot some shots with Landon!" I teased her.

She slightly blushed. "Shh! Somebody could hear that I love him, you know? Keep the profile low, Rose!" 

"Okay, okay. You know your secret about Landon is safe with me. Now let's get out of here." I rolled my eyes playfully.