(Whisper:) Speak speak speak your heart flow

Everybody's got a point of view
And the right to their own opinion
So don't be scared of what I'm gonna do
When you let me know your intuition

So what makes you think
That I won't get it
So what makes you think that
I won't get your love tonight

(Chorus:)
Speak come on and let it out
Give it to me you know that I can take it
Speak because the more you say the more I'm at ease
Come on don't keep me waiting now
I don't wanna guess, not a test, tell me what you're thinking
Keep it real, no big deal
Tell me what you're dreaming
Speak let it out... Breathe

~Lindsay Lohan, Speak

"So, Jackie, is that a good book?" Hawk queried with a smile, nodding his head to the book Jackie had been reading.

Jackie agreed with a nod of her own. "Oh, yes! It's the 10th anniversary edition of the novel Speak, and it's by Laurie Halse Anderson. I picked it up one day, and ever since then, I can't put it down. I find it to be amazingly awesome!" She then motioned them all closer, lowering her voice to a confidential whisper for a moment. "Also, I view the main protagonist, Melinda Sordino, as relatable for both those who've experienced almost the same thing she did and those who feel they're unable to speak up." A grin spread across her face. "I suggest you guys try reading it; it's kind of cool!"

Yasmine stroked her chin thoughtfully, and then gave a smile herself. "Hmm... that sounds neat to me!"

"Yeah!" nodded Demetri before turning to Yasmine. "My love, remind me to put this book at the top of my reading list."

Her azure eyes lighting up, Yasmine grinned. "Good idea, Demetri!" She then turned to Jackie. "Thanks for recommending this book, by the way. Until now, I never knew about it. Now, I hope to read it myself one of these days." 

Nodding a little, Jackie said, "I can relate to how Melinda feels in the book right now — and mostly with the 'social pariah' part, to be honest."

Robby and Miguel exchanged a bewildered glance at her words. Why was Jackie saying she knew how Melinda felt about being an outcast and calling herself a 'social pariah' of all things?

"Well, that's true," Hawk admitted. "However, there are a few differences between her and you. For one thing, she experienced sexual assault at an end-of-summer party before her freshman year of high school, whereas you didn't." He turned to Miguel. "Right, El Serpiente?"

Miguel nodded. "Right, Hawk." He turned to Jackie. "Hawk has a point there. Also, as far as we obviously know, nobody's called you a 'squealer' as you've never busted said party by calling the cops, either."

Jackie blinked with a puzzled frown. "Really?"

Robby nodded. "Yes. It was Melinda who'd done that, and was called a 'squealer' by her friends and everyone else as a result." A thoughtful expression then crossed his face. "But, Jackie, why do you call yourself a 'social pariah' and feel you can relate to Melinda over that?"

Jackie gently chewed her lower lip in thought, sensing the gazes of Hawk, Demetri, Miguel, Robby, Yasmine and Moon on her. They were waiting for an answer. Well, better to be honest with them now, quick and simple.

She then sighed. "The reason why I can relate to Melinda over how being a 'social pariah' feels is because I'd made a mistake when I cooked up a plan in only wanting to be friends with those who were considered as 'popular' in a sense."

She then paused and noticed how quiet they'd become. Hopefully they were processing everything she'd said so far. She hoped so; she appreciated it.

"Unfortunately," she then said, "that so-called 'plan' of mine didn't work out as well as I thought. The members of the so-called 'popular' crowd chose to ignore me, pass me over and pretend as though I was invisible to them, instead of opening their arms in welcome to me like I'd imagined they would." 

She shrugged. "I felt like a ghost — like I wasn't even there." 

Pausing again, she then queried, "And you want to know what's worse than that?"

"Please tell," said Moon, speaking for herself, Yasmine, Demetri, Hawk, Miguel and Robby. A concerned expression had appeared on Moon's face — the kind which Yasmine knew all too well.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie summoned up her courage. Again it was time for the truth. "I made an even worse decision by ignoring and being mean to those who'd been nice to me and did their best to make me feel welcome, just because they weren't popular themselves." 

"Yikes," Robby murmured, eyes wide. His expression was somewhere between shock and what seemed to be excitement. Jackie wasn't sure she liked that, though.

"Yeah. After realizing the mistake I made when I saw the popular crowd show their true colors by treating me badly, I changed my mind, and decided that kind of popularity just wasn't for me after all. So, I then tried to befriend those who were nice to me, only for them to turn their backs on me and treat me the same way, too."

"How'd that make you feel?" Hawk queried. 

Jackie was unable to repress a shudder. "It made me feel really bad — as though I'd been banished for a mistake I'd never made, but been blamed for by someone else. Like they pulled out my heart, stomped on it while breaking it into many tiny pieces and then finally handing it back to me." A tear fell down her cheek. "I ended up alone because of snubbing those who tried to be nice to me, and being snubbed by those who I'd tried to be nice to. 

"And it all happened because I'd wanted to be popular."

After the last word left her mouth, Jackie sadly lowered her eyes. A thoughtful silence initially spread over the group; Jackie, however, felt as though she was on tenterhooks. She was waiting for them to say they'd changed their minds and had decided they weren't going to be friends with her before finally getting up, turning their backs on her and leaving her behind, thus leaving her to navigate the next four years of high school alone and friendless like before. 

But then Jackie felt Hawk's fingers gently caressing her cheek while wiping the tear away. "Oh, don't worry, princess," he purred, placing his free hand underneath her chin. "You won't have to worry about going through that again."

Yasmine and Demetri exchanged smiles before turning back to Jackie. "Indeed, indeed," nodded Demetri.

"Too true," Yasmine agreed.

Miguel reached over and gently placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder, causing her to make eye contact with him. "My friends are right, Jackie. Your days of sitting alone at lunch and eating by yourself are over, because you now have us, mi querida." With that, he then pulled his hand away from her shoulder.

Moon nodded. "Jackie," she said, her voice holding a stern tone which Yasmine recognized, "if you think we're going to turn our backs on you and leave you behind because of a mistake you made, then you got another thing coming."

Jackie blinked in surprise. "I do?"

Demetri agreed. "Yes. And to be honest, Moon's got a point. No way are you going to be left attempting to navigate the next four years here while alone and friendless. That just doesn't sit right with us."