Today's the day. Let's get this over with. I pick out a formal outfit to look professional. It may sound like I'm extra, but it was part of the criteria. Apparently, appearance matters in the lab. I thought scientists could look like they haven't showered in a month since they'd be stuck in the lab researching and wouldn't go out.

I wear a striped, light blue, button-up shirt with elbow-length sleeves; a black fitted, pencil skirt with a slit on the side; and a pair of one-inch high, nude pumps. Lastly, I put my hair up in a ponytail and head to school confidently.

. . .

I go to my locker to get my books when Roxie comes from behind and jumps on me. "Whatchu doing dressed so formally?" she whispers into my ear, making me giggle. I turn around to look at what she's wearing to see that she's just wearing light pink trousers with a bow on the waistline and a tucked-in, plain white, button-up shirt paired with some black ballet flats.

"I'm dressed like so," I gesture my hands towards my body, "because in the criteria, it said to look professional."

"So are you saying I'm not dressed like an expert Chemist?" she gasps, feigning offense. "Don't talk to me, Miss Perfect." She puts her hand up, turning her face away from me.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that. I know you love me, Roxie!" I coo, clinging onto her. We both laugh and head to our classes. Since Chemistry is 4th period, I have to go to classes dressed in the clothes I picked for it.

I didn't think about bringing extra clothes so that when it's time for class, I could just change into the 'professional' clothes then. Instead, I'm stuck with walking around in the tight pencil skirt through all three periods before lunch. Why am I so dumb? Don't answer that.

When lunch came around, I lay my head on the lunch table, tired from walking in heels for half the day. "This is why I wore flats, girl," Roxie says as she sits down next to me. "Here, eat some of my ice cream. You'll feel better after." She feeds me as a mother would to a baby.

"Can I join you guys?" We turn around to see who is asking. Kendall was standing right there looking like the CEO of a freaking company. He is dressed in a black suit with his hair styled professionally. He makes me feel inferior to him, which I am. I look at myself, embarrassed that I'm wearing these clothes, embarrassed that I have the audacity to stand next to a stylish man like Kendall himself.

He stands there waiting for a response that permits him to sit with us, which makes no sense because he could choose any table he wanted without asking permission, but he decided to choose ours.

"Of course you can, Kendall!" Roxie exclaims with a big smile on her face. He starts walking to the other side of the table when Roxie abruptly stands up and crawls under the table to cross to the other side and settle down. "Oh sorry, I just want a whole bench to myself right now. You can sit with Violet over there though." She points at me, her eyes glinting in mischief.

It was obvious what she was trying to do, but I didn't stop her because I knew if I did, it wouldn't end well. I remember back in freshman year when I first met her, she was such a confident girl. The totally and utterly complete opposite of me. We both had a crush on a guy in our class, and we decided to just ignore him for the sake of our friendship.

Then one day, he came up to me and confessed. Roxie, being the amazing and understanding friend, supported us. Later on, we found out it was a bet his friends made him do because they knew we liked him. Roxie was so furious she decided to put itching powder in his clothes during gym class. I tried to stop her, but we ended up spilling the powder over ourselves.

We were caught in the boy's locker room by the coach and got detention. We were itching for a week. I warned Roxie not to do things that extreme anymore. She said she'd try but couldn't promise anything. This is why if anything serious happens, I don't tell her anymore unless I trust that she wouldn't flip out over it.

Kendall chuckles and settles down next to me. "You look good, Violet."

"Thanks...You too," I comment.

We eat in silence when Roxie interrupts, "So, Kendall, are you going to the Halloween party Friday night?"

"Yeah, I asked my parents, and they let me." He smiles.

"Well, what are you going as? Violet's going as a girl from the '50s in a poodle skirt, and I'm going as Harley Quinn," she says while eating her ice cream.

"Hm, I don't know, but those are some pretty good costume ideas."

"How about you be my Joker, Kendall?" she asks with no expression on her face. He hesitates for a while and looks at me. I look at her as if she's crazy, and she smirks. Then, she turns to face Kendall.

"I'm just kidding, Kendall! Why so serious? I would never ask that of you. My heart belongs to the girl sitting next to you." She blows a kiss towards me, and I sigh, shaking my head at her silliness. Kendall chuckles and resumes eating.

The bell rings, and all of us head to Chemistry. We sit next to each other, ready for our presentations. When it is our turn, everyone starts whispering. I walk past a brunette whispering to a redhead. "Look at her. She can't compare to our Kenny. He deserves someone like me. Look at that slit in her skirt. She must've wanted to seduce him with her scrawny legs. How disgusting." They snicker wickedly.

I felt bad. I pull on the hem of my skirt and try to cover the slit. As if knowing I felt nervous, Kendall puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it gently, trying to assure me. I swallow my fear and put on a smile then start by introducing our topic.

After the presentations, the teacher records our grades and starts another topic. I focus on the class, ignoring the comment I heard the two girls make. As the class goes on, my mind wanders. You're very beautiful, do you know that? Don't let what others say stop you from being who you are and what you like doing. I will always be here to support you whenever you need me...because I like you, Violet. I've liked you for a very long time.

The bell sounds, and I come back to reality. Another daydream of Kendall? I hope they stop. It is already the end of the class. When did the time go by so quickly? Everyone is already scurrying out of the class. I quickly stand up and start to pack my bag for the following class. I look at Roxie, who is sleeping on her desk next to mine. Just then, someone taps my shoulder. I turn around to see Kendall. "Oh, hi. You're still here?" I ask.

"Yeah, I noticed that you didn't take any notes for half of the class. Would you like my notebook to get the notes?" I stare at his outstretched hand that's holding his green notebook. I hesitated to take it, wondering if I should.

"It's fine. It's not considered copying." I look up at him, and he smiles.

"Thank you very much then. I'll give it back tomorrow." I take the book from his hands and stuff it into my bag. I turn around and shake Roxie awake from her slumber. "Wake up, Roxanne. We'll be late for class." She sits upright and scrambles to get her stuff. I take her hand and run out of the classroom. Not even looking back to see if Kendall rushed to classes either.

After classes, I go straight home and start copying the notes I had missed from daydreaming in class. I open Kendall's book and am flummoxed. His writing isn't what I thought it would look like. It was a weird kind of cursive. Crint, I would say; cursive and print. I guess there is one thing he isn't that good at. I finish copying all the notes and stuff the book into my bag.

I am in charge of dinner tonight, and I decide to make spaghetti with meatballs. I made it from my favorite recipe; the one mom taught me when I was little. Our family loved her spaghetti. In fact, we loved whatever she cooked for us. She was like our private, famous chef in the family.

Thinking about the good times we had as a family together, my eyes start to water. I wipe away my tears and continue to mix the tomato sauce. Suddenly, my phone rings in my bag. I take it out of my bag and look to see that the caller ID is Kendall Williams. I clear my throat and answer the call. "Hello?" I use my shoulder to hold the phone to my ear and set the sauce aside then start making the meatballs.

"Hi, Violet." His voice sounds so sweet. It's probably my imagination though.

"What's up?" I ask as I roll the raw meat into spheres.

"I just wanted to talk. Oh, did you finish copying the notes?" he asks. He just wants to talk?

"Yeah, I finished some time ago." I set the meatballs onto a greased pan and put them into the preheated oven.

"Oh, okay. So, what are you doing?" he asks slowly. I pour the pasta into a pot of boiling water to cook.

"I'm just preparing dinner for Owen and Aunt Carrie," I tell him but realize that he doesn't know who Owen is. "Oh, yeah. Owen is my older brother."

"Yes, I know. When you registered to our school, I received information about you and your family. As the president of the student council, I need to know the information of all the students that attend our school," he states. I turn off the stove and drain the water out.

"Ah, okay. What are you doing?" I take out three plates and divide the pasta among them.

"I'm just going out," he answers. I pour the sauce onto the pasta. I open the oven and forgetting how burning hot the pan is, I reach out for it with my bare hands.

"AH! Dang it!" I retract my arm and stumble back, causing my arm to get pierced by a kitchen knife I left on the counter behind me, and my phone falls onto the floor. I touch the part of my arm that's stinging from the small gash the knife gave me. The bright red blood trickles down to my elbow and drips onto the beige marble floor.

"VIOLET?! VIOLET! WHAT HAPPENED?!" I pick up the phone and grab a paper towel to soak up the blood.

"Yes, I'm here. Sorry, I dropped my phone." I take another paper towel to wipe the blood off the floor.

"What happened? I heard you yell." He sounds very concerned.

"Nothing. I just burnt my hand a little," I reply and hear a knock at the door.

"Sorry, I gotta go. Someone's at the door. Bye." I hang up and reach for the door. I open it to see Kendall standing there in casual clothes and furrowed brows, and I freeze in my spot. How did he know where I live? Wait, never mind. He's the president of the student council. What's he doing here?

"Violet, are you okay? May I come in?" I nod and let him in then close the door behind us. He turns around to face me.

"Your arm! It's bleeding! I thought you burnt your hand." He grabs more paper towels and wraps them around my cut, making me wince in pain. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do it so harshly. Where are the bandages?" He looks around.

"They're in the cabinet over there." I point to where they're located. "Why did you come?"

"I wanted to sur.....get my notebook back faster because I need it to study." He takes the rather large bandage and sticks it onto the bleeding wound. "What about your hand? Let me see." I stretch out my hand for him to inspect. His touch sends electric shocks all over my body, and my face feels hot. "It's red. Come here and run some water on it." He leads me towards the sink and turns on the faucet, letting the cold water soothe my hand.

"It'll be fine. It's just a slight burn." I retract my arm from his hold. He sits down on a stool with a frown on his face.

"How did this happen?" he asks, and I force a smile onto my face.

"It was just an accident. I forgot to wear oven mitts," I answer and give a sheepish smile. He sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

"You're so clumsy, Violet." He shakes his head. "Come over here." I obey him unconsciously and walk over. He holds my hand in his, and it instantly feels better. Just then, the door opens, and Owen saunters in.

"Oh, Violet," he says in a singsong voice and twirls around. Then, his eyes land on Kendall holding my hand affectionately. "The heck is going on here?!" he questions, and Aunt Carrie follows in.

"Oh, we got company?" she asks as her eyebrow raises in curiosity. Both of them cross their arms across their chest, waiting for an explanation of what's happening before them. Kendall and I both give a slight, nervous smile.