8:15 AM
I woke up with a giant pimple on my chin. Great. It's like my body knew I had to sit next to Chloe today and decided to give her something to laugh at. I named the pimple "Gary." Gary is big, red, and hurts whenever I move my face. I tried to cover him with makeup, but now it just looks like I have a tiny beige hill on my chin. I hope Chloe is too busy looking at herself in her mirror to notice my "new friend" Gary.
10:45 AM
English class was so annoying. Chloe showed up late, as usual. She smelled like very expensive flowers and was holding a fancy coffee. She sat down, looked at my face, and then looked at my notebook. She sighed like working with me was the worst thing in the world.
"So," I said. I tried to sound like I knew what I was doing. "I think we should do our project on the book The Great Gatsby."
Chloe didn't even look up from her phone. Her long nails made a click-click-click sound on the screen. "Is that the one with the guy in the yellow car? I saw the movie. The actor was cute. Let's just do that."
"Chloe, we have to actually read the book for the project," I told her.
She looked at me like I was speaking a different language. "Um, why? I'll just look it up online. Also, can you make all the slides? I'm really bad at picking fonts, and I have to get my hair done on Tuesday."
I just sat there. I wanted to say no, but I just nodded my head like a toy. I really need to learn how to say "no" to people.
1:00 PM
Lunch was a bit better, but not much. My friend Maya tried to give me advice on how to handle Chloe.
"You should just tell her that her hair looks messy," Maya said while eating a nugget. "She will get so upset that she'll leave you alone."
"Maya, I can't say that! I'm not a mean person," I said.
Maya just shook her head. "Elara, you are too nice. That's why people like Chloe treat you like a doormat."
Right then, Julian walked by. He is the quiet boy from the soccer team. He accidentally tripped over a backpack on the floor. He didn't fall, but he had to do a funny little dance to stay on his feet. He saw me watching, turned very red, and walked away fast. It was actually kind of cute. It made me feel better to know that even "cool" kids have clumsy moments.
9:00 PM
I'm at home now, and I'm still thinking about the project. Chloe hasn't sent me any notes. I saw her posting pictures at the mall on my phone. It makes me so mad. Why do I have to do all the work while she has fun?
I opened my science notebook to write a poem, but I ended up drawing a picture instead. I drew a tiny girl in a big sweater standing up to a giant girl with a coffee cup.
Maybe tomorrow I will finally tell Chloe that she needs to help. Or maybe I'll just make the project so good that the teacher knows I did all the work. Either way, Gary the pimple and I are going to bed.