_That girl is sitting by herself._

From the moment I walked into history, an annoying first period to have, I noticed the strange desk set-up. Mr. B moved his desks from rows to tables, shoving 5 of the slightly-too-small middle school chairs together.

Everyone cliqued up immediately. That wasn’t surprising. What _was_ surprising was the girl in the back.

There were plenty of empty seats. But people took chairs from her table to sit next to their friends at the desks nearby. It was a depressing sight, really. I didn’t even remember her name. She was always so quiet, and didn’t indulge the crude nature of our classmates. Especially not at 9 in the morning.

But the fact remained: she was sitting by herself.

I’m not one to take risks. I like to keep my reputation in check. It keeps me comfortable and safe. These were rough times.

Despite this, there was something about her. She was so quiet. So sad-looking. She held a book in her hand like she didn’t even care how out of place she looked in such a social setting.

There were 3 chairs left at her table.

I had 2 friends waiting for me at another table.

_God, don’t make me regret this.. _

She looked startled when I sat down. Gray and Josh stared at me from the table they’d chosen. The COVID mask over her face hid most of her expression, but I could see in her eyes something I couldn’t identify. Honestly, she looked a bit _scared_.

“So… _Aurora Rising_?” Novel by Amie Koffman. 2 books so far, another coming out soon. A hopeful and inspiring sci-fi trilogy. “I love that book.”

“Uh- yeah. Thanks.” It was an odd thing to say, but I let it slide. She was probably just shocked that I was talking to her, or just tired since it was so early. She did nothing but exhale softly. “I like it, so far. It’s good.”

“Isn’t it?” I took out my notebook. Not that we actually did any work in this class. Mr. B was a chill teacher. “My favorite character is Finian. Who’s yours?”

Okay, so maybe a bit of an awkward start. But it’s not like this girl was faring much better. From the few times I’d seen her before, she wasn’t very socially apt. Not that such a thing was _bad_, per se. Just maybe… not one of her skills. I was like that once.

“…Scarlet.” Ah, the badass. Of course. Such a shy person would favor the confident, outgoing character. It made sense.

I smiled at her, which she couldn’t really see under my own mask. Josh moved, and out of the corner of my eye. He moved his backpack, motioning for Gray to do the same. They joined us at the table.

Once they got themselves settled, and the awkward silence moved out of the way, the girl closed her book. “Hey…?”

“Hi.” Gray, ever the extrovert, made himself at home. His half-eaten breakfast sandwich sat in front of him. He took off his mask. “Did you guys do the reading last night?”

“Nobody does the reading.” Josh rolled his eyes, scooting his desk so that it sat evenly with the others.

It was true. Nobody read. I glanced at Mr. B, who was organizing what was probably our assignment for the week. Awesome. We were screwed.

“…I did.” The girl, _I really need to ask for her name_, sheepishly looked to the side. “I was bored last night.”

“Oh, perfect! Can you summarize?” Gray took a bite out of his sandwich, blinking expectantly at her.

“Uh, oh, o-of course!” She looked excited. “It was basically about the Colombian Exchange. The most important thing to know is that it’s a massive trade movement. Goods moving from continent to continent. It’s also important to note that it’s still happening today.”

We all nodded, readying our pencils as Mr. B announced the hell that was a homework quiz. I did feel a little guilty; it felt like we were using the girl for answers. But she seemed content to give them, and looked pretty excited at the prospect of people sitting with her.

I watched the name she scribbled at the top of her paper.

_Diana_. I’ll have to remember that.