1
Tears ran down the sides of her face, falling onto the pillow below. Her eyes were red and puffy from being angrily blotted with a tissue too many times. She feels the fatigue setting into her bones. She has no energy left to be angry, only sadness is left.
After sitting through one of her Sex Education classes at school that day, Waverly Earp had realised that she sat outside of what people would consider ‘the norm’. The strange feelings that she would have about females from time to time were not something that every girl had. She was different. Usually, girls would only have those feelings about boys. As Mr Del Rey addressed the class and informed them about these so-called ‘homosexuals’, she could hear the mutters and snickers from her classmates. She hadn’t realised, but from gaging the reactions of her peers, they must not be people who are respected by others.
She had decided that she would tell no one. Not even Wynonna; her usual confidant. At 11 years of age, she felt like she had just discovered a secret that would change the course of her life forever. She knew that she would be looked at the same if she told her family and friends that she liked girls. So, that night before she went to sleep, she made herself a vow; she would never let anyone know that she was gay.
The following Monday, Waverly walked into class with determination and courage written all over her face. She was not going to let this one revelation ruin the image that she was attempting to meticulously build. She was smart. She was confident. She was sporty. Nothing would change that.
Her façade began to crack, however, at the arrival of a lanky redhead. The girl knocked gently on the doorframe before taking a pink form to the teacher at the front of the room and flashing her dimples. Once the teacher had signed in the designated area, she pointed the new girl to a seat diagonally in front of Waverly. The redhead sat and turned her attention to the teacher as the class fell silent.
‘Folks, I would like to introduce you to Nicole Haught. She’s starting here today so please, be kind and welcoming like I know you can.’ Mrs Lucado, the school’s English teacher broke the silence, and Waverly’s stare at the back of the new girl, Nicole’s, head. The rest of the class continued as per usual, but Waverly found her attention flicking to the girl at random intervals.
Waverly blanched. How was she supposed to keep this whole ‘gay’ thing under wraps with a girl like that around? Why did she feel so immediately drawn to this girl? She’d had feelings for other females before, but they’d always been fleeting and controllable. She wondered if this is what a crush might feel like.
At lunch time, she was sitting in her usual lunchtime spot, waiting for Chrissie and Jeremy to arrive. She was digging around in her bag, trying to find her sandwich and apple juice when she heard someone gently clear their throat.
‘Hi, I’m Nicole Haught,’ she began. ‘Um… this is my first day here and I was just wondering if I could sit with you? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to, I just recognised you from English this morning and I don’t really have any friends yet and…’
‘Of course you can sit here,’ Waverly interjected, her heart catching in her throat as she noticed the light blush gracing Nicole’s cheeks. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Nicole. I’m Waverly Earp.’