Be Who You Are
written on Dec. 27th, 2006
written by JolieMarie- - -
Be who you are and say what you feel
Because those who mind don't matter
And those who matter don't mind."
- Dr. Seuss - - -

Gabriella was absentmindedly flipping the pages of her mocha-brown textbook, not giving a care of the words printed on the plain pages. She wasn't usually like this. She would always read her books, even if she knew the subject. She liked to refreshen her memory.

But not today. The teasing started. The cruelty, the taunting. People got used to having her as Troy's crush. They did not, however, feel like accepting her. The school returned to it's normal self. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

It occurred during her Algebra II class. The teacher had been passing back the tests, one that almost everyone in her class did miserably on. Except for Gabriella, who got 100 percent. Her class was filled with large Juniors and Seniors, and she was a mere Freshman. She was smarter than the whole class, and everyone knew. Everyone despised her for it. They were jealous. They were lazy students who didn't study, so they failed their tests. She studied, she passed.

The teacher had told her class that if everyone in the class had gotten below a B on the test, that she would make the grade not count. Unfortunately, she told the class that one student managed to get a good grade. Immediately, they all shifted in their chairs to face Gabriella and gave her cold, icy glares. At that moment, Gabriella wished for a black hole to appear, which she would happily agree to jump into and vanish.

The bell rang, and the students shuffled out of their seats. As they passed her, a few muttered, "Freaky math girl", "Teacher's pet", and even curse words. One student had even accidentally shoved her books to the floor.

Feeling the tears spring to her eyes, she bent down and picked them up slowly, grateful that her long hair covered her face, which was ready to be rained down on by tears. Shaking her head, she took a shaky breath and got up, settling the books in her bag and walking towards the library.

It was a month after the musical, and Ms. Darbus had ordered that no one was allowed in her temple of the arts, as she was working with Kelsi on the Spring Musicale. She would usually go to watch Troy play a game of basketball in the gym, but the season was now over. So, she started to go to the library to study with Taylor.

She felt lucky that Taylor had left to the dentist a few hours before, and she wouldn't be back in time for free period. She would be able to settle herself comfortably on the couch and read her book in silence, not having to give reason to Taylor of why her eyes were red, why her nose was running and stuffy, and why her voice shook.

She walked into the empty library, glancing at the few students that were doing their homework on the desks. She moved hastily, maneuvering her way to the couch in the back of the library. She huffed, glad that no one had gotten to the cream-colored couch yet. She walked to it and dramatically sat herself down, setting her bag on the other side and folding her legs on the soft cushion. She pulled out her textbook and grabbed the stool next to her, pulling it over and putting the book on it for a steady balance.

She wasn't in the mood for studying. She was in the mood for crying, contemplating what would happen the next day. She dreaded that class. They made her dislike math. Something she never thought she would.

Here she was, reviewing the chapter without having it process through her mind. She had thought about when she moved to Albuquerque. Promising herself she would start off fresh, become who she was really, she packed her backs and headed to another state. Now look at where she was. Leaving her passion for the happiness of others. The influence they had on her was amazing.

She heard her bag fall to the floor, and she looked up to see who had sat next to her. She stared into the piercing blue eyes looking back at her.

"Hey, freaky math girl." Gabriella slightly winced.

"Hey, Troy," she said softly. He reached his hand over and wiped away the tears she had from earlier away with him thumb. He knew something was wrong. Whenever he greeted her with that title, she would greet him with his; freaky callback boy.

"What's wrong?" He asked, bringing his hand back.

"Nothing. It's really dumb," Gabriella said, not looking him in the eye.

"You wouldn't be crying if it didn't have any impact." He cupped her chin, turning it to him as he playfully squeezed her cheeks to mimic a blowfish. She giggled, as he kept his hand there.

"Stupid math class," Gabriella said, trying to sound serious as hard as she could. She gave up, laughing at how her voice sounded. Troy laughed with her before he grabbed her hands and held them with his.

"It's stupid math class. Because I was the only person to study, I got an A on my test. The other's didn't, and if I had done bad, she would've waved the test." Troy's mouth formed an "O" as he smiled, hugging her.

"I'm so glad you got an A." He released Gabriella, and spoke in a girl's voice. "I'm going to bake you a whole stack of cookies, and you're going to eat the whole batch because you deserve to be fat for one day." They laughed whole-heartedly before Troy stood up, going to get a book. He walked into an aisle, spending a few moments there before coming back with a small book.

He sat on the couch and handed it to her. She raised her eyebrows and he signed with exasperation as he opened. "Fine, Montez. Make me do all the work," he said dramatically. He opened to a certain page.

"Troy, it's Dr. Seuss." He looked at her, giving her a serious look, shrugging his body.

"So?" Troy asked seriously. Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully as Troy handed her the book. She looked down and read the passage out loud. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

She smiled warmly, looking up at Troy who shrugged sheepishly. "What can I say? Man speaks words of wisdom." He got up, settling the book under his arms as he looked down at Gabriella, who was still smiling at him. He lowered himself down and kissed her forehead, before he got back up and stood straight.

"Think about it." Then he left. And she did as she was told. She nodded her head lightly, returning back to her textbook and processing the information through her mind. She studied hard that period. She wouldn't let anyone get to her. Thankfully, she had Troy to bring her to that.

Later on in the day, Troy opened his locker and saw a note for him.

Thanks, freaky callback boy.