Alice stared at the TV, sighing. It was playing an episode of The X-Files from the 90s. She was a religious X-Files watcher. They way some of the boys in her class practically killed each other in debates over Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, she debated with people online. The way the girls in her class squealed over the newest movie with some girly-boy pop star, she cooed over a certain someone named Fox Mulder to anyone who would listen. You see, as a religious X-Files watcher she knew she had to follow certain rules. A few examples were: Call yourself an "X-Phile," mention Mulder and Scully at any moment, and, of course, watch The X-Files all the time!

She smiled shyly at the man on the screen. Boy, was she in love with Mulder! Not the actor who played him, oh no. He freaked her out. But Mulder himself. He was so sure of himself, so brave and confident, always standing up for what was right.

A big lesson for an insecure thirteen-year-old.

She wished she could be like him. But no, her black bob seemed too blunt, her brown eyes too muddy, her pale skin too washed out. Her friends called her "Alice-Malice" all the time because of her frequent moodiness and grumbling. Sometimes, she wondered if they were even her friends! Her mother reprimanded her for teenage drama, and her father was convinced that she just wanted attention.

URG!

Mulder said a hilarious line on the TV, and Alice let out a weak giggle. Sighing, she picked up her TV remote and muttered, "Sorry Mulder, Scully." She switched off the TV and peaked out the window of her basement.

It was night.

The moon hung brightly in the sky and stars peppered it. She glanced about for any UFOs, but found none. What Alice did find, however, was a star that shone particularly brightly. A wishing star, it was called. She hadn't made a wish on a star like this since she was eight, but she decided to shoot for it.

"Um… star light, star bright," she recited, struggling to remember the old rhyme. "Um… first star I see tonight." Well, it wasn't the first star she'd seen, but it was by far the most distracting. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." That part she didn't get. But whatever. "I wish that…" Alice trailed off. What did she wish? That she had better friends? That her parents paid a bit more attention to her? That she had a boyfriend? That she had a sibling her own age?

Hmm… my own age, Alice mused. A boyfriend. Wait… a boyfriend! My own age!

"I wish Fox Mulder was my own age!" the teenage girl blurted out. "I… I wish that he went to school with me. And… and… I wish he'd be my boyfriend!" In a quieter tone, she murmured, "I wish that he'd be there to protect me. To save me from bullies. To help me stand up for myself."

With that, the girl trudged upstairs to go to bed.

XXX

"What's wrong, Alice-Malice?" Leslie sneered, throwing her sleek brown hair over her shoulder. "Can't find anyone to be meant to?"

"I'm not mean," Alice murmured to her "best friend."

"What was that, Alice-Malice?" Monica asked, examining her perfectly tanned hand and then twirling a blonde ringlet. "Did you just say you weren't mean? That' s a riot." She finished the last part slightly snarky.

"I said I'm not mean!" Alice snapped to her other "BFF."

"Whoa there, pony," Nicole taunted. "No one said you were mean. Did we girls?"

"No," Leslie, Monica, and Nicole chorused.

"Nicole!" Alice shouted. "You just answered your own question! That doesn't even make sense!"

"Calm down, Alice-Malice," Leslie said with a roll of her eyes. "C'mon guys. Miss Malice obviously needs a chance to cool off." With that, the three girls trotted off to make more trouble.

"I hate you all," Alice muttered as they walked away. What the heck was wrong with them? They were always being rude to her, taunting her. Just to get a rise out of her! It was like they wanted her to be mean! "Are you just proving a point to yourself?" Alice growled quietly.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle blasted and a voice yelled, "Recess is over, eighth graders! The sixth graders'll be comin' out soon, and unless you wanna get trampled, I'd git yer thirteen- and fourteen-year-old butts inside! NOW!"

The entire eighth grade scurried inside to go to their classes. Alice had life science next. Luckily, Leslie had literature, Monica had Spanish, and Nicole had geometry. Alice ran to her locker and put her lunch box inside, grabbed her science textbook and a few other things, and then hustled up the stairs to life science class. So much running, she thought sourly, and went inside her classroom, sitting down at one of the round tables. The people who sat with her were named Dana, Sunny, and Tracy. They were all decent girls, but she wasn't friends with them.

Her teacher, Mr. Morrison, was standing at the front of the room talking to a strange boy. He had sandy brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a pale pallor. From the snatches of conversation that floated from across the room, Alice decided that his voice was serious, yet kind.

Finally, Mr. Morrison turned around with the boy and patted him on the shoulder. "Quiet on the set in five, four, three, two one!" he called to the class. "We have a new student, monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Tracy hissed to Dana with a giggle. "That one's new."

Dana nodded with a chuckle, then turned serious. "A new student in the middle of the year?"

Sunny shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Maybe he just moved here."

"Hey! Troublesome Threesome! Shush your bushes!"

Dana, Tracy, and Sunny giggled. Of course the class giggled at the word "Threesome." It was what Mr. Morrison had dubbed the three girls at the beginning of the year. He was constantly threatening to move them, but never did. He was a cool teacher.

"Anyway, this new chap is named Fox Mulder. Be nice to Mr. Fox here." He covered the new boy's ears and hissed, "I hear he bites."

The class giggled, but not at Mr. Morrison's witty remark. One boy called out, "Mulder? What kind of name is that? Do you have a nickname, Fox? Maybe it should be Moldy Mulder!"

"Ha-ha," the new boy said dryly. He turned to Mr. Morrison and said, "Where do I sit?"

Mr. Morrison glared at the boy who said dubbed Fox Mulder "Moldy," and said, "We're talking after class, Jake." To the new boy, he said, "Next to Alice."

Alice was reeling. Her wish had come true. HER WISH HAD COME TRUE! Fox Mulder was in her class! HE WAS A BOY HER OWN AGE AND HE WAS SITTING NEXT TO HER! "Oh, my God," Alice murmured.

"Raise your hand, Miss Alice," Mr. Morrison chided. "How does Fox know who he's sitting next to?"

Alice raised her hand, muttering, "Sorry."

Fox's face brightened. He walked over to her, smiling. "Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi," Alice murmured. "I'm Alice."

"I'm Dana," Dana piped up with a grin. Dana was so sweet that everyone liked her. Fox was sure to become friends with her. Alice had always thought it was funny that The X-Files had a Dana, and her class had one. But she'd asked Dana before.

Dana didn't even know what The X-Files was. She thought it was a brand of ice cream.

"Hey, that's the name of my best friend back home!" Mulder said excitedly.

Alice's eyes widened.

"I'm Tracy," Tracy said, offering a hand.

Fox shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," he smiled.

Sunny grinned like crazy, practically shouting, "I'M SUNNY!"

"You're also loud," Fox muttered so quietly so that only Alice could hear.

Alice giggled. Part of the wish was that he'd be my boyfriend. Let's hope that part comes true, she thought happily.