When Stephanie finally arrived at the school, she met up with her friends Zoe Gibson and Sabrina Johnson, two girls who were also part of the Goth crowd.
"Hey, girls," Stephanie said. "Sorry I'm a little late, but ..."
"Do I know you?" Zoe asked.
"Excuse me?" Stephanie asked.
"Yeah, who are you?" asked Sabrina.
"What are you two talking about? We've been friends since middle school."
"I've never seen you before in my life," Zoe said.
Stephanie stared at them. What was wrong with them? Why were they treating her like she was a stranger? For a moment, she had a strange thought that maybe she looked different, that maybe they didn't recognize her. But when she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the hallway mirrors, she saw that she looked as normal as ever. Black-dyed hair with blue highlights, pale skin, C-cup breasts, piercings, a spiked collar, a black T-shirt over a fishnet shirt, a black leather miniskirt, fishnet stockings, and a pair of black buckled boots with three-inch stacks. In fact, her overall appearance wasn't too different than Zoe's. Yet, they were treating her as if they'd never seen her before.
