When Nadine finally got to her locker, she opened it. Inside, all of her possessions (minus her school books) were gone. In their place was a collection of photos and a book that looked old and worn. She opened the book and saw a bunch of nonsense scribbled out all over the pages. She put the book back and then looked at the photos. They were mainly of herself and two other Goths. One was Zoe and the other was a bizarre-looking girl with blue-dyed dreadlock hair and a weird latex bodysuit. Nadine wasn't sure, but she thought her name was Zelda. In some of the pictures there was a Goth boy. His name was Trevor, she believed.
Something about the pictures caught her eye. Everyone in them was smiling. They actually looked ... happy.
Then a small voice at the back of her mind said Of course they're happy. They're all friends. We're all friends.
She shook her head, pushing that little voice away. "They are not my friends," she whispered to herself. "Tina is my friend. And Paul is my friend." They may have not remembered being friends with Nadine, but she remembered. And she had to hang onto that life, even if it no longer existed. Because whatever was lost could always be reclaimed. It might take a lot of time, but she could get things back to normal.
"Nadine," she heard a boy say, from behind her. She turned around and immediately was disgusted. It was Trevor Blake, the Goth boy from her photos.
"What do you want?"
"Zoe said you were acting strange. I just wanted to see if you were okay."
It was hard to look at him. And it wasn't just one thing, it was everything. His spiky black hair, his spiked collar, his fishnet shirt, his black leather skirt (most definitely his skirt), his black boots, his black eyeliner, his black lipstick ... all of it.
But there was something else. Something she didn't expect to see. It was ... love? No, that couldn't be right. How could a boy this messed up even show the least bit of compassion? The whole idea just clashed. But it was true. She could see it in his eyes ... his black eye-lined eyes. He cared about her. Really cared.
"... excited about tonight?" Nadine was so focused on his eyes that she missed most of what Trevor was asking her.
"Excited?" she asked, as if coming out of a daze.
"About the party."
"Party?"
"Yeah, the one at my house."
"Uh ... sure." Nadine wasn't really into parties. The ones that teenagers went to, that was.
"Remember, you don't have to bring anything this time. I've got all the food and drinks and music. And I also still have the cards and the board. You never came by to pick them back up."
"Board?" she asked.
"Yeah. You know, the Ouija board?"
"Ouija board?" This snapped Nadine out of her momentary daze. "That thing is evil."
Trevor looked oddly at her. "Since when do you think that?"
"Since always."
"But ... you're the one that usually initiates it."
Nadine started to become sickened by this line of discussion. She couldn't believe she was actually going to go this pagan party. What was wrong with her?
"I suppose you think tarot cards are evil too," he said, jokingly.
"They are," Nadine said, before getting her stuff for her first period class and slamming her locker door.
"Zoe was right. You are acting weird," Trevor said.
She spun towards him. "Listen, just leave me alone okay?" She took another look at his outfit and groaned. "And wear some pants. You're supposed to be a boy, right?" Then she walked away.
Trevor looked down at his skirt. Nadine never had a problem with his clothes before. In fact, she always seemed to like what he wore. What was with her today?
