Me, You, & The Party Rock Crew

“All of the people start to rush. (Start to rush by)” – Lady Gaga, Just Dance, 2008.

Math wasn’t Izzie’s strongest suit, and being in a brand new school where about 80% of the school’s freshman population had some knowledge of each other—had her even more perplexed and frankly, even more on edge when it came to making friends. Izzie was on week two and so far she was making steady progress–finally.

She’d befriended a total of 6 people just from her algebra class—and adjacent. The first is Andrew, Drew, for short. The guy was into EDM, had an incredibly popular upperclassman sister, and had baby blue eyes that made half the girls swoon. Then there was Hatter, who insisted that was his name. He gave off serious 70s energy, and Izzie wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d time-traveled from the throes of Woodstock. 

As she entered the classroom, she caught Mikey–aka “Edward Cullen”–in a heated whisper argument with Drew across the room. Their middle school rivalry had apparently carried into high school. Mikey, smug as ever, leaned back with a grin, while Drew rolled his eyes. 

Across from them, Lily, sweet, demure, and incredibly smart, was already halfway through the day’s assignment. If Hermione Granger and Annabeth Chase had a lovechild, it would be Lily Cherry–pronounced like sherry, the wine. 

Steven, dubbed the fastest freshman alive, was another classmate, and he would later marry Lily. And finally, there was Simon Mankowski–the rising cross-country star, who had been homeschooled throughout middle school and came from a devout Catholic family. 

Izzie slid into her seat just as the final bell rang and noticed a new face beside her. The seat had been empty for a while–mostly because Hatter reeked of marijuana. Luckily, they sat by the window, so most of the smell aired out. When she turned, she realized Steven’s seat was empty. It made sense. 

Simon and Steven had been inseparable since pre-K. Same neighborhood, same elementary school, same everything. If Steven was around, Simon wasn’t far behind–it was practically a law of nature. So when Steven was out sick that day, Simon looked almost…lost. 

“Hey,” he croaked, his voice heavy with sleep. 

Izzie quirked a brow. It was third period, for crying out loud–how was he still exhausted? She’d been wide awake since second period, mostly out of the fear that Mr. Montino–Big Mo, as he was nicknamed–would bellow at her like he had to some poor, unfortunate kid earlier that week. 

“Hi?” She responded cautiously, eyes darting towards the door. She had terrible luck when it came to timing. Every time she wanted to start a conversation, Ms. Flores, their algebra teacher, would sweep in with an endearing, but nerdy math fact of the day. This time, however, there was no sign of her just yet. 

“You sound like you’ve been in a coma for two years or something. You okay?” Izzie chuckled. 

“Second-period study hall: a blessing and a curse,” he yawned. 

“Ugh, you’re lucky then,” she let out a huff. Second-period study hall was practically a free nap thrown into the morning if you couldn’t recovery from first period. 

“In a sense, I guess,” he laughed, and for the first time in her adolescent life, Izzie felt her heart skip a beat. He then extended his hand. 

“Simon Mankowski.”

“Isabella Wallace, or Izzie.”

“Wait,” he waved his hands around. “You’re THE Isabella Wallace?–The Bullet?”

Izzie blinked, taken aback. Had she really made that much of an impression already? Her nickname hadn’t even spread that fast at her old school. Was this how Aspen Brook worked? She hesitated, debating if she should act nonchalant, but her curiosity won out. 

“How’d you know about that?”

“Coaches talk, I’m nosy, and my coach wanted you to join the cross country team. Heard you said no.”

“I’m not all about long-distance running, honestly. The only time I’m running is after a ball.”

“That’s fair. I also heard that you’re up for JV or Varsity during the season, is that true?”

“Allegedly. Who knows. I’m trying not to get a big head about it, you know?” She chuckled, though part of her was slightly concerned by how much he already knew about her while she couldn’t tell if his eyes were lime green, emerald green, or just reflecting his bright green shirt.

Before he could respond, Ms. Flores entered in all her mathematician glory. 

“Meet up after class? What do you have next?” Simon whispered, his whisper surprisingly skilled. Izzie, known for being loud and proud, was not a skilled whisperer–but she was excellent at note-passing.

Appearing to take notes she ignored Simon until she casually slid him a paper: 

Sure! 😊 Sadly, freshman seminar, then lunch. You?

Simon’s eyes lit up as he quickly wrote back:

Health class. It’s on the way there. We can walk together?

Izzie glanced over, giving him a knowing look, and nodded. Just like that, she had made a new friend. Though she didn’t know it at the time, Simon–the boy who made her heart flutter–was about to change her life. 

By the end of the period, Simon packed up at lightning speed while Izzie, ever meticulous, took her time. Still, he waited for her, and together, they navigated the construction-ridden hallways, getting to know each other. Within their five-minute power walk, their steps fell into sync, drawing the attention of upperclassmen who thought they were doing it on purpose. 

Izzie learned a lot in a short span of time. Simon’s favorite colors were green, blue, and purple. His birthday was May 17th–just three and a half weeks after hers. He had an older sister named Delilah and a younger sister named Raphaela, making him the middle child and only boy. The dynamic mirrored Izzie’s own with her sister, Analeah, who had passed away 5 years prior, two first cousins, the twins: Eduardo “Eddie”, the eldest, and Danielle “Dani” the youngest.

By the time they had to part ways, they had already come up with a handshake, and Izzie had the goofiest smile on her face. 

“Oooh, Izzie has a cruuuuush!” Theo teased obnoxiously. He had a lot of nerve for someone who’d dated a quarter of the freshman class. 

“I don’t! It was just a good conversation!” she whined.

“Oh, the lady doth protest too much,” Carter smirked.

“Alright ladies, lay off the romance novels,” Hattie rolled her eyes. “Not every guy and girl are destined to be in cahoots with each other.” 

“Thank you,” Izzie mouthed. “And besides, if I did like him–which I don’t–I would have been way more giggly. We’ve seen the pattern.” 

Hattie nodded, quirking a brow. She could see right through Izzie’s statement while Theo and Carter remained none-the-wiser. Not five minutes ago, Izzie had let out a laugh so loud half the hallway heard it over something Simon said. It wasn’t even that funny. Hattie wouldn’t call her bluff in front of the boys, but she had a feeling there was something between them–she just couldn’t put her finger on what.