The Odd Girl

The first time I saw her was in class.

I don't remember what class it was.

I don't remember what the teacher was talking about.

What I do remember is her.

She was following a guy around.

A guy I knew.

Her phone was in her hand, and she was just walking behind him for some reason.

I remember looking at her and thinking:

She's odd.

Not in a bad way.

Just odd.

Everything about her felt different.

Her smile.

The way she talked.

The way she acted.

Even the way she dressed.

Everyone else felt predictable.

She didn't.

At first, I didn't think much of it.

She was just another student.

Another face in the hallways.

But every now and then, I would see her.

Sometimes passing through a hallway.

Sometimes talking with her friends.

Sometimes laughing about something I couldn't hear.

And every time I saw her, I noticed the same thing.

She was different.

I couldn't explain why.

I never talked to her.

Never planned to.

In fact, there was no reason for me to think about her at all.

Yet somehow, I kept noticing her.

Not often.

Just enough.

Then the next year came.

I started seeing her more.

She would pass by one of my classes with her friends.

I would glance up for a second.

Then go back to whatever I was doing.

At least that's what I told myself.

Without realizing it, I was paying attention.

Her clothes.

Her hair.

The way she walked.

The way she smiled at almost everyone.

I never sat down and decided to learn these things.

I just knew them.

And I didn't realize how strange that was.

Not yet.

A few months later, I had to go to the counsellor's office.

I was trying to move into a higher-level math class.

After I finished talking, I got up and headed for the door.

As I opened it, I noticed two girls behind me.

One of them was her.

Without thinking much, I held the door open.

They walked through first.

"Thank you," one of them said.

I don't remember which one.

Maybe it was her.

Maybe it wasn't.

I just remember standing there for a second before walking away.

That was it.

Nothing important happened.

At least that's what I thought.

Back then, she was still just the odd girl.

The girl with the smile.

The girl I somehow kept noticing.

Later, at another gathering, I met her mother.

My parents already knew her family.

During the conversation, she showed me a picture.

"Do you know her?"

I looked at the screen.

A girl wearing a pink dress.

Shoulder-length black hair.

A familiar smile.

I stared for a moment.

Then I realized.

It was her.

The girl from school.

The girl I had been seeing all this time.

Funny enough...

I had seen her before.

I just never knew it was her.