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Note: This is the sequel to "Perfect or Not".
Zoranina and her classmates waited in the classroom for
their teacher, Mrs Owen, to arrive in the classroom and give them a lesson on
Grammar and Language. The boys were talking about sports and throwing paper
airplanes to the popular girls, who were chatting about Usuki Dolls and fashion.
But Zoranina did not. She sat at her desk, drawing.
She drew a cloud Chomby holding hands with Jojoe, the green Mynci from M*YNCI.
She wasn't interested in Usuki Dolls and fashion. She wasn't like all the other
girls. She liked reading, writing, and using her imagination. But she especially
liked to draw.
There are many things you can draw: a boat sailing
on the ocean, or maybe circles and triangles. Or you can draw an ice cream cone
or fruit in a basket. But Zoranina always drew the same thing. And every time
she drew, she drew herself, a cloud Chomby, with Jojoe. And every time she got
better at it.
Zoranina always wished she could be with that
special Mynci... her crush.
"Ooh!" said _Beautty the blue Uni. "Looks like
Zoranina's drawing her and her crush... again! Look, Zoranina! I hate to break
it to you, but you're never gonna meet him! Jojoe from M*YNCI is famous, Zoranina!"
"Well," said Zoranina softly. "I believe that
anything is possible!"
"Oh really?" said _Beautty. "Then fly!"
Zoranina moved her desk away into a little corner.
She began to cry. She just kept thinking about how jealous they were, and that
they wanted to be just like her. But why would they be jealous? Their mothers
did nothing but buy them Usuki Dolls so that they could stop acting sad all
the time!
"I love you!" whispered Zoranina to herself,
in her corner. "One day I'll meet you! But when?"
***
"Hey! Zoranina! Why don't you kiss your picture?" said _Beautty once the class
was at recess. _Beautty kissed the air with her lips. "Maybe the picture will
kiss you back!"
Why did all the girls have to make fun of Zoranina?
She hadn't done anything to hurt them! She hadn't harmed them in any way! Zoranina
didn't deserve to be made fun of! She had a passion! They did too! Passion for
Usuki Dolls! Was that any different?
"Why do you girls do this to her?" asked a blue
Usuki Zoranina didn't know. But what she did know was that the Usuki was in
the 8th grade. "What has she done to you?"
"Mind your own beeswax!" said _Beautty. "C'mon
girls! Let's go!"
_Beautty and her friends walked away. Zoranina
stared at the blue Usuki... her hero!
"Thank you," said Zoranina, in shock. "Thank
you... very much!"
"My name is Surfi348!" said the blue Usuki.
"But you can call me Surfi! What's yours?"
"Zoranina!" said Zoranina happily. Finally!
Somebody who understood her! It was as if Surfi was an angel!
"So you like M*YNCI too, eh?" said Surfi. "Yeah...
they're my favorite!"
Zoranina and Surfi walked together sat to one
of the green benches in the recess yard. They decided to stick together when
people made fun of them.
"Thanks for sticking up to the girls for me!"
said Zoranina happily. "I don't have a lot of friends... that's because all
the girls make fun of me! I wish they would stop it!"
"Yes. I know what you mean!" said Surfi. She
sighed. "A few years ago, all the girls used to make fun of me too! That's because
I was crazy about M*YNCI, and they weren't... but I guess I got used to it...
and I don't care anymore!"
"Yeah... I guess I'm kinda' like you... except
I'm not over them yet. Everyday I feel sad because they make fun of me. My mom
tells me they're just jealous... but what would they be jealous about?"
"That you're prettier than them! You are
painted cloud, after all!" said Surfi. "And that you're nicer! They're probably
jealous because you're better than them! They just can't admit it, that's all!"
Zoranina smiled. She had never thought of that.
And that was probably true! They were all just spoiled! Yeah! Suddenly, Zoranina
felt happy. Now it was over... she knew now they were just jealous, and the
reason made sense to her!
The school bell rang, and all the children went
back to their classes.
***
Zoranina and her class waited yet another time for their teacher to arrive.
Mr Lupid was always late, so they weren't surprised. It was usually because
Mr Lupid had a lot of errands to do, like buy new paper and markers. He always
explained how the older kids were a bunch of troublemakers! They liked to waste
the ink in markers and make silly excuses like "Um... my friends told me to".
And some smart excuses like "Big deal! You're just gonna go buy some more, anyway!"
"Here we go again!" said _Beautty, staring at Zoranina's picture. She took it
up in her hands and showed it to all the class. "It's Mrs. M*YNCI drawing her
husband again!"
The whole class laughed. _Beautty went to the
class photocopier and copied Zoranina's picture. She handed out copies to everyone
in the class. Zoranina started to feel her eyes get teary, and she tried to
hold her tears, but she couldn't. Tears ran down her cheeks, and onto her picture.
Zoranina decided she had had enough. While the
class continued to laugh and make fun of her, she took her paper in one paw
and raced out the door. At the same time Zoranina left the classroom, Mr Lupid
entered it. When he saw Zoranina cry, he sighed and followed her.
"Zoranina? Zoranina? What's wrong?" he asked
as he followed her. "Oh man... it's not your silly class making fun of you again,
is it?"
"Just leave me alone!" Zoranina cried. "I don't
want to talk about it!"
"You always say that!" pleaded Mr Lupid. "And
when I talk to you, you're always happy after! C'mon!"
Zoranina kept crying, and she continued down
the hall.
"Did you know... did you know all the children
I knew used to make fun of me, too?" said Mr Lupid to Zoranina.
Zoranina stopped. She turned around.
"But... but why?" she asked.
Mr Lupid sighed.
"When I was a little Lupe, all I did was obsess
about art! I liked to draw and paint, and the kids made fun of me because I
was different, and they wanted to talk to me about the stuff they liked! Just
because you're different, doesn't mean you can't like what you do!" said Mr
Lupid.
"I just wish... I just wish they understood
me," sighed Zoranina. "They don't know how I feel... maybe if they knew, I'd
feel better."
"Zoranina, life isn't always fair! Their will
always be people who won't necessarily understand you! But that's what makes
you special! There's nothing wrong with you! You're great! And a great artist!
Speaking of art... let's get back to class! The kids are waiting... don't worry!
I'll speak to them!" said Mr Lupid, and took Zoranina's paw.
***
At the recess before lunchtime, _Beautty went up to Zoranina.
"We're really sorry," said _Beautty. "I guess
we were kind of mean to you... my friends and I were wondering... do you want
to have lunch with us?"
Zoranina felt like hallucinating! Was this really
happening to her? It was as if she was in a dream... or a fairy tale! She was
Cinderella, and once her Prince Charming had rescued her from the evil stepsisters,
they wanted forgiveness!
Then again _Beautty might be using her! Whatever
the case, Zoranina felt jolts of happiness inside her!
"Sure..." said Zoranina nervously. She gulped.
What if they were tricking her? "Sure."
"Good. Meet us at the popular table at lunchtime!
Oh yeah! No chocolate pudding, because my friend Misty, who sits with us, is
allergic to the smell!"
And _Beautty walked away. Zoranina suddenly
felt she had betrayed everything she believed in! M*YNCI, Surfi, but most of
all, she had betrayed herself! Yet, she had always wanted to be popular! She
kind of wanted to become one of them! But she didn't want her mother to have
to spend thousands of Neopoints on Usuki Dolls!
"Alright Zoranina... don't panic!" Zoranina
said to herself. "Just don't act like them! Wait a second! If I want to be like
them... I should act like them, right? Yeah, okay... just don't act like them!
No! That isn't right! Wait... so act like them? That doesn't seem right either..."
Just thinking about what she should do made
Zoranina lost. Now she was just feeling nervous... but maybe that's what it
was like being popular! Maybe being nervous about how you should act was part
of it! And Zoranina wanted to be like them...
"Oh no!" said Zoranina, frightened. "I'm completely
lost in my brain! What's right... and what isn't? Aw man! What have I gotten
myself into?"
"Alright everyone!" said _Beautty as soon as
Zoranina and her had reached the popular table. "This is Zoranina... our newest
member of the popular table! Now, Zoranina... you know everybody here, right?"
"Right," said Zoranina happily. She had decided
to act like the popular kids so that they would be good to her.
"Good! Now, sit down, and chat!" said _Beautty
happily. Then she sat down next to her friends. Zoranina didn't know where to
sit! She decided to sit on the far end of the table. There was a pink Cybunny
next to her, munching on a slice of pepperoni pizza.
Zoranina felt kind of lonely. She didn't know
where to start. It was like a giant buffet, except she didn't know what tasted
good and what didn't! Who could she talk to without making a big fool out of
herself?
Zoranina decided she would talk to the girls
she knew best: _Beautty and her popular friends. They sat at the other end of
the table. Zoranina got up and sat next to them. _Beautty giggled with her friends
and completely ignored Zoranina. Zoranina felt heartbroken and felt as if maybe
she was being tricked into something...
"Oh no!" said Zoranina. At the other side of
the cafeteria, Surfi sat alone, munching on her sandwich. "She's... she's my
friend! And these people aren't... but... but... don't look at her, Zoranina!
She's tempting you to be with her! Don't you even dare look at her!"
"Hey! Zoranina?" asked _Beautty. "Which Usuki
Doll would you say is your favorite?"
"Um... well..." said Zoranina. Uh-oh! She didn't
own any Usuki Dolls! And she wasn't interested in them... what would she say?
"There are too many to choose!"
"Oh... well... my favorite would definitely
have to be Pop Princess Usuki! She's the greatest!"
Zoranina felt so much relief! That was definitely
a close one! But now Zoranina felt nothing but worried! That question hadn't
been too hard to escape... but what questions were to come? What if she messed
up, or didn't know how to answer one?
Surfi stared Zoranina in the eye. Surfi looked
sad and bothered... and just looking at her made Zoranina feel like she just
wasn't cut out to be one of the popular girls! She felt like she wasn't meant
to be at this table... but at the one her good friend Surfi was sitting at.
Surfi stood up. She walked toward the popular
girls table.
"Zoranina? Why are you at this table?" asked
Surfi. Zoranina didn't know what to say. If she said she had become one of them...
not only would she be betraying Surfi, but also her crush!
"She's here because she's a popular kid now!
She's one of us!" said _Beautty. And you aren't! So why don't you and your friends...
oh! Pardon me! I forgot! You don't have any... except for Zoranina! But she
isn't your friend anymore! Right Zoranina? Right?"
NOW Zoranina was in trouble! If she said yes,
she would be acting like _Beautty, and if there was one thing she wanted, it
was not to be like _Beautty! _Beautty wasn't very nice! But if she said no,
her dream to be a popular kid would be ruined! And that wasn't any better! Zoranina
was, at first, a little hesitant, but then knew what to say!
"Yeah, that's right! I'm popular now!" said
Zoranina happily. But after she had said it, the happiness completely vanished,
and she felt awful! She had just proven to herself and to Surfi that she was
a bad friend!
Surfi walked away in tears. Zoranina felt like
crying, too! Suddenly, she didn't want to be popular anymore! She wanted to
be just plain Zoranina, who wasn't popular, but proud of being herself!
"Surfi! Wait!" said Zoranina, running after
her only true friend. Surfi ran out into the recess yard and sat down at the
same green bench they had promised to stick together on!
"Surfi! Surfi! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean
to! I guess... I guess I got kind of caught up in the popular thing... and I
felt stuck... Surfi! Surfi... if I wasn't your friend, I wouldn't be running
after you, now, would I?" said Zoranina.
Surfi stopped. She turned around and looked
Zoranina in the eye. No sooner had she turned that they both realized they had
been crying together.
"Surfi," said Zoranina. "You're my only friend!
You stuck up to me to all the popular girls! That means so much to me! I've
never had somebody be like that to me! You gave me a reason for the popular
girls to be jealous! You told me to believe in the power of M*YNCI! That taught
me to be myself! Please forgive me!"
Surfi walked up to Zoranina. They hugged.
"I'm sorry too!" said Surfi. "I'm sorry I had
to make you feel bad! I guess I'm a bad friend!"
"You? The bad friend? Don't you mean me?" asked
Zoranina. "I'M the one who made you feel bad, and who betrayed both you and
M*YNCI!"
They both laughed together.
"You know what's funny?" asked Surfi. "I'm not
even hungry anymore! And I didn't finish my lunch! Come on! Let's go back!"
The End
Epilogue: Zoranina finally felt good about herself, and when the popular
girls made fun of her, she felt okay, and knew they were jealous! Surfi and
her have been going to M*YNCI concerts together since!
Author's note: Thank you to the people who have had faith in me! Those
who read "Layleeah and the Greedy Balthazar" (Issue 106) and "Perfect or Not"
(Issue 111), will hopefully read this as well!
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