Annabeth

There was a knock on the door. I ignored it and kept on reading on the couch, as most people who knock on the door are either Elizabeth or Ruthie's admirers or Elizabeth's followers. I flipped the page. I was about to find out if Carmen would attend her father's wedding when Kirsten called, "Sonali! A pretty girl with blonde hair is here to see you!".

I jumped to my feet, letting my heart hope for a few nanoseconds that maybe it was Bethie, come to say it was all a big mistake. But my feeble hopes were dashed when I saw a different golden-blond girl standing at the door with a bunch of brochures in her hand. As my disappointment faded, I noticed just how beautiful the girl really was. Her hair fell in gentle curls past her shoulders, and her eyes were a gorgeous shade of hazel. I envied her immediately.

"Hey there, I'm here to spread the word about Mariposa Jr. High's Glee Club!" She said with much enthusiasm, waving a brochure around as if it would emphasize what she said.
My mouth dropped open.
"Oh, goodie!" Kirsten started before I could stop her. "Our little Sonali here is joining Glee Club in the fall." Kirsten smiled so proudly, I felt like hugging her, in spite of my major embarrassment.
"Oh!" The girl's mouth also dropped open. "So you're Sonali? I've heard so much about you! Well, our Glee Club is rivaling at Sectionals against two other Junior High's and we'd love it if you could root for us!" By now the girl was talking straight at Kirsten and the gathered sisters behind her. "Any donations we could put towards costumes, effects, or stage upgrades would be very appreciated. Thank you!"

The girl turned away from Kirsten and very surprisingly started pulling me outside.
"Wait!" Liz called to the girl.
The girl turned back to the house. "...Yes?"
Liz stumbled out the door. "What about me? Did you hear anything about me? I'm in Glee Club, too!"
Annabeth stepped back. "Um.. yeah. Yeah I did."
Then she quickly kept pulling me till Liz was out of sight.

"My name is Annabeth." She grinned. I never noticed how dazzling white her teeth were.
"My name is .. my name is.." I stumbled.
"Your name is Sonali? Yeah, I know." She laughed. She had a nice laugh, like the tinkling of bells.
I nodded.
"Well, the Glee Club is having a gathering at my house at 3:00 P.M. tomorrow, since we can't use the school during summer break - we have to keep practicing, even on vacation, if we want to beat the rival teams and make it to Sectionals!"
"That was a mouthful." I said, then instantly regretted it. Why did I say that?!
Annabeth laughed again. "So... will you come?"
I nodded.
She grinned, then turned to go. But apparently she had forgotten another thing, because she turned right back around to me and whispered, "And I want you to sing for me. At my house. At the gathering. We Glee Clubbers need to know each other's strengths."

And with that, she skipped off, leaving me dazed and clueless, standing stupidly in the backyard.

-Sonali