She Won't Be Lonely Long

                Sienna is just your average self-conscious 17-year-old. Sienna was moved out of her home town after her freshmen year in order for her mom to get a better job. After two years of being in a new high school with over 2,000 students, she still feels like another face in the crowd.                 Her senior year started just like the previous one. As if people were just looking through her. Her best and only friend, Emma, had finished high school a year early, and was spending the year in Europe as a foreign exchange student. Sienna had never felt so alone.                 As she passed through the hallway on her way from World Geography to Calculus, it seemed the guys in her school were only interested in petite girls. Sienna was tall standing at 5’10”, and just always felt too tall to be attractive. She had an athletic build from years of playing softball, but she figured she just didn’t fit the type the guys were interested in.                 After an uneventful week of going from class to class, trying to focus on getting good grades and not embarrassing herself, she was spending her Friday night at home with her younger brother, Brody. Brody was a sophomore attending the same high school as Sienna. While Sienna was quiet and studious, Brody was loud and outgoing. Brody had inherited the tall genes as well, he was 6’4” and still growing. He grew so quickly, it left him looking gangly and wiry. Brody was often made fun of for being too skinny. Sienna had been asked multiple times since he started high school, if he was anorexic. The kid could take down a lot of food and looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.                 Their mom worked three jobs to make ends meet and was rarely home. When she was home, she was typically sleeping. Sienna and Brody’s dad lived five hours away and only showed up when Brody was in trouble.  Their dad had remarried a woman fifteen years younger than him, and always demanded to be the center of the attention, leaving little time and energy for his kids.                 “Hey, you in there?” Brody asked. They were watching some silly movie Brody picked. Sienna had zoned out during the worst of the potty humor.                 Sienna quirked an eyebrow up at him.                 “I’m gonna have some friends over, don’t tell mom,” Brody said scowling at her lack of response. He got up and stalked off towards the kitchen.                 “Well then you better clean up after them, Mom’s not stupid,” Sienna quipped back.                 Brody and Sienna lived in a three-story town house with their mom and older sister, Lyla. Brody lived in the basement bedroom, which also housed the laundry room. The middle floor had the common areas such as the kitchen, dining room, living room, and a bathroom. The third floor had three bedrooms, where Sienna, Lyla, and their mom each had a room.                 In the kitchen, Sienna could hear Brody helping himself to another plate of lasagna. Sienna stayed on the couch and began flipping through channels trying to find something to keep her entertained. She settled on a random MTV dating show. Typical hot guy and a petite girl flirting and ending up making out.                 Sienna started browsing f*******:. She didn’t know what she was looking for, all her friends from her home town had forgotten about her. Emma was in a way different time zone in Europe and wouldn’t be awake to talk for a few more hours. Sienna sent a quick I miss you for her when she wakes up.                 The sounds of Brody heading down the stairs echoed up. His friends always used the walk out patio to come and go from their house. Brody was only 15 years old as were most of his friends, and as a group they were quite immature and rowdy. Sienna preferred his group of friends stay in the basement which could handle the rough housing without damage to the town house. The boys rarely dared venture upstairs and deal with Sienna's mom being home. Sienna’s mom was incredibly kind, but also exhausted from all the hours she worked and just wanted peace and quiet at home.                 Sienna decided to get ready for bed. She hopped in the shower in an attempt to wash away some of the excess energy. As she shampooed her long, honey brown hair, she hoped for something to change. Life couldn’t continue like this forever, could it? She finished showering and proceeded to dry off. Getting dressed she contemplated what the next year would bring. Senior year was expected to be about friends and parties and completing a stage of your life. Her senior year was looking like school, softball, home, and that was it. What she would give to have a friend to go through the year with her. She brushed out her hair and headed down the stairs to refill her water cup.                 She had dressed in her comfortable grey Soffe short shorts and a black tank top for bed. These were clothes she would never have the confidence to wear in front of anyone but family. She was bent over leaning into the freezer, putting ice in her water cup when she heard an unfamiliar guy behind her say “Well Hello!”.