The Social Misfit

Chapter Six

Mina was never completely alone.

She still had friends.

A few people she could greet in the hallway. A few people she could sit with during lunch. A few people who remembered the girl she used to be before everything changed.

But her friends had other friends too.

They had their own groups, their own conversations, their own inside jokes.

Mina was grateful for them.

She just couldn’t shake the feeling that she was always standing slightly outside the circle.

Before the pandemic, that feeling didn’t bother her.

She was comfortable enough to join conversations, laugh along, and make new connections.

But after everything changed, even small things started feeling difficult.

Then junior high school introduced a new challenge.

The school decided to rearrange students based on their grades.

There were four streams: A, B, C, and D.

At first, Mina didn’t think much of it.

She had been in Stream B during her first year, and she knew the people around her.

She had familiar faces.

People she was used to.

Then the new lists were released.

Mina had moved to Stream A.

At first, she felt proud.

It meant her hard work had paid off.

But that excitement quickly faded.

Not everyone she knew moved with her.

Some of her closest friends stayed in Stream B.

Suddenly, the people who made school feel comfortable were no longer beside her every day.

On her first day in the new class, Mina sat quietly, looking around at unfamiliar faces.

Everyone seemed to already have someone to talk to.

Everyone seemed to know where they belonged.

She wanted to introduce herself.

She wanted to start conversations.

But every time she thought about speaking, she stopped herself.

What if they found her awkward?

What if they didn’t like her?

So she stayed quiet.

Day after day, she sat in the same place, slowly becoming familiar with the people around her.

A small conversation here.

A question about homework there.

A simple greeting in the morning.

Little by little, Mina began talking to some of her classmates.

Not many.

But enough.

She built a few new friendships.

And for a while, things felt okay.

But deep down, Mina still carried the fear that she didn’t truly belong anywhere.

She had friends.

She wasn’t alone.

Yet somehow, she still felt lonely.