“Oh my gosh, Cleo, SHUT UP!” Four voices shrilled at the same time and bounced off the blue lockers.

“Okay, okay. Gee, I’m just singing.” I’m notorious in my school for bursting out in song just about everywhere, especially in the girl’s athletics locker room. “OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! THE SUN WILL COME OUT, TOMORR-“

Krissy’s face grew cold. “Cleo, you better shut your mouth before I shove my converse into it.”

I grin evilly. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Yeah? Watch.” She lopes toward me with a black converse hanging limply in her hand.

“Never mind- I was kidding-“ I back up slowly but she still comes after me. “Krissy- heysh… oafkaee-oafkaee-git-yore-shtufid-shoe-ouft-of-miee-mouf!”

“Shut up and change.” She stalks off with her stick like legs and leaves behind a gift. I can officially say that converse do NOT taste as cool as they are. Especially Krissy’s. I fumble for my zipper on my spring-green sundress while slipping off my sketchers.

“What torture device do you think the coaches will hook us up to today?” A question pops up like a fire-work from the buzz.

“Something to do with thousands of average-dips and miles.” I project back.

“You are so crazy.” Jessica laughs.

“That’s what they say.”

“Seriously, why do you like being so different, Cleo?” Brittany pushes. The whole locker room dies down. As soon as a spinal cord reaction, I have forty-two pairs stuck on me.

“Really, Cleo, we all want to know.”

I usually don’t get embarrassed or nervous. I’m the school’s drama queen and thespian, so I can have eight hundred plus people on the edge of their seat, depending on me to replace the money that left their wallets with amazement and I STILL won’t break a sweat. But with that question, my heart sprinted toward my face and bled all over it. Little tingles’ rode an escalator up and down on my neck.

That was a hard question, and I had to think fast. I knew because of my reputation that once the answer left my lips it would be slightly slower than lightning before everyone in my high school knew about. So it needed to be accurate and fast. I don’t know why I had to think about it. I know exactly why I dress how I dress. Why I talk how I talk. Why I act the way I act. But how to explain it to them in understandable words was a whole different matter.

My mouth was slightly parted and I could feel sweat beads forming on my hair line. My hands were frozen to my ponytail of brown coils. My throat was making a gurgling sound every so often. My shorts and my sports bra were the only things that clung to my body.

“You guys, why are you so quiet? You’re not dead… yet.” Coach Stephanie’s voice floated over the stiffness of the locker room. Nobody answered. Nobody even blinked. I could only hear the rapid dripping of my heart beats. “Ladies, someone please say ‘Yes Ma’am’ soon.” Her cheerleader ponytail zapped into view from the office and her strict jaw line dropped a good three inches. “Why are you zombies staring at a half naked Cleo?”

“She needs to answer a question.” Someone finally broke through.

“And what question is that?”

Drip- Drip-Drip Heart beats dropped onto the silence.

“Well?”

“It’s because I want to be!” I burst. I hadn’t really expected that. That is why, but there’s a bigger reason. Drip-Drip- Drip…

“Okay, nobody is working on their beach bodies until we can all get this straight.” I knew NOBODY was going to talk now.

“They asked me why I like being so different.” I mumbled to a nearby locker.

“I’ve wondered that too. Why do you?” This is going splendidly…

“Well… I… umm…”

“She’s just an attention addict.” A nasally voice screeched onto the pitter patter of my heart beats. Ashley… Of course… The high school snob that happens to be one of the most popular girls in school. She would get her bony nose into this… “Am I the only one who sees it? She’s just a big loser who wants to be noticed by the higher class.”

Jessica’s face burns. “How do you know? All YOU pay attention to is boyfriends and manicures.” Good old Jessica- she has everyone’s back.

“Hey, cat-fights are only for volleyball games.” Coach Stephanie jumped in. “Cleo, if you would please…”

A took a deep breath. How cliché. Yet, somehow, it actually works. It cleans out your soul before you dump out all your information on other people. “I am different just to be different. Not for attention, puh-leaze. If I want attention I audition for the next musical.” Chuckles floated up in the locker room. Okay, this is good; I have the audience going. “People claim they like to be different and unique. They say nothing scares them. But most people who say that would rather eat live worms than go to school wearing a big bow on the side of their head and a bright green sundress. Honestly, will it really matter in ten years if your high school wardrobe had everything Abercrombie? I don’t think it does. I want to be ME. Not some prototype Ashley.” Ha, sweet revenge. “And you know what? I feel free. How many of you feel burdened coming to school? Ever try just letting it out?” I stopped, realizing if I went on I might never stop.

Silence slowly nibbled on the group.

“Well… that was very… true.” Coach Stephanie stutters out.

“Cleo… you really deserve that name. It fits you.”

“Yeah, nobody else has a name like that.”

“When did you start thinking about this?

“What does your family think?”

‘Silence is Golden’? Suddenly everyone thought it was the cafeteria’s tofu burgers and started shooting questions and comments at me. But, I smile to myself. Finally I can leave my fingerprint on my high school. And mine will be different from everyone else’s.