Cliche High School Makeover Story PART ONE................ ~Rika~

Like every Monday, Nyla Robinson sat at her center-row desk in third period Advanced Algebra 2. Like every Monday, she dutifully jotted down problems and their solutions from the board, and like every Monday, she stared longingly at Paul Hessinger in the front row. Paul was a Sophomore like her and quarterback for the Varsity Football Team, the first Sophomore to ever acheive that position. Nyla was pretty sure she was in love with him; not only did he have the bluest eyes she'd ever seen and probably the best smile, but he was also just a genuinely nice person. While most of the popular group ignored her and were sometimes even downright mean to her, Paul was always warm and kind.

"Miss Robinson, can you tell us the answer?" Nyla was broken out of her daydreaming by her teacher's voice. She akwardly fumbled through her papers resulting in a few giggles from the class before stating quietly, "X would have to equal 14y." Her teacher gave a satisfied nod and began on the next lesson. Nyla buried her red face in her sweatshirt. She always seemed to be making a fool out of herself. Even so, she saw a swatch of blonde move out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and Paul flashed her a smile before looking back at the board..

"So I hear Lacey Colbalt is having a party on Friday," Nyla's best friend Jenny chattered on the way to lunch. "I hear Paul's going to be there." There was a pause and Nyla gave her longtime friend a hard look. "Guess what? I even hear N*Sync might be making a guest reunion appearance. How cool would that be?" Nyla shook her head. Jenny was determined to be part of the cool crowd. She had gone to such extents as joining the cheerleading squad [much to the amusement of the rest of the team] and was notorious for showing up uninvited to A-list parties. To date, she'd been asked to leave all of them. But, that didn't stop her. Nyla could tell she was itching to go to the latest one.

"What makes you think these people like you so much? They seem so fake. They don't give the time of day to anyone other than themselves." Jenny stopped walking. "Nyla, how are you ever going to get a shot at Paul with that attitude? You need to realize not everyone's out to get you." Nyla admired Jenny's outlook, but it wasn't realistic. Ever since she'd joined the cheerleading squad, she'd become the laughingstock of Morrison High School, but she was so clueless, she didn't even notice. "I accept that I will never have a shot at Paul Hessinger and I don't expect that to change." Jenny sighed and shook her head.

The cafeteria was buzzing as usual and students from all different groups were scattered throughout. Some were flinging food at each other; some couples were making out; the popular bunch was laughing and being loud as usual. Nyla and Jenny took a seat with their other two friends, Scott and Sadie. They were brother and sister and were considered even bigger losers than Jenny or Nyla. They both had short dark brown hair and brown eyes. Both had a bad case of acne. And both didn't care much about fashion or fitting in. Scott had a huge crush on Nyla and it drove her crazy how often people asked her if they were dating. He made it a point to sit beside her at lunch and even put his arm around her occasionally in the hall between classes. She didn't have the heart to tell him she wasn't interested, so she just played dumb about the entire situation.

"Nice outfit, freak," Sadie exclaimed to Jenny, laughing. Jenny was wearing "skinny" jeans that were two sizes too small on her chubby frame. Even worse, she had an equally tight neon green shirt to go with it and it made her overflowing stomach that much more visible. She obviously tried to do something with her dirty-blonde hair, but it just looked messy and worst of all, her poorly-applied electric blue eyeshadow made her eyes look tiny and her nose look big. She really tried, but was too clueless to realize it didn't work for her. "At least I put in some effort," Jenny said, squinting at Sadie. That was true. Sadie was wearing her signature huge T-shirt and a baggy, wrinkled pair of jeans.

Scott grinned at Nyla and in return, she pretended she didn't see him. "At least one of us looks nice today," he said breathily. In her head, Nyla gave a disgusted look. Scott was a really nice guy and really fun when he wasn't being creepy, but she had absolutely no interest in him. And she hardly looked "nice." She was wearing a Morrison High School Academic Olympics 2007 sweatshirt and jeans. She never wore make-up and never did anything with her mousy brown hair. Even worse, she had horrible eyesight and was forced to wear thick glasses to see clearly. What was his deal? "Thanks, Scott," she said politely, but unenthusiastically. He grinned even wider.

Later in the day, the group decided to go to the movie theater after school to play in the arcade. It was hardly the most glamourous after-school activity and the cool crowd wouldn't be caught dead near the movie arcade, but it worked for them. It was a place where they wouldn't be shunned or laughed at- where other kids of their same status met up from neighboring schools. It was a place for them to socialize without feeling like outcasts. The gang approached the movie theater, laughing about a random quip one of their classmates had made to a teacher. Nyla almost completely missed Paul Hessinger standing outside. "Hey guys!" he said as they approached.. they nodded their greeting and walked inside. Nyla wished she could have said something, but the words froze in her throat.

Once inside, she panicked. What would she do if he came into the arcade? Why was he even here? She didn't have the answers. She remained nervous and on edge while the rest of her party danced to DDR and played cheesy shooter games. It was almost an hour before Paul entered the arcade with two attractive girls and a decent-looking guy. "Hey!" he greeted them again. "It's not often I see Morrison kids here on Mondays." No one really knew what to say. Paul was extremely popular and twice as intimidating. Plus, the girls he was with looked like the types to laugh at losers. "So, do you guys wanna start a Star Wars competition with us?" This peaked Scott's interest. "Oh man, I would totally beat you. I have the highest score." So, Scott, Paul, and Paul's male friend went off to the Star Wars booth. The girls were left standing around akwardly.

Jenny broke the silence. "Nyla, oh my god. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know Paul!" Nyla blushed profusely and smacked Jenny in the arm, then hung her head. Jenny always spoke at inappropriate times. One of the two girls Paul came with could be dating him.. they were both gorgeous and blonde. She was sure they were a guy like Paul's type. Instead, the taller girl squealed with delight. "You like Paul! That's so cute. He's our cousin.. I'm Hilary and this is my sister Laura. We go to school in Centerville." Nyla blushed an even darker shade of red. "Please, please don't tell him. I don't want people laughing at me at school.. I'd just rather it be unknown."

"Well, what's stopping you from telling him?" Laura asked. "He's a really down-to-earth guy. He wouldn't laugh at you." Hilary nodded.

"Just please don't say anything." Hilary and Laura exchanged glances. "Why don't you come shopping with us and we'll give you a makeover.. in return, you tell Paul you like him. How romantic would that be?" Hilary grinned. Laura smiled, "Like out of a movie." Nyla shifted uncomfortably and looked at her friends who were both smiling and who were obviously humored by this proposition. She turned back to the cousins and slowly shrugged. "I... guess so.. it wouldn't hurt, right?" She again turned to her friends for approval. They both nodded. "Skip school tomorrow!" Hilary exclaimed, "Give me your address and Laura and I will come pick you up. Be ready for a lot of shopping!"

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