The Chameleon | Teen Ink

The Chameleon

April 29, 2016
By KLow5 BRONZE, Glen Arm, Maryland
KLow5 BRONZE, Glen Arm, Maryland
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Sarah Smith. Sarah is seen, but at the same time she is unseen. She is wanted my many the same she is unwanted by all. Sarah is a chameleon.  She blends in with the crowd. Sarah is athletic. She plays on all the main sports teams. She is not a team captain nor does she ride the bench; average playing time, average amount of skill. Sarah is intelligent. She does well in school but not too well. She gets all B’s but never any A’s. She is a member of no school club the same time she is a member of every school club. Sarah is good at art. She can paint and she can draw; nothing new or groundbreaking; a simple line and a simple stroke. Sarah knows everyone the same as she knows no one. If she wants to be she will be.

There is a select few known as the ‘popular’ crowd at Sarah’s high school.  All the same; tan, tall, pretty physic. The girls have permed hair and don’t need globs of makeup. The boys go to the gym after class and throw raging parties on the weekends. They text and tweet even when next to each other. They will get nominated for prom court and drive their parent’s expensive cars to the mall. Sarah blends with the crowd. She goes to their parties and drinks their beer. She reads into their gossip and mirrors their clothing.
The popular always prey on those who are weak. The intelligent ones are the weak ones, the ones who spend free periods in the library reading the same book and do extra credit to get an A to an A+. Sarah understands them. She understands that sometimes it is better to wear conservative clothing and complete difficult math problems before anyone else. Even if books get destroyed or heads get flushed down toilets by the jocks you still eat lunch in the cafeteria when the lunch bell rings. For the nerds in the end get the success, the teachers love them and the ivy leagues adore them. Sarah Smith too is adored.
Then there is the athletic group. Team captains, varsity jocks; they are all the same, all so sad; with their perfect muscles and five minute mile times. They drink protein shakes and sprint hills for fun. They talk about game highlights from the night before and the college scholarships come flying in early. Sarah Smith shall be with them, be one of them.  She shall drink their poisons and kale shakes and do their work out at the gym. She shall run around the track and fill her closet with Under Armor sneakers.  
Sarah Smith was taught just like everyone else how to be original. “Be yourself” they always said; her parents, her teachers, all her mentors in life. “Be your own person”. But no, not her, not Sarah Ann Smith; because Sarah Smith is not original. Sarah smith is not her own human being. She is one with every being. She is one with every group. She shall remain invisible; a phantom in the day. Them by night and only by night will she emerge. She knows now. She has gained their trust. All those who prey on the weak and the weak who are preyed upon; she knows them all. All their weaknesses, all their faults; yet they do not know who she is. She shall be their one moment and away the next. Gone. Poof. As if the girl never existed, only to be found again inside another group, another clique.  It’s all the same stereotype. School is just another pit, what with the athletes and nerds, popular crowd and even nihilistic teachers. But not her; not Sarah Smith.


** A Letter from Lakefield High School Principal James T. Walsh to Parents of Students**


Dear parents/ guardians of Blake field students,
As of last Thursday, March 18th, our school faculties as well as the county police force have been investigating multiple incidents that occurred sometime in the past week at Lakefield. Without any cause of alarm, it has been decided that school to be closed indefinitely until the matter at hand is sorted out and the halls again become safe for our students. Here is what we know so far. As of last Thursday, our school has been put on high alert as a result of the murder of three Lakefield students; junior Kelly Benson, senior Rodney Filch, and sophomore Clementine Walker. Kelly was a key member of our school’s Scholastic Decathlon Team. Rodney had just accepted a full ride to Virginia Tech under a football scholarship. Clementine was nominated for Homecoming Court by the juniors just this past November. Each of the students contributed entirely to Lakefield’s success, both academically and morally. Our consolations go out to their families and friends. The culprit is still unknown as of yet, fingerprints access that it was most likely a female and our investigators state that the killer most likely knew one or each of the victims well for this was not an accident. So far, none of the student’s friends or relatives can access who it might have been, but anyone with any information is asked to contact the county police department number below. Our upmost priority here at Lakefield High is the success and safety of our students and educators. We hope whoever is out there, whether student or adult is put to justices and this mess put behind us.
Regards,
  Principal Walsh


The author's comments:

A mystery for those who blend in with the crowd.


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