In Between

Part 11

Rialle Slater wasn't the most popular person in the world. She didn't have a swarm of friends. She didn't go out much. And, she talk very often, but she was ok with that. She had a few people that you could probably call "friends." There was Eylli for example. Rialle had no idea why Eylli even spoke to her. She was popular and in band. She was funny and it was hard not to like her. Regardless of how old they were and how they changed, throughout the years Eylli always said hello to Rialle. She didn't call much anymore, but she always said hi to her in class and would sit down to talk. A lot of times Rialle wouldn't know what to say, but she was glad for the company. Then there was Jesse. Well, you know what they say, weirdos stick together. Jesse was outgoing and loud. She would make friends with anyone, but if you pissed her off, well, beware. Jesse would often times just ramble off about strange topics like toast or the importance of the microwave. She was a little off, but it was cool. Jesse and Rialle would hang out at school every day. Actually Jesse was pretty much the only person you would find walking down the halls with Rialle. Eylli would just talk in class. Bree was the other person who realy knew Rialle. They had gone to school together since they were six, but in junior high, they had kind of drifted apart into seperate crowds. Bree hung around with rockers and goths, while Rialle would just walk around by herself, not talking to much of anyone. Now, after school when they were waiting for their rides, they would sit down and talk. Never about anything serious, mind you just odd things or maybe people. Bree was the only one who ever called the Slater house for Rialle, and that was only occasional.2

Rialle had grown up with her mother and her pets in their small house. Her parents had gotten divorced when she was six and her father lived in another state. She would get the occasional awkward phone and birthday cards, but that was about it. Rialle's mother, Susan, was a teacher in an elementary school on the other side of town, so Rialle had to get up early everyday and was dropped off at school about and hour before anyone else started showing up. They had a golden retriever named Rusty and a cat named Bird. The Slater house hold was quiet. Mother and daughter relationships were pretty much non-existent there. If you suddenly walked into that house, you would think, by the quiet that only one person lived there or that no one was home. Susan left Rialle home alone a lot, and when she was gone, the teenager would blare music as loud as she could. Then it wasn't quiet. Susan's mother, Rialle's grandmother, would make the occasional visit as well, which Rialle dreaded. All her grandmother ever did was tell her she would be prettier if she cut her hair and wore it up. Family togetherness wasn't a big thing for the Slaters.3

Rialle had once been a happier and more talkative kid, but that was back when she was in elemantary school. She had just gotten used to not talking much and zoning out. You could call her a loner, I suppose. She didn't hate everyone. Well, she hated a lot of people, but not everyone. She just didn't wish for there company. She didn't want to have the spotlight on her. She just appriciated being on the sidelines. An observer, and indeed she did love to watch people. Or listen. It was just the actual interacting with them where she fell flat. It didn't matter to her though.4

Rialle Slater, at 16, was 5'4''. She had long, straight hair that went about 4 inches down her back. It was naturally a goldeny brown, but she had been dying it dark brown or black regularly since she was 12. She always wore it down, sometimes she crimped it, but that was as far as hair styling went for her. Her eyes were dark blue, but nobody noticed. She wasn't deathly pale, but she didn't have much of a tan exept slightly from P.E. Her nails were always painted blue or black and she didn't like them to be short. Not long either, perhaps somewhere in between. She wore the same shoes everyday. They were plain, solid black tennis shoes. Rialle had never understood why anyone would need more than one or two pairs of shoes. Pointless really. She also always wore a necklace, a piece or black cord that had a shark's tooth attached. Her favorite outfit was a black t-shirt and jeans. She also wore that as much as she could. What annoyed her in school was when people would run straight into her in the hallways. Actually school in general annoyed Rialle. She hated the stupid assignments teachers would dish out, and she found that the people she was usually surrounded with in class were shallow and immature. People didn't know that though. To others, she was just that quiet kid who sat in the corner and got good grades. She'd let you copy her paper as long as you didn't get caught. It seemed pointless to Rialle not to let them. Afterall if you didn't give them the answers they would just get them from someone else. Her life cosisted of sleeping, eating, reading, tv, the computer, and being bored. And that was the exciting life she led. Not that anyone cared.5