Blank Slate: The Friend

Sydney Hayes was new in school, having transferred in mid-year. In the months since she had enrolled at Lake Point High, she hadn't really made friends. She was a quiet brown-haired sophomore who didn't attract much attention. Sure, she watched the popular kids...but who didn't? Sydney had taken to writing, a long-time hobby of hers, and had written a story. The story was about a quiet high school girl, not unlike her, and another girl who was quite the opposite, and their resulting escapades. The girl's story was actually quite detailed...but she only existed inside Sydney's head. Which is why Sydney was quite surprised when a girl who looked exactly as Sydney had imagined her character sat down opposite her when she took lunch. "Syd," she said. Sydney had always meant to change the name of the shy girl in the story, but she'd used real names from school in it. "You'll never believe what happened to me."