"In this alternate universe when you turn 18 you are sent an envelope with the name of the one person on the planet you must meet and get to know. Who is your person? How do you meet?" by Julia B.

My alarm screeches as my eyes snap open. I pick up my phone to turn it off. While I slept, I got 23 notifications. 22 of them were from my friends, wishing me a happy eighteenth birthday. The 23rd is the only one that catches my attention. It’s from an unknown number. It reads, “Today is the day. If you want to make it past tomorrow, you will adhere strictly to my instructions. I suggest you think prudently. Here are the instructions.  1. Do not mention this to anyone who hasn’t had their 18th birthday yet. 2. You will do this with a good heart, and will not do or say anything offensive. 3. You will get to know Kayleigh Jones. The one you refer to as ‘weird Kayleigh’. 4. You will not tell Kayleigh the reason for you spending time with her.” I rub my eyes in disbelief as I read and reread the message. Sure, I’m not the nicest to weird Kayleigh-I mean Kayleigh, but what sort of sick game is this? This is the most superfluous thing I've ever seen.

Downstairs, I’m visibly shaken by my impending bonding time with Kayleigh. After all, it’s life or death. My parents share a look of knowing. My mother turns to my little brother, Connor, and says,

“Connor, can you please go to your room for a few minutes? Your father and I need to talk to Mia.” My 10 year old brother rolls his eyes and walks to his room, video games still in hand. I look back at my parents. My eyes are beginning to burn with incoming tears.

“What do you know about this?” I ask, my voice trembling with fear and disgust. 

My father answers me. “Whenever someone in this town turns 18, they have to spend time with and get to know someone that they bullied. If they’re still mean by the end of the day, they get killed. It’s supposed to make this town more peaceful, while controlling the population levels”. A wave of understanding washes over me as I begin to grasp my fate. I’ll have to spend my birthday with weird Kayleigh and pretend that I’m enjoying it.  This sucks. 

In first period, I sit with my usual friend group. As weird Kayleigh walks in, I prepare to make my usual comments. I mean- who dresses like that? I bite my tongue and continue talking with my friends. If I talk to Kayleigh in front of my friends, or really anyone, that would be the death of my social status. I need to wait until no one I know is around. Until anyone who actually matters isn’t around.

It's currently the five minutes between seventh and eighth period. I see Kayleigh by her locker. 

“Hey Kayleigh! I love that…outfit! I was wondering if you’d want to grab dinner with me tonight. It’s my birthday, and I’d love it if you came.”, I grit out as I wear a fake smile. Her face lights up for a fraction of a second, then twists into a worried, sickened expression. My cheeks twitch as I hold my counterfeit smile.

“Mia, I’m not going to fall for that.” She says, her sad eyes pointing down at the floor through her glasses. Normally, I’d make fun of how thick the lenses were. Maybe I’d grab them and toss them to the floor. Not today. Today, my life depends on being nice to her. I keep my mouth shut.

“Kayleigh, I’m serious. Meet me at Stephanie’s diner at 6:30”. I walk away, not waiting for a response. 

I’m sitting in a red booth at the diner, sipping a soda. It’s 6:25, and Kayleigh isn’t here. If she’s not here, I don’t think it’ll count as me fixing things with her. Through the dirty window, I see a beat up Toyota pull into the lot. Weird Kayliegh steps out and walks towards the diner. Warily, she sits down across from me and looks around.

“Oh, I didn’t know it’d be just us,” she says. She could’ve said hi, but I’m not in the position to say anything. I do my best to start conversations, and get to know her. I find out that she has three little sisters that she takes care of a lot while her parents work. I find out she lives in the trailer park on the outskirts of town. I find out that she’s been working part time at a convenience store to save up for college. With each new fact I gain about her, my stomach sinks closer and closer to the floor. This is such an aberration, yet I don’t want it to end. I want to get to know her as another human. She was trying so hard, doing so much, and I was being mean to her.  I start to apologize for being rude all these years, but she cuts me off.

“Mia, I forgive you. I don’t think we’re cut out to be friends, but I’m not going to hold a grudge against you”. My stomach crawls back into my abdomen, where it belongs. I feel like a new person. I’ve learned not to judge people, to let them live their lives. From this moment on, I will be a better person. I vow to give everyone a chance. Social status isn’t everything.