Mimi's story

The following is an exercise in short fiction inspired by American high school film and the influence it seems to wield on affluent teenagers in the rest of the world

Mimi stopped briefly to look at the mirror. She liked what she saw, smiled, was impressed by her own dimples, tossed her short curls, and skipped out of the room humming a happy film tune.  This was going to be a good day.  She had just finished writing up a  paper for a high school science project, that morning - it was about how physics and biology would be altered if we lived in a 2-dimensional world.   Mimi  had a quick breakfast, stopped by to spend a few minutes with her sick grandma, pulled her kid brother's hair, and almost sprinted to the metro station to catch the 8:05.

The first person she saw in the train was Freya. They hugged.

"Hey Mimi, you look so great. What's the secret of your lustrous skin?"

" Horse dung and pig spleen!", Mimi sang it out parodying a popular ad jingle that came on TV.

They both laughed loudly. Some old uncles standing in the train frowned in their direction. The ones sitting smiled benignly. Plenty of people were going to work at this time of the day.

Freya was not the science type. In fact she didn't spend a lot of time with her books. She was more into dance and drama, and that sort of thing - and she had a sharp tongue and an acerbic wit. Mimi liked her better than most other girls in this school, girls like.....

Name the devil and she arrives!  Rhea and her friends fluttered in like butterflies at the next station.

"Ah this brood of bitches, may the devil take her where she itches", Freya muttered angrily under her breath, combining high school cusses with Shakespearean innuendo.  

Rhea threw a haughty glance in their direction, and barely acknowledged their presence. Her fat sister Rita laughed stupidly while trying to balance on her very high stilletoes, while her perky sidekick in extremely short skirts, Rima, chirped, "Oh my my, how is Miss science nerd and her tomboy actress friend doing? Nothing lesbo I hope?" 

Freya was tall and skinny and carried herself a bit awkwardly because of that, although she could twist and turn her limbs very expertly when she was doing ballet or basketball. Freya just stepped on Rimi's toes and bellowed in a schoolboy falsetto, "Just great, baby". Rima yelped in pain and moved away.

Rhea was the prettiest girl in school.  She always looked straight out of some Armani ad. Every one knew she'd be prom queen. All the stud boys in school were after her. Even the teachers fawned over her. Her dad was some kind of filthy rich businessman.  There was this coterie of girls around her and Mimi knew that all they'd discuss in this train ride would be boys and cellphones and fashion mags. She turned away disgusted. This is why she didn't get along with most girls in this school. They were all so shallow. Except Freya and a few others maybe.

The first class in school was math. They were doing algebra. Mimi had worked out all the homework problems well in advance and was called up to the board to do a few problems. That was a relief because 

Al, the pimply boy with a cracked voice, kept ogling her all the time from the table right behind hers, and even passed notes that said, "I love you" in different languages. Al was not a bad person, but he was from a broken family,  and did not concentrate on his schoolwork, preferring to weight train instead. Mimi was half-annoyed and half-amused, but could not bring herself to explain to Al that she liked algebra much more than Al. So she just ignored his notes and continued to work.

In the break, Mimi ran excitedly towards the computer room. She wanted to discuss the program to model migratory birds she was working on, with the resident computer guru in school - Mac.  But Moe stood blocking the way to the lab. He was the star athlete in school and a rich, spoiled kid.  Rhea drooled over Moe but Moe was always chasing Mimi.  Probably because she was the only attractive girl in school who payed no attention to him.

"What's a sexy girl like you doing in a computer lab at this time?  You should come and join us by the pool." 

"That's none of your business, Moe. Leave me alone."

"Ok Miss nerd-pants, you go and make out with that dorky Mac. Remember that nobody's going to sleep with a nerd like you."

"Thank heavens for that!" Mimi skipped past a visibly frustrated Moe, and shut the lab door on him.

This is why she didn't like most boys in this school. They were all so shallow. Except Mac and a few others maybe.

Mac was this really nerdy kid, with the textbook thick glasses, and an avowed disinterest in organized sports. He didn't seem to care much for food (or showers) and spent most of the day programming, except for when he was swimming. He was an avid swimmer but would visit the pool at odd hours when few people were around. The few people who had seen him swim testified that he used his long and spindly limbs to great effect.  He didn't make eye contact while speaking, particularly if it was with a girl. He didn't say much unless you talked about programs or puzzles  to him. There were all kinds of legends about him. Many said he never talked much to girls but had a huge stash of porn. Some thought he had a superman like alter ego. Some thought he was already on a CIA payroll and worked to hack North Korean nuclear installations.  Nobody messed with Mac - because you would get a virus in your computer or have your mail hacked the next day if you did.

Mimi however thought that Mac was quite an ordinary kid with some extra brains. He was fun to discuss problems with.  And he obviously had a crush on Mimi because she was the only girl who'd go out of the way to talk to him. But Mimi was not so sure. Just because she made an intellectual connection with someone didn't mean that she should be head over heels in love with him, and she'd told him as much when he confessed that he wanted to take her out on a date the other night.  Mimi was worried now about how the project on migratory birds they were collaborating on would go now.  But Mac seemed to be ok about it and had a number of good ideas about what they should be doing. Mimi breathed a sigh of relief.