Jessica Jennings had always had it tough in school since her parents were in the Army and they were often asked to move from one base to another, which meant that she had to change schools quite frequently.
She was about to start her Senior year in High School, just having turned 17, when her parents got the news over the summer that it was time to pack up their belongings and to move away once again. Jessica could never form any deep, lasting friendships with anyone in school because she knew that the possibility was always there that she would have to leave. Thankfully, she stayed in contact with her friends over the Internet, but still, it meant having to start all over again at a new school and that was hard.
Luckily, her grandfather was staying at her house when Jessica heard the news, and he saw how sad she had become when it was time to say goodbye to her old friends. Jessica had complained about going to a new school and having to deal with the incredible loneliness all over again, where her grandpa had gifted her a beautiful, golden ring.
“Wear this ring around your finger on your first day at the new school, Jess!” he said to her. “Once you see all the kids in their groups or clubs, decide on which group, club or team you want to join, and this ring will make it incredibly easy for you to join this group! I promise!” he said to her. “It will make you fit right in with that group! I will assure you! You will never be alone again!”
“Really? Are you serious?” Jessica said, with tears coming from her eyes.
“I promise. Even if you decide to change groups later, or you want to join another group, this ring will make you adapt to any group, any age, any gender, with any skill or talent, with any sport. It doesn’t matter. You will always fit in with whatever group you want to join! Even if you join a group or sport with only boys in it” her grandfather responded while smiling.
Jessica went to her new school with a feeling of relief and confidence. Up to this year, she had always felt like an outcast on the first day of school, especially if she were the new student at the school. That was because she was ordinary and average. She wore plain clothes, and she wasn’t very tall, and she wasn’t very pretty. She just looked… average.
Whenever Jessica attended a new school, she could never quite fit in and it would take her months just to make any friends or find a group to participate in. Then, she would spot a group of boys having fun together, and she would feel so jealous and left out, because she was a girl and NOT a boy. It would leave her wishing she could become a boy instead.
Jessica always felt ignored at a new school. She was ordinary but never bullied. She wasn’t strong or athletic enough to join any sports teams. She wasn’t good enough for soccer or softball and she wasn’t big enough for wrestling or basketball. She could never join football because she was a girl. She wasn’t smart enough to be a nerd and she wasn’t poor enough to be a thug. She didn’t skate or surf so she would never fit in with the skaters or the surfers or the bikers. She didn’t smoke weed, she didn’t smoke or do drugs, so she wouldn’t fit in with the druggies or the stoners. She didn’t have a sense of humor, and she couldn’t act, play drama, or tell jokes. She was just too average to fit into any group, and she had nothing that would help her to fit in with any group, club, or sports team. She had no special skill or talent in music, arts, or sports that would let her fit in anywhere. She hated it!
So, she went through her first morning of classes and nobody paid attention to her. When recess came, everyone went to lunch in the cafeteria and all the students sat at the tables, mingling together in their groups. All the soccer girls sat together while all the boys on the football team sat at their own table. The girls’ softball team sat in the corner while the male wrestlers sat on the other end. Jessica almost ended up sitting all by herself, when she made a decision. No, this was going to change right now!
Jessica had the ring on her finger. The one she got from her grandfather. The magical ring. So, she stood up and looked around the vast, expansive cafeteria. She could almost tell where each group was and what each group represented by where they were seated. She walked around, carrying her tray and her backpack, looking for a table with an empty seat.
Jessica finally decided to sit down at a table, occupied by a group of students belonging to…