pretty and plain

two girls walked to the school bus every day together. one was stunningly beautiful, with auburn wavy hair and porcelain skin. she dressed in all the most expensive styles too. the other girl was a plain girl, with strait brown hair and dull brown eyes. she dressed in simple clothes, some that her mother made for her.

the plain girl felt so lucky to have the beautiful girl as a friend. she was especially proud to walk to school everyday with her. she felt others looking at her with envy, and she enjoyed every minute of it. but she knew her friend did not feel so lucky to be walking with her. and she wondered how long it would last.

one day the beautiful girl approached the subject. she told the plain girl that she really didn't like walking with her every day. she said the plain girl needed to be funnier, have more interesting things to say, if she wanted to continue to walk with her. the plain girl was heartbroken. she went home that day and cried. she was shy by nature, and certainly could not change. then she made up her mind. she would rise to the occasion. she looked through books and found jokes, she read articles on how to win friends and influence people. that night she thought of a story that made her laugh and repeated it to herself and practiced until it was effortless.

the next morning she met the beautiful girl at her house, as usual. the pretty girl seemed bored and annoyed as usual too. her plain friend smiled her big smile and dug way down for the confidence she could find. she focused on the outcome. she wanted to be her friend more than anything.

her first story was brilliant. she picked her adjectives and adverbs perfectly. the pretty girl could picture everything in her mind. her timing could not have been better. she hesitated just enough to make the red head lean in for the punch line. by the time they reached the bus stop, the beautiful girl was laughing so hard she could barely breath. she was holding onto every word the plain girl said. and the strangest thing happened. the other people wanted to be around the plain girl. they gathered around and joined in the audience, for each story she told. the plain girl had never felt so loved in her entire life.

from that day on the plain girl spent hours and hours learning the art of conversation, the way to tell the perfect joke, and perfected every story she knew. all the beautiful people in the school gravitated to her, and longed to be her friend. she became the most popular girl in school. but she continued to walk with the beautiful auburn haired girl to the bus stop every day. and throughout her continued success in school and in life, she always gave her first beautiful friend credit. for making her become an interesting person.