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Caroline eyed Whitney suspiciously as if to say, “Why are you acknowledging me?” When she realized Whitney was sincere, she answered, “I think so.”

“Oh my God, [our Spanish teacher] is, like, so crazy,” Whitney said, and told a story that made Caroline laugh. Over the next several weeks, Whitney made an effort to ask Caroline questions and smiled at her in the hallway. (Whitney stuck to “small gestures because she’s emo, so she doesn’t like people.”)

For advertising class, Elizabeth and another wannabe were putting on a children’s rock concert. The advertising teacher had asked Whitney to emcee the concert because of her charisma and because she didn’t mind speaking in front of large groups.

When Whitney got to school Friday night, she helped Elizabeth iron tablecloths for a vendor’s booth. As they waited for the audience to arrive, Whitney told Dirk about her latest fight with Giselle. Elizabeth and her partner came over to hear what Whitney was talking about. Realizing that she was upset, they sat down, listened to her, and offered advice. Whitney couldn’t believe that girls who used to hate her were being compassionate. Dirk spent most of the night trying to convince Whitney to go to a punk party. Whitney declined. Partying didn’t seem all that important anymore.

Later, another so-called loser initiated conversation with Whitney. In the past, Whitney would have shot her a why-are-you-talking-to-me look—or the girl would have waited for Whitney to deign to talk to her. Now Whitney engaged in the discussion, talking about school and the girl’s crush on Dirk. In return, the girl smuggled over free cookies from another booth. As she waited to go onstage, Whitney played hangman with Dirk and Elizabeth. Preps wouldn’t have been caught dead playing hangman. Or eating cookies.

ONE NIGHT, WHITNEY AND her mother were finishing up dinner before an honor society event. “I’m going to leave in, like, fifteen minutes to pick up Fern,” Whitney said.

“You should call her before you leave,” her mother replied. “While you’re in the shower, I can do it.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind calling her house.”

Whitney’s mother put down her fork. “You know, I’m really proud of you and how much more grown up you’ve become this year. This is the most pleasant you’ve been basically since you were born.”

As Whitney showered, she reflected on what her mother had said. She had not stopped to think that in the process of improving her social world, maybe she had also bettered herself. She hadn’t realized that people would notice her efforts.

At the honor society event, students—mostly band kids and nerds—chatted in small circles backstage. Whitney stood in a circle with three band kids, listening to them talk about a concert. While she pretended to be interested, she saw Fern timidly approach a different circle, teeter on its perimeter, and then back away because no one thought to let her in. She tried another circle. Same deal. And another. Whitney’s heart broke. She excused herself from her group and approached Fern. “Hey, so you pumped for college?” Whitney asked.

Fern looked pleased. “Yeah, I have family who live near there.”

While they continued to chat, Whitney slowly herded Fern toward the band kids. Whitney stepped into the group and shifted to create an opening for Fern. As she included Fern in the conversation, the boys did too. The group talked until the ceremony began.

On the drive back, Whitney racked her brain for a topic for the twenty-minute ride to Fern’s house. She settled on a girl who had been the meanest girl at Riverland before she transferred to Fern’s old school. They talked about the girl the entire ride home. Whitney’s stories made Fern laugh. Whitney had never seen Fern laugh before.

At an honor society meeting a few weeks later, Whitney noticed Fern sitting in her usual spot at the back of the room. “Fern! What are you doing?!” Whitney shrieked. “Get over here with us right now!” Fern beamed as she sat down with Whitney and the rest of the group.

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WHY SCHOOL UNIFORMS DON’T ERASE CLIQUES