Chapter 6: Starting Anew

My alarm buzzed at 6am, and I sleepily smacked it, trying to get just a few more minutes of sleep in before I had to get up. I wanted to put this off as long as I could. I wasn’t looking forward to the day that was in front of me.

It was going to be my first day of school at Robertson High School. I was nervous. Thoughts of my first time in high school had kept going through my mind last night, keeping me awake far longer than I had wanted.

Finally I realized I couldn’t put it off any longer, and sat up in bed. I stretched and slipped out from under the warm embrace of the covers. After taking a quick moment to straighten up the sheets and blanket, I pulled off my t-shirt and shorts, along with my panties and tossed them all in the hamper. I then padded naked into the bathroom.

The shower, thankfully, helped wake me up. So when I stepped from it, I was feeling slightly better. I figured that if I had survived high school once, I could do it again. Maybe, with luck, I might even be able to test out of some classes in a couple months. That could shorten my high school career by a bit.

I probably spent way more time doing my make-up than I needed to. I wasn’t exactly sure how much was too much, but I also didn’t want to look like crap on my first day either. I was trying to strike a balance where I didn’t stand out one way or the other. I took the same philosophy while picking out my clothes as well.

Finally, with a sigh, I closed the front door behind me and locked it. Tucking the key into my new purse, I shoved it into my backpack and slung it over a shoulder, then walked to where I had found the nearest school bus stop to be.

There were a couple teens already there, who watched me as I approached. I just gave them a tight lipped smile and pulled my phone from my pocket.

One of the teens, a Hispanic boy with stained jeans, a faded t-shirt, and short dark hair was talking excitedly to another in Spanish, looked at me again, said a couple more things, then they both burst out laughing.

My apprehension rose. Was this going to be a repeat of Indiana? I hoped not. I tried not to look at the two boys who were now playfully scuffling at the bus-stop.

Within a few minutes the yellow bus arrived and I boarded. The driver gave me a look as I came aboard and I briefly told him I was a new student and it was my first day.

That seemed to satisfy him.

Looking down the aisle, I saw most seats were already full. Figuring it was a role of the dice, and it would be safer to sit with another girl, I chose the first seat that wouldn’t put me sitting with a boy, and sat down next to a shorter Hispanic girl near the center of the bus. I saw the laughing boys had taken their seats at the back and were already deep in conversation.

“Hi there.” The girl next to me said. “Haven’t seen you on here before. New student?”

“Yeah. Just moved here.” I replied, looking at her. She had a heart shaped face with dark hair plaited into two braids.

“Nervous?” she smiled.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked.