Touch of Innocence

6

"What's up, baby?" Clay asked when he picked Hadley up from school. "Did you get your grade sorted out with your teacher?"

"Yeah, she fixed it thankfully," Hadley replied. "How was your day."

"Good, how was yours?"

"It was okay. But I wanna go lay in my bed and take a nap now. The day is simply too long and too boring."

Clay smiled at Hadley's dismay and reached across the center console to kiss the side of her head. "Don't have such a negative attitude right now. You still have four years left."

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't remind me."

When they got home, Hadley threw her book bag into her room and jumped on her bed, resting her head on her pillow.

She squealed when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her up into a chest. "Clay," she groaned. "I'm trying to nap."

"You can't nap yet, baby. You need to help me cook dinner."

"Can't you do it yourself?"

"Nope."

She went limp in his arms as he carried her to the kitchen.

Hadley gulped as she stared at the building of monstrous heights and frightening undertones in front of her. In her mind, the only things that awaited her inside that building were monsters and goblins who were going to eat her alive.

"Ready?" Paisley chirped next to her.

"No, not even a little," Hadley replied as her hands shook from her nerves.

"It's high school, Hadley! This is so exciting! Just think of all the good looking older boys who will be here."

Everything Paisley said had the opposite effect of soothing her anxiety, in fact, it only increased her worry. "That didn't help," she said.

"It's going to be okay, Hadley, I promise. We have four out of our eight classes together. So I'll be with you for half of the day. You'll be perfectly fine, I know it."

Hadley took a deep breath and nodded, though she didn't feel any calmer. "Let's go then," Paisley urged and walked forward. Hadley followed behind her, her anxiety peaking as she walked down the sidewalk and through the doors.

People were everywhere. So many people who looked much older than she was. They all looked like they knew exactly where they were going and exactly what they were doing. She could not relate. She had no clue what was going on or where she needed to be.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself.

"Okay, we have our first class together in 208, so I think we need to go upstairs," Paisley said.

Hadley nodded and followed beside her as she led the way. "How do you know where we are going?"

"I don't, I just assume we need to go upstairs so I'm trying to find a staircase."

Oh.

Hadley envied Paisley's extroverted attitude. These kinds of situations made Hadley fall into a panic, whereas Paisley thrived here. She wasn't phased to ask people questions or make conversation with strangers. Hadley on the other hand had a plethora of issues with social interactions.

When they got to their first class, there were only a few other kids already in their seats, and she recognized them all from middle school. She calmed down some after realizing that she knew everyone. Throughout the rest of her day, the only stressful part was walking in the hallways between classes because people from every grade level were in the hallways, not just the people she knew.