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Tatum McKay always loathed the first day of school.
Unlike most students who were excited to reunite with their friends on their first day, Tatum could only think about the pointless syllabuses and dreadful icebreakers that they had to do in every class period. Tatum never could come up what to say for an interesting fact about herself or her hidden talents. Not to mention, in almost every class, it seemed like the name of Maisie McKay was always brought up in conversation whether it was from a previous teacher of hers or one of the underclassmen who she mentored when she was a senior. Don't get Tatum wrong, she loved her older sister to death and she was proud of all of her achievements, but there were times where she often grew tired of just being 'Maisie's little sister'. For once in her life, she wanted to be seen, heard, and recognized as herself, Tatum McKay. However, she knew as long as she was in this city, school, and under her parents' roof, nothing would ever change for her. Maisie would still be the favorite child and Tatum would forever continue to live on as the family's disappointment.
Even though her parents never openly admitted to her being a disappointment, Tatum already knew regardless. It seemed like whatever Tatum did, no matter how hard she tried, was still never enough for her parents. Sure, it stung a lot, but over time, Tatum came to face the fact that nobody was perfect, not even Maisie. And with this newfound realization, Tatum decided that she was not going to dwell on her past mistakes, but to pursue her passions instead.
"T, this is absolutely amazing." Graham gawked causing Tatum to stop her inner monologue. His bright blue eyes skimmed once more over the newly finished song as his smile widened across his lips. Tatum couldn't help but giggle underneath her breath. The song that he was reading was her new favorite so far and she had just finished it two nights ago. It also perfectly encapsulated her life at the moment and she'd bet if she shared it with more then a lot of other people could relate to it as well. "This is a masterpiece. I don't know how to even describe it, but your talent needs to be shared with the world, T."
The blonde snorted before she shook her head. "You're just saying it, because you have to. We both know that you and Liam are obligated to like my songs."
"Oh whatever, T. If you showed your songs to anyone else except for Liam and I, I'm positive that they will love it and will say the same thing as I do. Plus, what do you have to lose?" Graham did bring up a good point because she honestly had nothing else to lose. However, it seemed like her deep rooted fear of failure said otherwise. "Just think about it, T. All I'm saying is you have an absolute gift."
Tatum rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before she licked her lips out of nervous habit. Graham only nudged her slightly and gave her a reassuring smile. With that, the two continue to walk towards to school in comfortable silence. Graham started to read some of her unfinished songs while Tatum only took in her surroundings. In the matter of minutes, the pair of best friends found themselves at the double doors of East High. Graham then gave Tatum her notebook which she slid into her backpack. "Junior year," Graham announced nervously as he wiped the palms of his hands on his jeans.
