It's Hard to be Lee

1. Making New Friends

"I can do this! I can survive the first day of high school, away from all my friends. This is a test, that is all. I am a nice person. I make friends quickly," LeAnne "Lee" Anderson said to herself as she entered Larkin High School for the first time.

She let out a big sigh as she walked down what seemed to be the longest hallway she had ever seen. A lot of other students were in groups and huddles, discussing summer and new clothes they wore. Lee was all alone.

Lee finally made it to her locker, hoping to get the stupid combo on the first try so she would not look like the freshman that she was. Cute guys were everywhere. It was like the school was an apex for a modeling agency. She had not seen a guy she did not think was hot. She did not have the nerve to speak to them when they smiled and said "Hey" to her. How was she going to enjoy school with no one to talk to her?

Her family recently moved over the summer to Larkin Valley, California, a small town right outside of Los Angeles, population sixty-five thousand, so relatively small. All her friends from junior high were still in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents believed in her, and when she told them she wanted to pursue modeling and acting, they dropped everything for her to help make her dream become reality. She knew she had the goods. She did lots of local modeling before being spotted on Instagram by an agent who wanted to rep her.  

Since the move to Larkin Valley, she had done a few modeling shoots, nothing big. She was ready to branch out and take acting lessons and go on auditions. She heard Larkin High School was the "It" school for talent. Several of its students already had major success. It was her dream high school, and she was here in it.

Though without any friends. How was she going to stick out in a school full of beautiful people all trying to be noticed in their own way?

"I have to know someone here!" Lee said to herself. She looked around, not recognizing any of the half-grown students. They must all be upperclassmen.

"Am I the only freshman?" she wondered.

"Lee! Lee Anderson!" she heard someone call her.

Someone knew her name? Little old her? She turned to the voice calling her. She smiled when she recognized a familiar face. Yvette Willis, lived down the street from her and she met her when they moved in at the beginning of the summer, but she had not seen her since then.

"Yvette!"

She grabbed her and hugged her like they were best friends, even though she barely knew her. It was as close as she was going to get being hundreds of miles away from home.

"Wow! It's great to see a face I recognize," Lee told her.

"No kidding! I went to LM, but I still don't know anyone. This school is huge! I've gotten lost twice and I've only been here five minutes," Yvette babbled on. She remembered she was a talker.

"Everyone looks so old!"

"And these guys are all ca-yute! Purrrr!"

They both giggled at that.

"Well, first class starts in a couple of minutes, what do you have?" Lee asked.

"Physical Science, ugh! Hate it already."

"So do I!" Lee was giddy now. A new friend she could hang with and swap stories with. "We have class together! Let's go find it."

Lee and Yvette started down the hall, Yvette with her head down on her phone scrolling through it.

"Third floor! You mean there's more than one floor in this place?"

"Didn't you have a tour at orientation?" Lee asked.