Junior High

Chapter 1

"What should I wear tomorrow?" I mused. I had never cared much, and probably never would, for clothing, or fashion as a whole, but I really needed to get a new wardrobe. I was going to start attending eighth grade in my new junior high school tomorrow. I looked back at my closet. I didn't have anything to wear. It was overflowing with pilled sweaters, dirty socks, and smelly jeans. I shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen where my mom was standing, cooking breakfast.

"Mom," I said, "I REALLY need to go to the mall."

"I thought we went shopping a few weeks ago," she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"You mean a few YEARS ago! I have nothing to wear tomorrow, and my clothes are all filthy!" I reasoned.

"Okay, fine," my mom gave in.

"Cool!" I smiled.

"We're going after breakfast," she told me.

My full name was Breanne Campbell, but I preferred it if everyone just called me Bree. I didn't really like fancy, long full names to begin with. I was thirteen years old. Although I lived in California in the US, I was technically of German descent. Which was a little ironic since I'd never been to Germany before. I was pretty tall and lanky and had fair skin, blonde hair with a streak of blue and pink at the front in my loose bangs, and cool brown eyes. I always wore a purple beanie, and I always tied my hair back in a ponytail. I wore bracelets and wristbands by the dozen at all times, and I loved music and always had at least one earbud in my ear whenever I could. I was always calm, collected, logical, and considerate. I didn't let anything or anyone affect me in any way, and I always put on a straight face so nobody knew what I was feeling on the inside. I was also very curious and loved mysteries.

I had three sometimes-annoying younger sisters: Skipper, who's twelve, Kiara, who's eleven, and Stacie, who's ten.

Skipper, also called Skip, had dark blue eyes, long, straight dark brown hair with a purple streak at the front and at the ends, a slim build, and was very cool and calm like me and loved technology. She was on her phone all the time and loved ignoring people. She was probably my favorite sister, too.

Kiara, also called Ki-Ki, had a softer and more outgoing personality than me and was usually very friendly and popular. She had long eyelashes, piercing blue eyes, and really pretty wavy golden-blonde hair. Kiara was the most fashionable sister, and she loved jewelry. She always wore necklaces and earrings, and she usually liked putting her hair in a messy bun everyday with a variety of scrunchies. I had not asked Mom and Dad to let me get my ears pierced, though. I didn't really care about that.

Stacie, my youngest sister, also called Stace, was more sporty and loved wearing activewear like tank tops, colorful bomber jackets, shorts, and running shoes. She loved basically EVERY SINGLE SPORT in the world - her favorites being volleyball, basketball, and swimming. She liked putting her dirty-blonde hair in a high ponytail all the time, and she wore no jewelry most of the time; instead, she wore a blue-and-white baseball cap 24/7, which was one similarity between us, since I myself was so attached to my beanie. She had bright green eyes and an athletic build.

My mom had pale blonde hair and bluish-green eyes, and my dad had darker brown hair with cool brown eyes. I was the only sister who had brown eyes instead of lighter-colored ones, and Skipper was the only one with brown hair. I think I got my eyes from my dad.

Not too long ago, I had been FORCED by my mom to try out for the junior high cheerleading team, since they accepted members who were in seventh grade and up. She kept saying that it was an absolute NECESSITY in junior high school. Ugh. I HATED girly, shimmery stuff like cheer. So of course I said no. I wasn't going to try out for ANY sports teams, at least for the time being.

At the mall, my mom, sisters, and I headed to Lululemon first to buy some activewear for my future gym classes. My sisters had insisted on tagging along because, well, they had to buy stuff for back-to-school, too. There, I bought joggers, a couple of shirts, a few shorts, a black rain jacket, and bomber jackets. I also found a black fanny pack that I thought would be good to use for carrying my phone, earbuds, school cafe card, and other important stuff in. Skipper bought a few shirts, Kiara bought a few pairs of leggings and scrunchies, and Stacie bought a couple of shorts. After we were done there, we went to Nike, Converse, and Vans. I bought a basic pair of black-and-white Nike runners, Converse high-tops, and Vans sneakers. My sisters each picked the shoes they wanted - each fitting to their styles. Then, we headed to H&M, and I picked out a black leather jacket that I thought looked really cool and a couple of jeans, t-shirts, shorts, cardigans, jackets, and sweatshirts and hoodies. Skipper looked for jean jackets, jeans, and flannel shirts, Kiara searched for sweaters and jewelry, and Stacie looked around for more baseball caps and other athletic stuff. Next was Aritzia - I didn't know if I would even find anything I liked there. They sold clothes that were, like, CROPPED and SHORT and simply WAY TOO FASHIONABLE for my liking. However, when Kiara dragged us to the skirt section, Mom forced me to buy two pleated e-girl style skirts, saying that I needed to "glam up a little". WHEN would I even WEAR these?! DEFINITELY NOT at SCHOOL, though, THAT'S for sure. UGH. So much for not buying anything here. Kiara, on the other hand, was dancing around, looking for skirts and "cute" little tops that were honestly maybe a little TOO cropped and tight-fitting for MY liking. But then again, they all looked good on Kiara. I mean, she had pretty blonde hair and blue eyes - there wasn't ANYTHING she couldn't pull off. Stacie was waiting in the corner. These clothes were way out of HER LEAGUE (ha-ha, nice pun there, Bree). Skipper was also waiting for us (well, for KIARA, really), watching her phone.

The second last place we had to visit was the jewelry store. I picked out a few charm bracelets, including a silver one with a single bluish-purple moon on it. It was probably going to be my favorite lucky charm bracelet from now on. I also selected tons of thread bracelets and wristbands for me to wear everyday along with the ones I already had (I had QUITE a collection now). Meanwhile, Kiara was in heaven. She bought all kinds of jewelry. Skipper only bought a small silver necklace that had her name on it, and Stacie, to no surprise, bought nothing.

The last thing on our shopping list was school supplies. We went to buy basic supplies and stationery that we would need for school. I wasn't exactly a neat freak, but I had always been organized, especially when it came to schoolwork. The last thing was my backpack. I bought a big Fjallraven Kanken backpack that was dark khaki-green. It was really roomy, which was good for school, and I loved how it looked. I liked neutral colors. I also bought backpack charms and keyrings, including one of a purple beanie (OMG) and a purple cat. My sisters all bought their different styles of backpacks and accessories. 

Whew! We were finally done with my shopping spree at the mall. After my mom did some grocery shopping, we went to our car and headed back home.

When I looked over everything that I bought, I had to admit that I was pretty content with my new, clean wardrobe. My sisters (especially Kiara) were bustling excitedly in their rooms, trying to organize their new things. I put my new shoes away neatly and threw away all of my stinky, old clothes. I was finally ready for tomorrow. I set my alarm to 6:00 A.M.. I didn't want to be late, especially on the first day of junior high. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I fell fast asleep, dreaming about my (hopefully) perfect day of school tomorrow.