Change of Plans

Chapter 10

They call me Belle
They call me Stacey
They call me her
They call me Jane
That's not my name
That's not my name.

I groaned and rolled over, searching for my phone. Stupid alarm! I fumed as I turned it off.

"Yo! Camille, you up?" Carter knocked on the door.

"Unfortunately," I muttered, and padded across the room. "Good morning," I mumbled when I opened the door.

"Good morning!" Caitlyn chirped as she passed by.

I pursed my lips. "What's she up to?"

"No idea," Carter shrugged. "Anyway, we have to leave in an hour so get dressed," he called over his shoulder as he walked back to his room.

"Where are we goi—" I almost finished the question before it hit me. I stifled a groan, school.

After taking a shower, I stood in front of the mirror and studied my reflection. I held up a grey cardigan in one hand and a plain white tank top in the other and sighed, I had changed my outfit four times already. I wanted to do things differently at this school, instead of being the plain Jane that I normally was. I placed so much effort into finding the perfect outfit since I figured that if I felt great about the way I looked, chances were that my confidence level might actually rise.

I had never worried about the way that I looked at my old school but that was mainly because my classmates usually ignored me, so no one cared if I showed up wearing sweats everyday— except April, of course.

"Fifteen more minutes!" Carter yelled.

I sighed and put the top and the cardigan on. "I guess it's settled then," I said as I struggled into my favorite pair of black jeans, regretting all the junk I'd been eating lately.

I raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, hoping to put something in my stomach before leaving. Couldn't throw up on an empty stomach, right?

"You look great kiddo," Tori assured me as I wolfed down my waffles, almost choking because of how fast I was eating.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Alright, time to go!" Carter called from the doorway.

I groaned as I put my plate in the sink and tried to slip past Tori. "Good luck sweetheart," she pulled me in for a quick hug. "Have a great day."

I pulled away, confusion rippling through me. Part of me wanted to embrace her but my gut was telling me to just walk away. I'd been hurt enough as it was.

She called Caitlyn into the kitchen as I made my way out the door. I followed Carter to the car and slipped into the backseat. "Why are you all the way in the back?" he asked while strapping himself in.

"I'm trying to avoid having an argument with your sister, and I'm guessing that calling shotgun is only gonna piss her off."

He contemplated my answer then nodded in agreement. "Fair enough."

Caitlyn stormed out of the house less than a minute later. My head snapped to the front when I heard the door slam. "Take it easy there," Carter chided at her.

She ignored him and stuck her earphones in.

I leaned back in my seat and gazed out the window, mentally sighing at the skyscrapers that graced the cloudless blue. It really was a beautiful city, and under better circumstances I would have been jumping with joy at the prospect of calling it home, but I couldn't make myself like it here without feeling like I was somehow betraying my dad. I felt the sting of tears and quickly composed myself. I wasn't about to have a meltdown today, my tear stained face was not a pretty sight.