Stepping Out of Me

2

KIERA

Kiera stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She groaned as her thin arms struggled to put her thick kinky hair into a ponytail. Specks of hair products dotted the mirror as she had failed to clean it yet again.

Upon finally getting it, she quickly closed the tub of gel and exited the bathroom. "Awe." she hissed as her foot hit a box by her desk. Kiera checked her watch.

"Kiera!" her dad called from downstairs, eliciting an eye roll from the girl. "It's 7:30" She had time to spare but he just always liked her being early.

Kiera sighed as she grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs. Her dad stood in the kitchen with a mug turned at his head.

"I'm leaving now," Kiera announced. "Bye." She quickly walked towards the door in hopes of avoiding any more conversing.

"Wait," her dad called. "I have some things to say."

Kiera jerked around and looked at her dad. "Yea?"

The man shook his head before he spoke. "Remember, you have new opportunities. Don't make the same mistakes. And no boys."

"Okay dad, anything else?"

"Hmm...no." her dad replied.

Kiera nodded. "Got it." She turned and headed out the door.

The morning sun pierced her skin while the fabric of her shirt danced in the breeze. Kiera looked both ways before she crossed the street. Immediately, she took a seat at the bus stop and pulled her phone from her pocket. She knew she should stay away from social media but couldn't help herself. After four month break during the summer, she needed to check.

Unsurprisingly, there were no messages from Corie. As she scrolled she saw pictures of them hanging out together. Corie seemed to be closer to those people. The same people who treated her that way.

The hum of engines soon grew louder as the bus approached. Kiera snapped out of her thoughts and returned the phone to her pocket. When the bus stopped she stepped inside and scanned her card. Afterward, she quickly took a seat just in time as the bus moved once again.

Unfamiliar buildings whooshed past as Kiera glanced out the windows. She kept no record of these in her mind though, as it was otherwise occupied. The image of those pictures etched into her mind.

* * *

Kiera checked her watch as she stepped off the bus behind two girls. She had a good while to get to class, just as she suspected. Safe to say, she wasn't looking forward to entering the schoolyard. What's the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone? Changing schools in your senior year. Maybe.

A stone wall stood out front and read 'Welcome to Berkton High School'. Kiera paused as her eyes traveled up to the huge red and white building. Her dad told her it was a bigger school than her last one. One good thing about that was she'd be able to keep under the radar a lot easier.

The loud shrill of the bell pulled the girl back to the task at hand. Her feet immediately moved once again and took her inside. She pulled a paper from her bag with the information on the class schedule.

"English...room...204." Kiera muttered to herslf. "That's upstairs."

As Kiera spotted the stairs and made her way up, the force of a body came barrelling down almost knocking her over.

"Sorry," an overly happy voice immediately said.

"Can you watch where you're going?" Kiera rubbed her shoulder and took another step up.