What is family?

Chapter 24

Arianna

"And stay away from Angelina.", Ash said looking straight in my eyes, warning clear in his voice.

I averted my eyes, not being able to look in his cold eyes for long. I gulped and nodded. He didn't say anything and looked straight at nothing in particular, waiting for me to get off the car.

I took my backpack and stepped out of the car and closed the door.

"Just walk straight.", he said once again and drove off.

I sighed. What more can I really expect!

I started walking straight as Ash said. There were trees on both the sides of the road. The school is not located in the busy city, but seems like it is a little far from the city. 

I walked for ten minutes and came face to face with a really big school. I have never seen such a big school. It was huge, with greenery spreading everywhere. There was a road for the vehicles to move and a pathway for people to walk. The building was massive, it looked like a castle.

I reached the gate, but stopped. I'm really nervous right now. This is a new school. That too such a big school. There were a lot of kids and maybe staff passing through the gates. Students were greeting each other and going in together. I took a deep  breath to control my anxiety.

You can do it, Arianna!

I encouraged myself and finally stepped inside the gate. There were a lot of students here. It's just making me more anxious. Can I blend in?

I pushed all the thoughts to the back of the brain and walked towards the huge building. I need to go to the office and get my locker and time table.

I stepped into the building and saw a board pointing towards the administration office and walked towards that direction.

Thank goodness! There are boards everywhere, making it easy for me to find the office. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to find it in such a huge building. Sigh.

I walked there and the receptionist greeted me with a smile. I gave a small smile.

"I-I am A-Arianna.", I stuttered. I'm getting anxious. I need to calm down.

"I'll get you your things right away, sweetheart!", the receptionist chirped.

She was a woman, probably in her early forties. She was short with hair tied in a bun and wore a formal shirt and skirt. She has a warm smile on her face while she's working. Definitely someone suitable for a receptionist.

"Here you go, sweety!", she handed me my locker keys and time table.

"Thank you.", I smiled at her.

I then started walking down the hallway. Students were running around, talking and laughing. I wonder if I'd be able to make a friend. That thought started making me more anxious. 

What if I'll be all alone in this big school? This question brought back memories of my old school and how I was bullied, not physically but verbally. How people would laugh at me and call me a freak as I never spoke to anyone because my foster parents warned me not to make friends.

That thought makes me more and more anxious. My palms started getting sweaty due to all the tension and the noise around me. I was breathing heavily. I think I'm going to have a panic attack. No not here. I don't want it to happen here. The thought of these people seeing me going through it just spikes my heartbeat. My hands started trembling. I am going into panic mode.

"Hey Anna!", I heard Angelina's voice and turned around.

She was walking to me with a confused expression. Looking at her, somehow reduced my anxiousness. Friends or not, at least I do know someone here.