Amber

15| from ear to ear

[not edited]

The scraping of heels against the floor silences the noisy classroom. The culprit holds her head high, demanding respect from her victims—the students. Professor Stanley grins at the class, before walking to her desk at the front of the classroom.

Her voice is authoritative, her British accent rich and full of life. "Hello, Good Morning, to everyone. A special Good Morning to those students—half the class, actually—who wish to be anywhere but here. I'm feeling the same way."

A chorus of laughs resounds in the room, only stopping when Professor Stanley lifts her hand up and is met with complete silence. "I heard there is a new student?" She immediately asks.

The attention is now diverted to me, and Professor Stanley smiles, "Great. You don't mind introducing yourself, do you?"

My eyes widen in shock and I instinctively sink in the chair, nervous. This, I hadn't prepared for. I didn't remember that in most schools, new students had to introduce themselves.

She notices my discomfort and smiles at me sweetly, "That wasn't a request."

The class laughs again, and this time, she doesn't silence them.

It is the first day of school and I'm already on a teacher's bad side. Just fantastic.

My eyes burn with embarrassing tears, and I shakily stand from my seat, doing my best to project my voice. "Hi everyone." I fidget with my fingers nervously. "My name is Amber Peterson and I'm from Brooklyn, New York. I'm sixteen and I mostly just love listening to music."

The second the final word leaves my lips, I'm sitting back in my chair, instantly part of the half of the class that wishes they were anywhere but here. And, to my surprise, Professor Stanley shifts her focus away from me and begins her lesson.

But I'm too upset to pay attention right now. I'm already uncomfortable and disappointed fifteen minutes into my day. I had great expectations for this school, and they are already being shattered.

And, while today hasn't been completely awful, I know it could have been better.

My gaze is drawn to Jordanne, who is staring back at me blankly. "Suck it up," her eyes read, and so I do.

I eventually force myself to pay attention, focusing solely on the notes I take—in an attempt to prevent myself from reliving the earlier events of the class. And when the bell rings, I'm the first person scrambling to leave.

I don't even wait for Jordanne, deciding to find the next class on my own. I could use some time to myself, and quite frankly—I'm sure Jordanne doesn't mind. She doesn't seem to like the idea of me too much anyway.

Drama is my next class and I know I have it in the auditorium. Courtesy of the tour from yesterday, I know where the auditorium is, so I shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. But unlike yesterday, the halls are filled with swarming students—some going up the halls, the rest going down— making it way harder to move freely and taking much longer time to get there.

When I get to the auditorium, I pull the doors open and find that at least half the class has already made it. I spot a waving June who sits beside Lucy, and wave back before making my way over to them.

"I think that'll be our thing—me waving at you to come over?"

I shrug lifelessly, already feeling exhausted. I tell myself it's simply the first-day jitters, but the humiliation Professor Stanley brought me earlier has me thinking otherwise. I'm hoping it gets better, though, because with my anxiety, there's not much I can take.

June leans into me, "Are you okay? I know Professor Stanley can be an unbearable woman."

"How did you find out about that?" I inquire, baffled.

She shrugs, "Word spreads around here like wildfire."

"But it just happened?" I wonder.

"It goes from ear to ear, Amber, and it doesn't stop until the entire school knows. You should honestly be careful of who you trust." She tells me.

I groan and wave her off, too tired to think through the information. "I'm already exhausted, and it's only the first day."

June pouts, "That's alright. Other than Professor Stanley, all our teachers are nice. I promise you'll be feeling better by the end of the day."

I nod mindlessly in response.

June sighs, playfully poking my side before promising, "It will get better."

a/n: very short chapter but i HAVE to dish these out before school starts. only God knows how often i'll be able to update when school starts.

hope you enjoyed it, nonetheless.

not even slightly edited, im really sorry abt mistakes.