Stubborn

Chapter 2

I wake up and whack my irritating and now slightly broken alarm clock. My eyes struggle to stay open, and I have to fight every urge not to go back to sleep. Hauling myself out of bed, I force myself to take a shower. Last night, I slept lightly and was tossing and turning despite my exhaustion. It felt like I was being watched. It was probably a mix of sleep deprivation and nerves about school causing my paranoia, but it felt so... icky.

I dry myself with a fluffy white towel and check the forecast. Cold, again. I pull on some black, ripped mom jeans and a warm burnt orange sweater. I shove my feet in some battered white converse. I leave my hair down and grab my school bag from one of the boxes I have yet to unpack. It feels like a thousand butterflies are flapping inside my stomach, and the thought of eating almost makes me want to skip breakfast. Almost. I run downstairs to my Mum, tossing her key in the air, waiting for me, and I grab an apple on my way out the door.

Mum drives me to school on her way to work and parks on the street, the perfect distance from school.

"Good luck today 'hon. The house keys are under the plant pot. You're okay to walk home, right?" Mum asks, putting on a brave smile. I bet she's nervous about her first day of work as well.

"Yep, you're home at 6, right?"

"Mhm, feel free to order pizza or something if you get hungry," Mum says, embracing me in a quick hug and then giving me what I think is a reassuring thumbs up. I hop out of the car and stroll towards the red brick building, earning a few stares. By the looks of it, this town is small enough that people immediately notice a new kid. People begin to whisper, probably starting rumours about me already, as I make my way to the easy-to-locate office.

I push open the glass door and see a middle-aged woman with red glasses and greying-brown hair in a bun. She looks up and smiles warmly when she sees me.

"Hi, I'm Marcie Thomas, I'm new," I state to the office lady. She nods, types something into her ancient-looking computer, and looks back at me.

"Here's your timetable and locker combination. You'll find all the books you might require this year in your locker, have a nice day."

"Okay, thank you," I say on my way out.

I walk to my locker and find a neat stack of new books inside. I check my timetable, grab all the books I need then shove them in my bag. I turn around. I'm about to head off to my first class, but I bump into someone.

"shit! sorry!" I say to the unfortunate stranger,

"No, no. It was my bad. I came over to say Hi! You're new, right? I'm Louise, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you! I'm Marcie, and yeah, I just moved here from new york."

"New york? That's so cool! I wish I could live in the city instead of this dumb town" She laughs.

"North Valley's... cute?" I suggest, then, laughing as well.

"So what brings you to our good ol' town?"

"My Mum got a job here, plus it's always been my dream to move to a town where they still hold pep rallies!" I joke.

The bell signalling the start of the first-period rings, and a slightly panicked expression forms on Louise's face.

"We better hurry, the teachers here tend to be kinda strict. What class do you have first?"

"History in K10, where's that?" I ask

"Oh, me too, follow me," Louise calls, flipping her brown hair around, and in a flash, is rushing down the corridor so fast, I have to jog slightly to keep up.