The Seventh Grade Wars

CHAPTER 4: CRICKET

I woke up for the first day of school completely buzzed. Seventh grade was going to be so awesome, I was going to remember it even after I graduated. Chelsea and I were going to be unstoppable. 

Then I remembered. We couldn't be unstoppable because she was on B Side and I was on C. 

That really stuck a fork in my mood. But I dragged myself to get ready and went downstairs, where my mom was pouring coffee and my dad was at the stove. 

"Hi, Cricket," he said cheerfully. "Big day today!"

He was making pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads. As usual, he used fruit for Mickey's face. Blueberries, pear slices, and banana pieces arranged to form a smiling face. He always did this on the first day of school. It was kind of a tradition. 

"Yeah," I said. He handed me a pancake platter, and I sat down at the table to eat. 

Suddenly, my mother's eyes just about popped right out of her head. She was staring at something behind me. I turned around and nearly spat out my orange juice. 

My sister Alana was coming down the stairs. She had on tiny whitewashed denim shorts and a black crop top. That was pretty much it. Her blonde hair was spilling over her shoulders. She looked pretty, but strange. Alana never dressed like this. 

"Alana!" my mom exclaimed. "What do you think you're wearing?"

Alana shrugged. She reached over my shoulder and plucked a blueberry of my plate. Mickey Mouse's eye was gone. 

"Mom, chill out," Alana said, and rolled her eyes. 

"You're hardly wearing anything at all," my mom continued. "Go upstairs and change."

"No," Alana said, which took me a little by surprise. Alana was usually the good child and I was the one who was always getting in trouble. "My friends and I planned this outfit. I'm not going to back out."

"It's not backing out," my mom said. "It's just being modest."

"Alana, will you listen to your mother?" said my dad. 

"Bye," said Alana like she hadn't heard. She grabbed her backpack and left the house. 

My mom sighed. "High school's done so much to her and it hasn't even started yet."

My dad chuckled a little. "She's growing up, isn't she?" He came over and tugged at my ponytail. "You are, too. You better get going if you want to make it there on time."

I'd been to some of Alana's recitals and presentations at school before, so I vaguely knew my way around. At least, I knew more than some other people because while they were aimlessly wandering around, I made a beeline for the C Building and located my homeroom class pretty quickly. 

There were only a couple of kids already in the classroom. Chelsea was not one of them, of course. It was only then that I realized that Chelsea was pretty much my only friend. 

This is how I think it goes:

First you have your really close friends. The ones you go everywhere with and do everything with and you pretty much tell each other anything. For me, that was Chelsea. 

Then you have the people you know. You're not really good friends, but if you pass each other in the hall, you'll maybe say hi and "how's it going?" 

Next are those who you just know of. The boy who was rumored to have blown up a toilet last year. That girl who plays a thousand sports, one of them are judo. The girl who is mean to everybody. That cute guy in your science class. Maybe you've never actually talked to them, but you still know who they are.