SWAPPED

New Kid

As I tuck the white button down shirt inside my plaid skirt, I look in the mirror and put my hair in a half up and half down hairstyle. I slip on the dark red blazer from the Roswood uniform and adjust the tie around my neck. I grab the white socks and stretch it up my leg until it's barely under my knees. I swing my half empty backpack over my shoulder and head to where my mom is making breakfast in the kitchen. She always makes the best blueberry waffles.

My mom gives me the warmest smile as she slides a plate of blueberry waffles towards me. "Good morning, mi amor."

I smile back at her "Good morning, Mami." As always, it tastes amazing and I manage to finish it up in the next 2 minutes. I look at my watch "I should get going."

She takes my plate from the table. "Okay mija, get to school safe." She says giving me a little kiss on my cheek. I slide on my black uniform shoes at the door and head to the bus stop.

Most people in Rosewood Academy don't use the buses, it's mostly for the people who's drivers can't take them to school that day. Unlike them, you'll always catch me there listening to music on my wired earbuds. At first the bus rides felt like forever since we live 30 minutes away but as the years gone by, I guess I got used to it. Now it only feels like a few minutes and I'm already at the front gates of the academy. I pray that today will go smoothly for me, after all, it's my last year of high school.

When the bus finally makes its stop at the front gates, I grab my backpack from the seat next to me and head down the empty aisles to the door that swings open before me.

Before stepping out, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Please don't let anything go wrong today, or ever in fact. Please.

I open my eyes again and head towards the schools front entrance. The Headmaster is at the entrance, greeting all his students that make their way in.

Headmaster St. James spots me as I make my way through the door. "Good morning, Alora." He greets. "I'm looking forward to an amazing year with you."

I greet him back and wish him the same. I pull out my phone and search for the screenshot of my schedule hidden in my camera roll. As soon as I find it, I navigate through the hallways and get a bit lost in between.

I walk up to someone while my eyes are still locked in with my schedule. "Hey would you know where-"

They turn around and I look up at them. My eyes widen when I realize my grand mistake.

He shifts a bit as he leans against the locker and gazes down at me like a predator does at its prey. I already begin to notice a playful smirk growing in the corner of his mouth. "Well," He begins. "who do we have here?"

"S-sorry, wrong person-" I turn around nervously and begin to walk away.

I'm put to a halt as Enzo grabs the handle of my backpack. "Not so fast." He pulls me back aggressively from behind. As I'm pulled backwards towards him I trip over my footing and land on the floor. Him and his little group of friends begin pointing and laughing.

Enzo picks up my backpack from off the floor, "Let's see what's in here shall we?" He looks around at his groups of friends then at me when he lifts an eyebrow.

He unzips my backpack and tilts it upside down on top of me. All my notebooks and materials come spilling out, crashing on my head and on my lap. "Hm, nothing interesting." He says in disapproval as he throws my empty backpack at me, walking away.

I quickly pick up my scattered notebooks and quickly shove them into my backpack in embarrassment. When I go to pick up my last loose paper a hand reaches it before me. I look up and see an unfamiliar guy. I stand up to get a better look at him and can confirm that I've never seen him around, he must be new.

"Thanks, you didn't have to."

"Don't worry about it, I'm Lucas by the way. Nice to meet you." He introduces as he hands me my papers.

It's been a while since I've had someone in this school actually talk to me. "Oh um- I'm Alora..."

The bell rings and I realize that I'm late for my first day, god can this day get any worse?

"Well I should get going, nice meeting you." I look back at my schedule and find it 3 classrooms down the hallway.

As soon as I walk in, a wave of despair hits me.

There he is, sitting at the back of the classroom without a care in the world.

The teacher instructs me to take a seat in front of him. Is she trying to set me up? I take a deep breath in and walk down to the back. His eyes follow me as I make my way towards my instructed seat almost as if he's already scheming his evil plans.

Before the class begins, one last student walks into class late. It's the new kid from earlier, Lucas.

"Also class," The teacher calls out. "A new student will be joining us this year. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Lucas walks to the center of the classroom. "Hey, I'm Lucas Novak, I moved here from here from Boston a few weeks ago."

I hear whispers coming from around the class. I look around and notice girls blushing and giggling within their quiet chatter. Jeez they haven't even met the guy yet, I don't see what's to get so excited for honestly.

He walks down to the only seat left which happens to be the one next to me. "Hey Alora, What a coincidence that we're in the same class, right?" He smiles at me as he takes his seat.

I smile back. "Yea it's a small world."

I look back down at my desk. Maybe I might actually have the chance of having my first friend in high school. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste.