Anomaly

First Day of School

My room might have been a welcome contrast from the Academy, but Eastbrook High School was not. Ugly brick building. Limited windows. People roaming around looking as though they wanted nothing more than to leave.

But one major difference became immediately apparent: The Academy had pretty much every race and ethnicity you could imagine, while Eastbrook High was seemingly populated by only white people. Even though I was half-white, I felt like the half-Vietnamese part of me was the equivalent of a giant spotlight following me around.

Self-consciousness was a new feeling for me, and I immediately didn't like it.

"Hi," a high-pitched voice said, interrupting my thoughts. "You must be new."

In front of me was a girl in a cropped hoodie and jeans with her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. She looked as though she hadn't spent any time on her outfit, yet she also looked perfectly put together.

"Hi," I replied with a smile. "Chase Harrison."

"Jenn Androsky. Do you need help finding your class?" she asked.

"That would be great."

As Jenn led me down the hallways, I began to map out the school in my head. It wasn't a very big building, so I was confident I'd have it completely figured out by the end of the day.

"It's good you're starting now. School only started two weeks ago, so you've barely missed anything," Jenn told me as we walked. "Where did you move from?"

"California," I replied easily. "A suburb outside San Diego."

"Did you leave a girlfriend behind?"

The question caught me slightly off guard. "No, no girlfriend."

"Hm," Jenn replied with a coy smile. "The girls back in California must have been idiots."

Is she flirting with me?

She seems like she's flirting with me.

"Hey, bestie!" another girl exclaimed as she walked up to Jenn. She gave her a hug, then turned to me. "And who is this?"

"New guy from SoCal," she answered. "Chase, this is Sierra."

Sierra scanned me from top to bottom. "He looks like Simu Liu."

"Oh my God, Sierra. You're just saying that because he's Asian."

"It's not racist," she insisted, "Simu Liu is hot."

I knew I should be flattered that these girls thought I was attractive, but for some reason, I just felt uneasy.

Be cool.

It turned out that "being cool" was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

"Do you play any sports?" Sierra asked, saving me from figuring out how to respond.

"Basketball," I replied.

"Oh god, Emmett is going to love him."

"Who am I going to love?" a male voice asked.

I turned around to see a guy approaching us. He was slightly taller than me, but definitely not as muscular.

"Hey, babe," he said to Sierra as he gave her a kiss. "Who's the new guy?"

"Chase. He's from California, and he plays basketball."

"You'll have to join the team, then," Emmett said. "I'm the captain, and we could definitely use more people."

"Sure," I agreed.

A pinging noise came from the loudspeakers.

"We've gotta get to class," Jenn said, dragging me down the hallway. Emmett and Sierra followed behind us.