Oh sweet mother of pearl, I feel sick. I looked in front of the mirror and eyed myself for the third time. I’ve never had to be the “new girl” before and I certainly had no previous experience of attending public schools. Growing up, I was always home schooled because of my hectic schedule from training to competing to travelling.
I picked out a white sheer top with a tank top underneath and paired it with a floral high-low skirt and a pair of brown sandals. I smoothed my long, brown, wavy hair and let out a breath.
“You can do this Alexis. Relax. Breathe.” I told myself before grabbing my bag and heading down the stairs.
I went to the kitchen and found my Dad sitting on a barstool, his head buried in today’s morning paper. He turned around when he heard me come in. “Hi Kiddo. Are you excited?” he asked, smiling at me as I grabbed an apple and took a bite. Excited? Was he serious? I was freaking terrified! I tried to talk him into letting me continue with home schooling, but noooo heinsisted that I need to go out there and experience life, have new friends as opposed to my teammates and the life lessons Grams always talked to me about.
“I guess…not really.” I answered, sitting beside him. He chuckled and handed me a small black box with a pink ribbon on it. “What’s this?”
“Just open it.”
I took the ribbon and the top of to find a pair of car keys. My jaw literally dropped to the floor because they weren’t just car keys-they were car keys with the logo of Mini Cooper on them. Was he serious? He’s giving me a car??! I squealed in excitement and grabbed the keys and my bag as he said, “Go and check the garage.”
I quickly hopped off the bar stool and sprinted towards the garage, and there it was, parked next to my Dad’s blue Panamera – my very own white Mini Cooper S. I hugged my dad, “Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” I said squeezing him a little bit tighter. He put a hand on my head and said, “No problem, kiddo. Now get going. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
My stomach flipped when I heard the words: first day. “But my day has been great so far…” I thought to myself, “Nothing can go wrong after this, right?”
The drive to school was quick, seeing as it was only a fifteen-minute drive from my house. As I approached the gates I contemplated driving past it and heading home. But I didn’t, I reluctantly turned the wheel and entered the gates, following the signs that lead to the school parking lot.
And because I know for a fact that they couldn’t see me because the windows were heavily tinted, I could not shake off the anxiety as every pair of eyes looked in my direction as my car strode past them. I stopped in the first available space and glanced around nervously, some were still staring but most of them resumed to their normal daily routines of: laughing, talking and flirting before the classes start.
I reached up and tilted my rear-view mirror, looking at myself. “You can do this Alexis. Relax. Breathe.” I say it aloud this time, to make it more convincing. I took a deep breath, grabbed my bag and stepped out of the car.
Almost everybody’s eyes were glued to me as I clicked the lock button on my car keys and tried to make my way to the out of the parking lot where I felt everyone judging me.
A group of boys wolf-whistled as I passed by, the girls giving me dirty looks and one of them actually stuck a finger in her mouth and fake gagged. Oh for the love of all that’s good. It took every ounce of dignity I had not to go over there and punch her in the face.
