Metamorphose.

Chapter Three.

That whole day was a blur or embarrassment and confusion. Teachers introduced me repeatedly as "our new student from Washington". I was too shy to correct them and tell them my correct state of origin. Besides, I guess it didn't matter. At any rate, I was still from far away, and still a weirdo. Sigh.

Joseph remained friendly - although, a little too friendly. It made me uncomfortable. He was always just a few inches too close. I found that we had two classes together; third period and fifth. After third was a ten minute break, which I fretted over. I didn't want to linger by my locker and pretend to be endlessly busy cleaning it - although that was starting to sound like a better idea than trying to associate with people . . .

In the end, I didn't have a choice. My trusty sidekick was by my side at the end of class, chattering about how lame this week's assignment was. I tuned Joseph out, nodding now and then to make it seem like I cared. My mind was on other things, like how I was going to survive living here when I already felt like screaming at the top of my lungs.

Eventually, I realized it was too quiet. I looked over at Joseph, and he was silent. I couldn't remember if I'd offended him by not conversing with him, or if he'd just run out of things to say. I wanted him to like me, though - who knew how many other people would actually talk to me in this place? - so I asked him the first question that popped into my head.

"When is lunch?" was my brilliant topic of conversation. Great - now he probably thought I was a pig. At least it got him talking.

"After fourth period. It's break now, you know. Let me walk you to your locker. Do you need to go to your locker? You probably don't have much supplies, right? Well, my friends usually hang out in the other hall. I could introduce you to them. They're pretty cool. Except, well, Mandy is kind of . . . unwelcoming. But she'll warm up to you. She's a good friend once you get to know her. And Dylan might freak you out, but he's real funny, honest. He just likes to beat the fire outta people . . . " He rambled.

I absently wondered what it was with these weird expressions I kept hearing.

He lead me to the next hall over, where it seemed the majority of the students were. Joseph advanced to a group of mostly normal-looking group of six kids. My heart began to pound. I was extremely shy, and honestly I didn't feel like making new friends at all. But then again, these people might be the only ones accepting of me, if they were anything like Joseph.

"What's up, man?" a well-muscled boy with a buzz cut said. Him and Joseph proceeded to bump knuckles and slap each other on the back. I stood there stupidly, wishing more than anything I could disintegrate into dust.

After another agonizing minute, Joseph seemed to remember my existence and turned to walk back to my side. "This is Kelsey," he introduced me. The three girls in the group eyed me with looks that were not friendly. The three boys stared at me - I couldn't detect what they might have thought.

The buzz cut boy was the first to break the silence. "Fresh meat, eh?" he asked. The girl closest to him smacked the back of his head. She turned to me, and I believe she meant to look friendly. It was too strained to look friendly though, and mostly just looked like she was concentrating really hard on something.

"Dylan's an idiot. I'm Lauren," she smiled. She shifted the intimidatingly tall stack of textbooks in her hands to her other arm, and held out her hand. I shook it.

"Nice to meet you," I said timidly.

It seemed to break the ice. The blond girl next to Lauren followed her friend's example.

"I'm Joline. My parents are retarded for giving me such an old lady name though, so call me Jo. Spelled J-o. Without the 'e' on the end, cause that's how guys spell it," she laughed. She seemed talkative enough. I faked a laugh with her and shook her hand too. It all felt too formal.

The girl at the back of the group had long, black hair. Her eyes were ringed with too much eyeliner, and she wore all black. She must have been the "Mandy" Joseph was talking about earlier. She made no move to introduce herself, and I was much too afraid to approach her myself. After the other two boys - Caleb and Luke - shook my hand and sarcastically wished me luck here, Joseph took it upon himself to make sure I was acquainted with Mandy as well.

"Mandy?" he asked.

"What?" she whipped back. Her voice was unusually high and reedy - not the kind of voice I'd expect from someone who looked like she should have horns coming out of either side of her head.

Joseph nodded his head in my direction and raised his eyebrows. I'd never been more embarrassed. Why did he want goth girl to like me anyway? She'd probably kill me faster than she'd be my friend.

Abruptly, I felt awful for being so judgemental. Hey, for all I knew, Mandy was a nice girl . . . Somewhere deep inside her.

"I'm Mandy," the girl said without any emotion in her voice at all. She heaved a sigh, rolled her eyes, and went on in the same tone, "Nice to meet you."

The hostility rolling off her was almost tangible. 

"Hi," I stammered. I was afraid to say anything more.

"Well. Uh, Kelsey, what class do you have next?" Joseph asked after one short moment of awkward silence.

I glanced at my schedule and told him I had gym next. 

"Oh, that sucks. Coach is a real jerk when he wants to be. I think Jo has gym too . . . Don't you, Jo?" Joseph asked.

A few minutes later, I was walking down the hall to gym class with the upbeat blond that was Jo. She chattered on endlessly, but it was harder to tune her out. She was actually very loud, and although she wasn't exactly the kind of girl I would normally befriend, she seemed nice enough.

The day dragged on until it eventually came to an end. When the final bell rang, it seemed like a lifetime ago that I had arrived at this foreign place with my father. I was tired. I could only imagine what tomorrow would bring.