Falling For Fiction

Chapter 1

    I squeeze the steering wheel like it’s my life preserver and grind my teeth together as my little sister belts out the last line of Avril Lavigne’s Here’s to Never Growing Up just before it repeats back to the intro. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my favorite songs, but when you’re driving in a car with your little sister’s off-key singing totally ruining it for you and when you’ve listened to it for about the thousandth time, you get a bit sick of it.

“I swear if you don’t quit singing, I’m going to kick you out the window. You’re small enough for me to do it.” I threaten.

She stops singing mid-chorus to say, “I’m trying to pump myself up for the first day of school and this is my motivation song.”

I roll my eyes. “Just what we need, a song for freshman about not growing up when they need to be more mature.”

“Are you calling me immature?”

    I glance at her from my peripheral vision. Over the summer she grew out her dark hair and it was now in curls around her shoulders. Her bangs are fringed over her glaring hazel eyes and she’s wearing a hot pink racer back dress with a white cropped jacket over it. Nope, she was way more mature than what I gave her credit for, at least in the social and fashion department. She had her first boyfriend in 6th grade while I am still forever alone and she was even popular back in middle school.

“I got a more fitting song for ya.” I say, reaching for my phone in my bag, glancing at it for a second before pressing a button that sounded the Dead Man’s March. Life is more fun with sound effects.

 Now she rolls her eyes. “And you’re calling me childish?”

“It’s not like you’re actually scared of being a high school student. I promise you as long as I’m around, the upperclassman won’t even come near you.”

    We pull into the student parking lot and Claudia immediately jumps out to greet one of her friends that are waiting by the door. I look around me and see all the other kids’ happy reunions and realized I wouldn’t be experiencing any of it this time around. I was going into my senior year friendless, but everything about this school year is going to change.

    It’s the typical first day of school with everyone talking about their summer vacation and how so-and-so changed during the break or who hooked up with whom. You know your usual gossip. In fifth period I learn that a new girl enrolled at Wilkerson High.

“I heard she was temporarily placed in a mental institution.” A guy tells the girl beside him. I’m sitting a few rows in front of them, so can hear what they are saying and it’s not like they don’t want anyone to hear them anyway.

“What do you know? The girl just arrived.” The girl defends. I nod in agreement.

“Trust me. I had first period with her and she gives off this ‘don’t screw with me vibe.’ I’m thinking she’s a sociopath.”

 “Is that her?”

  I look up at the girl’s question, just in time to see a pale, lanky girl make her way into the classroom. She’s wearing a faded black t-shirt with a skull pendent on a chain around her neck and dirty blond hair that looks like she hadn’t washed it this morning, Thick black kohl outlines her light blue eyes and  when she makes contact with all of us, it’s like she’s threatening us to say anything to her. She may look like a homicidal mess, but she struts through the aisle with confidence and sits right in front of me and I get a whiff of her and she smells like nicotine The gossipers’ voices behind me immediately go to faint whispers as they continue their conversation.

    I don’t know her, but I admire her already. Despite what everyone is saying about her, she has an indifferent attitude…just like me. Not to mention no one is the classroom has the gall to be in my proximity and yet here she is. But that’s because she doesn’t know me yet.