Playing With Fire

"This is it?" I asked my mom, turning to look at her. I knew my new school was going to be small, but come on, the whole school looked about as big as my first grade classroom.

"Blaire, this is a small town. There aren't enough people here to fill a school like Academy of Scholars. Give it a chance, Hun," my mom reasoned. Academy of Scholars, my old school, was the most prestigious, private high school in my home town, and it was one of the top ten biggest high schools as well. How in the world did I go from the top of schools to a unknown, public, small town high school? Simple, I was forced to move from my hometown, Denver, Colorado, to this tiny place in the middle of Wyoming called Elkwood.

"Mom, the school is called Willow Tree High School. Everything here seems like it was specifically named to make this sound like the smallest town anybody could think of," I argued, refusing to get out of my mom's RX8. The car was nice, and definitely felt like a little piece of home in a town filled with pick-ups and SUV's.

"Blaire, I was transferred here for work. there is nothing we can do. You won't be going back to Denver until you graduate, and that's in two years. Suck it up, Buttercup. You're stuck here."

"Why did you make me change high schools my junior year? I was finally going to be an upperclassman!"

"At least we moved in July and not the middle of the school year. Now go Blaire, you're going to be late."

"Fine, fine, I'm going. Right after you tell me when I'm getting my car. Having my license is pointless if I don't have a car to go with it."

"Go," was all my mom said. With a huff, I opened the door and stepped out of the car. As soon as I had grabbed my backpack and closed the door, my mom took off. Rolling my eyes, I turned to face the school. With a population of 300 students, Willow Tree High was the smallest school I had ever attended, including my preschool. The only nice thing about the school was the campus. Lush, green grass was everywhere. Trees were scattered around and neatly trimmed, giving the high school a very nice look. The building was actually relatively new and big. Way too big for the small population it held. I wasn't going to argue, I felt more at home in big buildings.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the main entrance. Groups of students lounged in the grass. I could feel their eyes following me across the sidewalk and up the stairs. It was obvious that the gossip was going to start the instant the doors closed behind me. Honestly, I had expected it since I moved here in July.

At my old school, I had been the popular girl, which was quite an accomplishment at a school as big as mine. Although my stellar grades definitely didn't hurt, it had taken much more than that to rise to the top. I had to have the looks and personality to match. The summer before my freshman year, I went through a total makeover. I changed my wardrobe, makeup, everything. My new look was perfect. I've always had a pretty nice body. The best way to describe it is an hourglass shape. With tight clothes that showed enough to look sexy without looking slutty, I basically had every guy around drooling over me. My naturally straight hair is always neatly trimmed, shiny, and soft. It took me until December of my sophomore year to get it to the length I wanted it (around the end of my ribcage) and it has stayed that length since. I don't wear too much makeup, just mascara, eyeliner, and a little blush.

Of course, looks can only get you so far. However, I mastered the personalities I need. I'm sweet and innocent in front of adults. Around the girls I'm humble, but confident enough that they know not to mess with me. And around the boys, I always bust out my flirtatious, playful, bad girl personality. I've known for two years that I am, more or less, everything girls want to be and everything guys want. In a small town, a new girl is always a big deal. Throw my near perfection in, and it was clearly going to cause an uproar.

Now, I know I sound cocky, but after how hard I worked to become who I am, I think it's allowed. I spent two years in middle school working to get the perfect body. My entire summer before freshman year was dedicated to perfecting everything about me. After all that time and work, I think I'm allowed to be proud of the results.

As soon as I stepped into the high school, I looked around for the main office. It wasn't anywhere in sight. Of course. I couldn't get lost, it would ruin the reputation I wanted to create.

"Hey, new girl! Need some help?" someone called. I looked to my right, and instantly found myself facing a tall blond girl with bright blue eyes. I was instantly jealous. No matter how hard I worked on my body, there was nothing I could do about my brown hair and hazel eyes. Dying hair harms it, and I don't wear contacts.

"Who are you?" I asked, making sure I sounded confident rather than lost.

"Callie Porter. You?"

"Blaire Jackson. Would you mind telling me where the main office is?" I asked, swallowing just a little bit of my pride.

"Sure! Or, better yet, I can take you there. Our halls can get to be very confusing," Callie said, taking off down one of the five hallways that surrounded us.

"So, where did you move here from?" Callie asked as she led me through a maze of hallways. It took me a second to process her question; I was busy worrying about memorizing these hallways in time to save my image.

"Denver, Colorado. How long have you lived here?" I replied.

"My whole life. Most of the people here have lived here since they were born. You're family is only the sixth to move in since I can remember. Hey, don't worry about memorizing the school. It looks confusing, but you'll figure out a system. Everybody does," Callie said reassuringly. I just nodded and took a second to look at her. She was really pretty, and it was natural beauty too. Her body, her face, and everything about her was close to perfection, and her messy bun and lack of makeup proved she really didn't try for it at all.

I expected Callie to leave after she showed me the doors to the office, but instead she walked into it with me, quickly getting the receptionists attention.

"Hey Mrs. Rose!"

"Well hello there Callie! And you must be the new girl, Blaire? Alight, well we have all your stuff here," the old lady addressed me, pushing a stack of papers across her desk. "On top here is your class schedule. Below it is all of your locker information, and below that is your transcript. I snuck a quick look at it, and I must say, I'm impressed. It's flawless! You grades are perfect. You must have worked hard for that," she praised. I found myself blushing as Callie grabbed my transcript and gawked at it.

"Dang! Do you have a life? Besides studying?" she giggled. I just looked at her in confusion. I just met her and she was already teasing me? That's just a little strange.

"Actually, I never study. It just confuses me. I guess I got lucky with my genes or something," I told her with a smirk. I had always taken pride in saying that, especially since it's true.

"Well it looks like we have first, third, sixth and eighth hours together. And fifth, but that's lunch, so everybody has it," Callie stated, glancing over my schedule.

"Hey Callie, would you mind showing Blaire around the school today? Make sure she gets to her classes?" Mrs. Rose asked.

"Sure thing! First hour starts in like three minutes though, we better get going." With that, Callie grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the main office, leaving me wondering if I'm ever going to get used to this town.

A/N: So, I know it starts slow, but it really will be good, I promise! Expositions don't tend to be very exciting. It should pick up in a chapter or two, just please stick with it. I'm going to try to update daily, but during busy weeks I might only get one or two updates in. But anyways, please vote, comment, and share! I really need more readers! Thanks guys, you rock for reading this! ~Lee