Wishing I Was 23

Chapter 1

                Stomach in knots, Carly stepped foot into the high school she would be spending her Senior year at. New state and a new school all both in just a couple months, there had been no time to make friends yet. She found her way into the front office easily and stopped in front of the secretary's desk.

"Good morning," the middle aged woman cheered. "How can I help you?"

"My name's Carly Sheffield," she answered with a nervous smile. "Today's my first day here."

"Oh fantastic," she smiled. "Welcome aboard." The secretary turned around and started digging through a few papers. Handing a sheet to Carly she said, "Here's your schedule. Your locker number and combination are at the bottom."

Grasping the white sheet in her hand she mumbled a soft, "Thanks."

"Rydel Lynch," the secretary called. A gorgeous blonde girl in the hall wearing a floral dress turned around. "Come here please." Rydel came into the office. "This is Grace. Please help her feel welcome. Could you show her to her first class please?"

"Sure. What do you have?" she smiled sweetly.

Carly gave Rydel a shy smile before looking down at her schedule. "Um, drama."

"Oh, me too," she looped her arm through Carly's. "We should get going. Classes will start soon." Rydel led Carly through the student packed halls as she babbled, "You're really going to like the teacher. Everyone does."

"Who's the teacher?" Carly asked as her smile grew, feeling more comfortable with Rydel as the minutes passed.

"Mr. Lynch," she giggled. "He's my older brother. You'll really like him. He makes everyone feel welcome."

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"Yeah, my younger brother Rocky goes here too. He's a Junior. What year are you?"

"I'm a Senior," Carly answered as they reached the auditorium.

"Me too," Rydel flung the auditorium door open. They walked down the main aisle together.

On the stage was a tall blonde guy wearing black converse, black dress pants, blue buttoned shirt rolled to the elbows, a black tie, and a black vest.

Rydel stopped them both in front of the stage, "This is Carly. She's new here."

The man gave Carly a bright white smile, "Welcome. I'm Mr. Lynch. Hold on a second and I'll get you a script." He swung his legs up on the stage and walked off into the back. A moment later he came back carrying a small book in his hand. He hopped down off the stage and stood in front of Carly saying, "We're just starting auditions at the end of the week."

Carly grabbed it and looked at the cover. Romeo and Juliet. "Great," she smiled.

"Do you know the play?" he asked with a smile.

She looked up at her face, "I've seen the movies. The 1968 version is my favorite."

"You're going to fit in here perfectly then." The bell rang and Mr. Lynch called, "All right. Everyone take a seat!"

Carly sat down in the front row next to Rydel and crossed her legs. She opened her script as Mr. Lynch jumped back up on the stage.