The Scars Within

Back to School

After having leftovers for dinner, Dad and I move into the living room. Finding nothing on the TV, we decide to watch a movie. We decided to watch an action movie, so while Dad was starting the movie, I went to the kitchen to put popcorn in the microwave. After the popcorn is done, we cuddle on the couch and watch the movie. By the time the movie is done, it's about 9:00. After saying our goodnights, we both went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up with the alarm and got ready for school. It only took me about half an hour to eat and everything else, so I had plenty of time to mentally prepare for school. Knowing how people around here are, I'll probably be questioned. If not everyone will give me those pitying glances and say something like 'It'll be okay Carmin.' or 'I'm so sorry Carmin.' I really don't want to hear that right now. More often than not they know nothing about what I'm actually going through, so I would prefer if they would just act like nothing happened. Grabbing my bag, I started walking to school.

Once I finally get to school, I notice that almost everyone is watching me. Great. As if I didn't get enough attention already. Sighing, I continued to my locker. Once I get there, I'm surprised to see that Stacy isn't waiting for me like usual. Shrugging it off, I walk to my History class. The teacher, Mr. Brand, has been teaching here for as long as I can remember. He's old school, but that's what I like about him. He gives the homework and doesn't accept excuses. Sitting in the front of the room like always, I give Mr. Brand a small smile and greeting. He returns the gesture, and then the rest of the class comes in.

After History class is done, I go to Geometry, then across the school to Graphic Arts, then when that's done it's back across the school to go to Personal Finance/Accounting, and then Gym. The day goes by slowly, like yesterday did. Right now, it's time for gym class. The teacher, Mrs. Daes, said that we'll be playing volleyball for the next couple of weeks. I don't mind volleyball, I mean, I'm good at it and all, but it's not my favorite sport. After changing into my gym clothes, I walk out into the gym to see that the volleyball nets are already set up.

Suddenly, I remember that I haven't seen Stacy all day. 'Well, that's weird. I have lots of classes with her but she hasn't been in any of them. I wonder why.' Sitting down on the bleachers, I wait for class to start. Finally, Mrs. Daes walks out from her office and stands in front of the other students and I.

"Now, I'm sure most of you don't know, but next week we will be getting a new student. She is going to be a Sophomore and will be in this gym class with us. Be sure to be nice or I will find out about it." Excited murmurs start going through the students. 'Do you think she'll be cute?' 'I wonder what she looks like.' 'Where is she from?' 'I hope I like her.' "Alright class, settle down. We're playing volleyball so I will be splitting you into teams. Juniors and Seniors vs Freshman and Sophomores. I'll give you a couple minutes to get to know your teams, and then we'll start."

The class quickly split into its groups. Once I walked over to the rest of my team, I knew they felt awkward around me. I guess I can't really blame them. I wouldn't know how to talk to someone who's mother just got killed. I merely smile at them, and introduce myself. That must have eased their discomfort because they slowly started to open up a bit. By the time we started playing, we were all pretty friendly.

For the rest of the class it was pretty even between the teams. Both teams won and lost, and we were all tired by the time class was over. After changing in the locker room, it was time for lunch. Today for lunch we had spaghetti, so I was pretty happy. I quickly finished eating, and went to the library. When I got there, I was surprised to see someone else on the second floor. They were also sitting on my couch. I walked up to her, and spoke.

"Um, excuse me? Not to sound rude or anything, but who are you?" She seemed startled by my presence, but she lifted her head to look at me. She seemed to be about my age, with really cool eyes. One was blue, and the other was green. She also had dirty blond hair that was longer (but only a couple inches in length and styled) on the top of her head, but shaved on the sides. I almost thought she was a boy for a minute. The only reason I knew it was a girl was because of her figure. No boy has that many curves. She stood from her spot, and held her hand out to shake mine.

"Hello there. My name is Ricca Willow, I just moved here today. My family is busy unpacking so I thought I would come to the library and check things out."

Shaking her hand, I reply, "Nice to meet you Ricca. My name is Carmin Harley. From what my Dad said I believe you're my new neighbor. I thought you were supposed to arrive next week though."

"Well, that's when I'm starting school. We came here early to get settled in before I started." 'That makes sense I guess.'

"How do you like it here so far?"

"It's really great. Definitely a lot warmer than Canada. To be honest, I kind of miss the constant snow though."

I smiled. "Don't worry Ricca. We get plenty of snow in the winter." We both sat down on the couch, and talked until I had to go to science class. "It was really nice meeting you Ricca. I hope we can talk more later."

"I would like that. See you around Carmin." Waving to each other, I leave and go to science class. For the rest of the day, I think about how nice Ricca is. I can only hope that she won't be one of my 'friends,' but will be an actual friend friend. It would be really nice to have someone to talk to, especially now. I guess only time will tell for now.