Different Kind of Love

Chapter 1 First Steps

Hi, I'm Megan.  Megan Gabriella Maxwell.  I'm what you could call your average fourteen year old girl.  I have straight, brunette hair with straight, brunette bangs.  I have hazel eyes and a large amount of freckles.  I'm not what you would call 'pretty', but I'm not ugly either.  Just in the middle.  Like how I am for a lot of things, caught in the middle with my two best friends fighting over me, being the middle child, with a snobby, older sister and a younger sister who thinks she's the most important creature on the planet.  Being caught in the middle, when my parents got divorced and my dad stayed in Winsconsin, while my mom, Kaelyn, Dylan and I moved to sunnyside California.  I'm caught in the middle with a lot of things, but I'm getting it straighted out.  Maybe it's the hot Californian weather or the peacefulness of the neighbourhood, but I think I might be turning into someone else than the Megan Maxwell in Winsonsin.  I'm no longer the frantic, stressed out girl, worrying about being 'popular' and as cool as the other girls, I'm calm and peaceful here.  Serene.  I may be actually coming to terms and beginning to feel...Happy.

Okay, I was wrong.  My mom had just come home from the grocery store, armfuls of food in her hands.  Kaelyn, the extremely snobby when she's around me but the extremely good everywhere else, rushed over and helped carry the food items to the fridge and started pulling out vegetables and fruits.  I just looked up from where I was sitting, out on the back deck, right next to the screen door, where I could see and hear everything going on inside, and deciding no one needed my help, I continued to sketch a bird in my fancy sketchbook Dad gave me before we moved.  "I'd like to see some Californian pictures next time I see you, Meg." Dad had said several months ago, giving the sketchbook to me, "Sketch for me.  Sketch for your Daddy."  I've been trying to fulfill what my dad asked me to do by drawing pretty much everything in California I saw, our new house, the beach, the public park, and even random people I saw passing by.  I love to sketch.  Anyway, Mom came home and said cheerily, "Hello, girls!  I've just registered you all for school!"

And my body turned to ice.

"School?" I gasp, coming to the screen door.  I knew eventually that I'd have to go back to school, but I didn't think it'd be  that soon.  School is not a place I really appreciate, there's long, boring classes, long, boring tests, long, boring hours you have to count down, so it would be over.  I'm also not an A+ student, so my bad grades are also a part of it.  Then, there's the drama.  Boy drama.  I've never really had a boy crush in my life, but from the way my friends in Winsconsin talked, you would think they had millions and counting.  I've never seen what the fuss is over boys, they're just another gender, they're not better or anything.  I've had a few friends who are boys here and there, but they were never people I liked like before, you know?  Just friends.  Suddenly, my thoughts head back to present day as Kaelyn snaps her hand in front of my face.  "Earth to Megan," she sneers, "I think you heard Mom.  She did say 'School'.  Big deal!  Oh wait, it is for you, because you just stay in this house and sketch while I go out and socialize!"

"No fair!" I yell back at her.

"Is too fair!  Even Mom agrees.  If you want to find an enjoyment in school, then you should have some real life friends, not the people in your sketchbook.  Look, there's a Before-School-Bbq on Friday, at the high-school we will both go to.  Mom's making you come with me and talk with some other students.  So if I were you, I would start planning out that fancy outfit of yours."  Then, Kaelyn left me alone as she texted on her phone to someone she calls 'important'.  I stood there, not knowing what to do next.  But then it hits me, I may not be happy anymore.

Three days later I stood in the open field by Peterman High, teenagers streaming past me, laughing, talking.  I wish I didn't wear what I wore, the Before-School-Bbq didn't seem like a formal event.  I was wearing a strapless white dress with a navy blue ribbon around my middle and sandals with white flowers on them.  Every other girl was casual chic.  Kaelyn tried hard not to laugh at my poor choice of clothing, but managed to grunt that it showed off my nice 'curves'.  I felt like a potato sack.  Slowly, I inched my way towards the paper plates, grabbing one and dishing different sides onto it.  Potato salad, garden salad, French Fries.  Then, I went up and asked the man at the Bbq if I could have a hot dog.  He drops it on my plate and I reach for ketchup and mustard, squirting them in squiggly lines on my hot dog.  I made my way to a quiet bench all by myself and ate my food.

"Are you new?"

I heard a voice behind me and almost screamed.  I turned around to see a red-headed girl, with red hair in a messy bun, stuffed into her ruby red baseball cap.  She had on a deep red, short sleeved, turtle-neck top and a buffalo plaid sweater.  She wore grey yoga pants and red high-tops.  She grinned a big grin that looked like the Cheshire Cat's smile.  "Sorry," she said, "I didn't meant to scare you.  I'll try this again.  Are you new?"

"What makes you think that?" I tried to play it cool and relaxed, but I was really panicky.

"Because I've never seen you before and I know pretty much everyone here."

"Okay, fine.  I'm new." I admitted, "Megan's my name."

"Megan, I like your name." the girl nods, "I'm Dinah Colby."

"I like your name too." I said, "So you go to Peterman High?"

"Duh, why wouldn't I go here?  Only Peterman High students are allowed to these babies!" Dinah gestured at the Bbq.  I felt pretty stupid after that, Dinah did have a point.  I kicked a pebble across the ground and said, "Ah, well, um, I..."  I couldn't think of anything to say.  My breath got faster and my heart thudded against my chest.  Dinah must of noticed this because she smiled and said, "Oh!  I didn't mean to be harsh on you, I'm sorry.  Sometimes I get fiery, hence the red outfit, I didn't mean to startle you.  Would you like to meet some of my friends?  We're the cool kids!"  And with that, she took off North and I followed, nodding like I was the dumbest girl ever.

"Okay Megan, meet Anna, Susan, Piper, Elliot, Sam, Carl and Peter." Dinah waves her hands at seven people.  The girl who was Anna had a sweet face and pale blond hair.  Susan had long, curly black hair, freckles and sharp eyes.  Piper had adorable glasses and a spiked, jet-coloured, pixie cut.  Elliot was on the smallish side and had light brown hair.  Sam had short, black hair in very small curls around his head.  Carl had shaggy blond hair and round glasses.  Peter was big and burly and had a short, army cut on his brown hair and deep, brown eyes.  All those names flew around in my head and I decided to take my time while remembering them.  I waved at all of them and at the time, who I thought was Anna, said, "I like your dress."  She smiled and moved her foot around in a circling motion down on the grass.  "Thanks!" I replied, looking down and smiled.  This day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!

We all danced awkwardly to a few songs the DJ had started playing, Dinah mumbling that there wasn't any 'good' songs.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a girl, standing at the very back, as if she wanted to be a part of this, but didn't know how.  She had blond hair that was very wavy and came all the way down to her waist.  I could tell she had a ton of freckles and possibly acne.  She wore pink sundress, flip-flops and one of those lose sweaters, that was tan.  "Who's that?" I asked Dinah, who was swaying her arms side to side in a strange choreographed dance she and Susan were doing.  Dinah looked to the direction I was looking and went, "Pshaw, Megan.  It's just Ember."  You would think that she was talking about a disease instead of a normal name.  I turn at the girl, Ember, who was walking away sadly.  "What's wrong with Ember?" I asked Dinah.

Dinah looked at me with a very weird look across her face and said, "Oh, you know.  She's one of them."

"One of what?" I was startled.  Did Californians have new terms I didn't know about?  "What is wrong with Ember?" I ask again.

"She's lesbian!" Susan exclaims, cutting in, "You know, she likes other girls."

"One time, rumour has it, she even had a crush on me!" Piper did a trust fall into Anna's arms, pretending to faint, "That was horrible!"

"Lesbian?" I asked, bewildered, "Why are lesbians so bad around here?"

"Because," Susan explained, sharp eyes in my face, "they're attracted to people the same gender as them.  They are not normal!"

"Ew, are you guys talking about Ember-the-lesbian?" Carl cuts in, with Elliot, Peter and Sam.

"Soon you guys will be lesbians!" Peter laughs his head off with the other boys.

"Uh, yeah.  Like that will ever happen.  C'mon Petey, let's dance." Dinah smiled and turned bright red, like a cherry.  She grabbed Peter by the arm and brought him to the courtyard of Peterman High.  "Let's dance, Peter.  That DJ's finally playing good songs!"  And suddenly, I forgot about being nervous around others, my parents' divorce, high-school, Ember, lesbians, I was too busy dancing.  Enjoying the night.