[1] EXPOSED

1.1 - Identity

1. 1  Identity                                                                  

            It had been about three weeks since my last day at Andrews High. Being the loving and caring parents they were, my ruthless, obstinate mother and distraught father decided that the best thing they could do was move to a completely different city altogether. I was stripped from my home, taken from my friends, and sent out to this place called New Hanover High School to fend for myself.

            Now, you would think I would be happy to move away from Andrews considering what happened, but I wasn’t mentally or emotionally prepared to face the challenges that came with being the new kid. However, I could use a fresh start to erase and forget about everything that happened with Phoenix and the pictures. I could be… a rich prep from New York City, or I could be a crazy cowgirl from the flat plains of Texas, or the relative of some famous movie star in California.

            I could be anyone I wanted, as long as I could pull it off. After a long and thought provoking ten minute drive to the school, I decided to be a caring and generous girl from Sunset Christian Academy. It was a school I passed during the move from Andrews, and it was small enough that the chance of meeting someone that came from there was slim to none.

             I was going to be an innocent Sunset Christian Academy student who hadn’t done anything bad in her life. I could only wish that were true.

After a stressful and monotonous morning, I was ready for this stupid day to be over already. It was almost lunchtime; so I clenched the tiny slip of paper with my locker combination on it and let out an exhausted sigh.

            The paper in my hand let out a loud crunch as I pulled it open to read the three number sequence, Locker 202, Combination 14, 41, 4. I read the numbers aloud to myself because I remembered things better that way. I turned the dial furiously until the locker swung wide open as if it were inviting me inside. In the door, there were leftover sharpie marks with profanity all over it. There were stickers of kissing lips and faded hearts that must have been there for years. Nobody even bothered to clean it before I unfortunately inherited this space, but it could have been much worse. In between the floor and the back, there was a slip of notebook paper in it that must have been from the previous owner. Annoyed, I threw my thick green math book inside and crushed the poor thing, ready to move on and get this day done with.

My next objective was to make some new friends, which I had failed to do during the first two blocks of class. Lunch was the best time to do that, so I counted the money in my purse and started walking through a crowded area when everyone suddenly stopped talking and turned around.

In the midst of the high-school class switching chaos, a beautiful girl with perfect wavy blonde hair and bright turquoise eyes stepped a single high heel into the hallway. She had just about every boy drooling at her feet, and rightfully so. She was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. With a flip of her hair, she cleared her throat and walked up to me.

“So,” she began, “You must be the new girl?” She had a comforting smile but an intimidating appearance. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to be nice or trying to assert her dominance.

This girl must have been some school celebrity, because everyone around us was listening intently to our conversation like we were talking about something important. I wasn’t used to so much attention considering I was sort of a nobody back at Andrews. People knew I existed, but nobody cared about me until those pictures were scattered all over the gym floor.