Dirty Little Secret

one

"Here you are, Sugar Plum," Nana says with a goofy smile on her face, showing off her pearly white dentures. "I made you lunch for your first day of school. Left a little note inside, too!"

"Thanks, Nana," I smile, taking the brown paper bag from her shaky hands. I knew I wasn't going to eat whatever it was she made me, but I felt bad telling her so I took it anyway.

Mom gives me a smile from the opposite side of the room. "Have a good day at school, Sweetie. Make some friends!" she calls as I walk out the front door.

I hop into the drivers seat of my moms SUV. I somehow managed to convince her to let me drive myself to school since she'd be staying home with my grandmother all day. Plus, the town we moved to is pretty small, so if she needed anything she could easily walk a few blocks to get it.

The new school I'll be attending, Fullerton High, is about a ten minute drive from our house. I came a lot earlier than most people, but I thought it'd be best since I still have to go to the office to get my schedule and everything I needed.

When I left the house I didn't really feel too nervous, I just wanted to get it done and over with. But now, as I sit in the parking lot looking up at a school full of teachers and student I don't know and halls I'm unfamiliar with, I feel a swarm of butterflies erupt in my tummy.

What if my teachers are mean? What if I can't find my classes or forget where my locker is? What if people think I'm weird?

I look down at my outfit. An old, slightly tattered up Led Zepplin shirt, jeans, dirty vans, and a flannel tied loosely around my waist. To me this outfit is normal, I feel comfortable wearing it. But what if people at this school think of me as some sort of outcast? Like I should be wearing expensive brand name clothes and carrying a designer handbag that's not even made to carry books.

I sigh and type out a quick message to Stella. She still has a few days of summer left before school, so its no doubt she's still sleeping, but thinking about her and Parker helps ease the nerves a little.

I finally manage to drag myself out of my car and walk inside. The school is pretty nice. It doesn't look too old or dirty, which is what I was expecting.

I look around for any signs leading to the main office and sure enough, after almost ten minutes of walking in the same circle twice, I find myself back where I came in, and the main office is right in front of me.

Today is going to be a long day.

***

The first few periods flew by pretty quickly. I was shown where each of my classes are and how to get to them this morning, but I still found myself getting a little bit lost.

When I finally get to my Chemistry class, which is all the way on the opposite side of the building two floors up from my previous class, I'm nearly out of breath from walking so far. This school is almost twice the size of my old one.

I swing the door open to be met with about 25 pairs of eyes staring at me, plus the teacher. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I'm new to this school, so I wasn't really sure where I was going," I say to the man in front of me. He's tall and lanky with large glasses and a balding head of hair. I glance at the board to see that he's taken the time to write his name, Mr. Fisher.

"That's quite alright, darling, I understand. Hopefully you're the last one because I only have one more open seat," he chuckles. "You can take a seat in the back there next to... Um, Adrian?" Mr. Fisher questions, pushing his glasses farther up his nose and then pointing towards the empty chair.

"Aiden," the boy corrects. "My name is Aiden."

I place my books down on the large black table and take a seat next to Aiden. My first impression is that he's good-looking. Very good-looking. He has messy dark hair, and dark eyes to match. His lips are pink and plump, and his skin looks soft, with a few small freckles strewn across his nose and cheeks.