Crimson Pines

Fresh Blood, Fresh Beginnings

I awoke the next day with sore arms and a sunburn giving my face an ugly red tinge. I covered most of it up with concealer and foundation but it just gave my face a strange colour. It was still cold so a fluffy corduroy jacket was in order and I pulled on a pair of leather shoes with woollen trim to keep my feet warm for the day. I'd never been a fan of school, people usually made fun of my worn down clothes but my Aunt made sure my wardrobe was full of new clothes to keep me warm.

I came down the stairs with my backpack, I hadn't had time to buy anything after my strange adventure the night before. My Aunt was worried sick and when she saw me she nearly had a heart attack. My arms looked as though I'd taken a thousand mini razors to them and the stench of confusion and questioning looks hung in the air.

My Aunt drove me to school that morning, the inside of the vehicle unusually quiet as my Aunt kept her eyes drilled on the road, avoiding looking at me and engaging in conversation at all costs. We said goodbye and smiled at each other when I got out of the car and she pulled away at a speed that looked illegal. The student body milled around, some staring, whispering but mostly avoiding me. I gave myself a mental nudge and walked towards the entrance, the tall doors and long staircase making me feel even smaller than usual.

The staff seemed to care little to none that there was a new student on campus. The front office was welcoming enough, showing me the map, even though the school was tiny and handing me my class schedule. I looked it over, not understanding the seemingly random arrangement of letters and numbers. I kept smiling throughout the encounter and tried to keep my mind from wandering off. Her voice had a monotone sound with few inflections so you had to do it in your head.

I was made to see the counsellor for first period since the school had been notified of my living situation and the problems that had arisen back at home.

The counsellor asked me stupid questions like how I was doing and if I was settling in alright, even though I'd only been there three days so far. I perked up towards the end of the hour as I sensed freedom awaiting me and practically rushed out of the room when it hit the hour. My head looked towards a set of chairs lining the waiting room as it landed on a man with a business suit and a briefcase with two number codes to unlock it. My eyebrows drew together as he gave me a small wicked smile and a tilt of his hat to acknowledge my presence in the room but his attention soon shifted after who I assumed was the principal, called the man into his office.

The eye contact broke and I found myself standing outside the office replaying the moment in my head over and over again. Someone knocked into me from behind and I started walking. I tried to not seem strange as I pulled out my map and attempted to locate my classroom.

The halls were an ugly light yellow and the lockers were dark green and damaged, dented from fights, or a couple making out a little too hard, or a senior trying to scare a freshman. I floated through the halls, movement around me made me making me feel like I was surrounded by an army of teenagers. The one thing about school was that I always felt apart of something bigger, it was a nice feeling to have every once in a while.

After a couple of minutes the halls fell silent as everyone was already in class. I wandered around aimlessly, deciding whether to bother attending or not. My anxiety got the better of me and I made my way around the eerie halls. The class went by quickly, not too many strange stares, I apologised for my tardiness. The teacher didn't seem to care, knowing I was a new student, and kept teaching. I sat through the tedious hour of maths, everyone seemed rather bored and not really paying attention. I wrote down notes, though I wasn't concentrating either.

Lunch couldn't have come any sooner and by the time I made it into the cafeteria the line was already huge. I had enough change in my pocket to purchase an apple and a juice box. Not much considering I was on the verge of withering away, especially since I hadn't eaten breakfast.

I wandered a little before a girl with long blonde hair waved me over. I smiled and made my way through the thick mass of bodies in front of me. It was hard to see but I eventually came to a stop in front of the table.

"Hi, I'm Jean" I said trying to give a small wave without dropping my tray.

"Of course you're Jean, everyone heard there was a new girl!" She answered smiling. I smiled back and took a seat next to her.

"I'm Andy and this is Wyatt, Amanda and Eric" She said indicating to her friends around the table. I nodded along as they all smiled back at me, except Amanda, who was giving Andy a glare until she noticed me looking and gave me a huge smile.

They seemed nice.  Their inquisitive stares made me feel uncomfortable though, as if they were looking inside me.  Trying to uncover my secrets.  I deflected most of their questions, trying to switch topics quickly, turn the conversation back onto them.  They answered all of my questions thoroughly and it made me feel slightly guilty to think that I was avoiding all of their 'get to know me' questions.  I didn't like to see people outside of school since I never stayed in one place for too long.  It just made sense like that.  Once we'd finished with the usual formalities general school topics began.

"Cool, yea so what classes are you guys taking?" I figured it was a good question to start with but when everyone jumped in and started talking all at once it became a little overwhelming trying to keep up with them. It was a fun lunch though, I actually got to know some people that weren't super weird. I usually got stuck with the weird people.

Lunch ended too soon and I was stuck going back to class. Andy gave me her home phone number so we could talk and she could tell me about all the gossip in this 'boring as hell town'. I liked her, she was nice and easy to talk to. I walked into my chemistry class and immediately saw a tall, attractive boy sitting behind a desk next to some friends. He turned his attention to me as I walked in and winked. My eyes widened and I took a deep breath, giggling before hurrying to take a seat near the front in the corner. Why did I giggle? He probably thinks I'm some groupie idiot. Don't look at him, don't look... I turned around and snuck a glimpse at him before spinning back around. His hair was volumised to an unnatural level and his shirt was a little too small but it showed off his arms and that was probably all he cared about.