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"Come on kids, it's the first day! You don't want to be late!" my mother laughed at me and my brother.

This was something that she loved to do to me. I was early to everything—and I mean absolutely everything. I lived by the motto: if you're on time, you're late! What can I say, it worked well for me. My brother, on the other hand, couldn't be early to save his life.

Since we shared a car, I had to wait for him, which put my anxiety through the roof. I stood tapping my foot at the front door while clutching my chemistry book to my chest.

My brother came sauntering down the stairs, smirking when he saw my frantic state. I checked my watch to see that it was now 7:46, and I knew it took at least twelve minutes to get to our new school according to my calculated route.

He walked as slow as possible to the kitchen just to get a reaction out of me. And boy, it did. I stomped over to him as he simultaneously tossed an apple into his bag. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him over to the front door.

"Wow, Nina! That excited for school, huh?" he snickered.

Shut up, Nathan, I thought in my head. I mentally face palmed and ignored his comment.

He finally hopped in the passenger seat and I sped off. Well, not really. I went fifteen miles per hour, and Nathan kept telling me to go faster. Finally, I pulled us into the parking lot.

7:55.

Whew, I managed to cut down three minutes from the drive. Thank goodness for the good traffic this morning.

My brother and I head to the doors. I have to say, I was slightly nervous to be the new kid that showed up in the middle of a semester. I'd thought about it enough to know that it would never end well.

I glanced over to my brother with a smidgen of jealousy. With him being the tall, confident, charming, and naturally athletic boy that he was, he'd fit in perfectly within a week.

He saw me frown and put his arm around me.

"What are you fretting about now little sis?" he asked.

I glared at him. "You're older by two minutes," I reminded him.

He threw his hands up in frustration.

"I know Nina, and you'll never stop reminding me. Let a man dream!" he laughed. "But seriously, what's the matter?"

"I'm just worried that I won't make any friends," I whispered. "You're so good with new people, and you'll be with the popular crowd by the end of the day. But me? I'll just be...forgotten about."

He cut in front of me, stopping me from walking and forced me to face him.

"I'm not gonna leave my twin sister behind. I know I made some huge mistakes at our last school, and I'm so sorry you got hurt. But—"

"Can we not talk about that?" I interrupted him. "A new town is a fresh start for me. No one knows about that here."

I glanced at my watch to see that it was now 8:06. Did we really talk that long? My stomach dropped at the thought of being late to my first class at a new school. Nathan didn't seem to care as much.

We reached the doors to my classroom and he smiled warmly while pulling me into a quick side hug.

"Just be yourself, Nina. Everyone will love you. I'll see you at lunch."

I waved him goodbye and looked down at my schedule. Calculus was my homeroom, and I smiled to myself. I loved math. I swung the door open to see a teacher reading Hamlet aloud. She stopped reading at my entry and looked at me—as well as the rest of the class. My cheeks instantly flushed in embarrassment.

Great first impression, Nina.

"I—I'm sorry. I must have the wrong class," I muttered.

The teacher smiled warmly, putting my anxiety at ease.

"No worries, dear. We had some computer glitches, and some room numbers got switched around."

She looked around her classroom for a moment before her eyes landed on a student in the back.

"Jeremy here will help you find your next class."

Jeremy looked at me and smirked. He made me feel rather nervous, but I guess I had to let him take me to class.

Jeremy had shaggy jet black hair and was wearing a muscle t-shirt with baggy jeans that hung loose on his hips; it was nothing that I found attractive. His teeth were a pasty yellow, and the way his eyes were dilated made me think that he wasn't currently sober.

Regardless, we both managed to move into the hallway, and he smirked yet again.

"Thanks for getting me out of class, babe," he said slyly.

I was appalled at his choice of words, and my palms instantly became sweaty. I didn't have a good feeling about this guy, and I looked down the corridor praying that I would see my brother, but he was long gone. The hallway was completely empty except for me and Jeremy. I brushed some hair out of my face and clasped onto my schedule.

"S—So, my first class is calculus with—"

Jeremy interrupted me by putting his finger to my lips.

"You got me out of class, babe. We're going to enjoy this freedom. None of the guys will believe it if I hook up with the hot new chick," he interrupted gruffly.

My heart started beating faster.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna just get to class. You can go do whatever. Nice meeting you," I replied as coolly as I could.

That guy was really giving me the creeps. I spun on my heels and turned to walk away. However, my waist was harshly grabbed from behind me, and I dropped all my papers and books.

"L—let go of me." I told him.

"Babe, don't leave me," he whispered into my ear.

I whimpered slightly as I struggled in his grasp. I didn't think public school was going to be like this at all. I was way too familiar with this feeling, and soon my adrenaline kicked in.

I slammed his shin with my heel as hard as I could and he released me immediately as he inevitably fell to the floor in pain.

I quickly gathered my books and ran down the hall to get the hell away from Jeremy.

Briskly jogging down the hallway, I turned a corner and saw a guy leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed. As if he sensed my presence, a pair of concerned green eyes looked up to meet mine, and he stared at me intensely. He looked worried for me as I was in a frantic state, but before he could talk to me, I quickened my pace and ran away from him.