“And here’s your class schedule Miss Scarlett.”
Abigail gingerly took it out of the receptionist’s hands, and held it tightly, along with her map of the school campus.
“You’re with your homeroom at the moment; I believe it’s their math period. That’ll be room 25A.” She smiled warmly. “I hope you have a great first day.”
“Thanks” Abigail replied. She left the office, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. She paused just outside of the office to study her map.
“25A….25A….” She murmured, her eyes darting back and forth across the page, trying to decipher the minuscule room numbers labeled on the map. It took her a while to figure it out, but she eventually managed to get an idea of what direction she was going. The halls were empty, as class was in progress and her footsteps echoed loudly, it made her feel uncomfortable. She stopped at a door, glancing quickly up at the room number- 25A. This was it.
She lightly knocked on the door. The teacher; a tall, thin man with hard, dark eyes turned to look at her, recognition lit up in his eyes and he motioned for her to come in.
“I guess it’s the moment of truth” She murmured. With a shaking hand, she reached for the doorknob and twisted it. Slowly, she made herself seen, stepping out from the shadowy hallway into the brightly lit classroom. Immediately, a hushed silence filled the room as all eyes landed on her, curious gazes following her every move. They remained trained on her as she slowly stepped towards the teacher’s desk.
“This is Abigail.” The teacher gestured in her direction. “Since this is her first day here, let’s make her feel welcome. She’ll need some help getting around today, so…” He paused, searching the faces of the students sitting in front of him. “Cindy, can you help out our new student today?” Abigail followed his gaze and saw a slim, petite girl of average height with beautiful night-black hair that fell to her waist.
Cindy looked up as her name was called and smiled sweetly. “Of course, Mr. Trenton, it would be my pleasure.”
“Thank you Cindy, and welcome, Abigail.” He turned to address Abigail. “You can go find an empty locker outside of our class and then join us for the lesson.”
She nodded and went to do so, closing the door quietly behind her as she left. Once back in the deserted hallway, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She could only find one empty locker, and its door had been jammed inside. She pulled it hard and it opened with a loud, metallic clatter that Abigail was sure, everyone in the school could hear. She glanced down at her schedule, after math; there was still English and Music. She gathered her belongings and slipped back into class. Mr. Trenton was writing a complicated expression on the board. Abigail quickly scanned the class, trying to find a seat; there was one next to Cindy. Trying not to draw too much attention to herself, she slid into the chair and started to copy down the expression.
“Everyone please solve this using the methods we discussed, I’ll come around to check your work. If you’re finished, you may talk quietly to your neighbors, but remember, if I can hear your conversation clearly, it’s too loud.” He waited to see that everyone was working and sat down. He pulled a large stack of papers towards him and began to mark them.
It didn’t take Abigail very long to solve the math problem; she had completed more difficult ones at her old school. When she was finished, she glanced over at Cindy’s work, it seemed that she was done too, she gently nudged her to get her attention.
“Hey there” She whispered. Cindy didn’t answer, Abigail assumed she hadn’t heard and continued on. “As you probably know, my name is Abigail, and I know you’re Cindy.” There was still no acknowledgement from her; there was an awkward silence as Abigail contemplated what to do.
“So, whassup?”
This time, Cindy turned, an annoyed look in her eyes. “Listen to me, Abigail” She wrinkled her nose as she said her name, as if there was something dirty about it. “This is how high school works- the nobody’s" She nodded towards her "Hang with the other nobody’s, and the somebody’s” She gestured to herself “Hang out with the other somebody’s. Never, do we cross paths, get it?”
Abigail was taken aback. Earlier, Cindy had seemed so, so…different. “I-I-I” She stammered, her heart sinking.
“Look, I know I’m supposed to help you out today but you seem like a smart girl, you can figure it. But if Mr. Trenton asks, I was by your side the entire day.”
“Ok, I guess.”
“You’re new here, and I get that, but I’m not. So, just stay out of my hair.” She smiled in a way that suggested her superiority and turned to talk the guy beside her, tossing her long, dark hair back into Abigail’s face.
Abigail turned back to her work, stunned by her conversation. And all of a sudden, all of her previous doubts came rushing back to her. She looked up and saw Mr. Trenton moving towards her.
“May I see your work please?”
Abigail confidently passed it towards him; at least she knew she hadn’t messed this up. She watched him study the page.
“Well, Abigail, I see you have the right answer, but your methods of getting it are a little sloppy, hopefully you can learn how to keep it clean.” He nodded slightly and moved over to check Cindy’s work.
“Excellent Cindy, you did this well. Maybe you could teach our new student some of your methods?”
“Sure Mr. Trenton.”
Abigail couldn’t believe what was happening, she stared hard at her paper, but out of the corner of her eye she could tell that Cindy smirking.
§
During English, Abigail moved to sit next to a pretty red-head, but it seemed as if everybody in the class wanted nothing to do with her. In music, she tried to start up a conversation with a group of about five people who were talking together. They seemed nice enough and let her join in their conversation but she soon ducked out, unable to understand all of their inside jokes. Lunch was no different, many people went off campus to buy their lunches, but of the people who stayed behind, Abigail was not welcomed. So she sat alone. It didn’t help that Cindy was sitting a few tables down, surrounded by maybe ten other people who were all laughing together.
The day passed in the same fashion and by the time the final bell rang, Abigail had come to three conclusions. 1) Cindy was the top dog at this school, and unfortunately for Abigail, she had already gotten on her bad side, which, subsequently meant that she was also on the bad side of everyone else Cindy was associated with. 2) If you don’t already have friends here, good luck trying to find them. And 3) Abigail was alone at this school. Completely and utterly alone.
YOU ARE READING
(You are Never) ALONE
Genç Kurgu"Sometimes, when you're trying to find yourself, it takes more than just yourself to do it." It's a story about love, about hardships, about hope, but most of all about finding yourself especially when you never thought it was possible. Because ever...
