Practice

Chapter 2

Tyler woke to rain pelting on her window. Of course it was raining on her first day - she'd have to face the halls of her new school alone with ratty wet hair and squeaky shoes. She took her time getting ready, applying more make up than usual and ensuring that her outfit matched perfectly.

The girl knew the importance of first impressions. How you looked shaped what people thought of you. Call her superficial, but Tyler valued how she looked and took pride in it. More than that, Tyler needed to make a good impression today. She wasn't the queen bee of her current school, but she wasn't a nobody either. Being as close to the top of the hierarchy was important in high school, and the brunette needed to be there at this school. Being the new girl was hard, but she was prepared.

Tyler managed to get on her bus with her hair in tact, her mother already at work. After an hour and a half of flicking through her music and contemplating how she should carry herself at her new school, she finally pulled up out the front of it. It looked dauntingly familiar, the same imposing front gates and wide set of stairs, the hoards of students all huddled together, shooting daggers at anyone who got too close. She made her way down the stairs of the bus, fixing her handbag and running her hand through the front of her hair.

The brunette kept her head down as she navigated through the halls, following the signs to the office. She could feel the stares, hot on her back as she retreated to the comfort of the office. "Uh, hi," She smiled, the lady behind the desk glancing up. "It's my first day, so I need to grab my timetable and all that.."

The lady slapped a thick pile of papers on the desk in front of her, returning to whatever she was doing before Tyler interrupted her. She read her homeroom class number and slipped back into the halls, following the maps to the room. Tyler watched as the groups of girls and guys formed around her, sitting on desks and leaning against walls. She fiddled with the zip of her bag quietly. The teacher interrupted her as she hushed everybody, calling names. "Tyler.. Whetherall," She called, all eyes turning to the brunette in the second row. Suddenly she felt a little too tall, almost awkwardly sitting above everyone else. "Here," She replied, her eyes not meeting anyone else's.

"Why don't you come up and say a few things about yourself?"

Tyler shook her head furiously, her cheeks red. "No no, it's fine.. I'm not that interesting.." The teacher glared at her, and Tyler gave in, unwillingly stalking to the front. She gave a washed over story, with almost no details whatsoever. Her eyes were scanning the back wall until the washed out yellow paint was interrupted by tufts of brown curls. She glanced down at the boy's face, instantly mesmerised. His skin was an extremely light olive colour, like the colour you go when you've spent a weekend at the beach and the sunburn's just worn off. Tyler stared in awe, his eyes piercing into her. They were light, definitely, although she couldn't pinpoint what colour exactly. Maybe blue, or green? She struggled to see the details from that distance. His lips.. She was completely infatuated by them; a bubblegum pink, the almost pillowy shape of them was beyond inviting. Smiling to the teacher, she returned to her seat, sketching his face in her memory.

The bell rang for her first lesson, but she remained in her seat. The girl didn't want to look overly eager, and needed to sort out her locker anyway. A deep voice rang in her ears, the laugh to follow almost trancelike. His accent. She was sure it was the boy at the back. Glancing in his direction, her assumption was proved right as he pointed at a dark haired boy with piercings and tattoos, laughing again. His light eyes caught hers, a smile welcoming her silently. She returned it, feeling herself blush. She soon realised that she was still seated, and quickly left to her locker.

Tyler had never seen anyone like that boy before. He had a weird boyish charm, mixed with some sort of mature smoldering look. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that Louis fucking Tomlinson would be kicked off his throne in a matter of seconds if this boy moved to her school. Tyler made her way through the halls alone, finding her english class and managing to slot into her seat. A tall, pretty brunette girl approached her, sitting in the seat next to her. "Hey, you're new right?" She asked, oozing confidence as she smiled at a blonde girl walking into the room.

"Yeah, I used to go to a school on the East side but I transferred here for some course I needed," She explained, ensuring that the minor details of her being publicly humiliated was avoided.

"I'm Eleanor, by the way," The girl added as she crossed her leg over. "I think you'll fit in nicely here."

Tyler spent the rest of the lesson gossiping with Eleanor. The pair got along quite well, really. She had picked up that Eleanor had a way with words, managing to get them out of a detention with the excuse that she was giving Tyler directions to the bathroom. Eleanor had figured out that the pair had english, calculus and biology together, which apparently gave them "more time to gossip." Tyler, it seemed, had a lot to learn about West High. 

"So, you should never even think to sit at the back on the right. You wouldn't want to be caught dead with the emos, or, the back left, where the junkies sit. If you sit at the front you're a loser. The middle is perfect - that's where me and my friends always sit," Eleanor explained as the bell rang. She stood up, gathering her pink folder into her arms while slinging her handbag over her shoulder. "You seem to be dressed nice, which is a good sign. Keep that up." 

Tyler had barely got a word in the whole lesson, deciding that it was best to pick up everything she could from her new friend. Eleanor was definitely one of the popular girls. People avoided eye contact as they quickly shuffled past her, and her sly snickers as the 'junkies' walked in minutes late only reinforced this assumption. She was very well dressed, too, and had a body to die for. "What do you have now?" Tyler asked as they made their way down the corridor. 

"I do American History," She smiled, "But then I have lunch. You do too, so meet me in the cafeteria and you can sit with my group, yeah?" Tyler nodded as she turned, elated. She could have sworn she was walking on a cloud.