The Day {Not official title}

Chapter 1 Another School Beginning {Narrator}

Chapter 1: Another School Beginning {Narrator}

            “Another year of teasing starts today,” I thought to myself, “at least I don’t have to wear those big bulky glasses anymore.”  All her life, Danica has been constantly transferring schools because she had “special needs.” Not really. She just never experience having a best friend – until one year at Zantaro in Ohio, the cool kid, Rion secretly had a crush on her. She tutored him and soon they were debating against who had better grades. Everyone hated him then, but he didn’t care. Since then, they’ve been best friends and have been staying in Zantaro. They ate the same way, studied the same, got their grades the same, people even said they looked the same. Really, they only dressed similar. True best friends.

            Now they had to move on from of that old elementary-middle school. Allen Avery High - the most prestigious school in Ohio. Every kid wishes to have the right to say, “I went to Allen Avery High,” but not everyone can.

            She was worried sick today and skipped breakfast, even though she’s transferred many times. Will I be teased? Will I fail the first semester? Will I look dumb? Will the people like me!? Will the food be good?! All these questions and more ran through her head. At least Rion will be there. Right?

            She looked at the clock. 8:15. she had 15 more minutes. Honestly, she didn’t look very bad. She had longer, straighter hair, contact lenses instead of big, bulky glasses, and new shoes. How can you possibly go wrong with new shoes? Yeah ok, maybe that way, but these were red shoes. No way around that.

As her dad pulled up at Allen Avery, there was Rion, apparently a tad taller than before, dressed like Elvis Presley, except with bright red Nikes. His hairstyle changed. For the better.

“I got it Uncle Phil,” he said to my dad.

“Ok, take care!” he replied, driving away.

            A minute later, Rion received a text from my dad. Of her.

“Let me take a look at your schedule,” he said. He glanced at it and said,

“Ok, I have you in every class except PE”, he said.

“How’d you know what my schedule was so fast? And what sport did you take? I’m sure you already know I took swimming. ”

For some reason, it looked like he went pale. Or maybe it was just the light. Yeah the light.

“I took football. Just to have something different. And I helped out over the summer so I had a better sense of the place and people before school started.”

“Mmhmm…”                                                                                       

“That way to English.”

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            At lunch, Danica headed for the cafeteria when she noticed that Rion was missing from his usual place - behind her.  About to grab a tray at the beginning of the lunch line, Rion handed her a full tray, with all the foods she would’ve gotten if she had been the one in the line. She could get used to this.

            “So you have football next?” she asked

            “Yes. And you told me not ask if I already knew. Shouldn’t that apply to you too?”

            “Then how was I supposed to start the conversation?”

            “Ask me something you didn’t know?”

            “But I know more than you do, so how would you help me with that?”

            “Who said you knew more than me?”

            “I did, so it’s true,”

            “Just because you say so doesn’t mean it’s true,”

            “But when a genius says it is, it is. That’s why I am,”

The bell rang for the next period.

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Walking out the girls’ locker room, Danica adjusted her swimming cap, trying to use it to round up the stray hairs sticking out. She looked at her classmates before she walked in. The group was mingling, getting to know each other before the teacher came.  The more popular people of the group were the Three Specials. Special has different meanings; it could mean gifted, one of a kind, or it could be an insult.

The “leader” of the Specials is Digna. She’s the typical white girl you expect, except she’s smart, a kiss up, and a powerful enemy. How do I know? I’ve met her mother.

The “secondary,” (the one who always follows, agrees, and backs up the leader) was named Gladys. Again, she is the typical secondary. No exceptions. She helps the rumors spread, plans the disasters on other people, and takes care of Digna’s homework, schedule, and appearance just to avoid Digna’s wrath and stay high in the popularity list.

The “rebel,” (let’s call it) is Dinogomi aka Dino. She was the one who defended the people Digna and Gladys picked on, but she never went so far as to oppose them. She was really nice and smart, and funny, she just didn’t have a lot of friends and Digna saw her potential and took her under her wing. Digna was nothing without Dino and Gladys.

She tried to casually walk near Dino without Digna and Gladys ganging up on her and making a scene. Surely, it worked.

“Hey Dino,” she said.

“Oh, hey Dan, what’s up?”

“Not much, just skeptical. You know, first day of school. First day of HIGH school,” she managed to stammer.

“Have you ever thought that it’s kinda weird that were girls and we call each other Dino and Dan?” she laughed. Her randomness is amusing.

“Yeah, you know that one-”

“Oh, who do we have here? The drag in our swim team,” Oh Digna, always the first troublemaker. Pretty as she was, she was also rude and cruel. Digna stepped out of the small ring of people she was talking to and moved closer to Danica, attracting a bigger ring of people. She was at least half a foot taller than her, her slim but sturdy frame quite intimidating. This not how Danica imagined her first day to be. But if she was going to be in a scene, she’d make it her best.

“With you as a leader? What swim team??” Danica asked.

“Oh you have some nerve. Coming up to someone like-” she was cut off.

“As I remember, YOU came up to ME” she came back. She added a few head jerks in her sentences. A buzz of “ooh,” and other mumblings came from the rest of the surrounding classmates. Someone was standing up to Digna.

“Let’s see where your words take you in the water. Up to the surface, or down to drown.”

“So be it. Shall we wager on that? How about, your dignity?” this wasn’t a buzz from the crowd, it was a roar. Or was that Digna’s rage?

            The instructor walked in and the crowd dissipated.

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            The class suited up for nothing. They weren’t going to actually get in the water until a few weeks after, where the swim teams have been picked. They wouldn’t know how people swam until the monthly competition. The top three would have more training than just in one class. They’d have to cut a few electives out and replace them with swim training to prep the representatives for the nationals and maybe the International Finals and the World Cup, right below the real Olympics.  Allen Avery was a very lucky school with so many opportunities.