Roanoke Entries

Dear Diary

Today I decided to enter the world. On this day, I'll meet people or at the very least, I'll communicate. I'll say things like "Hi, how's it going?" and I will ask for directions, I guess I could try to commit to this move. We moved to Roanoke, Virginia, which isn't too far from home. My mom moved us here because the business back home wasn't doing as well as it was here. She says it's just a smart business move to raise a teenager where the business "booms." Her words not mine, I'm 16 & I thought I would get a chance to improve our little antic shop. We're from Oakridge Springs. It's a small town in Virginia. You know the classic story of a small-town girl that moves away from everything and everyone she's ever known. Where everybody knew everybody and the Elitist families were nice well... nice-ish. I think the friendliest of anyone had to be, Jenna Gibbins.

Mom says the Gibbins family and our family go way back. I know I'm not cool enough to be a part of her family, but my mom says we've earned our place amongst the elite in our quiet town. Whatever that means. Oakridge Springs has so many secrets. All the secrets aside, the truth is I don't know any of my family's history and every time I bring it up or show interest my mom tenses up and completely changes the subject. Must be some secret family history. The funny thing is that around the Springs, people are usually proud of their family histories. Moreover, I've seen mom talking to Agnus Gibbins before. I didn't think much of it at the time, so there must be something worth telling because the conversation seemed silenced when I was discovered ear hustling. There's no way to know for sure because Ms. Agnus has passed. Poor Jenna, her grandmother died in her sleep. It was a beautiful way to go. I guess it's also a good thing she has a good support team. Jenna and I weren't close, more like casual hellos and see you next-times. I envied her. She had this group of friends, they seemed like they had it all. Two offspring of the Elite families. Candice Dempsey, "The Mean Girl- Head Cheerleader Bitch From Hell" and Tara Ackles, I can't say much about her. She also just lost her entire family and was almost a goner herself. Her family was lost in a fire, she was never deserving of the hand she'd been dealt. Which is why I could see how she was friends with Jenna.

As coolas they were, no one was as cool as William Duncan, who was in a class ahead ofme. They all were. This is sophomore year and moving almost two years beforeWill's graduation was honestly the worst possible thing that could have happento me. Not to mention it's not even the beginning of the year. Plus, Willwas kind of my only friend. It started to seem like we'd be friends forever, butI honestly wasn't worried about him being alone. He wasn't actually the quiettype, he had a lot of friends and got invited to all the parties. I caughtmyself wondering how long would he miss me after I was gone? I know he said hewould, but isn't that what you're supposed to say? Anyhow, it's been aweek and being here, going to this school feels wrong. I feel so hidden here,which is ironic because the school is called Hidden Valley High School. I'm aTitan, obviously the school mascot. You'd think my mom would move us away fromthe woods, if she was so worried about, the family business. --