Those Among Us

First Day

Last night, Allison made me try on so many different kinds of skirt and dresses; it was bizarre. I have honestly never had a main girl friend because they always stabbed me in the back and also because I always spent time with my two guy friends, Richard and Cody. Allison has been so nice to me, even when I was being a slow poke. I had found a grey knit sweater and high waist jeans first, then Allison made me try on so many outfits. Then we somehow ended up in the shoes, looking for something to go with the knit knee high socks she had found. Lets just say that by seven o'clock, I was ready to crawl back into bed. I didn't spend a whole lot, but I do have a quick question. Do you think $247.56 is a lot for what we got? Because I think I should have came out of that strip mall with a lot more than the less I have. Mom was happy though, so I didn't budge. I bought a lot of clothes, more than I can carry by myself. I don't like it. It makes me feel like a snobby girl with daddy's credit card. Aunt Rebecca made a joke about robbing the entire strip mall and everyone laughed, I faked a smile to get by.
We had went to Wong and Chow Chinese restaurant, I ate little while mom acted like it was all she's had in months. She and Aunt Rebecca talk about the school and the types of places to eat in town. Mom was a part time nurse in South Carolina, she said she had gotten approval to transfer to the Dark Wood clinic. She enjoyed it a lot, now she can barely get out of bed without my or Duke's help. After dinner, we went back to the cottage and Allison helped me pick out an outfit for my first day of school. She chose the maroon sweater with the blue and white floral skirt, topped off with my high top converse. She said it was going to be nicer than it was today. About 60 degrees. Then she helped me make my new bed. Mom had the painters paint the wooden walls white. We strung up my lights and make my room look somehow livable. Allison liked my record player and she was amazed by my Taylor Swift vinyl records. I have every single album she's ever made into the vinyl record. After Allison and Aunt Rebecca leaves, I sit on the bed and scratch Duke behind the ears. I look at the polaroid picture of dad I had framed beside the bed. I shower and climb into bed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Mom walks me to the main office and my nerves are shot. As we walk in, several eyes look our way. Mom registers me in and says her goodbyes before a lady named Mrs. Houston walks me to my first class, World History. She babbles on about the school activities and cheerleading tryouts, and suggest I come after school to at least try. When we get to the classroom, she knocks on the door with a smile. The second I step into the classroom, I swear my heart skips a few beats. All eyes are on me, and I do mean all. I look around to see if maybe Allison was in this first period.
And that's when my eyes lock with the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. Rustic Amber brown hue with dark hair. He stares at me like he's confused, or in shock. Either way, it makes me feel exposed that a really cute boy is now staring at me and we haven't even said one word to each other. Mrs. Houston gently pushes me forward.
"Class, this is Camille Prepon. I want all of you to make her feel welcome." A plump woman with big glasses says, motioning to take a seat in an available seat.
I take one by the heater, since I'm freezing my ass off. Mostly everyone's eyes go up to the board but that cute boy stares at me in the corner of his eye. I sit uncomfortable in my chair as he keeps staring, trying to focus on the subject the teacher is talking about.
"Mr. Mason," the teacher says "can you tell me me how much the Black Death reduced in population between 1347 to 1351?"
      "Two thirds. Over 50 million people, Mrs. Karman." His voice is deep, manly.
      "That is correct, Mr. Mason." She smiles, "No wonder your acing this class."
       He smiles and fiddles with his pencil, slightly glancing back at me. I shift in my seat, taking notes from the board in my notepad. She gives us a lecture on the Plague that lasted four years and how happy people where after it all ended. I hurried out the door before that Mason kid could reach me. I look on the paper Mrs. Houston gave me, my second period is Spanish. I walk to room 109 and peak my head in, seeing Allison sit with another girl with strawberry blonde hair sits next to her, an Asian girl with silky hair on their right. When Allison sees me, she waves me over. I awkwardly walk over and wave at them. The strawberry blonde girl looks me up and down, sizing me up for size. She holds out her hand for me to shake.
        "Emma Pembroke, pleased to meet you." She is so fake, "I love your style, girlfriend."
        "Thank you," I say "Allison picked it out for me."
        "My name is Mei Mei Chong, but people call me Mei for short." The Asian girl says with a smile.
        "It's nice to meet you both," I say
         I sit in the seat in front of Allison, her smiles shines so brightly.
       "So how was first period?" She says
       "Interesting..." I say, "This guy kept looking at me like he was confused or something."
        "What was his name? Maybe I might know him," Emma blurts out, making Allison  heat out giggling.
        "Mason, I think?" They all shake their heads, confused expressions.
        "There is no guy with the first name Mason at our school." Mei says, "but there is a Braydon Mason and a Devin Mason, though."
         "Well, whatever his name was, he kept looking at me." I say taking out my notepad.
         "Boys are such freaks," a few guys walk into class, Emma props her elbow on her desk. "But their hot as hell."
         Allison looks at me with a smirk. "Maybe he likes you. I mean, you are really pretty."
        "Thanks," I smile down into my lap "what class do you have next?"
         "Art I, Emma is in there too. What about you?" She says
         I check my schedule, "Algebra I."
         "Can I see your schedule?" I give her the piece of paper, she scans it thoroughly. "We have two hours together, English and Spanish. And we have the same lunch."
        "Cool, maybe we can eat lunch together." I say with a hopeful smile.
        "Yeah, we can all eat together and get to know one another." She says as an older woman with a sombrero and maracas walks in. She has an crazy expression and she looks around the class.
       "I heard we have a new student with us today, maybe they would like to introduce themselves!" She grins
       I look at Allison nervously, receiving two thumbs up, then I stand to my feet. The older woman shakes her maracas and motions for me to come to the front of the class. Oh my god. I nervously walk to the front of the class, only for the woman to place the sombrero on my head.
       "Hola mi nombre es Señora Martinez bienvenido a nuestro aula." She says with a bright smile, "¿Como te llammas?"
       I look over at Allison, a bright smile on her face. The older lady laughs at my expression and takes the sombrero off my head.
      "I said, Hello my name is Señora Martinez, welcome to my classroom." She says, "What is your name?"
      "Camille Prepon." I say with a shy smile.
      "Well, Camille, I think you'll like it here in my class. We learn about different world countries that speak Spanish and on Friday's, we eat fruits that are grown from those kind of countries and watch short films." She says.
     "Sounds fun," I say hopefully.
     "Why did you move here to our little town, dear?" She says, all eyes on me.
     "Family," I motion towards Allison, her expression going white as Señora Martinez looks over at her with a bright smile.
     "Well, where did you move from?" She says
     "South Beach, South Carolina." I say
     "Oh, so did you live near the beach then?" She says.
     "I actually lived on the beach." I say awkwardly, trying not seem as if I'm bragging.
     "Oh, well, how exciting!" She says, "if you have any questions or if you want to join Spanish Club, you can come after school on Tuesday."
I nod and walk back to my head as she calls roll. There isn't a lot of people in this class, which is a little bit of relief. Allison pats my shoulder. Maybe this will be easier than I thought.

        After free period, I meet up with Allison and her two friends. We go to the Mexican line and grab burrito wraps. Emma pushes me over and pays for her lunch first, her head held high and her curls bouncing. Allison and Mei shake their heads for me to just ignore her. I walk up to the register and pay for my lunch with the money mom had given me this morning. Patiently, I wait for Allison and Mei to pay for their lunches before I head to the lunch table. We sit down where Emma is sitting.
Allison leans in so only I can hear her. "I'm sorry, she's just a little mean, at first."
I start to say something when Emma interrupts, her fake smile big and wide.
"So do you see that Mason guy anywhere?" She says, her attitude front and center.
I look around until I find him sitting on a bench near the library, he's reading. His rustic brown eyes just barely look over at me, leaving me mesmerized. He quickly looks down and turns slightly away from my sight.
"There," I nod towards him.
They all look over at him, all eyes wide.
"That's Devin Mason. He's super mysterious and the--" Mei starts
"He smartest guy in the whole school. He gets straight A's but is an super antisocial freak." Emma says disgusted, then she looks at me teasingly, "I'd be worried cause you might be his next victim."
"Don't listen to her, Camille." Allison says with a smile
"I bet he's nice, he's probably just shy." Mei says, taking a bite of her burrito.
"And besides, he must have some kind of money. He dresses nice and stuff." Allison sips on her carton of milk.
"I don't know, he just kept staring at me then he looked confused or something." I say, "Whatever, I bet he thought he was thinking about something and I was just there."
They all nod and eat their burritos. But something deep inside me knows that is absolutely not the case.