Chrysalis

Chapter 1 - Where Is My Mind?

Chrysalis

Chapter 1 - Where Is My Mind

When I saw the rusty chevy with an octopus climbing out the windshield, I knew I had for the first time seen what harmony would look like.

The paint job on the fuckers bottom layer was terrible. It was a slightly unusual blue colour, and a totally different texture than the spray paint. It didn't seem out of place just... odd. Like looking at someone's face and not knowing exactly what it is that makes them look so odd, but it turns out one ear is slightly higher than the other or their eyes are two millimetres closer together than the average person, and so you just think to yourself 'hmm... that's a little different.'

These were the thoughts I distracted myself with as the first day of school began. I had already watched two swarms of students crowd the doorways, once at 8:10 and again at 8:25 right before the bell. In two minutes, morning announcements would begin and my teacher would be taking attendance. This was not good first day etiquette.

Finally, I mustered up the courage to walk through the doors. At first I was tempted to go to the bathroom and check my makeup, but I deflected. Instead, I went to the front office like the email had told me to and introduced myself to the secretary.

"Hey, I'm new. Virvanna Morellio."

The secretary smiled warmly at me. "Oh yes, I'll call over the Vice Principal. Welcome to Our Lord Justice."

I had a feeling I knew the conversation that would ensue when I met the vice principal.

"Miss Morellio! Welcome to our school. I met you when you were just this tall and I taught with your dad!" the VP put her hand parallel to the ground and against her waist.

Like clockwork.

"Yeah, he told me he knows a few of the staff members here."

"He gave a us a call, we assured him we will take extra special care of you!" Great. "Why is it you decided to move schools, it's your last year of high school!"

Oh, if it weren't the inevitable question. "Let's just say there were differences in values. I wasn't getting what I needed from a county school." I grumbled at the understatement.

"Ahh, I see. Well—Oh! I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Mrs. Hubie!"

"Mrs. Hubie..." I repeated. I hoped to god I would remember the name before I needed to use it again. I had always been bad with remembering peoples names, especially as of late.

Mrs. Hubie helped me to my locker to get set up. She awkwardly made small talk as I unpacked my backpack, rushing through to put my bag of emergency tampons and six-pack of diet cokes away. She saw still, but didn't say anything. She even wrote me a personal note to get into my first period class without a detention for lateness from my teacher. Mrs. Hubie warned me that Mr. Lechno was a nice guy, and good teacher, but he was tough when it came to procedure.

She left me alone to knock on his door. I awkwardly stood there as he continued to talk to the class about who knows what. Probably his kids. Probably how he got his degree in Philosophy but there were no careers there so he got an english minor too. That fact worried me because he was teaching an academic English class, and I needed solid university level knowledge on the subject I planned to study once I could finally skip town all together.

I was halfway there as of now. Out of the suburbs, at least during the weekdays, and into the city.

My dad was iffy about sending me to a school full of inner city kids. At first it felt like his white privileged talking, but when he was just an immigrant boy, he grew up here. He knew what it was like downtown, and what the people were like. He knew some of the families, knew the stories of the buildings, and he watched half the streets gentrify before his eyes.