This Girl

Chapter 1: Watch Where You're Going, Dude

A/N: Thank you so much Nefarious_99 for this wonderful collage above! i love it!

Red hoodie. Black hoodie. Grey hoodie.

Red hoodie. Black hoodie. Grey hoodie.

I stare at the options that lie on my bed while quickly tying my hair in a messy, curly fishtail. I pull on some black leggings and a plain white singlet.

"Natalie!" Mum yells up the stairs. "Five minutes and you need leave!"

Shoot.

"Ok!" I yell back quickly, bouncing around the room on one leg, pulling my shoes onto each of my feet in turn.

As I stuff items into my black back-pack, I consider my options. A red hoodie would draw attention to me, - given its colour - something that I'd like to avoid on my first day at my new school. A black hoodie would most definitely make people think I resembled an emo. A grey hoodie... will make me look dark enough to blend in, but light enough for me to look less like an emo and more like a student who has been at the school for years.

I quickly pull on the grey hoodie and grab my bag and phone and race down the stairs of our large, new suburban home. For the moment, our family is just renting it. We plan on finding a house sometime soon, but the move was quick, and we had limited time to look for a suitable home.

I grab an apple from the kitchen bench and take a bite, while walking over to my dad – who's doing the dishes – to say goodbye.

"Have fun, sweetie," he says, and leans over to kiss me quickly on the cheek.

"Thanks, Dad," I take another bite out of the apple and walk into the front foyer of the house, where my mum is adjusting my brothers' small ties on their maroon and white uniforms. My twin brothers – Lucas and Paul – are starting at a new school today as well. Lucas is more like me and my dad in personality, shy until he opens up and becomes more sarcastic and fun-loving. Paul's more of an extrovert. Bossier too, just like Mum.

Paul lets out a big huff and stands even straighter then before, jumping slightly so that his gigantic backpack rests higher on his back, making himself more comfortable.

"Can we go already?" he sighs.

"Be patient, Paul," Mum snaps back before she continues adjusting Lucas's tie. Lucas looks extremely nervous. The corners of his mouth are angled slightly down, and his large, blue eyes are squinted along with his eyebrows, an expression I've seen far too many times. Mum pats his cheek and stands up. He pulls on the bottom of his shirt nervously and plays with a button.

Mum turns and sees me standing there. "Nat!" she says. "Finally."

I roll my eyes. I see her frown as she looks at my outfit. Here we go.

"What're you wearing?" she squints at my cropped, grey hoodie and the black drawstrings I'm playing with.

"Clothes," I say.

"Good observation," she replies. "But it's your first day Natalie! Don't you want to make a good impression, make a couple of friends!"

"Mum, what kind of people do you think I want to be friends with? I'm not going to go wearing a mini skirt and a crop top just to make friends with some mean girls," I say adjusting the straps of my backpack.

"Yeah.... But most of your friends won't be wearing hoodies in fall at the start of second quarter of their senior year," she says, hands on her hips.

"Maybe my future friends will be wearing hoodies! No one knows!" I say, waving my hands around like a mysterious hypnotist.

Mum rolls her eyes. "Just promise me you won't be wearing that tomorrow, okay?"