Boys & Bikes

Chapter 2

I cringe as my alarm blasts out. I pull myself out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. I take one look in the dirty mirror and wipe the crust out of my eyes. I'm about to grab my toothbrush until I notice it's covered in ants. I have no energy to scream, so I groan and grab my clothes. I pull on a white tube top with an off white sweater and some ripped boyfriend jeans. And since I lost one of my vans to the rat invasion, I guess I'll have to wear the Converse I haven't even looked at since I was 14.

I sulk as I drag myself downstairs, still left with a gross taste in my mouth since I couldn't brush my teeth. I walk into the kitchen, grab a croissant and tap my mom. She turns around and I hold my hand out.

"What?..." she questions.

"Keys" I say, mouth stuffed with croissant.

"I'll drive" she says.

"No, it's all good mom, get some rest" I sAY.

"No, I'm driving" she repeats. "You can't drive here until you're 18, remember? Still another 8 months!". I moan, wanting to protest but there isn't really anything that can be done. I sulk and lazily follow my mom out the door to the SUV, dragging my feet. I hop in the front and turn on the radio, trying to find a country station.

"God, where's the normal music?" I ask, frowning in annoyance as my ears get drowned in intense EDM. "Who wants to listen to this in the morning?". I shut off the radio and wipe my eyes again, trying to rub as much sleep and bad energy as I can out of them. The drive feels long as my jet lagged self tries hard not to fall back asleep. There's not much to look at. All the tall, scary houses look the same and everything's just kinda... boring... Soon, we pull up to a wavy blue building that appears like a swimming pool.

"Mom," I hiss. "Where are we going?"

"School" she replies simply.

We pull into a fairly empty parking lot dotted with two or three small cars. I step out of the car and take a glance at the large school building in front of us.

American School of The Hague, it reads. Suddenly, a queasy feeling comes over me and all my nerves start to fail. I don't know what to expect. Will the people here be Dutch? American? Dutch-Americans? How do Americans living in the Hague act? Will it feel like Virginia 2.0 or not?

"Lil, relax" mom laughs as if reading my mind. I try to take a deep breath but it comes out like a weak gust of air. I anxiously grab mom's hand as she hurriedly drags me towards the large building, the sound of her heels echoing across the empty parking lot and bouncing off buildings. We push through the revolving doors and end up in an area that looks similar to the entrance of an art museum. Three large turnstiles block further entry into the building. A security office with a guard stands intimidatingly on the side of the room. I gulp.

"Wow, it's pretty!" Mom gasps.

"Yeah, for a prison" I scoff. "What kind of school has turnstiles?"

"At least you'll know it's safe," she says and she hustles through the turnstile and knocks at the security office. The door slowly creaks open as a box-shaped tall man peaks his head out. His hair is buzzed and blond. He has thick eyebrows which curtain his tiny, hooded eyes. His bulbous nose casts a shadow over his thin, dry lips. Yikes, somebody needs some vaseline.

"Yes, hello" he speaks in an awkward accent. "Can I help you?"

I hide a laugh behind a random cough. The way he says it sounds like, yesh hello... ken ai hep yoo?

"We're trying to find the admissions office?" Mom asks. "Could you tell us where it is?". The man simply points to a door and mom nods and hastily heads in that direction. I hesitate as the man awkwardly smiles at me. I pull some Burts Bees chapstick out of my bag and smear it all over my lips, just so he'll get the hint and then I hurry after my mom.

She's chatting with a short, plump blonde lady with a southern accent. She stops mid-talk with my mom and turns to me.

"Hi there!" she smiles warmly, her white teeth sparkling and contrasting to her dark blue large eyes.

"Hi," I shyly smile back.

"You must be Lily, so nice to meet you!" she shakes my hand harder than I expect. "I'm Mrs. Yancy and I'm gonna be showin' you around today, okay?". I just nod and she hurries out the door. My mom gives me a nudge and I hug her goodbye before following the short but insanely fast woman across the school. She takes me around the building and shows me to my first class.

"Now I know you may be nervous, but I'm sure it'll be a ton of fun!" she exclaims, excitedly bouncing up and down in her shiny black flats. "If you need anything, you know where I'll be!". And with that, she's gone. I check my phone. 8:34. Class has already started, oh no. We get here super early but I somehow manage to be late on my first day of senior year? At a new high school in a new country? This is going great so far, huh? I bring my hand up to the door to knock, but I hesitate. Do I knock or just push the door open? I hear a bit of commotion from inside the classroom. Maybe if I just push the door open nobody will notice...

My hands shakily wrap around the door handle and I push it open slowly. Everyone continues to chat- well, until the door makes an unsettlingly loud creaking noise and all of a sudden, all eyes are on me. A classroom full of twenty-something judgy looking senior students is hushed and they all stare at me expectantly as if I'm supposed to speak or something. I feel the blood rush to my face and my ears start burning.

A first impression is made in 7 seconds. I've been standing here like a mute moron for 10. Great first impression Lily, now everyone thinks you're a complete freak! I open my mouth to speak, but the teacher rushes to me and grabs my wrist, pulling me to the middle of the classroom.

"Everyone, this is Lily!" she yells. "She's our new student all the way from..."

It's silent again. The teacher looks at me. Everyone looks at me.

"Oh-uh- V- Virginia." I stutter, shifting my weight from my left to right foot. The classroom looks unimpressed, as if I were a comedian who just made an offensive joke.

"Right, take a seat next to... Willem" the teacher speaks, scanning the classroom. A tall, blond, gorgeous boy lazily raises his hand to indicate who he is and where he's at. I shuffle over to the empty desk next to his and smile at him. He smiles back and turns back to face the front. The teacher starts talking and I take a second to scan Willem's outfit. Black Nike sneakers, jeans, and a gray Supreme sweatshirt. Hm. I hope he's not a brand boy. He looks at me again and smirks a little. Wait, why did he do that? Was it because I was looking at him? Or does he think I'm cute or something? Please be the latter, please be the latter.

After a painful double period of geography, the bell rings and I clear my desk and leave as fast as I can, determined to figure out where to go. Friends gather in the halls and here I am looking like a complete loner. I don't want the cute boy to see my lonely like this during breaktime, so I run into the bathroom. Typical, I know, but I'd rather be alone than lonely amidst a bunch of people. I rush into a stall, lock the door and sit on the toilet, hugging me knees to my chest. I breathe in, out. I got this. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and check for notifications. Nothing. My friends back home are still asleep. It's been a few weeks since I've seen them and I miss 'em like crazy.

A knock ruptures the silence and i jump and my phone clatters to the ground.

"Hurry up in there!" Yells a loud voice.

"S-Sorry" I call back. I fake-flush the toilet and grab my stuff and rush out of there, pushing past a brunette girl with diamond earrings and light blue eyes. I feel insecure with my boring brown ones. I stumble back out into the hall and push my way through a mass of bodies clutching books to their chests or holding phones in their hands. I find myself in a secluded part of the building and sit there until the 20 minute break passes. It feels like 2 hours.

***

After school, mom picks me up and asks me how school went.

"Fine," I lie. Just one year of it. One more year.