The Disappearance of Poise

Trust me when I tell you this is not your typical cliché chick flick story.

Only one step taken and my whole life changed. Nothing was the same anymore. I still didn't figure out if 'change' was a good thing or a bad thing. But at that moment, I was leaning more towards bad. That was only because I was practically living in heaven for the past 15 years of my life as a homeschooled girl.

My parents were the best teachers ever, and the only teachers to have ever taught me. They had always given me the best advice. "Kaira, don't ever forget the true meaning of your name." they always used to tell me. "Unique and Peaceful" we would all say together. Advice is something you get so you can apply it to your everyday life. It is something people give you so that they can help you, even when they're not there. It was quite ironic to me. I was given so much advice but I never really applied it; my parents are always there to protect me, and I've never really been independent.

But all of that changed. I was experiencing independence for the first time. I stepped into a building they called 'high school'. As I slowly entered, the first thing I saw was a dim hallway. Suddenly, I heard a high pitched noise. "BRING!!!"

In one blink, I saw millions of people rush out of absolutely nowhere; I didn't know what do. They all just pushed passed me without even greeting me. Suddenly, I saw a girl in front of me. This place had so many surprises, and I was starting to get scared. "Hey!" A blonde girl wearing a pink skirt and a polka dotted crop top said. "Hello!" she waved her hands in front of my face. "Hi", I said quietly. "So, you're the new kid. I have to be your buddy," she said with sass. "Um...okay" I tried acting really calm.

"My name's Jade. Remember that name; it's the most important name here."

"I'm Kaira"

"Cool. Let me take you on a tour around the school!"

I've been on so many tours before; I've been on a tour in Spain, Egypt, Italy, and Greece. It was one of the ways my parents wanted me to learn. She pointed to the right, "That's room 25. AKA the history room." She then pointed to the left, looking disgusted. "That's the girl's bathroom. It's the nerds bathroom, so unless you want your social life to end, you can't go there." I was baffled by the word 'nerds'. How did Jade just decide what to call others? I've never been to an actual school but I'm human enough to know that that was just cruel.

"Nerds?" I asked. She looked at me as if I insulted her pink skirt. "Listen, I get that you were homeschooled your entire life, but I didn't expect it to be that bad"

THAT BAD? "It's a really simple word. N.E.R.D. Definition: socially awkward, unattractive, unathletic loners" I felt so bewildered at that moment. I was the uneducated one? That was not the definition of nerd. Just from the fact that they stereotyped people because of how they appeared, I already hated high school. Change was the worst think I could have possibly done. "So do you label everyone like that?"

"OF COURSE! What kind of question is that?" My ears were about to burst from what I had just heard.

"Follow me" she turned around and walked as if she ruled the world. She pointed left and right as she clarified what each person's label was. "So first up: The jocks!" As I look to where her finger was pointing, I saw a bunch of tall, muscular men flirting with girls and bullying the so-called 'nerds'. It was pretty ironic seeing two completely opposite friend groups touching each other. How could that possibly happen? Note the sarcasm. "Then there are the goths. Everyone says they're evil, sad, depressed murderers."

"Just because they wear black?" What was this cruel world I stepped into. "Pretty much. A lot of rumors go around about them killing people and doing drugs and all sorts of horrific things. It's gotta be true. Let's continue; my legs are getting tired. Look over there." She pointed to the left.