Being The New Girl

5: Hands on the Wheel

As soon as Kayla pulls into my driveway, I pop out of the car and shout, "Thanks for the ride!" as I run up to the door.

I fish around in the front pocket of my backpack for my keys and I unlock the door. 

As I slip off my shoes, I shout, "Mom! Are you back from your interview?"

"I'm in the kitchen!"

I head into the kitchen and see her sitting at the kitchen island and typing on her laptop.

She looks up and says, "Hi, sweetie! How was your first day of school?"

I open up the fridge and look around for something to drink. "Well, it was interesting."

"Good interesting or bad interesting?"

"I guess it was good. But Kayla totally ditched me when we arrived at school to go hang out with her friends."

I decide on a bottle of water and turn around to see my Mom with a shocked expression.

"I can't believe she would do that!"

"The old Kayla wouldn't, but the new Kayla went ahead and did it." I ignore her confused look and continue. "Anyway, I eventually found the office and got my schedule. Then, one of the ladies at the desk asked this guy who was just about to leave to show me around, and he did. His name is Luke, and he is actually super nice."

"Is he cute?"

"MOM!"

She raises her hands in surrender, but I see the amusement in her eyes. "Sorry! So what else happened?"

"Well, we became partners in environmental science and we have to work together on a project about Bengal tigers, so that should be fun. Aside from that, the day was pretty uneventful, because none of the other teachers gave us any assignments. They just talked and talked about their expectations and lesson plans for the year. I also met some of Kayla's friends at lunch; their names are Maia, Avery, and Heather. They're the ones Kayla ditched me for at the beginning of the day."

"Are they nice?"

"Sort of. They seem to mean well but Avery and Heather wouldn't let anybody else talk at lunch."

I pause, thinking about how much I miss my friends from my old school.

My Mom seems to understand and asks, "Have you talked to Zoey and Ella since we moved here?"

"Not much. We just talked a little bit over text, but they have both been busy..."

"Hun, I'm sure they have a good reason for not talking to you."

I sigh. "I know, I know, that's not it. I just wish they were here."

Actually, I wish that I was there but I don't say that out loud.

"Why don't you video chat them?"

My mood picks up instantly at the thought of seeing my friends' faces. "I'll go do that right now." I begin to walk away, but then I remember something. "Before I go, how was your interview?"

"I think it went pretty well. I'm supposed to find out if I got the job by the end of the week. Now go talk to your friends!"

I laugh when she makes a shooing motion with her hands. "Okay."

Then, I run up the stairs and into my room, where I promptly jump onto the bed and pull my laptop out of my backpack. I quickly sign in and pull up video chat, clicking on Zoey's name first, since the three of us tended to hang out at her house the most and I assume that Ella is be there now.