Sweat trickled down my forearm as i unhappily dragged myself to my new bus stop. It's November, it's supposed to be breezy and crisp; not sticky and humid like this awful weather. My father craves change, he can never commit to any place no matter how many times we move. I'm only fourteen and so far I've lived in four different states and attended six schools. It was my moms idea to pack up our so called life in Chicago and head south to Florida, definitely her worst idea by far. Chicago wasn't amazing, but it was a whole lot better than this.
It was my first day at Penderwick High as a freshman, and you'd think I'd be used to first day jitters considering how many new schools I've attended. Unfortunately, the butterflies in my stomach never seem to disappear no matter how hard I try. Arriving at my stop, I began to casually eye everyone around me. A boy with long black hair and bulky headphones, a tall girl wearing way too many bracelets, the most typical caucasian looking boy I'd ever seen, and a boy so small and a face so baby-like you would never even believe he was in high school if you saw his transcript.
After a couple minutes, the bus finally pulled up to the corner and harshly braked. The bus driver looked puzzled as I climbed the minimal steps but shrugged it off after a second or two. I sat down in an empty seat and pushed my backpack into the empty space beside me, hoping this would discourage anybody from sitting down next to me. My plan was a triumphant success, although I could feel the students around me stares burning into my flesh. Being the new kid will never not be hard, but at least it's always a clean slate and an opportunity for a fresh start.
After a silent and mostly painless ride, everyone began to slide out of their seats and walk down the aisle to begin a new day at school. Entering the school, I noticed on the spot it was head and shoulders above my previous school. Alumni plaques were lined neatly across the walls, along with sparkling green lockers free of graphic and vile graffiti. Maybe it could be nice to go to a school that didn't reek of weed and hangover induced vomit everyday.
An email my mom forwarded to me the night before informed me that before first period I was supposed to meet with the freshman supervisor, whatever that is, to get my schedule and a small tour. My old school would never dream of putting in that much effort into helping out one student. Trying not to dwell on the past, I headed to the main office and sat down to pick at my nails.
"Hey, you need something?" I heard across from me. My head perked up and my eyes rested on a young boy, way too young to work in an office. "I'm Toby, Mr. Pines' TA. You looking for him?" Before I could respond, a large man with more hair on his face than his head approached Toby and I. He walked towards me and extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Fiona was it?" I shook my head yes just as he lead me to a smaller section closed off from the rest of the room.
I got settled in his office and waited for him to speak, for I was at loss of words due to nerves. He opened a black mini fridge in the corner of the room and passed me a frosty bottle of water. I thankfully accepted as the horrific Florida heat from outside followed me inside the building. "So... Fiona Connelly, you're a freshman and you just moved her from... Chicago, no?" he read from what I'm assuming was my file. Still filled with nerves, I shook my head yes. "Okay so here is your schedule for this year, and a leadership student should be here shortly to show you where your classes are. Sound good?" Again, I shook my head. God, why couldn't I just be normal and speak? Before I could even gather enough courage to open my mouth, somebody knocked on the door and entered without permission. A tall girl wearing a purple sundress and skate shoes entered and smiled. Quite an interesting outfit choice, but she was unique looking yet still pretty enough to pull it off. "Pines, I'm here for the new girl." She fist bumped me. "I'm Ivy, Im supposed to give you a tour today." She looked at Mr. Pines. "We good here? Can we go?" He sighed and gestured towards the door. With another smile, she grabbed my hand and we headed out.
"Ah, Ms. Woods I'm glad to see you've actually decided to attend school today, nice work." We turned around to see Toby sitting in his desk chair with his feet perched upon the table in front of him. She rolled her eyes. "Shut it Toby, no one even likes you you fucking virgin" I laughed and we fled through the double glass doors. "So is that like a friend of yours or something?" I asked. Ivy scoffed and looked into my eyes. "He is the devil and I despise him. Friends? Absolutely not, I'd rather kill myself. Nah he's my step brother, my mom married his dad last April. He's a junior." I nodded my head to show I understood.
Ivy lead me to our first room. "Okay, first bell rings in fifteen so we have to be quick. Your first period is... bio with Ms. Bishop. Here's her class, she's pretty chill but definitely plays by favorites. Just raise your hand if you know the answer and actually try in her class and you should be okay." I nodded once again and we traveled to endless classrooms over and over. Completing our tour, we arrived to a large classroom filled with laptops and digital cameras. "Newspaper? You take newspaper class? Alright this is your last stop, I have to get to class after this so I hope you remember how to get to bio. I hear this class is bullshit, but at least Ms. Giovanni is a literal angel." The warning bell chimed. "We have the third lunch block together, I'll meet you at the water fountain near the cafeteria. You can sit with me and my friends, yknow like if you want." I accepted her generous offer with gratitude before we both departed to class. My nerves had somewhat faded knowing I kind of have at least one friend/acquaintance I suppose, but they slowly crept back into my gut as I approached my first class.
My day seemed never ending, dragging through the same old boring shit I already knew. I've always been a good student, I'm used to understanding everything I learn almost instantly. My older sister Piper, who's a freshman in college back in Illinois, would always teach me what she currently learning when she was my age to help her study. Little did she know, we both ended up benefitting from it. After what felt like forever, our lunch bell rang halfway through my algebra class. I grabbed my things and followed the beeline of students out the door towards to cafeteria. I found the water fountain and started looking for Ivy. She towered at least six inches over me and the majority of girls at Penderwick, so she was easy to spot. "Glad to see you've decided to join me, come on I'll show you where we sit." Just as she had earlier that morning, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to a circular table towards the center of the cafeteria. "Guys, this is Fiona. It's her first day so please be nice- I'm talking to you, Ty." She glared at a skinny Asian boy and his face turned bright red. He was attractive in almost a feminine sort of way, almost like a china doll. He was cute, however. She introduced me to her friends; Evie, a short and skinny Indian girl with raven colored hair which flowed neatly down her back. Andrew, a light skinned boy of average height with curly hair and golden brown eyes and the sweetest smile you could imagine. Finally a visibly shy boy named Charlie with a lacrosse stick, who's green eyes perfectly matched his freckles which lightly dusted over his olive toned face. He took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed. "Ivy, you seen Fletcher around lately? He wasn't in english this morning." Ivy rolled her eyes. "In school suspension, second time this semester. He should be here soon, ISS kids are allowed to have their normal lunch period."
Just as Ivy finished that sentence, a skinny blond kid also carrying a lacrosse stick emerged through the cafeteria doors. The five teenagers applauded as he took a bow. "Thank you, all. I've made it my greatest mission to become the one and only king of in school suspension. Thank you for your support." My head was down, and I was focused on getting a head start on my algebra homework yet I could still feel the troublesome boy looking down at me. "Who's this?" He wondered, pointing in my direction me as if I wasn't even there. Unbelievably, I spoke up. "Oh uh- I'm Fiona it's uh- it's my first day." I sounded so stupid, I don't have a stutter why did I have one today? "Cool," He took a seat next to Evie. "I'm Anthony, you can call me Fletcher." He had such an ambiance glowing around him that screamed confidence, one that I respected greatly and yearned for.
Ivy's friends were nice, at least from what I could tell. They all attempted to make small talk by asking about my family, new classes, if I'd made any other friends, the usual stuff you get as the new kid; I'd heard it a million times before. Except for Charlie. He didn't say one word to me and every time we unintentionally made eye contact with each other he'd push his forehead on the table until he assumed the coast was clear. I couldn't tell if he was just shy, or really didn't like me. Lunch ended and my new friends, or whatever they were, and I hurried off to class.
As soon as I got home, my mother and father bombarded me with questions. My little brother, Nico, was only six and was still at school. "Fi! You're home, how was it?" my mother asked me. Hesitating, I shrugged my shoulders. "It was okay. I made a few friends, classes are easy I guess. Nothing special, it was just like any other first day of school I've ever had." My father laughed at me. "Don't worry, we're here to stay in Florida indefinitely I promise." Heard that one before, way too many times to count. I knew we'd be moving within the year, I never let myself get attached to one place to prevent myself from getting hurt when we inevitably move once again. I shook my head in disbelief. "Doubtful!" I called back to my parents as I fled up the stairs to my bedroom. I'm not particularly close with my parents, I never have been. I respect their attempts to know me, I really do. I wish we got along but I think we both know it could never and would never happen, it's too late in my life for that.
As I started to work on some homework, I heard my phone resting on my bed alert a notification. Ivy's name glowed on my screen.
Ivy: hey, is this Fiona?
Fiona: yeah it's me, what's up?
Ivy: some people from our lunch table were wondering if you wanted to hang out with us on Saturday, just so we can like get to know you and stuff. They said like you a lot!
Considering I spoke less than ten words at lunchtime, I knew Ivy was exaggerating at least a little bit. Disregarding Ivy's so blatantly obvious fib, I replied with a simple "yes" and got back to my homework.
The week dragged on slowly, but at least I kind of got to know the people at my lunch table. I learned that Evie and Fletcher were kind of dating but not quite and have been for a few months but for some reason refuse to label each other as "official." Ty was constantly insulting Charlie and Andrew even though they're best friends, and finally Charlie. I still don't know how he feels about me, he speaks to me the least out of everyone in that group. He's a sweet kid from what I can tell. I just hoped he didn't hate me as I once believed. I could get used to this new life, although I didn't want to. Maybe Florida wasn't going to be so bad after all.
I woke up early on Saturday to finish some of my weekend homework and the small amount of unpacking I had yet to complete. We were set to meet at Andrew's place at 1:30, so I had plenty of time. After unpacking my remaining boxes into my newly acquainted room, I vacuumed the carpet and organized my closet to avoid all the homework I had to do. I knew if I wanted to catch up to the other kids in my classes, it was a dreaded task that must be done. While rifling through my history notes to begin my essay, Nico burst into my room with lack of invitation. I love my little brother eternally, but don't get me wrong the kid has an unfortunate talent for constantly pushing my buttons. "Fiona!" He wrapped his hands around my legs, getting what I hoped to be jam all over my sweatpants. I cringed in disgust. I've always had a problem with that kind of thing, messes. "Nico stop, get off of me you're so gross," I groaned, shaking my brother off of me. My feelings for Nico have never been constant; either he's an adorable angel who can cause no harm, or an insanely irritating little asshole. I wish I could say that on Saturday he was an angel. After around 20 minutes of bribing and pleading him out the door, I finally started working on my homework.
Directly after settling into my desk chair, Ivy texted me.
