"Have a nice day at school!" their words rang in my ears as I boarded the big, yellow, tipped-over trash can with wheels. Even before I had seen the first person, I could feel all eyes on me, staring through the window or straining to see the new girl that was slowly climbing the steps of the bus. At least one person seemed happy to see me, the bus driver, although dead silence had settled on the bus with high volume whispering, like music to my ears. It seemed so normal after hearing it all my life.
"Good morning!" the bus driver's voice broke me from my thoughts. "Your seat is the first one up front." I nodded thanks to her, then practically dove into my seat to get rid of all the eyes on me. Don't they know it's rude to stare?
The bus lurched forward and the sound of people's voices rose in volume. Luckily, as far as I could tell, the topic wasn't on me anymore.
It wasn't long before the bus came to another stop, the bus driver slamming on the brakes and almost throwing me out of the seat. I watched the door open, then stared at the two little girls boarding the bus.
"Good morning! Becca, 3rd seat back. Sarah, front seat next to Skylar," the bus driver greeted them. The first girl, Becca, passed by me, heading to her own seat. Then the smaller one plopped down next to me.
She turned towards me, a curious grin on her face. "I'm Sarah and I'm 5 years old."
I looked at her, a small smile tugging at my lips. "I'm Skylar, 16 now."
"Becca's in third grade." She looked at my left hand, seeming to notice it for the first time. "Why isn't your left hand the same color as mine? Did you paint it?"
My heart plummeted, but I guess that was just the way of little kids; always curious. "No, um, it's actually kind of...metal," I began hesitantly, trying to explain it some.
"Were you born with it?" she asked evidently confused.
"Well, no," I answered rolling up my sweatshirt sleeve and showing her where the prosthesis connected. "It's pretty complicated."
"That's cool! I wish I had a robotic arm!" she exclaimed, turning around to dig in her backpack.
I'm not going to tell her that it isn't robotic. She obviously don't know what she's saying. "I'm sure you would."
"Do you want to see what I brought to school today?" Out of her backpack came a huge bag of M&Ms. "It's for class treats. Dad gave me 3 whole bags!" Sarah grabbed a corner of the bag, and after a moment of struggle, the bag ripped open and she dug her hand in, taking out a fistful of M&Ms. "Want some?"
I smiled and shook my head no. She shrugged and continued eating, leaving me in peace.
It didn't take long for us to arrive at the school, the place I dreaded most.
~*~
Big blue doors opened up before me, showing me the inside of my new school. It looked pretty drab; mostly gray and white with a few students wandering around the halls. A few of them looked at me before quickly looking away and taking off to wherever. The only splotch of color was a sign that read "Step 1: Look for the best in others. #Rachel's Challenge." It made no sense whatsoever to me, but I guess it had something to do with the school.
"Hello! I've been waiting for you all morning! Trying to be fashionably late this morning?" I nearly jumped as a random voice appeared from behind me. I turned to see a freckle-faced blonde girl, seeming to appear out of nowhere, but randomly smiling at me. "I'm Sonya. I'm part of the new student project, welcoming you to our school. First things first; you should join my club. We are the friends of Rachel."
