Clingford High

Chapter 8

I sat in front of my open closet, staring at it as if it would somehow magically pick out an outfit for me. I had no idea what the dress code was for the event tonight which is a huge struggle for me. Never would I want to show up underdressed or overdressed, it would attract too much attention. My phone does not hold the phone numbers of anyone in this new school, so looking for help from peers would be impossible. The only help that I could get was,

"MOM!" I yelled.

"Why are you so loud?" Colin complained from the room next door.

"Yes, honey?" I heard Mom's faint reply.

"Fashion disaster!" were the only two words that escaped my mouth before I heard Mom's footsteps on the staircase. She appeared in the doorway faster than me when I heard that dinner was ready, and that's saying something.

I explained my troubles to my mother, and she helped me pick out my outfit. I wore a shirt with a flannel on top, with jeans and sneakers.

"Sorry," my mom shrugged, "You did not have many options."

I laughed. "But thanks for the help anyways."

With that, I coerced my brother to give me a lift to school which was hard being that he is convinced that laying in his bed is being more productive than helping me. I had to explain the whole situation to him before he reluctantly rolled off his bed and grabbed Dad's car keys. It was times like these I was so grateful that Colin was not those stereotypical super protective older brother.

We pulled up to the school's entrance and I was about the exit the car when Colin grabbed my wrist. My head snapped towards him.

"Have fun, okay? And call me if anything happens and I'll be here faster than you know it."

I smiled. "Siblings got to look out for each other, init?"

He shot me a grin before I closed the car door behind me and made my way towards the school gym.

I was greeted at the gym by colored lights and soft music. It turned out to be rap music as I listened closer. I stepped inside, looking around at the handful of people that are walking around with a drink in hand. The emptiness of the room was suspicious.

Jackson slipped out of nowhere in front of me. "Hey, Rae," he greeted, dragging out the 'y'.

"What's up, Jackson? You seemed kind of off this morning," I said with a light laugh. His eyes widened.

"You are a very straightforward person, you know that?"

I shrugged. "What can I say? I cut the bullcrap and get straight to the point."

"Well, I think you should know that this is not a welcoming party."

"I can see, " I said, waving my hand.

"Yeah, my apologies for letting Brennon make you believe that this is a welcoming party. It's actually our club gathering. Brennon's brother is the president of our podcast club and we are starting off by interviewing new people in the community."

"Oh. I see. But I'm totally down for it. Why didn't y'all just ask me if I'm okay with being interviewed? I would've said yes either way."

"Brennon," Jackson shrugged, mentioning his friend's name as if it explains everything. He gestured for me to follow him.

We approached a small group of students, sitting in a circle around a microphone. There were some empty seats, and I assumed they were going to be occupied by the students who are setting up the technical pieces of equipment at the side.