Trials And Tribulations (Frankiana Version)

Chapter 1

Diana sighed to herself as she transferred a few assorted items from her backpack into her
newly assigned locker. It seemed like only yesterday that she was finishing her sophomore year of high school and eagerly anticipating the summer break.

Now, weeks later, Diana found herself back in the same, bustling and chaotic hallway which she'd first been acquainted with two years previously, preparing herself for what would inevitably be a return to another year of monotonous routine.

It wasn't that Diana didn't like school, because, in actuality, she did. Diana loved to learn and prided herself on being a straight A student. She enjoyed the crisp and unsoiled feel of a new book in her hands, whether it was the fictional work of an undiscovered author or newly assigned history textbook. She reveled in the challenge of trying to solve complex math problems, liked learning about the physiological foundations of the human form, losing
herself in the lives and struggles of those who had lived before her.

Knowledge is power, or so Diana had often heard and she couldn't deny the sense of
achievement that she felt when she could apply something that she'd learnt to a situation in
her own life, even if it was only to ensure that she consumed the recommended amount of
water a day to ensure that her kidneys didn't go into failure.

It wasn't the routine of school that Diana dreaded, because actually, she thought it would
be quite nice to once again have some structure to her day.

Instead, it was the tedious and mundane practice of everyone returning to their assumed
high school clichés and roles which Diana couldn't stand. Diana wouldn't have ever described herself as popular but at the same time she wasn't ever treated like a misfit by the
rest of the student population.

Diana just kind of existed in high school, suspended somewhere between the social elite and the socially unacceptable.
Diana felt just as comfortable having conversations with the few friends that she had on the cheerleading squad as she did with those in the school band or show choir. Perhaps that's why she never liked the customary segregation which inevitably came with the start of the
school year, because for her part, Diana didn't fit into the stereotypical cliques which every
coming of age movie liked to portray on screen.

She was happy with the person that her parents had raised her to be, someone who wasn't
judgemental, who was tolerant and open-minded. Diana didn't pick her friends based on
what they could do for her social standing; she chose them because of how they could
enrich her own life, because of their experiences, their intellect, their talent and their
kindness.

If there was one thing which Diana hated about the tediousness of high school, it was the
ignorance and cruelty of some of those who attended it. Diana sighed to herself once again,
closing her locker door firmly and almost finding herself flattened against it by the weight of
someone pouncing on her shoulders, a small shriek of excitement erupting from their
mouths as they did so.

Diana smiled to herself as she felt the weight evaporate almost as soon as it had appeared
and turned around to face the unannounced intruder.

"Hey!" Jodi greeted animatedly, pulling Diana into what could only be described as an all in compassing bear hug.

"I've missed you this summer!"

"Jodibear..." Diana just about managed to vocalize, her voice almost lost with the inability
to draw oxygen into her lungs due to Jodi's python like grip.

Realising she was nigh on crushing her best friend, Jodi released her hold on Diana and
smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry," she said, reaching for Diana's hand and tugging on it
gently so that it was linked with her own.