Life, Starting All Over Again

Chapter Three

Monday morning, bright and early at six AM, my alarm woke me. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, realization hitting me. Today is my first day of high school here in Portland. At Highland. I went to the bathroom and took a hot shower. Then, I dressed in a long black skirt, blue sweater, pink socks and put on my pearl earrings I got for my 14th birthday. I walked downstairs, starving.

In the kitchen, Jody was making scrambled eggs and David was grinding coffee. I said "good morning" to them and sat down. "You ready for your first day?" David asked, taking a seat next to me. "I guess, ready as I'll ever be." I said truthfully. He nodded and Jody began dishing the eggs to us. They smelled great. I checked my phone: it's 7:39. The bus comes at 8. I better eat and finish getting ready quickly.

At 7:51, I dash out the door and speed-walk the 2 blocks to the bus stop. School starts at 8:30. The bus is supposed to come between 8 and 8:05. It comes at 8:03. "Here's your bus card. Don't lose it." Is the only greeting I get from the grumpy driver. I take a seat in the back. There are only 2 other kids on the bus. I think my stop is the last one, since we go straight to school. I take a deep breath as I step off the bus and see the students for the first time. The entryway is crowded with kids. I squeeze my way into the building and find the office. By now, it's 8:14. First bell's at 8:20. I'm supposed to go to room #157. So, the journey begins to find my homeroom.

About 4 minutes later, I finally find it. A woman with mousy brown hair, gray eyes, looking to be in her 50's comes up to me. "Hi, you must be my new student Lily Drayley! I'm Mrs. Harvin, you're homeroom teacher. Welcome!" Mrs. Harvin invites me in, and I take a seat in the front row, where I always loved to sit in school. It's now 8:17, and kids are piling into the classroom. I bash fully stay seated yet observe these new faces, in hopes that someone will want to be my friend.

A girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes sits next to me. I spot a group of 3 girls walking in, all with matching purses and wearing heels. They each flip their hair with outstanding rhythm. These must be the populars, I thought. "Hi, I'm Lily. I'm new here." I say to the girl next to me. She peeks out of her wall of hair. I think I see a small smile under that blanket of hair. She doesn't speak, but somehow I know that she heard me. The one with the blonde hair in the popular group struts over to the girl next to me. "Hey, Bella, you dropped something!" She takes her big history book and plops it on the ground. Splat! Yup, she's defiantly a popular. Bella ignores her. She walks over back to her posse, laughing loudly. I pick up the book, which is incredibly heavy. "Here," I place it back on the desk. "Thanks, Lily." She spoke. She has a small voice, but it's nice. Brring! The bell rings.

Mrs. Harvin starts an intro about summer and what homeroom will look like during the course of the school year. We have free time and I organize my binder and read.

I read my new schedule as I get some things from my locker. Next class is math. I find the room, which is just down the hall. Looks like Bella's in this class too. We sit together in the back. "Hello, scholars! I am Mr. Minicks, your math teacher! How about we begin with some pre-algebra practice!" Everyone groans and I pull out my math journal. He unrolls the document camera and places 5 pre-written problems on the screen. I begin with everything I can remember about math last year.

My last class before lunch is English. We learn 8 new words and set up all 3 journals. High school moves fast on the first day, I thought. My English teacher is Ms. Rummell, an ancient stout woman with a big lisp. She seems nice enough though, but everyone makes fun of her and doesn't take her seriously. I feel sorry for her. The bell screams at us to announce that it's lunch at 12:30. This is a big moment in my history of high school here. I can't screw up.

I take my pre-made lunch and dump all my stuff at my locker before heading up to the lunchroom. Kids are crammed into the school lunch line, looks like today they're having macaroni and cheese. Seems like it's a very popular lunch here. I look to my left: 4 long tables. 3 with normal groups of kids, but one with that group of three "popular" girls I saw earlier back in homeroom. They're laughing their heads off about something. I just can't imagine anything being that funny. I glance right. Same deal here, only things are more diverse. Kids sit together who look completely different, and I know that might be normal at some schools, but I have a feeling it's not at this one. In the furthest table, huddled in a corner, is Bella. She's reading her book and eating a small school lunch, only biting on an apple. I walk over to her confidently.

She looks surprised to see me. "Oh, hi." She says, parting her curtain of hair. "Hi, I saw you alone, and no one invited me to sit with them, so here I am!" I said, beginning to eat my wheat bread peanut butter sandwich. "Oh, well I'm glad your here. Nobody's sat with me at lunch since 8th grade, and it gets awfully lonely and boring reading all the time." She sips her juice. "I bet," I say, offering her a potato chip. "Thanks." She takes it and crunches loudly. We both laugh at the sound even though it's not that funny. I tell her about my background, and I hear a little about hers. She's lived here her whole life. She's also an only child, and has a single mom, Maurine Gafell, who's a nurse. Her full name is Isabella Darla Wibbs, and her dad was an alcoholic who left her and her mom when Bella was 9. I felt terrible for her. She was so young. She says her dad promised to come visit someday, and write her. But she hadn't heard from him since and she turned 16 a month ago. She claims he told her he was going to Tennessee, where his parents are, but she knows nothing for sure. Her mother never speaks of him, and carries on as if he never existed. She had one boyfriend, Paul, for a year when Bella was 11. He cheated on her though and a year later they broke up. Since then, she says that her mom gave up on love and men altogether. I honestly don't blame her after what she's been through.

"So, want to know about the people at that table?" She asks, pointing to the populars. "Sure," I say, dying for answers. "The lead, the blonde, is Julia Bates, the richest and most popular girl in high school. She's also the meanest, and takes part in any form of bullying, a lot towards me. Her sidekicks are Blake O'Heeley and Katy Smith. They're a sick group, twisted and pure evil in every way." She pauses and looks over at the jock table, filled with boys in sports jerseys. "Those are the jocks. See the one with dreamy blue eyes and sandy hair? That's Austin Monroe, Julia's boyfriend. They met last year at prom. It's a legendary story all over. Even the freshmens know it by now. And that's about it." I take in this big update. I see the populars strut our way. "They're coming. Act cool." Bella says nervously, going back to reading.

"Hello, new girl. Or should I say, Lily Drayley from Montana?" Julia says, giggling. Her voice is glossy and smooth. "Um, hi Julia." I say. "Why are you sitting with her? Everyone knows she's the biggest nothing in school. Loser is the more proper word." "Bella and I are friends now." I say defensively. "I see. You could seriously do so much better Lily. Well, see ya!" Julia waves and they walk off, flipping their hair simultaneously again. Bella and I roll our eyes. The bell rings. Lunch is over and I go to my locker.

My next class is science. We learn about the dissection of animals. The science teacher is a cool 31-year-old woman who's 3 1/2 months pregnant. She talks about becoming a mom, and how excited she is. She also has a near Boston accent. Her name Mrs. Mead.

My last class is social studies with bland Mrs. Wagner. We start a unit on analyzing famous American historical documents. We start with the Declaration of Independence. It is very boring and long.

At the end of class, Mrs. Wagner says, "okay, homework is to finish this analysis!" We all groan and then the bell rings and I run to my locker.

After school, I eat a snack and start my homework. I still have 3 hours until David and Jody get home from work. I get frustrated with the homework, but plow though it.

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a long time! I hope you all had a good Halloween. Please continue to vote and comment! I love to read the comments and get tips and feedback. Thanks for reading!