The Red Lip Gloss

Chapter 1

Inhale, exhale.

I ran my fingers through my shoulder-length blonde hair and sighed nervously.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. A plain girl wearing a navy blue sweatshirt and black leggings stared back at me. 

Did my outfit look like I had carelessly thrown it together? Was I too underdressed? 

Stop overthinking. You look fine.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Haley!" Came a call from the lower level of our townhome. "You're going to be tardy on your first day."

"C-Coming!" I shouted.

I looked at myself one last time, then grabbed my off-brand backpack and trudged down the creaky, wooden stairs. 

"Do you want me to walk you to the bus stop, Haleygirl?" My mother asked, sipping her coffee.

I made a face. "Mom, I'm in tenth grade. You don't need to-"

She laughed. "I was kidding."

"I'm gonna go. I don't want to miss the bus." I pointed a thumb to the door. "See you."

"Bye!" She waved. 

I opened the door, went down the porch steps, and to the end of the street where the bus stop was. There were four other kids at my stop- three girls and a boy. The girls were gossiping softly, and the boy was on his phone. It all seemed too normal, but I would soon find out that it was the exact opposite.

At the same time, the three girls looked at me, as if sizing me up. 

I felt my face go hot. 

They turned around as the bus rumbled down the street. The bus driver was an old lady who looked like she could care less about her job. I sat down in the middle of the bus and put my backpack next to me so nobody could sit there. I leaned my head on the cold window and sighed. What a great start.

The bus was full after the last stop, and every seat was taken except for mine. 

"Can I sit here?" 

I looked up. 

A girl with long, wavy brown hair was standing there. 

"Oh- sure." I moved my backpack. 

The girl smiled. "Thanks."

I nodded. "No problem."

I felt her staring at me, and then she said, "I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" 

I nodded again. "Yep. I went to a private school, but then my dad walked out on us and we couldn't pay the tuition anymore."

I wanted to take back my words as soon as I said them. Why did I feel the need to spill my whole life story to this girl I had just met?

"Oh. I'm sorry." She said. "I'm Gianna Reyes, but you can call me Gigi. My friends call me that."

"I'm Haley Quinn." I said. The most boring name to ever exist.

"Nice to meet you, Haley!" Gigi said, grinning. "When we get to school, I'll introduce you to my friends if you want."

I smiled also. "Okay."

The lingering dread for school inside of me vanished. I was actually looking forward for school now that I had a friend, and I hoped that it wouldn't be too bad. 

But boy, was I wrong.