The Red Rose

West Virginia High

2018

While by now winter break is officially over, and I am starting the first semester of the year in a new state. Meaning a newbie at trying to remember street names. The sudden dreading alarm went off and my first instinct was to just ignore it until it stops. However this is reality, and while I wish I could just turn off my painted alarm clock with bliss and have powers like Iron Man; I have to just stick with the mundane responsibilities. I lean over from my bed, hit my alarm clock and the pangs that once spread like wildfire across my room went as silent as can be. I change into my school uniform, the colors being as dull as ever except the long sleeved shirt was a deep maroon color. I quickly tried to put my hair into a fishtail braid.

I grab my backpack, put my newer school books and supplies into it. I eventually rush downstairs, grab some breakfast and coffee and I was about to go outside the door but my father stopped me. "Clementine, wait-" I halted my tracks, and looked over to him. "Take this, okay." He handed me the familiar hat that he always adored. "Dad, the school doesn't allow hats."
—"I know, take it off before you get on the bus or enter the school." He handed me his blue and white cap that had a D on it. "You're just borrowing it, sweetie."
"Not keeping it," we both said together. I placed the cap onto my head and smiled at him before I went out the front door like the first time so many weeks ago. I ate my slightly burnt toast and finished my coffee as I got towards the bus stop; throwing away the leftover container into a nearby recycling can. As I waited at the stop, I looked everywhere around me and checked my watch continuously every minute that passed by. It felt like waiting would never end, when in reality it was just twenty-five minutes. I grabbed out my phone and pulled up Louis' contact and I started to text him:

Lou

Hey Lou, I wanted to say before I leave that I hope you have a good day. Be safe, love you!

Delivered

I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder, I whipped my head around and fastened my grip onto the straps of my school backpack. The person that tapped me, was a short girl around my height. Her long hair moved slightly as she fixed her posture to where she stood up straight. "You're going to West Virginia High?" She asked me, placing her hands back onto the straps around her shoulders. "Yeah..." I mumble, placing my phone back into my backpack again. "Names' Sophie, pleasure to meetcha." Her fingers spread out in a greeting towards me, her hands being slightly dirty and had some callouses. A neat, black hair tie fit nicely against her wrist compared to her small hands. Why was her name familiar? "Clementine," I hung out my hand and it was completely opposite to hers: clean and slightly bony, a clear coat of nail polish and I had a bruise on the top of my hand when I hit against a door by accident. We shook our hands, and she grinned as she did so. "I really like your hair, Clementine." Sophie said to me, pointing at my braided hair. "Thank you," We talked for a little bit until the familiar yellow bus came towards the bus stop. I let her go in first, "After you," I gestured towards the door. "Oh, why thank you." She walked into the bus stop, one foot after another; I followed with. The bus had some kind of smell to it that I couldn't even describe, it smelt like a mix between a pack of gum and Axel spray.

It was just me and Sophie until the bus driver went and picked up the rest of my now classmates. I sat in the back and slouched as I always do, making myself look pretty inadequate now compared to Sophie's posture. We sat our backpacks onto the ground and Sophie grabbed a clear water bottle out of her brown colored backpack. "It's ridiculous nowadays-" she began drinking out of the bottle and moved her arm against her mouth to get rid of the excess water. "-All them rules, can't wear a skirt higher than your lower calf. No colored hair, piercings, can't even wear jewelry." I rested my arms on my thighs and held my hands together. "I guess, yeah. It's interesting, to say the least." I replied, looking at the objects that passed by in the window. "Some countries can't even allow you to be gay." Sophie crossed her arms and her lower lip hung down. "Gay?-" I tilted my head, I was really not expecting this conversation to shift to this. She looked over to me and smiled in a teasingly way. "Yeah, you know? Anyway, you should take off your hat, we're arriving around the corner." She pointed to the hat that my father lent to me. I mumble an "oh yeah" and took it off, my braids started to really show. I unzipped my backpack and placed it on the inside and zipped it up once again. We were arriving just up front of the school, the gates were open and an electronic sign nearby the entrance welcomed classmates and teachers alike: