Best for Last

Two

We got to our new house late at night, so it was pitch black inside. 

That's the excuse I'm using for how I tripped over my own feet on my way up to the front door, spilling a box of movies and books. Ugh. Great start at my new house.

Not.

My dad wouldn't be back home for a few more weeks, so my mom and I are alone for now. 

I'm an only child. I sometimes wish I wasn't; it gets pretty lonely. Now that I'm 13, I doubt they'll have another kid. I've grown used to being alone when my mom works- since my dad is usually gone, too. 

I wish they both stayed home instead. Like, yeah, they need money, but come on. 

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Carly Miles. I'm 13-years-old, and as you know, an only child. My dad is in the Marines, which is why we move so much. I have a cat, Mickey, who is my best friend. He's black and white, and we've had him since I was born. We have the same birthday and everything. It's cool. 

Anyways, I'm in the eighth grade, I love to dance, and I used to play soccer. I don't anymore. I do still take dance lessons- that's stuck with me. I have long brown hair, and brown eyes. Another thing in my life that gets boring. I bleached my hair once, and I'll never do it again. It looked awful. And then growing it out, ugh. 

Mom orders us a pizza, my favorite kind. Pepperoni and pineapple. Yum. 

After we eat, she sends me to bed. I try to argue, but since tomorrow is the first day of my eighth-grade year, I know I should anyways. Usually, I don't go to bed till like 10.

After saying goodnight to my mom, I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I brush my teeth, hair, wash my face, you know. The whole ordeal. 

Once I finally climb into my bed, which is actually just a mattress on the ground for tonight, I snuggle down into my blankets and fall asleep. 

* * *

When I wake up the next morning my alarm is blaring and I roll over with a groan, shutting it off. I stretch and throw my blankets off of me. 

I roll back over to try and sleep. Just when I feel myself falling back asleep, my mom yells, "Carly! Get out of bed!" I groan.

Getting out of bed, I groan and stretch again. 

It takes me about thirty minutes to get ready. I put on mascara, got dressed, everything. I hated my first days, especially since this one would be in the middle of the year. 

I'm wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black zip-up jacket over the shirt. I walk downstairs where my mom was making breakfast. 

"Morning," I say, grabbing my phone off the kitchen counter where it had been charging. I slide it in my back pocket; of course, no one had texted me, I had hardly any friends anymore after they one-by-one dropped me. 

Hopefully, this year would bring new, better people. Maybe even a cute boy. I could use one of them back in my life.

I've never had a boyfriend before. Haven't had my first kiss, first hug from a guy who wasn't just a friend or family, never even held hands with a guy. 

My mom snaps me out of my thoughts by setting the plate of steaming food in front of me. I eat pretty quickly and thank her. 

"Ready to go?" She asks, and I nod, grabbing my already packed backpack from the front door's hooks. "Alright, let's go then," She says.

We walk outside, getting in her car. She drives me to school, which is only 10 minutes away.

Once we're there, I start to really get nervous. We were right on time; I had just enough time to get to my first class. I get out after kissing my mom on the cheek and she wishes me good luck. 

I walk up the sidewalk to the front doors of the school, with other kids milling in around me. They all, of course, had other people with them. By now, everyone had at least one friend or acquaintance. I had no one. 

Once I make it to my first block class, the teacher welcomes me with a too-big smile. 

"Hi! You must be Carly!" She exclaims, and I nod. She leads me over to a desk next to a girl with strawberry blonde hair and glasses. "This is Michelle," The teacher says. "And I'm Mrs. Oxe." She adds as I take a seat at the desk. 

"Nice to meet you both," I reply, and offer a slight smile. I hate all this attention. Everybody was watching us now since the bell rang and they all had to go to their seats. 

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Carly. She's new to our school, and we must make sure we give her a warm welcome!" Mrs. Oxe says. I feel my face flush slightly. 

"Hi Carly," The class says in a monotone voice that groups of people usually do. I nod a bit in response. 

The teacher beams at me once more before walking back up to the front of the classroom. She starts taking attendance and I relax a bit. At least she wasn't making me stand up front and talk about myself or anything like that. She finishes attendance peacefully and then sits down to prepare a video for us to watch on the lesson we're doing today.

I turn to the girl beside me. She's doing something on her phone. "Hey, it's Michelle, right?" I ask, smiling over at her. Why not make friends?

She scoffs slightly and shakes her head as she looks over at me. "Didn't she just tell you that? And can you not bother me? I'm trying to focus on important things," She mutters, looking back down at her phone. 

Maybe this year would be harder than I thought.

~

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