LOST WITHIN

CHAPTER ONE

The first day at a new school has never really mattered to me, people always say that new places bring new beginnings but I beg to differ. New school, new surroundings, new people but one thing that never changes is the staring. Eyes that peer into your soul, assessing every part of you, clinging to your pores making you break out into a cold sweat. I know that most of them are staring at me because I'm dark-skinned or simply put' black'. Some of the stares may be friendly, some cold, some nonchalant but one thing that remains steadfast is how it unnerves me. I've never been one for crowds but I'm good at hiding it. '' Office, office, office, come on where is it'' I chant to myself.

I finally spot it and relief pierces through me. "Excuse me ma'am my name is Naiah Augustus and this is my sister ....." I turn around to indicate Carla but she is nowhere to be found. I release a breath of frustration, I grab my schedule and books, thank the receptionist and take to the hallway ." Two minutes" I mutter under my breath with a scowl " Two minutes on school grounds and she is already gone, that must be a new record, where ...." I'm cut off mid-sentence as I spot her.

She is in the middle of a group. The sun streaming through the window catches her dark brown hair making it lighter as it bounces around, her face is lit up and her porcelain white skin glitters, as she smiles the dimple in her cheek appears, her light silver eyes glittering with humor and a hint of mischievousness but as she spots me the expression is wiped off her face. "Come on Carla, we have to go. " I glance around the people beside her. " But the bell hasn't even rung " she replies with a tiny frown on her face. My arrival has completely removed her previous joyous expression, with Carla its always been like that, and I've never been able to figure out what I did wrong. Apparently, I'm not the only person who has noticed the fact that she is trying to decapitate me with her glare.

" Yeah! " A jock agrees " We've got at least 10 minutes left .Who are you anyway? " he sneers at me. They are all snobby and have an air of meanness about them but if Carla likes them I might have to tolerate them since they might become her future friends. ''Alright, I guess we can spend a few more minutes but...'' I'm cut off as I look up and see that she isn't even listening, none of them are. All of them are too caught up in their own bubble as they continue chatting and completely ignoring me. I have to admit that it stung but I just let it go.

I'm just standing there waiting aimlessly when suddenly what they are saying interests me. I watch and listen as an animated brunet narrates a funny story of her older brother. It's a bit mean and I totally feel sad for the poor guy but that doesn't make it any less funny. By now I'm so caught up in the story that I didn't even notice that people were staring at me. What brought that fact to my attention when the brunette suddenly said '' Hey guys, can we move a bit to the side since we don't need outsiders interfering with our private matters.'' At that, everyone glanced at me and moved as far as possible as the hall would allow them. It was as if I had a plague that would affect them. After giving me looks of disgust they all continued with their conversation leaving me feeling hollow and unwanted. I let this go too for it has always been a norm wherever I went.

I had already decided not to let any of it bother me but what stung the most was that Carla never said anything. She chose people she met a couple of minutes ago over me. Even though we weren't biological sisters I'd do anything for her. I just swallowed my bitterness and let it go too. I just rolled my eyes to conceal my sadness and decided to wait for a few minutes so they can finish.

The longer I stood there the more I realized that they had no interest in stopping ,they slowly continued talking with no care in the world whatsoever. Time was slowly ticking and the staring was getting more intense. Before it was just tiny glimpses but now people were stopping in the middle of the hallway and blatantly staring. I knew that my color was unusual even for a black American since my skin tone was that of dark chocolate but I was slowly getting overwhelmed. For once I decide to be bold instead of cowering away.