D I G N I T Y || Work in progress

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1: ɴᴇᴡʙɪᴇ

"Can I not go? Please, Elijah."

Monica pleaded with her brother as they stood outside the gates of her new school. "Stop being overdramatic, Monica. You know mom's gonna kick your ass if you come back." He snickered evilly. Monica felt like punching him in his stupid face.

Today was the first day of school. And Monica did NOT want to go for the life of her. This was her, what 7th school? She hated being new, despite changing schools every year. She had always been that silent kid that drew in the corner of the class. She never had many friends because why make friends when you were gonna lose them anyway? But this time, Monica wanted a fresh start. She was going to start her middle school life and everyone was going to be new this time! Right...?

"SHIT, I'm gonna be late for work. Bye, dumbass" Elijah said as he rushed to catch the next bus to his workplace. "I knew I should've come to school alone." Monica sighed as she hastily walked inside. She scanned the hall and groaned. There was a crowd surrounding the notice board. Monica cursed under her breath as she struggled to get through the crowd to check where her homeroom was.

"Room 303, Class 7DK" Monica read as she got pushed back again. She grumbled as she made her way upstairs. Her day was not off to a good start. As she made her way upstairs Monica began to count all the things that sucked about today. You see, Monica was a very negative person which is probably why she wasn't really able to keep any friends who even bothered to talk to her.

"WHY IS THIS CLASSROOM SO FAR??" Monica wheezed as she dragged herself up the last few stairs. She was out of breath, I mean that's what she gets for sitting on her ass all summer vacations. "I really... need to... exercise..." she stuttered as she entered her new classroom. She asked no questions and headed straight for the corner. The class was mostly empty, she sighed. She took out a thick, heavy sketchbook from her bag and began to draw. She obviously drew fanart for her latest addiction, 'Undertale'. Before Monica knew it the class was noisier than a rock concert. In a moment of annoyance, Monica looked up to see what was going on. When she finally began paying attention to her surroundings she was mortified. Nobody was new, and the worst of all.

They were all speaking Chinese.

You see, Monica may have lived in China for 7 years, but she didn't know how to speak Chinese despite her best efforts. Probably because of how her parents forced her to learn multiple different languages. And now Monica had completely given up on all her goals for seventh grade. She sunk her head into her hands as she began to curse under her breath. Sometimes she just wished life wasn't such an ass to her all the time. She took a sharp breath and tried to hold back her sea of emotions as she continued sketching.

"SORRY IM LATE!!" A short, dark brown-haired girl rushed into the classroom. Nobody really minded her for they were too busy being as loud as possible. "Oh don't worry bout it!! Have a seat." The teacher said slightly annoyed. Monica didn't bother to even look closely at the girl who entered the class. Suddenly she heard someone sit down next to her. "Hi, there!" The girl said energetically. Monica was caught off-guard. "U-uhm hello?" she said bluntly, trying to signify that she did not want to continue this conversation. "You're new as well right?" She said as she sat down. "I remember you from the interviews." Monica looked carefully at the girl and suddenly recognition filled her gaze. "Oh wait!! You're the one who lied to me about knowing Chinese!!" Monica said as she pretended to be pissed by the girl knowing Chinese. The girl began to laugh, "I really ain't that good in it. Trust me." she said embarrassed. "I'm Skyler! What's your name?"

"It's Monica-"

"WAIT! HOLY CRAP IS THAT UNDERTALE!?" Skyler said in an excited tone. "You know undertale?" Monica asked in a suspicious tone. "Of course I do!!" The girl said as she puffs up her chest. "It's the best game ever!" At that moment Monica gave up on her dignity. "OH MY FUCKING GOD. YES. I FUCKING LOVE THAT GAME TOO!" Monica began to fangirl alongside her new friend. "AAAA, your doodles are so good! I wish I could draw like that." Skyler said in a sulking tone. Monica then paused to think. How in god's name could someone be impressed by this crap? She quickly flipped to a new page and pushed it towards Skyler. "Can you show me what you can make?" Monica asked with probably as much enthusiasm as possible. Skyler seemed to have been confused by the sudden request cause she hesitated at first. She began drawing a really nice sketch after a while. Monica felt quite unsure of her drawing skills. "Done!" Skyler said as she shoved the drawing in Monica's face. Monica looked at it, it was really good but then she began chuckling. Skyler looked confused, "What's wrong?" Monica then couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably "I'm- so sorry, but this reminds me of poison apples." Monica said as she began wheezing for breath. Within a minute the two girls were laughing like maniacs. The teacher eyed the two girls and began rethinking her decision of being a teacher.

"Okay good morning everyone! I see a lot of old faces around here!" The teacher said energetically. Monica sighed. It was her worst fears; being one of the few newbies. She sighed, Skyler wasn't able to sit nearby Monica cause of the fact that there were no seats available at her table. So Skyler was forced to sit two tables away once morning devotion ended. The teacher scanned the room as she pushed her glasses up. "One, two, three, four... Well anyways! How about we all introduce ourselves!" She said as she clapped her hands twice signalling for everyone to stand up. "Crap- I forgot how to introduce myself," Monica muttered to herself as she stiffened up. After a few minutes, the teacher pointed at Monica. "You there! You seem to be new, why don't you tell us more about yourself!" Monica froze. "O-oh! W-well..." Monica began stuttering, "My name is Monica Valencia. I'm new to the school...and I guess I like drawing and writing-?" she said as she played with her hair nervously. "Well, thank you, Monica! You can be seated now." She said as she looked around the class to force some kids to speak.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Monica avoided every single opportunity to socialize. She mostly kept to herself, muttering angrily at her lack of social skills. At the end of class, Monica thought of asking Skyler if she wanted to walk to the bus stop together. Monica got up and grabbed her bag but before she knew it Skyler had basically vanished. Monica let out a sigh, "Yeah, this is a sign that I'm not cut out for this friendship stuff." Monica muttered with her dignity mostly intact. As she left she noticed two girls staying behind chatting, they seemed to be discussing school. Monica ignored them and headed down to the ground floor. "Crap- I left my umbrella at home," Monica stammered as she noticed the bleak sky. She reached in her bag hoping to find a spare umbrella as she walked towards her bus stop. Suddenly, Monica felt a drop of water fall on her head. She looked up and was greeted with rain. Monica swore under her breath as she rushed to the closest bus stop. After running in the rain for a few minutes she took a seat at the bus stop. She squeezed the water out of her hair, she let out a sigh as she sat at the bus stop, alone and completely drenched. Monica pulled out her phone and dialled in her mother's phone number.

*RING RING*

"Afternoon sweetie! How was your day?" A sweet voice chirped. Monica took a deep breath. "I hate this school mom," she muttered as she held back tears. She dug her nails into her skin. "I've had the worst day ever... and I'm cold.... and wet." She waited for her mother to respond. "Aww, sorry darling I have to go, I'll treat you to some Mcdonalds later! Love you!" her mom replied as she hung up. Monica put her phone back into her pocket and hid her face in her hands.

"Aww, guys~! You guys are the best!!" Monica looked up and saw a group of girls walking together chatting happily. Monica stared at the group in envy, "...I wish I had friends like them... I wouldn't even care about my dignity... I just... don't want to be a loner anymore." She whispered to herself.

If only she knew...

Author's note:
Thanks for reading! Well, its been a while since I've OFFICIALLY posted on wattpad. Dont expect recent updates tbh, I'm really inconsistent but if i see you guys like it, MAYBE, I'll update more often!

Word count: 1559