Bradford.

7. Move.

Chapter 7: Move.

"Miss Stone." The receptionist at the Counselor's office says. I get up from the chair I am seated on and I approach the receptionist desk.

"The Counselor will see you now." She tells me and I mutter a "Thank you" under my breath.

I knock on the door that says 'Counselor's Office'. A voice tells me to enter and I open the door and walk into the office.

"Sit." An elderly white woman tells me. Her glasses, resting on the bridge of her nose as she holds a piece of paper in her hands.

I gulp.

I sit on the chair opposite her and I stare at her. The plaque on her table reads 'Mrs. Equinox."

What a name.

"You must be Valarie Stone?" She asks.

"Y-yes Ma'am." I say with a shaky voice.

Why am I so nervous?

"Your records are pretty impressive. You have the required grades, but I'm afraid that you're lacking something, Miss Stone." She says, placing the paper on the desk.

"And what is that?" I ask her.

"Character." She tells me.

"I'm sorry...character?" I ask her, confused.

"You're one of those students who get the grades just to get them and when they arrive at Bradford they close themselves off to the world." She tells me.

She's just drawing conclusions. She knows nothing about me.

"Well, I beg to differ. I am very social. In fact, I won a bake sale in my high school because I could interact with the students the best." I tell her.

"Bradford is more than selling cupcakes and sprinkles." She yells.

"Um, we didn't sell sprinkles." I counter.

"Silence." She says, her voice booming across the office.

"You need to be part of this community. If you want to make your days at Bradford count, you need people. And that is why I'm ordering you to join an extracurricular activity or you won't be attending this school anymore." She tells me and my jaw drops.

"W-what? You can't do that." I tell her.

"Well, the degree on my wall 'begs to differ'. She says, mimicking me.

"B-but..." She cuts me off before I can even complete my sentence.

"You have until Friday to make a decision. You're dismissed." She tells me, adjusting the glasses on her face.

Feeling defeated, I stand up and walk out of her office.

What the hell was that?

Can't a girl be antisocial in peace?

The warm breeze of autumn hits me as I walk out of the building. For the first time, I scan the campus. I see the A cappella kids practicing under a tree, the artists are painting the sky on the far end of the student yard and a group of girls are doing yoga. I make my way to the Students Affairs building to see the number of extracurricular activities they offer at Bradford.

Pulling the glass door, I enter the building and I am met with a freezing room. The AC here must be on full blast. Rubbing my hands together, I walk over to a huge notice board and I scan it until my eyes fall on the piece of paper, loosely pinned to the board, that says "Extracurricular Activities". The list says that all the extracurricular activities are full except Kayaking and Cheer. The Cheer team had one spot left and auditions are going to be held this Wednesday.