I drummed my fingers nervously against my thighs, staring out of the window. I moved to San Diego, and I was starting at a new school. I was upset that my parents forced me to move. They didn't even ask me what I though about it, they just told me that we were moving, and a few days later we were in San Diego. I left behind all of my friends, and I had to start all over at a new school. My mom pulled into the parking lot, and stopped. "Okay, we're here." I looked at her, said nothing, and stepped out of the car. I was still angry that they made me move, but in would be over it in a while. I looked around, and I was terrified. All these people that I didn't know, but every time they saw me they whispered, "New girl." The bell rang, and I shuffled to my first period class. I walked in, looking around. They stared at me, and I stared right back. Finally the bell rang, and the teacher walked in. "Alright, we have a new student. Why don't you come introduce yourself?" I walked up and mumbled, "My name's Mona and I moved here fro-" the door opened and someone ran into the class. "I'm so sorry!" The teacher chuckled and said, "Late again, Mr. Fuentes?" The student laughed and said, "Why break a record? I've been late everyday for the last two weeks!" He looked at me and smiled. "I'm sorry for interrupting, go on." I smiled back and continued. "I'm from Los Angels, I'm 17 and that's about it." He told me to go sit next to Vic, who was the boy who ran into class. "Hey, I'm Vic." He said with a smile. "I'm Mona." He laughed and said, "Like a doll. You look like a doll, your skin's so pale it looks like porcelain. And your hair is so black... Like a doll." He said with a chuckle. The teacher started talking, so we stopped talking and listened to him. The bell rang, and class was dismissed. I was walking out of the door, when I felt someone grab my shoulder. I turned and saw Vic. "Hey um, I know that you're new here, so you wanna eat lunch with me and a few of my friends?" I smiled, relieved that I had made at least one friend. "That would be great!" I told him what class I had before lunch, and he agreed to meet me in front of my class, and we went separate ways. The next few periods went by quickly, and when it was time for lunch, he was waiting outside my class for me. "Hey, you ready to go to lunch?" I nodded and we walked to the cafeteria. After we got our lunch, he led me over to a table that had about 5 other people there. He introduced me to all of them, and they all said hello. They were all polite, except for this girl named Karina. When Vic introduced us, she stood up and hugged me. "Oh my God, its about time we got a new kid! And you must be great, because he invited you to have lunch with him. Or he just thought you were really cute and wanted to snatch you up before someone else did." She winked at Vic and he chuckled nervously and told Karina to shut up. "Make me, Fuentes!" He went over and pinched her arm, then they were sort of wrestling. They laughed and Vic threw his arm around her, and she flicked his cheek. We all started talking, and Karina asked me what my schedule was. I showed her and she excitedly said, "We have the next four classes together!" The bell rang, and we all went our separate ways, except for Vic, Karina, and I. We walked together, and once we got to the classroom Vic hugged Karina and smiled to me and waved goodbye. In the class, we sat in the very back so we could talk. Class began, but Karina and I sat in the back and talked. "So Mona, where did you move here from?" I grimaced and said, "Los Angeles. Even though I hated it some days, I loved how quickly everything moved, and my friends and I would always be doing something. It sucks that I had to leave all that behind, you know?" She nodded sympathetically and said, "But hey, think of it as a fresh start, and a chance to meet new people and have new adventures! So did you have a boyfriend?" I shook my head. "It just didn't really appeal to me. I mean, all my friends were in relationships, but I hated feeling like I belonged to someone." She looked at me and said, "So you wouldn't get into a relationship? Not even with, say, Vic?" I laughed and said, "I wouldn't think of it, aren't you guys together?" This time she was the one who laughed loudly, which earned us a few glanced and the teacher telling us to quiet down. "No, we grew up with each other, we're basically brother and sister. We live next to each other, and we've gone to school together ever since kindergarten. I would never dream of dating Vic. I love him, but not in that way." I nodded and we paid attention for about five minutes, then started talking again. "So I know we barely met and everything, but I'm pretty sure old Vic has a crush on you. Don't get all freaked out though! Its just that after being his friend for so long, I start noticing the signs. I mean, he's actually very shy when it comes to talking to girls. And then he invited you to have lunch with us. He usually never does that, because his friends mean a lot to him. I see big things happening in the future between you two." I looked strangely at her and said, "But you barely met me this afternoon! How do you even know this is gonna happen?" She just smiled and said, "Okay, I'm gone a prove that he has a little crush on you already. He's gonna be waiting outside that door, and he's gonna walk you to your next class, claiming it's just because 'you're new here and he doesn't want you to get lost.' Then he's gonna walk away, but just keep lookin at him. It's guaranteed that he's gonna look back at you." The bell rang as soon as she finished saying that, and we walked to the door. As soon as we walked out, we saw Vic standing next to the row of lockers. He smiled at me, and Karina laughed and smiled victoriously at me. "Hey Mona! Want me to walk you to your next class? I don't want you to get lost, since you're new here and everything." I turned to Karina and she mouthed, "Told you." Then walked off, laughing. He walked with me to my class, and then said, "Hey, where do you live? Maybe I could walk you home?" "I live like ten minutes away from here, but if your house isn't in my direction, I wouldn't want you just walked me home, then having to walk all the way home." He shook his head and said, "Its really no problem, Mona." We agreed to meet in front of the school so he could walk me home. He walked away, and i remembered what Karina said was the last thing he would do. I kept looking at him, and when he turned the corner to walk to his class, he looked back and smiled at me. He had such a sweet smile. I walked into my classroom, and sat in a corner by myself. The last two periods went by slowly, but finally the final bell rang. I walked outside, and Vic was there, waiting for me. "Hey, let me carry those books for you." He grabbed my books and we started walking. We talked about random things, about my life back in L.A, and then he wanted to ask a question. "Go ahead, Vic. What do you wanna know?" He was blushing faintly, and asked, "Did you have a boyfriend back in L.A?" I laughed and said, "No, I don't really like being in relationships. I just haven't met the right person." He poked my shoulder and asked, "You think maybe you'll find someone here?" I gave him a half smile and said, "I don't know... Maybe." We smiled at each other, and I stopped walking because we were in front of my house. "Well, thanks for walking me home Vic. I'm sorry that you have to walk all the way home." He lightly punched my shoulder and said, "It's no problem... Neighbor." He walked a few feet, then walked into his house, but not before looking back and smiling at me with a little wave. I walked into my house, smiling, and I ran into my mom. "I'm guessing school went well?" I nodded and said, "The son of the neighbors showed me around and I hung out with him during lunch. He's a really sweet boy." She tousled my hair and walked to the living room, while I walked to my room. Maybe moving to San Diego wasn't such a bad thing...
