Not Strong Enough

Disaster Strikes

I woke up the next, like I wake up every day. Nothing special and I mean it. I wasn’t excited and I wasn’t terrified. Maybe a little bit glad to be going away from all the limelight- into the shadows- where I really belong.

I dressed casually, putting on a tank top and capris with shoes. I didn’t want to wear girly clothes so that there would be no chance I would be mistaken for a slut- or somebody to be hit on. I preferred the cool, sporty image. I tied my hair in a ponytail, letting a few strands fall haphazardly on my face- just to make the impression I didn’t care about my looks one bit. And it was right, I didn’t. I was making every effort to prevent advances from the opposite sex. I just wanted to have a good time.

 I went down, had breakfast while watching TV. I hate breakfasting alone, but my parents weren’t in. So I made it a point to switch on the radio or the tv while I breakfasted, just to make myself believe that I wasn't all alone.

So I just skipped along and slung my bag over a shoulder.

And then I was on my way.

^^^^^^

Zelman’s High School

That’s what the board outside say in large letters. As I turned into the parking lot, I had my first view of the place. It was huge. I mean really, really big. Almost three times the size of my older school. But it was nice. There was something about the place that made me like it instinctively. I was half an hour early- it being the first day and all. A few people were standing in the parking lot. I found an empty spot and parked my car. And then got out.

I didn’t know my way around the place, so I just sort of looked around trying to figure out the general direction the crowd was moving so that I could follow. A few people were standing and chatting. Some nerds were reading in the corner. A couple or two was even making out. Ugh. Right in the morning. It made me sick. I am definitely not a morning person. Usually, I am considered a very active person. But doing anything in the morning totally puts me off. That is the one time I like to laze around and do…. nothing.

But looking around didn’t solve my current problem. I could gather no idea whatsoever of where I was supposed to be. So, I just walked up to the guy standing a few steps away from me.

“Hey, could you please tell me where the office is?”

The guy took off his ear phones and said moodily “what do you want?”

I didn’t like the way he talked to me. Like he wasn’t even interested and made me feel like I was totally wasting his time. But then I remembered it was the image I had gone to great lengths to create. I gave myself a mental fist pump. Yes! It worked!

“I’m new here,” I told him, “so I’d like to collect my schedule and things.”

“Oh, right.” He said and pointed right behind me. “See the red brick building right behind Gabriel? That’s the one.”

I looked around; all the buildings I could see were red. And I had no idea who the hell Gabriel was.