Finding Family |Adopted by Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood|

Chapter 5

"Hurry up girls! The bus will be here any minute!!" Mrs. Crawford yelled the next morning.

Star raced down the stairs, other shoes untied and her backpack half open, tripping over her own feet as she made it to the last step. She would've fallen flat on her face if someone hadn't grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Careful. Don't end up in the hospital on your first day." Mrs. Crawford barked, pulling the small girl upright before letting go.

Star glanced up at Mrs. Crawford who's brow was crinkled and her gaze above Star's head.

"When you go out the door, just wait with the group of kids then get on the bus when it gets here." Mrs. Crawford mentioned, clearly distracted.

Star nodded slightly before making her way towards the door.

"And Star?" Mrs. Crawford called, turning towards the tiny girl who stopped in her tracks. "Tie your shoes."

Star nodded again and turned towards the door once more, worry swirling around inside her stomach as she made her way to the bus stop. Before Mrs. Crawford had yelled for everyone to come downstairs, Star had been trying to tie her new shoes but couldn't figure out how to make the laces stay tied.

It seemed as if there were clusters of kids that stretched for miles along the sidewalk when Star had turned the corner. She anxiously scanned the crowd before deciding to park herself on a grassy patch out of the way.

A high pitched screech filled the air, Star's hands flew to her ears and she squeezed her eyes shut. What was that?! When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes and she noticed a big yellow school bus parked in front of her. The other girls clambered onto the bus, shoving one another at the door.

Star slowly got to her feet, her legs trembling as she drew closer to the door. At the foot of the steps, she stopped and looked up at the steps so steep it looked like Mount Everest to the small girl.

The bus driver looked down from his seat. "Are you gettin in or not?" he rasped.

Taking a deep breath, Star reached up and gripped the cool metal railing before hoisting herself up onto the bus. Once she managed to scramble up the steps, she could feel several pairs of eyes burning a hole into her. Desperate to get out of the line of fire, she slipped into the first available seat in the front, gingerly sitting down.

"Psst! New girl!"

A sharp poke to the shoulder blade caused Star to whip around and come face to face with Tiffany, the girl who yelled at her for wetting the bed yesterday morning.

"Is the baby sore today? Headmatron Crawford publicly handed you your a-s. Gosh it was the best thing I've ever seen in a long time." Tiffany cackled.

Star bit her lip, her cheeks heating up.

"She looked so stupid, dangling and writhing over Head Matron Crawford's lap, oh my god." Another girl laughed.

Hanging her head, Star bit the inside of her cheek as tears began to fill her eyes. She had been beaten much worse in the past but no one had publicly humiliated her about it before. Not until now. I was bad.

The bus screeched to a halt in front of a large concrete structure. The doors of the bus popped open and the girls clambered over one another, squeezing through the door and breaking off into their respective groups.

Star watched the girls get off before standing up and carefully making her way down the steep school bus steps. Just as she was about to hit the ground, a rough shove from behind sent her flying onto the sidewalk.