The First Time

I know I seem dramatic and that I'm acting like it's the end of the world. But to my understanding, there was no way that things could possibly get worse.

•1 Week Ago•

Alex and I were touring Blake Prep with our parents along with a whole bunch of other people new to the school. I was pretty grouchy along the way, but that settled down quickly as I realized that I was stuck at this school for good and that there was no going back.

Looking around the campus, I couldn't help but think that the area was simply beautiful. The buildings, which were made out of nicely colored bricks and had shiny glass windows, really made the place stand out. Nicely trimmed plants and gorgeous flowers surrounded the vicinity. There were trees that were somehow aligned in the perfect spots. People were walking around, getting settled in their new dorms, and just enjoying the beautiful day. A fountain made of marble was spouting out water in the middle of the main quad. All in all, the campus was really turning up my mood and slightly changing my mind about moving here.

"Here it is! Your new school for senior year!" our tour guide said.

I couldn't remember her name, and honestly, for the past half an hour, I hadn't listened to a word she'd said. All I knew was that she's a "fellow" senior at Blake Prep, she was a cheerleader, and that she was too cheerful for her own good.

"Hey, Azalia. She's pretty hot. Don't you think?" Alex asked.

I pursed my lips at him. "First of all, I'm going to pretend you never asked me if a girl was hot. Second, I thought cheerleaders at our old school were bad, but this girl is really annoying the hell out of me."

He sighed at my unhappy behaivor and tried to cheer me up. "Just give it a chance Lia. Life gets better," he said in a playful tone. "I might actually go for the girl at the end of the tour. Do you think she's taken?"

"Sure, life gets a lot better," I said sarcastically. "Take note of the sarcastic tone, too. And she's probably not taken. Just don't get your hopes up when you find out that she's as crazy as the other cheerleaders back home."

"Whatever you say, Lia, whatever you say."

•••

After the tour was over, we went to our rooms to drop off our stuff. My room was in the building at the opposite side of campus because the boys and girls had to be separated, which was total protocol for a both genders boarding school.

Our mother came with me because she wanted to spend "quality girl time" before she had to leave. I love my mother and all, but I swear, she could be crazy when she wanted to be.

I was sharing a room with this other girl, whose name I do not know, either, and I hoped that she wasn't a psychotic crazy person that I'd have to share a room with for the whole year.

The room was still empty, so that meant I got first pick on everything. I took the bed next to the window and set everything down on the floor next to it.

"Oh, looky here, Azalia! This room is... quite nice," my mom said, looking around.

"Mom, please tell me you did not just say 'looky here'. That's just not cool to say," I said.

But we were both thinking the same thing-the room was really blank. Everything was gray, plain gray. My mom was an interior designer, and I saw the gears turning in her head as she decided she was going to fix it up.

Here we go again. What in the world could she do now? She was leaving at the end of the day, so she couldn't possibly do much.

But this was my mother, always trying to make the impossible possible. It was quite a feat, but she was always able to do it. And that's what I loved about her, but it didn't change the fact that she was crazy.