Rallington Academy : The New Girl

Threats and Being Late

I felt hands on my shoulders shaking me, and a voice beside me. I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of Kyra's face right in front of my own, and groaned.

"Finally! You woke up! Ok Raleigh. Details now. Every detail about last night." She squealed and sat on the end of my bed, cross legged. She looked like a child excited for their bedtime story.

I sighed and sat up against my pillows. Well, I got to Pizzza and found him in the back."

I told her the whole story, despite her squealing and sighing in between.

"Oh Ray!" That's so cute!" She hugged a pillow and leaned backwards.

"Thanks Kyra," I smile shyly. "But it was just one date, maybe he decided overnight he doesn't want to see me again."

She laughs. "As if. He obviously likes you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have walked you home yet."

"Or maybe he's just polite, and his dorm is just across from here anyway." I glance at the clock. "Oh no! We're gonna be late in the first week of school!"

Kyra looks at the time and jumps off my bed. "Oh shoot we have 5 minutes until the warning bell goes!" She yells as she runs to the bathroom.

I dash to my closet and fling the doors open. What to wear... I think to myself. I grab the first thing I see. My grey hoodie from my equestrian team back home. I take time to breathe in the scent. Definitely smells like what I'm used to. I realize I miss home a lot, even though it's only been a few days. How am I gonna make it here if I'm homesick during the first week at school?

Kyra yelps and snaps me out of my thoughts. I stick my legs into some jeans and hop over to the bathroom, while pulling on my pants.

"What's wrong?" I call through the closed door.

"I don't have time to put on makeup!  How am I supposed to go to school like this! You-know-who will definitely see me and he'll wonder why he ever went on a date with me." I can't help but giggle that she can't even say his name but shut my mouth when she opens the door.

She looks great, as usual and I tell her that. "Rayleigh! You don't need to lie to me just because we're roomies or friends!"

I sigh.

"I'm not lying Kyra! And I'm the one who hasn't even brushed her hair or teeth yet." I raise an eyebrow. "Besides, we're gonna be even later if you put on makeup which you look fantastic without anyway."

Now it's her turn to sigh. "You're right, I can't be late." She slips past me through the door and goes to her own closet.

I quickly brush my teeth and wash my face. But my hair does not cooperate, so I quickly put it in a literal messy bun and slip on some converse before grabbing my binder, phone and room key. I dash out the door .01 seconds before Kyra does, which is why she crashed into me. She apologizes while braiding her hair, which she is really good at, and we run to English.

Only once we get to English do I get to look at Kyra. While I'm wearing old jeans, a slightly baggy hoodie, messy bun and converse, she somehow could get dressed way better in the same amount of time. She's wearing black cropped jeans, a flowing pastel pink top, a necklace, and cute sandals with her Dutch braids. She looks like she woke up at least an hour before class, not 5 minutes like I do.

"Well, you're just on time ladies." Mr. Phelps says, winking at us.

I duck my head, but Kyra handles it like a pro and makes a joke about being fashionably late.

My stomach growls really loudly while Mr. Phelps drones on about some author he likes. It's not that he's boring, I just can't concentrate. I missed breakfast, I realize. I always eat breakfast or I can't wait for lunch and I would never want anyone to hear my stomach growl during class. How embarrassing. I didn't even have time to grab my bag or backpack, or else I might've had some sort of food in there. When it growls again a few minutes louder, it's a lot louder. Kyra glances at me and I widen my eyes. She gives me a quick, reassuring smile and digs into her bag, which she somehow managed to grab this morning too. She pulls out a homemade chocolate chip cookie. My favourite. She slips it to me and I inhale it. I was so hungry.

Briiiiiiiiing

After getting a book (The Outsiders) and doing a booklet of pre-reading questions, the bell finally rings. I sigh in relief and gather my stuff. Kyra meets me in the hall and starts laughing right away. I roll my eyes and walk away, with her following me.

The rest of the morning goes by at the speed of a turtle in jello. When I finally get to the caf for lunch, I think I might've aged a couple of years. I race through the line up and pile on the potatoes, corn, and chicken. Kyra's cookie only held me over for an hour or so, but I'm still grateful. I pick a spot in the far corner by the window with the best view, where Kyra and I usually sit with Anna and Becca and a few other girls. I pray over my food and then dig in.

Oh. My. Goodness. This tastes soooo good, I think. I finally think the day has gotten better when I see Mia's best friend Hannah walking straight towards me. She does not look happy. She plops down gracefully in front of me and death glares. My fork pauses.

"What would you like?" I ask her, still confused as to why she's here.

"I would like you to give Mia her spot back." Her glare doesn't cease.

"What? You guys never sit here, you always sit in the front!" I reply, correcting her.

She rolls her eyes so much I think they might fall out. "Her spot on the advanced team. How dumb can you get?"

I ignore the latter. "What do you mean? Mia didn't make it on the advanced team?" I ask incredulously.

"No, she didn't. And it's all your fault. If you hadn't ever come to this school, where you don't belong anyway, she would have her spot like she deserves." She purses her lips and glares at me for another moment and then gets up and struts away.

Just as I thought my day was finally getting good.