Tallies

Tally- Chapter 1

Tallies. Everybody has one, don't they? We live in a world where once you fall in love you get a tally on your neck. There's no removing it, no hiding it. I have none. Everybody wants one to fit in, be cool, to say they're in love. My name is Tally, funny, isn't it? I've been teased of it my whole life, since my name is Tally and I don't even have one yet. I don't want one, and I have no clue what I'd do with one.

It's finally here. The first day at my new high school. We just recently moved from New Jersey to Oak City, North Carolina, and boy, what a trip that was. My best friend convinced me to dye my ends light blue. She had said it would look "great with my natural blonde". Well, now it matches my eye color.

The trip was long and drawn out. I cried a lot, I wasn't prepared for this new life I have. I hated my mother for relocating with her job. I hated my father for agreeing to move there. Why couldn't she just stay there for weeks and come back on weekends? It wouldn't have been that hard. We would have been able to get through it, I know we would've. My best friend is states away, stranded from me, missing me. We barely get to talk anymore, I miss her so much. My parents have ruined my life with this move. Now, I'm in a new home, a new school, and the bell has just begun ringing.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The halls are crowded, people shoving others out the way. I walk into my classroom, sitting down in the first seat I saw. A girl sits next to me, with long brown hair. On her neck are 3 tally marks. 3 people she's loved. At least 2 people she's abandoned. She says her name is Madeline, and I tell her mine.

Everyone gets into their seats eventually, grabbing pencils and paper. A boy plops a seat next to me. He has dark brown hair, but his eyes are a light blue. No tallies, like me. We say our hellos, and I find out his name is Jayce. I'm not going to lie, he's very cute. Soon after class has started, we can't stop talking to each other. He grew up here, but moved houses often. I get his information and leave the class as it ends. At lunch, I find my way over to his table.

"Guys, Tally is going to sit with us today." Jayce explains to his friends, and most of them just nod their head. Jayce sees a girl with very short dark red hair coming, and grabs a marker, putting it to his neck then throwing it to one of his friends. He drew a tally. He drew it. My eyes widen, this poor girl. I watch as he kisses her lips and she pulls back, smiling. His friends greet her, and I learn that her name is Diana. She has a single tally on her neck, most likely for him. Diana, clueless what Jayce has just done, sits on his lap, eating her lunch.

"Jayce, who's the new girl sitting here?" Her voice is a little high, and she sounds like she's not enjoying anything at all. Just bland, but a little high. He tells her about me, how I'm new and we met in Algebra 2. She nods, glaring at me slightly, then goes back to eating. We all chat about things, nothing of importance, though. Then they focus their attention to me.

"So, Tally, you got a boyfriend yet?" Diana asks, without even looking over to me.

"No, is that necessary? I don't have any tallies, so obviously I'm not interested in anyone right now." I saw that it was time to leave, so I grabbed my things and threw away her trash. Diana walks in front of me when I leave the cafeteria, her face full of pure hatred. What the hell is wrong with this girl?

"If you even think about getting anywhere even close to Jayce, you will be ruined. Nobody here will even care about you. So watch your back." She hisses at me, then turns around and walks away from me. I walk the other direction, going to my class.

As I walked to class, I couldn't help thinking of how I missed home. I missed Cassie, how we'd have crazy sleepovers each weekend at her house. I missed my old school, where I fit in right away, where I should be right now. Before I knew it, Jayce was walking up to me with a concerned look on his face.

"Tally? Hey, you're crying...whats wrong?" It was then I felt it. I felt the tears streaming down my face as I wipe them off. I nod softly, trying to stop my eyes from pouring out all the tears that I've held in since I got here. All the tears from the loss of my best friend, my home, my school, the life I once knew.

He wraps his arms around me slowly, rubbing my hair. "It'll be okay. It'll all be okay." I stand there, my head lying on his chest, closing my eyes. Within seconds, I snap back to reality, remembering about Diana. I push him off of me, wiping my face once again.

"L-Let go of me! I can't do this!" I scream as I run into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I wash my face off with water from the sink and take deep breaths, telling myself it'll all be okay.

Until she walked in.