A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Seven

V I C T Ø R I A
The start of school.

The last time I went to a real school was before my family died, so it's been nearly seven years.

Josh was driving me to school and I think he could sense that I was nervous.

"You'll be alright, don't be nervous." He pat my shoulder and I glanced at him.

"How could you tell I was nervous?" He smiled and kept his eyes on the road.

"If you clutch your bag any tighter, you might break it. Relax, nothing too bad should happen on the first day."

We pulled up to the school and I saw several kids leaving buses and cars, hugging each other or joining groups.

This was the start of a nightmare.

"Do I have to?" I don't remember much from public school, but this seemed so different than school on tv.

"Tori, you'll be okay. If you have any issues, you can call me. I'll pick you up at three." I got out and he left.

Now what?

I remembered that the school emailed Josh my schedule, where the classes were, and my locker and the combination.

He printed it out for me so I dug through my backpack for the papers.

Locker 341.

I spent a few minutes searching for my locker when I heard someone shout.

"You, fake Ariel!" Considering my hair was red, I assumed they were shouting for me.

Three guys walked up to me and I immediately recognized the one pouting in the back. He was the one I called a pig in Hollister.

"Are you the one who rejected David here?" Great, this guy.

I responded with a nod and the guy who asked started laughing hysterically.

"Thank you for that! He deserves it!" He and David walked off, leaving their other friend.

The guy they left smiled at me and brushed his long, chestnut hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry about David. Peter and I try to keep him in check." I shrugged it off and the guy left to join his friends.

I finally found my locker and took out my books from my backpack, shoving them on the top shelf and leaving the notebooks and other supplies in my bag.

My schedule was simple enough, except for the fact that I didn't know where any of my classes were.

My first class was Geometry and it was in room A14. I don't ever remember schools having rooms with letters.

I could've asked someone to help me, but my anxiety shouted no, so I was on my own to figure this all out.

"Where on earth is this room?" I mumbled to myself and bumped into someone yet again. I really need to pay attention to my surroundings.

"I'm so sorry." I looked up and the guy started laughing. He reminded me of a younger Patty Walters with black hair.

"It's alright. I overheard you saying you can't find a class. I was really lost when I first started going here last year." He smiled and took the paper from my hand.

"Yeah, it's geometry." He handed the paper back to me, motioning for me to follow him. I was relieved someone was showing me around.

"I'm in that class. By the way, I'm Tony." He introduced himself.

"I'm Victoria, but everyone calls me Tori." He stopped and faced me.

"Can I call you Vic?" I've never had that nickname before.

"Uhh, why?" Vicky, Tori, and the occasional Tia were the nicknames I've had.

"My sister is also Tori and I don't want to get you two confused." I gave him the okay.
We got to the class and I sat towards the back.

The less attention on me, the better.

Several minutes passed and the teacher wandered in with a bright smile and a stack of books.
"Hello, students!" Everyone started sitting down and quieting down.

"I'm so glad we're starting a new year. Now, instead of starting off with a lesson like I originally planned, we're gonna get to know each other," I perked up with a spike in my anxiety while she explained.

"We'll go by rows and you'll come up and say your name, age, a favorite hobby of yours, and something unique about yourself."

I hated this class already.

She started with the kids in the front row and they went one by one. As each kid went up, so did my anxiety.

I bounced my leg and distracted myself by doodling on my notebook page.

"Okay, next?" The kid sitting next to me sat back down and motioned for me to go up.
It was my turn.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and I focused on my shoes while I walked up.

"I didn't realize the little mermaid went to our school." I heard laughter follow that.
I took a deep breath and looked up.

"Hi, I'm Tori and I'm fifteen. I like playing instruments and want to learn how to skateboard." Silence followed that.

"What's an interesting fact about yourself, Tori?" I could make things worse and say I'm an orphan, or make things depressing and bring up my mental issues.

"I'm adopted." Although it came out of my mouth, my mind didn't think it did.

I sat back down and the rest of the class went through theirs.

My day has already been ruined and it's not even lunchtime.