Love Equation

|2| Is It too Late To Go Back?

{CRYSTAL POV}

Another day, another place. This is the story of my life. Our family is used to getting relocated at least twice a year because of my father's profession. He works in finance but he is also a major shareholder in several other companies. This time, we have moved to Richwood, Ohio.

"Isn't this a lovely little town?" My mom chirps.

My mother has always loved to travel so our situation is ideal for her.

"Well take a good look around because this will now be our permanent home," my father states.

"What do you mean Bill?" My mom starts to look upset.

"Honey, the company said that this office is our last stop. Now we can finally settle down," My father explains.

I let out a sigh of relief. Moving from place to place is honestly tiring. Even though I'm relieved, I can tell that my mom isn't taking the news very well. As we drop our luggage off in our new home, dad calls for a family meeting

"Gather around," he announced.

After my mom and I find our seats in the dining area, my dad begins to speak.

"Now that we have a permanent residency here in Richwood, there are changes that will take place," he states.

I let out a sigh, this time it isn't out of relief.

"First thing's first," he continues. "Crystal will halt her homeschooling and will go to a public school".

"What?" I exclaim.

The thought of actually interacting with people on a daily basis frightens me.

"What's wrong with being homeschooled? Why do we have to make such a major change?"

"Sweetie, I agree with your father," my mom inputs. "This lifestyle of your's isn't healthy. You should go out into the world, make new friends, live a little".

I feel the blood rushing through my veins, oh I'm livin' alright and livid. As my dad continues rambling, I completely zone out. This is officially the beginning of the end for me.

As the days pass, my parents file the paperwork to admit me into Richwood High School. You would think that the name would be more original.

Once the paperwork was processed I only had a few days before the the new school year began. I had experienced sleepless nights because I had to complete tons of summer assignments in that time frame. The most complicated one was for my Art History class. I had to complete a sculpture of the bust of a famous artist- I chose Andy Warhol. I can already tell that my teacher would be an evil one. I mean, who else would tell their students to make an entire sculpture as summer work?

As the clock ticks, the day has finally come: my first official day of school. You probably think I'm a loser because I had to wait till senior year for this day to occur.

I picked out a blue and white floral dress and added a blue cardigan over it. I applied a little bit of subtle makeup and put on my favorite pumps. As I unbraid my hair, it becomes wavey. I add a touch of my lavender scented hairspray. I strap on my backpack and grabbed my sculpture. I didn't bother to eat breakfast so I went straight out the door. Dad was at work and mom was sound asleep so nobody was there to witness such a momentous occasion.

As I approach the bus stop, I see a crowd of teenagers. My anxiety levels start to increase.

Should I just leave?

I somehow convince myself to keep walking. As I find my place amidst the crowd, I wait for the bus.

Minutes pass and then I begin to notice that everyone is staring at me. I look down to make sure that my shoelaces aren't untied only to realize that I'm not even wearing sneakers.

What could they be staring at?

"Hi!" A girl approaches me.

She has blue eyes and chestnut colored hair. She has a smile across her face which created deep dimples on her pretty face.

"Are you new here?" She asks. "I noticed you when you walked in. A new face is always welcome".

"Ummm... yeah hi, my name is Crystal," I decide to introduce myself.

"Crystal, I like it. A pretty name for a pretty girl," she replied.

I begin to blush. She is indeed very nice. Should I make her my... friend? Wait, how do I do that?

"My name is Nicole," she continues, "this may sound cheesy but do you maybe want to be friends with me? How about you sit next me in the bus?"

"Yes and yes!" I respond, my voice sounds overly excited. I begin to feel embarrassed.

"Great, oh look the bus is here," she points at a big yellow vehicle.

This may sound funny but I have never seen an actual school bus in real life before. The only time I have seen one was in a cartoon.

As the bus pulls up, Nicole holds my hand and takes me inside. I try my best to balance the heavy sculpture with my other hand. Nicole finds us a seat in the middle aisle.

"Here, you can have the window seat," she offers.

I thank her and seat myself beside the window. Nicole then sits next to me.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I ask.

Nicole nods her head. Her smile seems to have permanently stained her face.

I begin to speak again, "Outside just now everybody seemed to have been staring at me, do you know why?"

She looks down and begins to think and then looks back up.

"Well it can be one of two things," she suggested.

"One, the boys were checking you out," she guessed.

"Yeah right," I giggle. "What's the second option?"

"Well..." she starts. "It could be that massive sculpture that you are carrying, I'm guessing you're taking art history".

"Oh," I look down. "I think that might be why" I laugh. "Are you taking art history as well? "

"No," she said. "Most of us took it freshman year".

I begin to feel awkward so I just laughed it off. For the rest of the bus ride, Nicole and I had numerous conversations. I told her everything from homeschooling to her being my first friend. Our talk was quite enjoyable.

As the bus takes a halt outside of Richwood High School, I look out the window. The school is huge. My anxiety began to kick in again.

Is it too late to go back?

Heyyyyy I'm back. I hope you like the book so far. I promise that I will try my best to update daily and I hope you guys have a lovely day. A vote would be much appreciated.