The Newcomer (SEMI-ON HOLD)

Chapter Three

"Sorry I'm late. The principal wanted to see me." Jacky says but her eyes burned a hole in my face. It was like she was directly telling me that. I looked away, feeling my face heat up. "Are we starting?" She asks. I look at Jane and saw her give me the signal to start recording. I press the record button and Jane starts asking the questions.

"So welcome to Silver Creek, Jacky. Compared to everyone we talked to today, you're a little bit different. They were all freshmen, you're a senior. You only have a year in the school so we just want to know what your expectations are for the year." She asks. I look at Jacky who seems to be contemplating.

"I like that it's a real school, to be honest." She laughs, but it was more confusing for Jane and I. "I was homeschooled for a few years, so I didn't have any classmates or anything like this. I don't have any expectations. I just want to enjoy the school year and experience as much of high school that I can in a year." She says, which came really shocking to me.

I don't want to be seem judgemental but I was very surprised when Jacky said she's homeschooled. You don't meet a lot of homeschooled people in Old Town, and how they portrayed them in movies is a lot different than how Jacky looks. She's on the opposite side of that spectrum which really caught me by surprise.

"The campus is beautiful. Where I come from, campuses tend to be situated between sky scrapers and concretes. That's the thing I love most about Silver Creek. And also the students here—" she laughs, "Theres a bit of everyone. It's interesting and fun. You definitely don't get that when you're having class in your living room apartment."

The interview went on like how Jane did it. She did most of the talking while I sat behind the camera, wishing I could talk to Jacky personally and deviate from these ridiculously staged questions. Jane had a feeling Jacky was different from the rest of the student body, and she wasn't wrong. She's not someone you just encounter randomly in Old Town everyday.

When the interview was over, Jane had to rush out because her brother was waiting outside for her. When that happened, it only occurred to me that Kennedy was nowhere to be found today, and she hasn't sent me any text message. So that was the first thing I checked on.

"Everything cool?" Jacky asks, leaning on the table beside me. Her presence is very distracting, but not in a bad way! She's not someone you can pretend is not there. Her presence is always very strong.

"Yeah, I just haven't heard a word from my best friend—" just as I said that, I get a text from Jane.

'Kennedy is in my brother's car and they're making out. This is unbelievable' with an annoyed emoji at the end.

I laughed and shoved my phone in my back pocket. "Never mind. I know exactly where she is. This bitch just missed a whole day of school to make out with her prune-face of a boyfriend—" My eyes widen after realising what I just said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

Jacky looked at me, biting her lips like she's trying to stop herself from bursting into an insane laughter. "Prune...face?" There was hesitation in her tone. The way she repeated it made it sound like she was trying to make sure she heard me right.

I froze. "Umm... Yes, he has a face like a prune." The moment I said that, Jacky bursting in uncontrollable laughter. "Oh come on."

Jacky shakes her head vigorously, trying to stop herself from laughing too much. She says, still giggling a bit. "I can't wait to see his face."

"Okay. Let's forget about my best friend's boyfriend's face." I say but this time I can't help but laugh as well. Just thinking of Ryan's face, he really does look like a prune. I sling my bag over my shoulder. "You were homeschooled? That must be a big adjustment to this school, isn't it?" I ask her.