LOCKDOWN

Chapter 1

It's the first day of senior year, and the one thing I'm determined to do more than anything is to steer clear of Peyton Mitchell and her clique. The past four years haven't exactly been a breeze because of her, but I want this year to be different. We were never friends, but something in eighth grade made her really dislike me and I've never known why. The only reason I can think of is that I was the new kid, and my arrival at the school was taking attention away from her - but she doesn't strike me as being that shallow. Perhaps a fake rumour started that I was homophobic and didn't 'agree' with her sexuality? Regardless of what happened, the fact of the matter is that Peyton simply doesn't like me.

Unfortunately for the two of us, we are often seated next to each other in certain classes due to our surnames both starting with 'M'. I disliked this just as much as she did, but somehow it was always "my fault". Honestly, I would've never had a problem with Peyton had she not taken such an instant disliking to me. For years I've wanted to know why, but I've gotten to the point where I no longer care. I'm not letting her ruin senior year. This is my year. 

I'm desperately trying to get into the University of Camberton, a prestigious school about forty minutes south of Braidwood. They have an incredible sports medicine program there that I'd love to join if I get the chance, and the grades. Sports have always been a love of mine, and before I moved to Braidwood I loved participating in my school sports teams. Since moving to Braidwood, Peyton's friends made sure I was the last one picked for any sports team during PE classes. After that, I sort of lost my passion. Peyton was good at sports...extremely good.

After laying in my bed for what seemed like hours, staring blankly at the ceiling and running through possible scenarios for the day, I decided to finally get out of bed and start getting ready for the day. It was only 7:00am, and school started at 8:40am, so I had time to make myself look fairly decent for my first day back. I was so excited to see my best friends, having not seen them over the summer holidays due to driving back to my hometown of Greenhills to visit my dad's side of the family. My dad passed away when I was in seventh grade, and I moved to Braidwood with my mum for a fresh start.

I braided my long hair into two braids and put on some mascara and lip balm. The school policy didn't allow students to wear excessive amounts of makeup, so this was all I could really do. Changing into my freshly laundered school uniform, which consisted of a dark blue plaid skirt and a light blue buttoned shirt, I checked my appearance in my full length mirror. I deemed myself decent enough, and with a quick application of deodorant and a spritz of my favourite perfume, I made my way downstairs to eat some breakfast.

My mum worked as a nurse at the local hospital in the next town over. On this particular day she was finishing up a night shift and would be expected home within the next hour. On the days she didn't have work, she always prepared a hearty breakfast for me to eat before I started my day. I made myself some avocado on toast and sat in front of the TV watching the news with my Great Dane, Dennis. I had the volume on the TV turned down as Dennis snoozed next to me, and half concentrated as something about China was broadcasted on the news. Not interesting.

By the time I had finished breakfast and cleaned up the mess I'd made in the kitchen, it was just past 8:15am. I grabbed my school bag and car keys that I'd left by the front door the night before, gave Dennis a kiss goodbye, and left my house for the first day of school.

My nerves were beginning to heighten as I anticipated what the day had in store for me, and for Peyton. To tell you the truth, I don't know if I considered how she treated me to be 'bullying', because she doesn't really treat me like anything. She sort of just...pretends I don't exist, and when she can't do that, she glares at me as if my presence is a major inconvenience. I blasted some of my favourite songs by Ed Sheeran to drown out my nerves, singing along to 'New Man' as I pulled into the carpark of Braidwood High.