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The 'Welcoming' Community

By the time we're at first break I feel like throwing myself down a staircase. Blending in didn't work. It's a fairly small school, so if anyone is seen sitting by themselves innocently (as I apparently made the mistake of doing) they are automatically targeted.

"Hey, loner!" a girl with shaggy hair and her skater friends call crudely. I don't respond, so they came closer and stood above me patronizingly. I look up at them expectantly. The leader - the one who labeled me a loner - her hair covers her eyes and I can't see anything. For the first time, it's unnerving.

 "We're talking to you, cow." Wow, harsh. I can't remember the last time I heard the word 'cow' being used as an insult. It's like this town is stuck in a time warp.

 "Do I know you?"

They don't know what to say to this, apparently. "You're not very good at this, are you?" I say.

"Doesn't look like you're very good at making friends," says one, smirking. Well, duh. It's my first day. And what an awful comeback. I hope not all countryside bullies are this lame.

I glared at him impatiently - who does he think he is? His aqua eyes stood out from the rest of his face, unnaturally blue, so I let them draw me in. There's always a quick shock when mentally leaving the physical world into the past of a stranger, and this was no different. 

So his name's Alex. His mother has abused him since he was 8 when she developed a drug problem and after a string of suicide attempts now simply takes out all her anger on him. He himself started drinking and smoking when he was 13 and made friends with the wrong people. As is the case with most highschool bullies, he projects his insecurity and fear onto others.

Doesn't help that with his dark brown hair and blue eyes he is alarmingly attractive, either. I barely notice the third guy and don't make eye contact. I've had more than enough new acquaintances today.

 "Well, if everyone else here is as nice as you, I hope I make some friends soon. I'm enthralled by your natural charm," I reply calmly, and then return to my book, only to get it batted out of my hands. I have to admit, I didn't expect that.

"Jane Eyre? Far out. We don't need another nerd at our school, an ugly one at that," the shaggy girl - I got a tiny glimpse of her beady brown eyes and found her name was Riley - sneered. Obviously, she was also rather insecure.

 "Give my book back."

 "Make me."

 I held out my hand and didn't say anything else, even when they began taunting me again for having no friends. I waited patiently and then they got tired and dropped my book carelessly on the grass.

 "See you later, loner."

 "No, you won't," I mutter quietly.

 When the final bell rang, the students hurled themselves out the door and flooded out into the streets almost immediately, flipping off as many teachers as possible while doing so. I don't bother taking the bus. It's not a long walk, and I want to find my way around this new neighborhood, even if it is only temporary. Mum gets back from her new job at 6, so I have some time to myself when I get back. And although I had convinced myself it would be easy finding my way, the streets all look eerily the same. I found myself hopelessly lost and it was gradually getting darker. The only people in sight were, of course, Riley & Co at the skate park across the road. They didn't see me so I got to observe one of them failing miserably on a scooter and landing face-first on the concrete, which made me smile for the first time today. I know I probably sound evil but it really had been a miserable day and I was glad that karma was finally kicking some ass.

My stomach rumbles as I near a McDonald's up ahead and I still have, from what Mum gave me this morning and random coins I found in my bag, $7. I would kill for a Frozen Coke right now, I think.

I thought I was finally beginning to recognize where I was when I was pushed into an alley violently, and a boy that could be no older than I was pinning me against a wall. 

 "Give me your money,"

"I don't have any, sorry," I tell him, and then a little nagging voice in my head says, great job Haylee. You just apologized to the guy demanding your money. Smart move. Is that my conscience? About time you showed up.

"I know you do, give it to me now," he said angrily, but his voice broke, reinforcing how young he actually was. I felt sorry for him. I don't even have much money, so I have absolutely no idea why I was refusing to give it to him. And then he comes right up close, and he has these wide brown eyes that I can't resist looking into. Zac Brody, 17, ditched by his careless young parents at 6, brought up by a kind old couple that are retired. Zac got fired today. He can't make any more money for his family and now he has brought out a knife, and he's threatening me.

 "Wanna get cut?" he threatens. Other people may have been scared. And truthfully, I was scared. A bit. But his threat, somehow, was a little amusing, for reasons even I can't comprehend. It was all too eventful for my first day in lovely sunny Goldenridge. I wonder what other surprises are in store for me here, because I've clearly underestimated this place. 

So I start laughing. His expression went from angry to taken aback. Obviously, this wasn't the reaction he'd been hoping for. I kept laughing.

 I was still laughing when I held my wrists out to him to see, showing him exactly why I wasn't afraid of being cut.  

He left me alone after that.