This should be a crime. As in against the law.
It should be illegal for me to have to start again at another high school as the new girl.
Okay fine, I'm being dramatic. I wasn't the new girl. In fact, I would know a few of my classmates here already, considering they were going to be new students with me. So, there would be lots of new girls... and new boys.
Confused? Let me explain how messy our school district is.
Wilkinson High was the school I was coming from. Our school was small and cheaply made, with rusty lockers and water stains visible from the ceiling. There was a hill that formed in the wood of our gym floor from weather leaks. The school itself should have been a safety hazard.
There was a massive storm at the end of the winter break that finally knocked Wilkinson High off its last hinges.
Our city decided that since it was such a small and worn-down school anyway, they wouldn't waste the resources building it back up again. So, every student at Wilkinson High was spread out amongst the district depending on where they live. The next closest school to me was Routledge High.
I knew where Routledge High was. It was a middle-class school, better than where I'm coming from, but not the best in our city. That wasn't was I worried about though. I was worried about the students at Routledge High.
They were notorious for having the most competitive golf team. Those high swinging putts were no joke. I get so anxious for those players just thinking about how the wind frequency can influence the flow of the-
Nah I'm just kidding. They did have a really good soccer team though. I know this because my best friend Cyrus used to play them when he was on our schools' team. From what I remember though, they weren't nice people.
I still remember hearing the crack of his nose when one of the boys blew him a cheap shot with the rear of his elbow. The kid knew exactly what he was doing judging by the smirk on his face. Cyrus tackled him to the ground, blood dripping down his nose and everything.
It was the messiest match I had ever seen. Trust me, I had front row seats. Which made it easier for me to run onto the field and throw myself on some dudes back for kicking Cyrus to the floor.
He never let me hear the end of it. That was reckless of you, you could have been hurt, blah blah blah. Speaking of which...
I paused at the open doors of the new school and looked around the crowd of students in the morning rush. Kids were getting off busses, climbing out of cars, setting locks on their bikes. There were individuals walking alone, crowds of students huddled together in a group, and some couples holding hands here and there. So many faces and not one of them belonged to Cyrus.
>Where are you? I thought we were going to meet at the front entrance.
The moment I hit send, my phone was knocked out of my hands as someone shoved into my shoulder.
"Move," they seethed and when they looked back to glare at me as they walked by, I saw it was a girl with dark frizzy hair. She rolled her eyes at me behind her glasses and turned around as she resumed her rush to wherever the hell she was going.
With my mouth still gaped open in surprise I leaned down to grab my phone off the floor, ready to spew my thoughts at this crusty-haired-four-eyed-bitch. I stepped forward with my words at the ready, and just in case, my fists too.
And then someone caught my elbow. "You're so silly Row, the front office is this way," Cyrus said and then lowered his voice so only I could hear, "You are not getting into a fight on your first day here."
"Yeah well, she's just lucky my phone isn't cracked. What's so special about first days anyway? It's still going to be the same place and the same people tomorrow," I grumbled as he led the way down the hall.
But I knew he was right. Last year was filled with drama and the stress resulting from it. This was a brand-new start and I wanted this struggle of a transition to be as peaceful as I can possibly make it.
"The last time you got into a fight with someone was when you thought that girl called you a donkey."
I let out a goofy laugh at the memory and Cyrus glared at me. "What? Honey and Donkey sound very similar when you've had a bad day with no food. Plus, I apologized like a billion times, paid for her concealer to cover her black eye, and I fed a homeless man."
"What does a homeless man have to do with anything?" He asked as he held the door to the front office open for me.
"I don't know, like bad karma and shit."
He snorted, "speaking of Elizabeth, how you think she's doing over at Valley View?"
Eli and I were actually able to be somewhat friends after the whole donkey ordeal. It was a circumstantial friendship though, the kind of person you're only friends with because you see each other every day at school. I think Cyrus had a little crush on her.
"I'm not worried about her. She got stuck at the rich kid's school. I heard they serve caviar on Fridays."
We were greeted before he could reply. "Good morning, you look like new faces. Are you part of the lot coming in from Wilkinson?" The lady spoke from behind the desk. She had kind eyes and a warm smile. I found myself a little more relaxed at her welcome.
"Yes ma'am, we're looking for our schedules?" Cyrus replied.
"What are your names?"
"Cyrus Rivers." She looked at me next and waited.
"Oh, I'm Rowena Salone."
"Rowena is such a beautiful name. Well, I'm Mrs. Lester, the front office clerk. Let me just print these for you," she said while clicking her mouse around. The printer in the corner of the room started humming to work.
She handed off our schedules, the paper still warm, "These list class times and your room numbers. Your locker numbers are at the top of the page, along with your combinations. They'll be down the hall and to your left. If you need anything else this is where I'll be. Welcome to Routledge High!" She finished with a smile.
"Oh my god we're actually getting lockers at this school," I beamed to Cyrus as we exited the front office. We weren't allowed to use the lockers at Wilkinson after a kid snuck a shank into his.
You see this school switch was a very conflicting matter for me. I cringed thinking of all my old teachers and their monotone voices and all the worksheets that were thrown at us. I only liked Ms. Davis and she had been relocated to Valley View where Elizabeth was.
But at the same time, change me nervous. I didn't know what to expect here.
Cyrus was too busy looking down at his schedule to give me any attention. He was mumbling some classes and room labels on his sheet. I grabbed it out of his hand and held them for both of us to see, comparing times and teachers.
"Hey, we have math together."
"Thank god. You were always better at math than I was. You're going to help me, right?"
"Depends on my salary," I shrugged as we turned the corner to where the lockers were. "56, 57, 58... 61. Here's mine."
"Alright I'll be back," he said as he left me to find his own locker. As I watched him go, I noticed the girls at the back of the hall huddled close together and whispering secretly as they watched him.
New school, same circumstances. It's been obvious to people since middle school that he was good looking based on how girls reacted to him.
He had caramel skin and short curly hair that was close trimmed at the sides. I was an average 5'4 and he had a good nine inches on me. He was always taller than me, even when we were kids.
"His eyes are so sparkly Rowena, you should put in a good word for me."
I did not miss fake bitches trying to be friendly with me, just to be on Cyrus's good side. I knew they all talked about me behind my back too.
She must be a lesbian, why else wouldn't she be all over that? That was such a stupid concept to me. Elizabeth was drop-dead gorgeous, you don't see kids at my school assuming I'm straight just because I didn't date her.
I rolled my eyes at the girls in the corner, turning to fix the combination on my locker and flicking it open.
"Hey," a deep voice said to my side.
And it would have been a really nice "hey" if it didn't scare the absolute shit out of me. So when I jumped with a screech, my hand had a mind of its own as it shot out and slapped the dude clean across the face.
I threw my hands over my mouth as the slap echoed off the metal of the lockers. I don't know if it actually echoed or if that's how my mind dramatized the situation. His head was thrown to the side and he grabbed his cheek as he cursed.
"Jesus woman-"
"I am so sorry, I swear that was just a reflex, you literally came out of nowhere. I'm sorry," I rambled. If I was going to slap someone on my first day here, why couldn't it have at least been the frizzy bitch that shoved me?
I didn't even get to put things into my locker. I just threw my backpack over my shoulder again and high tailed it out of there as my face went red with embarrassment.
I saw Cyrus turning the combination to his locker, but I didn't give him the chance to actually open it. I grabbed him by the arm and said, "Don't look back, just run."
"Who's the guy staring at us with the half blush?"
"That's not a half blush you dumbass and I said don't look back, now pick up your pace," I dragged him along further.
I couldn't even follow my own rule. Just when we were about to turn the corner, I had the courage to turn around and look at him myself, and the expression on his face wasn't anger or even confusion. This son of a bitch looked amused.
A/N: IM SO EXCITED YET SO NERVOUS FOR THIS ONE
I plan to update every Friday so I hope to catch you guys next week :)
The MC's name is pronounced Row•when•uh for anyone that needs that.
Last name is pronounced literally like "alone" with an S in front. So sah•lone
Thanks for reading!✨