'Okay, you got this Cady'
Cady was standing outside NSPA with her brother, clutching her suitcase so hard that her knuckles were white. It was Sunday, August 26, the first day of school.
Northshore Preparatory Academy is a big school.
A really really big school.
In Africa, everything was small, her tent, her group of friends. This was almost too much.
"Hold up, you're going to Northshore Prep?" Jaxson asked from behind her. She slapped him on the shoulder, "Did you not listen to anything mom told you?"
He groaned, "My ex-girlfriend goes here, god."
"if you talk about Reginald one more time, I will slap you."
"Well it would be better than the time you rickrolled me claiming you had a Hamilton bootleg yesterday"
Cady laughed to herself remembering her small accomplishment ,but went back to being nervous. Jax noticed her heavy breathing and look of fear and kneeled down, looking at her like she was 5.
"Caddie, it's gonna be alright okay? Just act like this was the time when you tackled that Zebra okay? It's fine. Everything is gonna be fine." He talked to her like a child.
Cady nodded and she and Jax walked into the school.
"Juniors! Juniors over here!" A woman with blonde hair and glasses called, fixing her eyes on Cady. Cady shyly walked up to the desk. "Hi! I'm Miss. Heiny! I'm the school counselor. First and last name please?" She said with this intense stare.
"Cady Heron."
"Well, Cady! Here is your schedule, dorm key, uniform, and school rulebook!" She smiled, placing a basket with all the items in Cady's hands. "And remember, you never need more at The Shore!"
"Uhh, thanks?" Cady quickly shuffled back to her brother. "Okay Caddie, I'm taking you to your dorm then I'm gonna go okay?" He said, holding a giant map of the school. The left the main building and walked over to the girls' dormitory building.
They reached the dorm, 384, and stopped. "Okay little red, I'm gonna go now. You got this?" Jaxson asked. "Yeah...bye!" Cady smiled as Jaxson walked away. "Bye dork! I'm leaving you now because I'm a terrible brother!" he said as he ran off.
That was it, Cady was alone in the wild now.
She opened the door expecting it to be basic and empty, but instead, it was huge. Cady walked around, spotting a area with couches and a TV, plus a hallway with 3 doors.
"So like...did you forget that you're at a school for rich kids or what?"
"AH!" Cady jumped and turned around. A girl was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She had on black shorts, a tee-shirt with a band Cady didn't know on it, and a heavy-looking green jacket tied around her waist.
"Dude, you were looking around like you were in some place fancy" She chuckled. her hair was a dark brown with bleach blonde tips, and she had these giant dark brown eyes that Cady could just stare at for hours.
But then it hit Cady. This was the girl she saw outside Jax's apartment building. "Hello? Earth to cute redhead!" She waved a hand over Cady's face. "Uhh, I...um what?"
"Janis, stop scaring the new kid!" Another voice, a boy "Fine, I'll start over." the girl-Janis-said. "Hi, I'm Janis."
"Et je m'appelle Lady Gaga" The boy said, trying to do a hair flip. "That's Damian, he's almost to gay to function."
Cady realized she stopped breathing and exhaled. "I'm Cady, I'm new."
"We know." They both said in unison. "Wait how?"
"Do you really think this school gets new students?" Janis laughed. "Everything stays the same unless someone gets exported from somewhere exotic"
"Wait, Aaron is a scholarship kid and he's from California." Damian said quietly.
"Exactly, exotic" Janis pronounced the word like it was the greatest thing.
"So Cady" Damian said as he sat on one of the couches, pulling Cady down with him. "Who are you?"
"I'm...Cady?"
Janis flopped onto the couch next to them, putting her feet on the table, by now, Janis somehow had her schedule and Cady was laying is Damian's arms. "No he means, who are you really?"
Cady shook her head, "I still don't get it."
"Okay let's start with an easy question, where are you from?" Damian asked. "Africa." Cady answered
"Oooh, are the rains blessed?" Janis looked up, with an evil grin on her face.
"Jan goddammit, you promised you would stop making that joke!" Damian yelled throwing a couch pillow at her.
"What? I don't get the joke!" Cady whined hugging a pillow. "Cady, for your own good, please do not let Janis get you addicted to her crazy old meme music."
Before she knew it, Cady had a pair of best friends without lifting a finger.
---
"Okay this is the couch."
"Janis I know what a couch is." Cady said, Janis was giving Cady a tour of the entire dorm. "No, you don't understand...this is the little blue couch."
"It's a couch Janis"
"NO CADY, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, THIS COUCH IS EVERYTHING." Janis screamed, aggressively clinging onto the couch. "Why are you like this?"
"I used too much tear-free shampoo in 2012 and I haven't felt a thing ever since"
"Janis, I said give Cady a tour! Not your childhood backstory!" Damian screamed from across the hall. Janis rolled her eyes and dragged Cady to her bedroom.
Cady opened the door and stepped inside, it was basic, a bed, a desk, some windows, and two doors. "Where do those go to?" Cady asked, pointing to them.
"Your personal closet and private bathroom." Janis said, like it was obvious.
"Wait I have a personal closet and a private bathroom?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
Cady sighed, "Never mind"
---
About an hour later, Cady and Janis were in Cady's room helping her unpack while Damian left out to send more edible arrangements (more on that later). "So Caddie, is it okay if I called you Caddie?" Janis asked. "Sure, my older brother use to do it to get on my nerves."
"Lucky, I wish I had a brother. I have the most annoying sisters in the world!" Janis pouted. "Aww, they can't be that bad! Tell me about them Jan."
"Ugh, where do I start? Okay, my family is like one of those families you would see in a house magazine, my dad is one of those bland dudes who owns a big corporation, my mom is practically insane..." Janis trailed off.
"Wait what? Elaborate."
"Dude, is this you on an elephant?" Janis asked, picking up a framed photo of Cady as a child, avoiding Cady's question "Yeah! I used to ride them all the time! Did you know that the African Elephant usually lives about 65 years?" Cady said, showing off her knowledge on animals.
"Your animal trivia is adorable Caddie, but we have to get to the welcome assembly before Headmaster Duvall kills us." Janis said, booping Cady's nose with her finger.
"Fine! Just one quick question."
"What is it?"
"Why does Damian sleep in here even though this is the girls' dorm?"
Janis laughed, "My old roommate, Dawn, switched so she could share a dorm with her boyfriend. So now Damian is here." Cady nodded. "So-"
"No more questions! Change into your uniform so we can leave!"
---
The uniform was a button down white shirt, a plaid yellow skirt, navy blue knee-high socks, a yellow tie, and a navy blue blazer with the Northshore Prep Crest. Cady brushed her hair and walked out of her room to meet Janis, who had her blazer covered with pins and patches and dramatic make-up.
"GUESS WHAT BITCHES!" Damian yelled as he dramatically entered the dorm.
"Dodos didn't go extinct?" Cady asked at the same time Janis said: "I'm finally gonna die?"
"No and Janis, for the last time, DEATH IS BAD."
Janis shrugged. "If you say so." Causing Damian to lightly slap her arm. "What I was saying was that-"
"ALL STUDENTS COME TO THE MAIN HALL FOR THIS YEARS WELCOME ASSEMBLY" They heard from over the loudspeakers.
Janis checked her watch, "shit, it starts in 1 minute the Main Hall is at least 3 minutes away."
Damian's face lit up, "We can use my grandmother's Jazzy!"
Janis slapped his arm, "That's even slower than walking!" She grabbed Cady's and Damian's arm, we'll just have to run.
"Dangit"