"Dad!!!! I don't want to go to school," I whine childishly. "First, it's almost October, so everyone in this new school already knows each other; I'll just be the new, weird kid. Second, I'm not good at making new friends, you know that. And third... I probably won't get a chance to see my old friends in a school that big." My dad is forcing me to go to this new public school, and I'm terrified because I've never been to a public school before. My whole life I'd been in a small private school in which everyone knew each other, the classes were somewhat easy, the teachers and the administration were absolutely wonderful, and everything was just peaches and cream. But last month it burned down and the insurance money was not enough to afford rebuilding it.
"If you don't want to live on the street, feeling cold all the time and eating food out of a dumpster, you have to go," my dad tells me, exaggerating the situation a bit.
"I can be homeschooled," I respond, smiling widely and batting my eyelashes as to see if I can get my dad to give in.
"No way!" My dad retorts. "Now go get your stuff. It'll be worse if you're late on your first day."
"Ugh! Fine," I grumble, defeated. I make my way back to my room to get my stuff. I put on a t-shirt with shorts and a pair of sneakers. I'm not the kind of girl who dresses up too much. I like simple, and besides, maybe this way I can get by unnoticed in the new school. I hate socializing; I'm shy and I don't like to talk much. I wonder how I have friends at all; I guess it's because they approached me first. Thankfully, my two best friends and some other friends are going to this new school too.
"Honey, we're here," my dad informs, startling me from my thoughts.
"Do I seriously have to go?" I ask with a painful expression on my face. The school looks absolutely dead; there is nobody outside. I guess classes already started... and I'm late. Just my luck!
"Yes Amanda," my dad answers firmly. He notices my seriously distressed face, so he adds sweetly, "everything will be alright. You're going to love it, you'll see... Now go, you're late." He kisses my forehead before I finally get off the car.
---------------FLAMES---------------
"Here! Your first class is Precalculus with Mr. Berry," the secretary says handing me my schedule.
"Could you tell me where exactly the classroom is?" I ask shyly.
"The end of the hallway go right, then follow that hallway all up to the end, go left, third door left," the secretary responds roughly without even looking at me.
"Ok, thanks," I thank her sweetly and leave. She wasn't nice or friendly at all. Another reason to hate this school.
I find the classroom; taking a deep breath, I step inside. The teacher is already explaining a lesson; a lot of equations and letters are written on the white board. He stops when he spots me and diverts his attention towards me; everyone turns around and I become the center of attention. Earth, swallow me now!
"Umm... hi. I'm Amanda," I say shyly to the teacher and hand him my schedule so he can confirm that I'm in his class.
"Welcome, Amanda," Mr. Berry welcomes me friendly with a big smile plastered on his face. "I was just explaining some basic concepts, you go ahead and find a seat." He hands me back my schedule.
I go and find a seat, as he instructed me. I sit next to a girl with like honey beige skin, delicate features, and shoulder-length, brown hair. She kind of looks like a model. Her features roughen when I sit next to her.
"Hey!! Who told you that you can sit there?" The girl questions, glaring at me.
"Umm... I don't see anyone sitting here, so I assume the seat isn't taken; anybody can sit here," I snap. "I'm not moving, but feel free to move." What a way to not get noticed as I hoped. I'm shy, but I don't stay quiet when someone talks to me like they own me.
"Who are you to talk to me like that, Bitch? This is how it is around here, I say something and you do it," the mean girl tells me agitatedly, causing a few pairs of eyes to stare at us.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm nobody's bitch," I state adamantly and turn my attention to the teacher who is explaining something.
"Huh! So you think you're tough. We'll see," the girl threatens, but I ignore her and focus on the class. This is definitely going to be the worst school year of my life.
My other two classes before lunch go by fast. Thank God! Only three people talked to me and were nice. I miss my friends; I haven't seen any of them around. I walk towards the cafeteria hoping and praying that I find them there 'cause I'm going crazy dealing with all of this by myself, and I'm not sure I can survive any longer.
The cafeteria is crowded and smells like sweaty pigs. I wander around for a while looking for my friends, but when I don't see any of them, I go outside and sit on a bench. There is a big tree in the middle which catches my attention; it's really pretty. I think I'm in some kind of resting area because there are a few students reading, writing, and listening to music. I take my phone out and start scrolling down on social media.
"Look who's here... little miss big mouth," the mean girl from math class startles me, causing a few heads to turn towards us. She stands just a few inches away from me.
"That's the best you can come up with?" I ask daringly, feeling brave.
"...And you keep opening your big mouth. Your momma never taught you to speak only when instructed to?" She asks sarcastically. "You're gonna learn how things work around here." She grabs me by my hair, pulling me up from the bench.
"What is your problem? Let go of me," I bawl at her.
"Hit her Lola, hit her," I hear her friends yelling. She's with her friends, most of which are boys; there are only two girls. I guess her name is Lola, at least that's what her friends are calling her.
"Let me go, I don't want to fight you," I say calmly to Lola who is still holding me by my hair.
"You're not so tough now, huh?" She questions gullibly. Her friends keep shouting, so she hits me hard on the belly. I feel like the air just got suck out of me. She continues hitting me and pulling my hair. It takes me a few seconds to react, but when I finally come to my senses, I grab the hand that she is using to pull my hair and twist it. She screams and lets go of me. She tries to hit me again, but I take her hand and twist it again. I throw a punch and hit her hard in-between her nose and her mouth. We continue to fight until she's on the floor and doesn't get up. I try to go, but her friends grab me, stopping me from leaving. I punch both boys on the nuts and get loose.
"I have no intention on continuing the fight, so please just let me go," I tell them, turning around to get my things. Then, I run, getting as far as possible from them.
I skip my next and last class, gym, one of my favorite classes, and hide in the coach's office. The coach's office is inside the boy's locker room, so I know no one will come looking for me here. I know the coach because he is my dad's best friend and because I played soccer for him last year. I've known him since I was five years old. He was thrilled when he heard that I was coming here.
I sit cross-legged on a corner inside his office and lower my head. This has been a shitty day. I don't want to come back here ever again. My dad is going to have to hire a teacher for me to be homeschooled or something, 'cause I can't bear another second in this hell hole. I can't believe I had my first fight and on my first day of school; just my luck. "Umm... Hello," a rough voice startles me.
"What do you want?" I ask harshly without looking up.
"Bad day, huh?" The person says again and this time I look up. In front of me stands a gray-eyed, light-brown haired guy with an astounding, sweaty, well-sculpted abdomen. I must say that he's gorgeous.
"You have no idea," I admit, blushing a little.
"You do realize you're in the coach's office and outside there is a room full of half-naked guys," the guy points out.
"Must be paradise then," I joke sarcastically.
"Aren't you a ray of sunshine?" He says sarcastically too.
"Sorry," I apologize poorly. "It has been a really bad day."
"I figured... but it's past 4:00 pm. What are you still doing here?" He asks.
"Oh! Just chilling, watching a movie and eating popcorn as you can see for yourself," I reply sarcastically again, and he rolls his eyes. "Sorry. I tend to be like this, and today... more than ever because I have had to deal with jerks and mean girls all day. I'm just waiting for everyone to go, so I won't bump into any more trouble."
"Not everybody is that bad, you know?" He comments.
"Maybe, but I ain't planning to find out. After today, I either get homeschooled or kill myself before coming here again," I reply.
"Too bad you feel that way. The school is not that bad; you get used to it. There are really great people here; you must have met the wrong ones... and besides, I've heard that the most awesome, smart, handsome guys you can ever find are right here in this school," he tells me smirkingly, clearly referring to himself, and extending his hand for me to grab. I laugh at his comment. "Must be safe to go out now. There aren't many students left around." I take his hand and stand up. I see his muscles flex as he helps me to get up on my feet. "Name's Luke, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Luke."
"You left out the part in which you say your name," he states while opening the door for me.
"No need for you to know since you probably won't see me again. Thanks anyway... and goodbye Luke," I smile kindly at him and walk out of the office.
"Hey!" He shouts, and I turn around to look at him. "Rethink the whole not coming back thing. Don't let some idiots scare you, and miss out on great opportunities... And if you do come back, look for me, I'll be waiting." He flashes me his best award-winning smile.
I smile widely and start to walk away again. There are still some naked guys in the locker room and they look at me astonished; some of them whistle at me as I walk by. Guys!!! I keep on walking. Thankfully, there is no one outside. My house is only 20 minutes away by car, so I decide I can probably walk. It takes me 40 minutes to get home, but I make it. Dad is not home yet; he had to work late. I take a bath, prepare dinner, and then go to bed. I can't stop thinking about what Luke said. Maybe I should go back, but I'm scared. It was my first day and I already fought with someone. I don't think I can't handle more days like today. I know how to fight and how to defend myself, but I don't like to do it. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I call my best friend Jake to tell him what happened today and to ask him why he didn't go to school, but he doesn't answer. Maybe I can go back to school and ignore the people and the comments, plus Jake will be there. He always has my back. After an exhausting day and overthinking, I finally fall asleep.