Breath. Calm down. Pay them no mind.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. The grand gates of my new school, stood wide open and welcoming in front of me. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to enter like the rest of my new schoolmates.
But I must. This is my first day at school. No one could possibly hate me at first glance, right? Right.
I wander around, and somehow find my class. The girls here were pretty nice, leading me to the class I was assigned to. Well, the teacher did say where I was supposed to go, but it's not like I remember where the classroom was.
Everyone were chatting cheerfully. I smiled and found a spot at the back. There was a beautiful blonde girl sitting next to me, so decided to be friendly and introduce myself since she's the closest person to me.
"Hi, there!" I said, trying to sound cheerful. "I'm Charlotte. I just moved here."
"Nice to meet you, Charlotte," the girl said, looking bored. "I'm Barbara, but you can call me Barbie."
Yikes... she's so... high-nosed. Just because she's blonde and pretty, she thinks she's Barbie? Well...
"Nice to meet you too, Barbie," I said with a smile.
I turned back to my desk and took my stuff out for the first lesson.
Alright. Pencil case? Check. Extra paper? Check. New pencils? Check. Cute notebook? Check! I'm all set for my first lesson at school.
The lessons at school went on as usual. They went well and I kinda like this school. Wish I could say the same for the girl who sat next to me...
I waited at the foyer and Mom soon came to pick me up. I had to move to this town to live with my mother since Dad filed a divorce against her for some reason. They never told me what the actual reason was, and just said that it was because the marriage wasn't working out.
I don't really know what actually happened between them, but he isn't even fighting for custody of me and my older brother. Charlene's already a major, so she doesn't need to be in anyone's custody.
Mom picked me up and we headed off to my sister, Charlene's college. Our brother, Chris, goes to an all-boys school not far off. We all didn't go to co-ed schools.
For some reason, all of us sat cramped in the backseat. Chris was poking fun at me while Charlene sat sandwiched in the middle of both of us.
Imagine, I was giggling, Chris was tickling me in the ribs while Charlene sat in the middle with an annoyed expression.
"I'm never gonna sit in between the two of you next time," Charlene said for the millionth time in her life. "Charlie, you sit here next time."
To her surprise, I gave her a poke in the ribs. She ended up joining in with us.
"The three of you..." Mom said, glancing back at us from the driver's seat. "The car would fall apart!"
"So what?" Chris said with a grin.
"Nah it won't happen, Mom," I said with a smirk.
"We're gonna need a tank at this rate," Charlene sighed in the middle.
Mom chortled and continued driving. That's what I like about Mom. She joins in with us in the fun.
"So how was your first day at school?" Mom asked. "Did you meet any friends?"
"Nah," I said. "I met one girl though, but she thinks she's Barbie just cause she's blonde and her name's Barbara."
"Whoa good luck with that," Chris smirked. "You want me to do something about her?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Like what? Put a spider under her desk? Pin her skirt to the chair? That sounds like something you would do."
"I was thinking to replace her foundation with mud or her lipgloss with slime," Chris smirked mischievously. "I know how much girls like her love that stuff."
"Do that to me, and I'll strangle you!" Charlene snarled. "Don't even think about doing that, alright?!"
"Oh come on, like I don't know the consequences to that," Chris rolled his eyes. The car suddenly stopped and I looked out the window to see that we have arrived at Charlene's college.
"Alright, how am I supposed to get out of the car?" Charlene grabbed her bag and looked at me. "Charlie?"
"Yeah, I'll go out," I said, opening the door to step out of the car. Charlene waved at Chris and Mom, then at me before walking into her college. At least it isn't her first day here. I got back into the car and sat comfortably now that there's more space. "Where to now?"
"Home..." Chris sighed. "I'm starving!"
"What's for lunch?" I asked.
"Spaghetti and meatballs," Mom said. "Luckily, Charlene managed to rig that up while I was at work. I need to rush back to the gym real quick."
I feel really proud to have a gym coach for a mom. Despite her age, she's so fit and strong. I have even seen her give Dad a piggyback ride. Talk about gender-bend.
Those were good times... sometimes I wish I could see those again. If only...
We arrived at our new home. I mean, it's technically new since it's only been days since we moved in. It was a nice house and for the first time, I've been given my own room. I had to share with Charlene before this...
Mom just dropped us off and headed back to the gym she worked at. Mom's a gym coach, plus a martial arts instructor. She's a busy woman, and she's doing all she can to give us a happy life, especially since our dad literally disowned us.
Our new home... it was nice and cozy despite being a smaller house than our last.
Charlene soon came in after a few hours.
"So what's for dinner?" Charlene asked as soon as she came home after her class.
"Pizza!" Chris exclaimed cheerfully. Sometimes I really wonder if he's older than me. "We're getting pizza for dinner, right?"
"Only if Mom agrees," Charlene said with a smirk. "After all, none of us are the ones paying for it."
So we had to wait for her to come home. It didn't take long since it was almost time for her shift to end.
"Well, sure," Mom shrugged, taking her shoes off. "I could use something meaty."
My mouth started watering. I have no idea why, but I have this strange craving for something meaty. Especially recently. Not sure if that's healthy or not.
"Can we order extra pepperoni?" I asked, hoping Mom would agree.
Mom chuckled. "Sure."
"I see you're craving for meat all of a sudden?" Chris chimed in with a sly grin. "Okay."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow. "So what if I'm craving meat all of a sudden?"
"Nothing!" Chris raised his hands in surrender, straightening himself on the sofa. "Just saying. Hey, I'm craving meat now too, ya know?"
I let out a snort and pushed his elbow. "When are you not craving meat?"
Chris grinned. "Never."
"He's a carnivore," Charlene snorted, sinking into the armchair next to us. "Practically eats freshly slaughtered animals."
An unsettling image materialised in my mind. Suddenly, I don't feel so hungry anymore.
"Char, please!" I scowled, shuddering at the thought. "You just made me imagine headless animals covered in blood!"
The others started laughing. "Fine, fine, I won't ruin your appetite." Charlene chuckled.
"How are you gonna survive camping, then?" Chris scooted closer, his face inches away from mine. "What if you don't have food and the only way for you to eat is to kill something? Hah!"
I pushed his face away. "Then I rather starve instead of killing anything."
Chris looked at me in surprise. He turned to Charlene, then nudged Mom with his hand.
"Chris, let her be," Mom said without looking up from her shoes. She threw the shoes aside and stood up, holding her socks. "Char, can you take them to buy dinner? I need to take a shower and get changed. I'm exhausted..."
Charlene stood up and took the keys from the coffee table. "Let's go, guys."