Chapter TWO
The first day of school came too soon.
Renaissance was downtown as well, basically a hop, skip and jump from the condo building that Caleb lived in. The condo had a gym, a pool and an arcade - it was like a hotel. Caleb had made up the spare room for me and told me to make myself comfortable.
His apartment was cozy, yet fancy. He collected super hero figures and he was a musician, so there were walls of records and sheet music everywhere, along with at least two guitars and a violin that I'd seen so far. I was comfortable there right away, unlike when I had first gotten to California, to live with my dad.
Caleb's day job was as an electrician, so he worked irregular hours, was on call and worked late sometimes. His weekends, he told me, were for jam sessions and gigs. I promised I would stay out of his way.
On the first day of school, he was up before me, very early, and had fresh waffles with fruit on a plate for me.
"Please, eat. Breakfast is important," Caleb told me, pushing it towards me. "Oh, and I picked up your uniforms."
There, spread out on the sofa, was numerous pieces of the private school uniform. I had forgotten about that. The skirts were short. The tops were tight. I had to wear a plaid tie. When I came back out after changing, Caleb's eyes went wide.
"Oh, god," I said quickly. "How bad is it?"
"No, it's fine," he told me. "Now eat."
He wanted to drop me off on his way out, but I wanted to walk and get used to the route. I had bussed in from Bellport when I'd gone to Renaissance for ninth grade, a thirty minute drive each way. So a five minute walk would be easy-peasy.
The school gates were just as I remembered them. We had to buzz to get in and show our ID card at the door. I didn't have one yet, so security took me down and into the office. I felt like an outcast; other students were staring at me.
The lady behind the window in the office looked familiar. She had big bright eyes and reddish orange hair.
"Ms. Rothfield," she said to me, smiling. "Welcome back."
"Thanks," I said. "Uh, I need a student ID card?"
"Of course, come on in," she told me, opening the door to let me in. "Have you seen any familiar faces yet?"
"Oh, no. I literally just got here," I answered.
"Right, of course. And how was... California?" she went on.
"Yeah, it was good. Different. But it's nice to be back," I said.
She smiled again, clicking away on her computer. "Okay, look right ahead of you and smile."
A camera flashed in my face, surprising me.
"Good enough." The secretary let out a laugh. "Okay, I'll just print the card for you. Oh, and I have your schedule here."
I nodded at her, but turned to look out the window as a group of students walked passed. Mostly guys, one girl. One of the guys caught my eye, but they were gone as fast as they showed up.
I remembered how to get around the school; it all came rushing back to me as I walked to first period. Starting both the tenth and eleventh grades at new schools with no friends, and getting lost every day was not fun. I made it to American History before the bell rang, amazingly. Since I didn't have a locker yet, I was carrying around my sweater and bag. I sat down in an empty desk near the back and put my bag by my feet.
"Who's the new girl?" I heard someone behind me whisper.
I tried not to make eye contact with anyone, while trying to see if I recognized anyone from freshman year. It wasn't as if I was that popular then. I had had acne, frizzy hair and braces. My real friends were back in Bellport. By the end of ninth grade, though, I had a few friends, joined the art club and gotten my braces off. But then, of course, shit hit the fan with my family.
The teacher walked in a few minutes later, dropping a folder onto the desk at the front.
"Let's get started," he called out, glancing out at us. "Oh, yes, first let's welcome our new student, Iris Rothfield, she's joining us from California."
All eyes on me, quickly. I smiled, but said nothing.
The class began, but I couldn't ignore the whispering that continued. When I was back in the hallway again after class, trying to decide if I had time to use the bathroom before second period, someone grabbed my arm.
"Iris? Is that really you?"
It was a short girl with curly red hair, glasses and a nose full of freckles. She was pretty, but looked the same as she did in ninth grade. Polly Andrews.
"Wow, hey Polly. Yeah, it's me," I answered, shrugging.
"You look.... so different," she went on.
I'd grown a few inches, gotten a good skin care routine, grew boobs and definitely had better hair, thanks to my straightener. But being back at Renaissance, I didn't feel much different.
"Oh, yeah, I guess," I replied.
Polly and I had been friends, mostly through Josie Callen. She was the one who took me in, made me a part of the group back then. But I disappeared that summer after ninth grade and they hadn't heard from me since.
"Have you seen Josie?" Polly asked, still holding my arm.
I shook my head. Truthfully, I wasn't looking forward to seeing Josie. She was the Queen Bee back then, so I could only image what she'd be like now.
"She's going to freak out!" Polly yelled, finally releasing my arm to clap. I wasn't sure if this freak out would be good or bad.
I found out at lunch, after I was able to get myself a locker. I headed to the cafeteria to buy something to eat, and was waiting in line to pay for my slice of pizza when suddenly I was surrounded.
"Oh my god," Josie began, suddenly beside me. "I wouldn't believe it was you if I didn't know."
To my left, there she was. Taller, prettier, but still wearing too much make up. Josie Callen. Polly was there, too, and Carley Ronald, another girl in their little clique.
"Hey," I said, moving forward in the line. "Good to see you."
"Uh, thanks. Aren't you going to explain?" Josie asked, with attitude.
"Explain?" I repeated.
"Your disappearance? Where you've been? There were rumors -"
"Rumors, really?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, at the time. You were just gone. No one heard from you."
I paid for my food, and the three girls followed me to an empty table and sat down around me.
"My parents split up. My Dad moved away and my Mom and I... went back to Harisston," I said.
They were all just staring at me.
"Well, that's boring," Josie laughed.
My life had been anything but boring since I'd seen these girls last, but they did not have to know that. Two full years had passed and now we were staring at our final year of High School, together again.
"So, why are you back here?" Polly wanted to know.
I noticed none of them had any food with them. I swallowed hard. I just wanted to eat my pizza alone.
"Uh, long story. I was in California last school year, living with my Dad-"
"You left Cali to come back here?" Josie practically yelled.
"Yeah... it was... it wasn't working out. My uncle lives here, so I came back to stay with him and finish school here."
"What about your Mom?" Carley asked, intrigued.
I did not want to answer any questions about my Mom. Thankfully, Josie's phone started ringing, and she walked off a moment later, the others following.
My mother was my least favourite person at the moment. It wasn't always that way - when I was young, we were very close. She was young when she met my dad, only nineteen, and they were married fast. I was conceived in less than a year. She loved being a Mom, and soon she wanted more kids, but apparently my dad didn't. It really drove them apart, my Mom holding this against him. I was twelve when my Mom started her affair with Allen, her personal trainer. He was a few years younger than her and wanted to have kids. It went on for two years before my Dad found out, a month before the end of my freshman year of high school. He packed up and moved across the country within a few weeks. I was so angry at my Mom that I insisted on going with him, but the court of course gave her full custody and I was forced to move two hours away from where I grew up, and into Allen's mansion in Harisston. I felt like a prisoner, for an entire year. The high school I had to go to for tenth grade was horrible and I did not attempt to make any friends. I hung out with the stoners, got high on whatever they had and did whatever I could to make my mom mad. I skipped classes, got suspensions, and finally at the very end of that school year, she had had enough of me. She agreed to change the custody agreement and allowed me to move to San Diego to live with my Dad. A month after I moved, she sent my Dad an email, telling him that she was pregnant.
The rest of the day was fine. No one really seemed to care that I was there, besides Josie and her girls. I left the school at the end of the day alone, the same way I'd entered.
I was still trying to figure out my plan. My tenth grade plan had been get high and piss off my mom. Check. My eleventh grade plan had been to have fun, make friends, have a real life - which, at first, had worked out great. In the end, I only barely survived the year. My plan for this year, my senior year, was still undecided.