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Of course fighting time was useless. The last two days were over and gone. As the first day of school arrived, I woke up scared and nervous.
I showered and stood next to my closet while I chose an outfit for my first day of school. I had no clue what to wear, but it wouldn’t be long until I had no choice in the matter. I’d be wearing uniforms and look just like everyone else in the school. Groaning to myself, I grabbed a pair of jeans and a plain blue T-shirt. I couldn’t wear shorts, but somehow the uniforms allowed skirts. How was that fair?
I stumbled down the hall and second-guessed my outfit when the smell of sausage and potatoes filled the air. Mom hummed near the stove while she cooked breakfast. She smiled when she saw me and set a plate piled high with fried potatoes and sausage in front of me. Next, she smiled and handed me a glass of orange juice
“Okay, what did you do with my mom? And who are you?” I asked, staring at my mom in confusion and suspicion.
“It’s your first day of school and I didn’t want you to go hungry.”
“How did you afford all this food?”
She smiled again and then turned around to work on the food again. “Your father got an advance on his pay.”
“Oh,” was all I said. That explained her chipper attitude this morning.
I had started scooping potatoes in my mouth when my father walked in the room. Dressed in a navy blue suit and tie, he smiled and sat next to me. “Are you ready for your first day of school?”
“Not really,” I snorted, placing more food in my mouth.
“Well, I’ll be driving you today, so you better be ready in five minutes,” he said, shoving a piece of sausage in his mouth.
Fabulous. My first day at a new school and I’d be riding with my dad. Could it get any more embarrassing? I hoped that he wouldn’t want to kiss or hug me in front of the other kids. I took a few more bites of food, not because I was hungry, but because I knew I’d starve by lunch if I didn’t.
A few minutes later, Dad motioned that we needed to leave by pointing at his watch. In a matter of minutes, I’d be attending my first day at school. I wanted to puke up the breakfast I’d just eaten. Instead, I took a breath and held it for courage.
“Have a good day at school, Jaz,” Mom said, but I ignored her.
My father and I walked to the car in silence. The air was sticky and a thick patch of fog covered the yard. It felt like an omen of sorts. As if nature knew my day would suck beyond words.
As we backed out of the driveway, Dad asked, “Are you ready for your big day?”
“Sure,” I replied sarcastically.
“Jaz, you’ll like it here. You just need time to adjust to your new surroundings. And make new friends.”
I shrugged. “That’s if I make friends here.”
As we pulled down the road and into town, he said, “Look, I know this isn’t easy. Cut us some slack. I want to make you happy, and eventually you will be.”
I ignored his last comment and stared out the window. About twenty minutes later, and with the rest of the drive in silence, we pulled in front of the small building announcing Crawstone High School. Everyone was wearing his or her uniforms. Some girls wore the dreaded plaid skirts, and others had on khaki dress pants. The guys wore either khakis or black dress pants with white shirts. Actually, everyone had white shirts on with what I assumed was the school logo on the right side. The only thing that made the outfits different from each other was jewelry or the occasional brightly colored shoes.
“I’m going to be the only one in regular clothes,” I grumbled.
“I know, but you’ll have your uniform by the end of the week.”
I stepped out of the car and hung my bag on my shoulder, looking around at my surroundings. “Can I just wait until I’m prepared?”
Ignoring my question, Dad came around the car and handed me some papers. “You’ll need to stop by the office and sign in. They’ll give you your class schedule and the tablet you’ll need.” I nodded, so he continued, “Have a good day, Jaz. I’ll pick you up after school. I’ll try to park close to where we are now.” Then he hugged me.
A few kids watched our exchange and my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Of course he would hug me like I was a toddler. I said goodbye to him and plastered a fake smile on my face. With my head held high, I walked toward the metal doors at the entrance of the school and tried to ignore the looks and whispers of my future classmates. Ignoring it was harder than I had thought, though. I heard the giggles, the questions, and the scathing looks from a few. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the building and tried to figure out where the office was located. Fellow students walked down the halls, chatting about their summer breaks. To my absolute horror, I really was the only one without a uniform. Even the teachers and staff wore them.
Snubbing a few more glances in my direction, I located the office a few doors down. A petite woman sat behind the counter with a smile. Her gray hair was in a perfect bun, her clothes free of any lint or wrinkles. I glanced down at my T-shirt noticing a small grease stain from breakfast, and felt like her eyes zeroed in on it too.
I handed her my papers. She looked over them and said, “Jazmin, it’s finally nice to meet you. I’m Ms. Carlton. If you need anything at all just let me know.” She glanced over my outfit of choice. “Your books and uniform should arrive by the end of the week. I do have your assigned tablet, though.”
I shifted uncomfortably as she handed me my class schedule, a computer tablet, and a map of the small school.
“Your locker combination is on the class schedule. Your first class is down the hall, fifth door on the right.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, staring at the paper.
I strolled out of the office and into the hallway, studying my schedule and map. My first class was Algebra with Mr. Wohiemer. I hated math with a passion, but what I dreaded most on my schedule was Drama class. I grumbled, wondering if I should go back into the office and ask to change my schedule. As I turned to go in the direction of my first class, somebody slammed into me from behind. I caught myself before I fell, but my papers and tablet went flying. I looked up to see a flawless Barbie doll-looking girl with straight blonde hair and perfect makeup.
“Watch where you’re going, bitch,” she sneered.
Watching her sashay down the hall, I fought the urge to run up and tackle her from behind. She met up with another blonde and a brunette girl, both of them just as manicured as she was. This must have been the “in” girls, most likely cheerleaders and bullies.
Picking up my scattered papers and tablet, I straightened my shirt and kept walking while watching the people around me. Most of them gave me disapproving looks as I passed. Others turned their noses up at me. By their rude behavior, I wanted to start slamming fists into those upturned noses, but waging a war with them would only make it hard for me as the new girl. Attacking students on the first day wouldn’t make a very good impression, that’s for sure. I didn’t enjoy fighting with anyone. I was really a good kid, but the stress from moving and the change of schools had stretched me thin.
I finally found Room 105 that would be my Algebra class for the semester, but once I walked in, the room instantly went uncomfortably silent. I swallowed.
“Hello, you must be Jazmin?” Mr. Wohiemer asked, taking my class schedule from my hand to inspect it with his bifocals.
“Yeah,” I replied, attempting to ignore an entire room staring at me.
He nodded and handed the schedule back to me, motioning toward the desks. “Go ahead and take a seat.”
Now I turned toward the classroom, swallowing back my nerves. The other students stared at me as if I had just announced that I had Ebola. I spotted a seat in the very back of the classroom that was open and made my way through the desks to take a seat. Several kids whispered amongst each other again and a few pointed blatantly in my direction. I heard a giggle and looked over to see the blonde chic from the hallway. Oh, my day just kept getting better and better.
I sat down in the seat and set my bag on the floor beside me. A few of the kids were still staring at me and my cheeks started to blush at the unwanted attention. Did I have something on my face? Was my hair sticking up? A booger hanging out of my nose?
The blonde leaned in my direction and mock whispered, “Nice outfit. Is the skank convention in town?”
I gaped at her, wanting to say something back but came up with nothing. Several people laughed at her comment.
The teacher cleared his throat and called attention to the class. The chairs squeaked as everyone turned to face the front. He droned on and on about homework that would be assigned over the next couple of days. I tuned him out and looked over the class. The blonde bully sat a few desks to the right of me. She ran a hand through her smooth, corn-silk hair hanging over the back of the chair. Everyone looked perfect, almost as if I walked into a fairytale. There were mostly upper-class kids in the class, and I sighed thinking I’d never fit in.
However, a girl sitting two seats over from me seemed out of place. Her shoulder-length, mousy brown hair covered her face as she sat slumped forward. Little curls frizzed out around her head like a halo. Her arms wrapped loosely around her stomach and her uniform looked wrinkled as if she’d slept in it the night before. Her skin was pale and lined with freckles, her legs had tiny scratches on the knees, and she wore scuffed shoes covered in scribbles from colored pens. Curiosity got the better of me as I stared at her, wondering what her story was. Then I sucked in a startled breath when she looked up and caught me staring.
Her dark blue eyes peered out from an impish face and her small, upturned nose seemed to match her petite frame. The weirdest part of it all was her expression. Haunted... and empty. Like a blank slate without any emotion whatsoever. I gave her a small smile and she blinked a few times before turning back to the teacher.
The bell rang and I jumped. We had five minutes in between classes, which gave us plenty of time in the tiny school. As I walked to my Literature class, I was met with an empty room. I pulled a small notepad from my book bag and began drawing a pattern on one of the pages to fill the time. I heard a few chairs squeak as people took their seats. Oblivious to the commotion around me, I kept scribbling. My paper was almost full of filled-in ovals, circles, and lines when a loud crash startled me.
I looked up to see the impish girl from my last class on the floor with her books scattered around her. Two guys, most likely jocks from their appearance, kicked the books while laughing at her.
“Hey!” I cried and headed over to help her. The boys laughed again, but left the girl alone for now. I bent down, helped her pack up her books and scattered papers, finally placing them into her arms. “I’m sorry. Some people are such douchebags.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, but it was so soft I wasn’t sure if she had actually spoken.
“Of course. If we don’t stick up for other people, then what would that make us?” I smiled. “What’s your name?”
She smiled back, and her speckled blue eyes lit up. “Allie Porter.”
I reached my hand out to shake her limp one. “Hi, Allie. I’m Jazmin Evans.”
“You must be the new girl,” she said.
Taking my hand away and placing it on my hip, I replied, “What gave it away? My clothes? My hair? My actual dislike to cruelty?”
Allie laughed. “Well, all of the above. You’ll find out pretty quickly how cruel people can really be here, and it won’t take long at all to figure it out.”
I pointed to the two empty desks in the back of the room, and said, “You wanna sit with me?
“Sure,” she replied with a shrug, and then followed me to the back of the classroom. She wrapped her arms loosely around her skinny waist again. This time, though, she didn’t slump over to hide her face, but she gazed at me with curiosity.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just glad you’re a nice person, but I’m leery of making new friends. They don’t always stay so nice.”
I frowned, and then shook my head with determination. “I’m not like the people from this town, that’s for sure. Speaking of this town and school, is everyone here stuck-up and conceited?”
“You have no idea.” She huffed. “Except for two people I actually can call friends, everyone else is shady and would stab you in the back before you even have a chance to take a breath.”
I chuckled at her comment, curious if what she said was true or not. Sure, I hadn’t met anyone decent here until Allie, but my day wasn’t even halfway through yet. There was still hope.
The teacher, Mrs. Rainsdell, began talking and we focused our attention to the front of the class. The hair on her lip was dark and eerie looking, reminding me of a circus’s bearded lady. Although she had massive facial hair, she still looked pristine. Uniform, hair perfectly curled, and her shoes so shiny they reflected the lights off the ceiling. I had to look away from her before her beard caused me to get the giggles, so I observed a few of people in my class. The blonde wench wasn’t in this class, thank God. A few guys to my right were passing notes around to each other. The one sitting behind them looked like he was a part of their friends, but he didn’t participate in the note passing.
Doodling on my little notepad again while the teacher droned on and on about Shakespeare, I jumped when the guy in front of me tossed a note on my desk. How cute. I could just imagine it reading: Do you like me? Check yes or no. Handing out notes was juvenile, especially with all the technology at our fingertips. Sighing to myself, I ran the folded note in between my fingers a few times.
I noticed Allie watching me intently. She tilted her head toward the note and I shrugged. Then I finally unfolded the paper. My mouth gaped open in shock. Instead of a cute note I had expected, this one asked if the “new girl” was willing to perform a sexual act with a check yes or no. My cheeks flooded with heat, not because of embarrassment, but because of anger. My eyes darted up to the two jocks I noticed earlier who were passing notes between each other. They were the same jerks who had picked on Allie. I glared at them, my eyes narrowed to near slits.
The handsome boy in front of them heard something they’d whispered, and then whispered something back with a heated expression. Then he looked at me. The world tilted and I swallowed. His hair was jet black and cut short, but long enough to still style it. His face was pure perfection, all chiseled angles and a strong jaw. He had tanned skin, most likely from playing outdoors for the majority of his life, but what caught me most off guard were his eyes. The eyes were brown, but not the average brown. No, they were the color of my father’s whiskey he kept hidden in the pantry. We locked eyes for a few minutes until he turned back around to listen to the teacher.
I leaned over to Allie and whispered, “Who is that guy?”
“Which one?” she asked.
“The dark-haired guy with the brown eyes.” I nodded in his direction.
“Oh, that’s Grayson.” Allie shrugged. “Don’t get your hopes up, though. Grayson is the hottest guy in school and he’s a jerkwad. He hasn’t dated anyone since he and Alyssa Montgomery broke up.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “And Alyssa is?”
“Perfect body, blonde hair, and a grade-A witch. You’ll meet her soon enough, if you haven’t already. She hangs around with the other two faux girls,” she said.
“Faux girls?” I frowned, trying to figure out why that term sounded familiar. But I knew exactly who she was referring to.
“You know, faux, as in fake or an imitation of something else.”
I chuckled, gaining the teacher’s attention with a disapproving look. I winced and paid attention again for a few minutes. Then I turned back to Allie and said, “Oh, I know exactly who you’re talking about. I had a run-in with blondie this morning.”
“Yeah, well, the popular kids hang out with the popular kids. The faux girls are the cream of the crop. Worshiped by some, hated by many,” Allie whispered and rolled her eyes.
I spared a glance back over to Grayson and wondered what he ever saw in Alyssa. She was cold to the core. No empathy for human emotion, well, if her incident with me was any indication. Grayson was beyond handsome, but something about his face struck a chord with my memory. How or why, I had no clue.
Allie leaned over and murmured, “What did the note say?”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I handed her the note. She opened it, her eyes went wide, and she inhaled sharply as she read it. Then she handed it back to me with a stunned expression. Staring at the obscene note, I circled the word no about ten times. Then I folded the note up carefully into a triangle, just like when my dad had imitated playing football with a piece of paper. I angled it on my desk and took my pointy finger to aim the makeshift paper “football” ever so slightly toward the jerks still chuckling.
I was sure the blonde guy was the mastermind of the note, and when I was sure he was clear in my sights, I tightened my aim. Then I flicked my finger to send the paper flying. The vulgar note soared across the room and smacked the cheek of the instigator sitting in front of Grayson.
“Hey!” he called out, catching the attention of the whole class.
When the guy gave me a glare, I beamed sarcastically. Grayson, on the other hand, stifled a chuckle behind his hand.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Crothers?” Mrs. Rainsdell asked.
“No, ma’am,” he answered while rubbing his cheek.
The bell rang and I shoved my notebook angrily in my bag as I stood up.
“Who do you have next?” Allie asked softly.
“Um...” I yanked the schedule out of my pocket. “I have Biology next.”
“You’ll like Mrs. Tracie. She’s really nice and doesn’t take crap.” Allie adjusted her plain pink backpack on her arm. “Will I see you at lunch?”
“Sure,” I answered, smiling at her as she nodded and left the classroom. She hung her head as she left, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
I placed my schedule back into my pocket again when I heard a deep voice from beside me.
“Here, I think this is yours,” Grayson said, holding the vulgar note out and smiling. “I’m glad you didn’t let the idiots get to you.”
I slowly took the note from his hands with a frown. “Thanks, I think. You know this note is going in the trash on the way out the door.”
He winked. “I know. I figured it would. What’s your name?”
Staring at him, and wondering what his angle was, I debated on answering him. His honey-brown eyes ended up winning me over. “Jazmin.”
“I like that. It’s different.” He held his hand out for a handshake. “My name’s Grayson.”
I glanced down at his strong, tanned hand held out in front of me and hesitated before I took it in mine. I then looked him straight in the eye and said, “I know your type. Thanks, but no thanks.”
Grayson’s eyebrow rose. “And what type is that?”
“Excuse me,” I said, pulling my hand from his and my cheeks burning.
I spun around to leave. However, it took all the willpower I had not to go running out of the classroom. Grayson had thrown me off-kilter, even if he seemed nice enough. That was until I heard him chuckle at me as I retreated in embarrassment. He may be the cutest guy I’d seen, but he was just like the rest of the jerks he hung around with.
*****
The next period flew by, and Allie was right. I liked Mrs. Tracie. She had an edge of humor that only a few of us appreciated. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime.
I followed the sea of people into the small cafeteria located at the back of the school. Not one person spoke to me. Not one person stood next to me. I was invisible and I hated it. Then I spotted Allie standing by the door while she waited on me. She gave me a small smile, motioned for me to follow her, and stood in line for food. I followed her lead and grabbed a black tray and silverware, loading food onto our trays as we went. Once we’d had gotten our food and paid, she made her way to a small table in the far corner.
I followed along and glanced around at the people eating. The evil blonde was sitting with her “faux friends”, as Allie called them, their plates barely containing any food. I noticed Grayson sitting with the two jerks from earlier, and a few more guys who were throwing fries at each other.
Allie stopped at the table and sat down. I plopped down beside her. There was a kid with red hair and a kind face sitting on the other side of Allie. He had bright blue eyes and freckles covered all areas of his exposed skin, and he may have been in my biology class. The guy was good looking, even with his freckles and red hair, which made some girls swoon. A girl with dirty blonde hair and rust colored eyes sat across from me. She looked like she was about twelve and very short, maybe a mere five feet by my guess since she was sitting.
Allie started making introductions. “Everyone, this is Jazmin.” She pointed at the girl first. “This is Kate Everet,” her hand moved to the redhead, “and this...”
“And this handsome guy?” The guy pointed his thumbs at his chest. “Is Derek Greene.”
Giving them all a shy smile, I waved a little. “Hi. Nice to meet everyone.”
Derek leaned toward me. “Do you have a boyfriend, Jazmin?”
“Uh...” I looked at Allie for help, but she was smothering a giggle.
She finally waved her hand at Derek and laughed. “You’ll just have to ignore him. I do.”
We all chuckled and starting eating. I took a bite of the cardboard-tasting burger and glanced over to Grayson’s table as I chewed. He laughed with his friends and tossed his napkin at the guy who had written the vulgar note. Grayson seemed different, although he somewhat fit in with the guys he hung out with. He was just so good-looking and mysterious. Then a cute blonde girl came up to their table and slung her arm over his shoulder with a grin. I sighed. I don’t know why I wasted my time worrying about him.
An elbow jabbed into my side. “Wipe your mouth. You have some drool,” Allie said.
I jerked to attention. “Huh?”
She giggled and leaned my way. “You’re staring at Grayson. We’ve all been trying to talk to you and you’re not hearing a word.”
“Oh. Sorry.” A blush crept into my cheeks and I smiled an apology to the group at the table.
Grayson caught my attention the moment he looked my way, and I felt stupid for staring at him. He was way out of my league, especially if he had dated one of the “faux girls” and had girls flocking to him. He smiled at the girl flirting with him now. I glanced back in his direction one more time and caught him staring at me. We locked eyes for a minute and I could’ve sworn he smirked at me.
Turning back to the table, I shoved another bite of the burger into my mouth as I attempted to ignore him. Grayson must be my first real crush. Sure, I went on a few dates back home, but something about Grayson had my hands sweaty, my heart fluttering, and butterflies raging a war in my stomach. My whole body stood on alert when he was around.
“What class do you have next?” Kate asked, drawing my attention back to the table again.
“Uh, let’s see,” I said and yanked my schedule out of my bag. My heart sunk. “Drama.”
Derek chuckled when he saw my expression, which must have been pure horror. “You look about as happy as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.”
Kate laughed and shook her head at Derek’s use of wording, then said, “You don’t like drama or acting? Well, honeybun, I hate to break it to you on the drama: this town is full of it.”
Allie giggled nervously, and I shot her a look. She shrugged.
“No. I hate being on stage while everyone stares at me. I can’t do it. I freeze. Stage fright is awful,” I replied, visibly shuddering. “Freaking great.” I shoved the schedule back into my pocket with a groan.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,’ Allie said. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”
