by Lauren Eason
Once cleared, I retrieved my backpack and waited for Jess. She bounded over to me, merely happy to be there. Grabbing my hand, we headed towards the administrative offices down the hallway. Entering, we walked up to a counter with several office assistants seated behind it.
“Hello, I’m Aislin Smith, and this is Jess Smith,” I said, waiting for a response.
The secretary glanced at us over the rim of her glasses. She stood up, so she was at eye level with us. “Oh, Jess, dear. How are you? I’m so glad to see you again!”
“Hi, Mrs. Cobb,” Jess replied. “This is my older sister. We’re here to collect our class schedules.”
“That’s right!” Mrs. Cobb exclaimed before spinning around, searching for them through the papers on her desk. “Here they are. Now, you two better hurry. You have about ten minutes before the next bell rings.”
Jess took the slips from her hand and handed one of them to me. I glanced over it, confused over the buildings and room numbers.
“How many buildings does this campus have?” I asked Jess as we walked out of the office into the hall.
“It has five if you include the theater. We’re currently in the main campus building, where most of the classes are held. There’s a vocational building in the back that houses elective classes. The recreational building has a gym, weight rooms, and kinesiology classes. Then there are the greenhouses next to the theater,” she answered as we walked down the halls.
“I assume the cafeteria and library are in this building?” I inquired.
“That would be correct,” Jess beamed. “Anyway, I have to get going. My first period class is upstairs. I’ll see you after school!”
She gave me a quick hug before dashing up the stairs in front of us. I spun around and looked down the hallway leading to my current destination. Students passed by, giggling, or chatting with one another. My throat tightened as the world seemed to blur around me. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I weaved through the crowd towards the nearest bathroom.
Bursting through the door, I walked into the first stall, locking the door. My breathing was shallow and quick as I tried to calm myself, heat rising to my face. The onset of panic was sudden and forceful as my heart raced within my chest, pounding with every shaky breath I took. Running my hands through my hair, I pulled it away from my face, trying to massage my scalp to calm my nerves. The best I could do was tell myself everything was okay.
I heard the door to the restroom open as a boisterous group of girls entered. Their laughing didn’t help the anxiety I was trying to tamp down in my chest. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and sent a text to Raven, asking her where she was. She texted back with a picture of her class schedule sitting in her lap. Glancing over it, I saw we had gym class and the same lunch period. I could work with that.
Knowing that I wasn’t going to be alone all day helped. Putting on a brave face, I exited the stall and passed the girls on my way out of the restroom. The halls were less crowded, with a few stragglers hanging around. My first class was on the second floor, along with my locker assignment.
Stopping by the locker, I inserted the combination on the dial and lifted the latch. Instead of popping open, it remained locked. I input the numbers again, but I ended with the same result. Slamming my hand against the locker, I leaned my forehead against the cold metal, catching my breath.
“Uh, are you okay?” a voice asked from beside me.
Lifting my head, I saw Jason standing beside me, his backpack slung over his shoulder. “May I ask why you’re committing violence against my locker?”
“What?” I asked incredulously. I glanced over my slip again, noticing I was at the locker right next to mine. Scooting over a step to my left, I inserted the number, and the locker popped open. I let out a frustrated sigh as I shoved my backpack into the slot, grabbing a few notebooks before slamming it shut.
“I take it your morning isn’t going too well,” he said as he opened his locker beside me.
“How did you guess?” I replied flippantly.
“What’s your schedule?” he asked, curious.
I held up my slip of paper as I leaned my back against the wall of lockers. Jason took it and glanced over it.
“We’re heading to the same class right now. I can walk you there if you want?” He handed the schedule back to me.
“You’re not obligated to be nice to me,” I stated.
“A simple thanks would suffice.”
“I’m sorry,” I sighed. “Let me start over. My name is Aislin, and I’m having a really rough day. I appreciate you helping me even though I’m doing a terrible job at adjusting to this new life.”
“Sounds like you’ve been to group therapy once or twice,” he commented.
I tensed at his remark. “What makes you say that?”
“I may have been to a few of them when I was younger, bouncing around from home to home before finally landing with Ben and his family. I wasn’t exactly a poster child,” Jason revealed. “We better get to class before the bell rings.”
The classroom wasn’t far. It was down the hall and the first one off the corner. Jason entered first and took a seat near the window. I sat across from him in the same row as the other students stared at me. The whispers started immediately. They didn’t bother me like I thought they would, mainly because the only other person who knew about my stint in rehab was Raven, and I trusted her to keep our secret. The bell rang as the teacher wrote his name on the whiteboard.
“I’m Mr. Suddath, your homeroom and first period teacher. Welcome to the exciting world of history,” he announced as he gazed upon us. “We have a new student here with us this year. Could you stand and tell us your name?”
“Uh, sure,” I stated. I clenched and unclenched my fists, shaking my hands out as I stood. “I’m Aislin Smith. My family recently moved here because of my mother’s job.”
“Do you have a favorite time period?” the teacher asked. I knew he was only trying to get to know me a little better to find common ground with other people, but I just wanted to sit quietly at my desk.
“The Renaissance,” I replied nervously.
“That’s a good one,” Mr. Suddath answered. “Thanks for sharing. You can take a seat now.”
A few students snickered as I sat down in my chair. Mr. Suddath turned to the whiteboard and talked about the Colonial period in American history. He wrote a few dates on the board and passed out our books to the front row students, who handed them back down the line. When my book came to me, the girl in front turned around and dropped it on the ground beside my desk. It landed with a loud bang, making the other students jump in their seats and turn around to face me.
“Oops,” she said before turning back to the front, giggling. I bent over to pick the book off the ground and watched as the other girls around me glared in my direction.
I glanced over at Jason next to me. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair and opened his notebook, scribbling down the words the teacher spoke. I couldn’t tell if he simply wasn’t paying attention to what happened or if he didn’t care. Either way, I could tell that my personality wasn’t going to get me very far here.
As the bells rang throughout the day, I felt I was one step closer to salvation. When lunch rolled around, I couldn’t have been happier. Filing in with the other students, I walked into the cafeteria and searched for Raven among the crowd. Before I knew it, a pair of arms slithered around my neck, hugging me tight as she planted a kiss on the side of my cheek before coming around to the front.
“I can’t believe we’ve made it this far,” she said, excitement in her voice. We walked over to the line of students and waited patiently for our food.
“How were your first classes?” she asked as I took a tray and slid along the line.
“They’re okay. I had this one girl in my history class act like a total bitch towards me, though,” I answered as the lunch lady slapped some mashed potatoes on my plate.
“You catch h
er name?” Raven asked as we neared the end of the line.
“No, but she was wearing a light blue jacket, tan skin, red hair,” I mentioned, describing her to my friend.
“Oh, that sounds like Melissa,” Raven commented, scanning her I.D. card at the register. “Let’s find a place, and then we’ll talk.”
We settled near the windows of the cafeteria overlooking the front of the school. It was open and spacious with high ceilings. It echoed with the sound of students chatting with their friends at the circular tables strewn about the room while booths coveted the outer walls.
“So, is Melissa like a cheerleader or something?” I set my tray at the table and sat. It wasn’t my first time dealing with a person in the popular crowd, but I wasn’t trying to get into any trouble on my first day.
“Hardly,” Raven replied. “She’s the captain of the rugby team. That chick is brutal.”
“Seriously? She’s allowed to play a contact sport?” My eyebrow raised in surprise.
“You’d think she’d take all her aggression out on the field, but alas, she spends her time with her posse staring down her nose at other students,” Raven answered. “What kind of run-in was it?”
“Nothing big enough to make a deal out of,” I stated. “I just wanted to know if she was someone I should watch out for. We used to have this girl at my old school who played mind games like that.”
“Don’t they all?” Raven grinned. “Anyway, it’s probably best if you keep an eye on her and steer clear when you can. She has a knack for being particularly nasty when it comes to women who threaten her fragile ego. Men aren’t the only ones who have them.”
“Great,” I sighed. “I’m making enemies, and I’ve said less than a sentence to anyone the whole day. Besides you, that is.”
“What are you two talking about?” Ben asked as he took a seat beside Raven. Leaning back in his chair, he popped a fry into his mouth.
“Oh, you’re going to sit with us. Really?” Raven questioned, surprised. “Aren’t your football buddies going to miss you?”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wanted to check on you two and see how your first day was going. I can leave if you want,” he said as he stood up. Raven grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back down to his seat.
“Tell me, Ben. My friend here seems to be having a problem with Melissa—”
“There’s no problem—”
“Shhh,” Raven shushed me as she put a finger over my mouth. “Anyway, Melissa. What’s her deal? Anything we should know?”
“Melissa Harden? We used to date back in the day, but that’s about it,” he replied.
Raven feigned a gasp. “You dated her?”
“Well, don’t act so surprised,” Ben laughed. “We were sophomores, and I took her to the homecoming dance. I remember she ditched me to hang out with Jason the entire night.”
“Scandalous,” Raven declared. She propped her chin on her hand as she listened to Ben’s story.
“Could you be any weirder?” he teased Raven. “Anyway, it wasn’t my best moment. I wasn’t heartbroken or anything. We never got that far for that, so I guess she did me a favor by showing her true colors early on.”
“Yeah, sounds like you dodged a bullet there,” I mumbled.
“Or maybe you simply weren’t her type.” Raven winked at Ben.
“Hey, bro, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Jason announced as he strutted over to our table. “You’re not sitting with the guys today?”
“Uh, should I be?” he asked.
“I mean, no. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Coach wants to see us after school to brief us on the season. Nothing too intense,” Jason stated, taking a seat by his brother.
“Well, you’re my ride, so I guess I’ll be there.”
“Ooh, Aislin, we have to go, or we’ll be late for gym,” Raven declared, checking her wristwatch. “See you, boys, later.”
They waved to us as we picked up our trays and dumped them off at the window for cleaning. I glanced over at Raven’s tray noticing she had barely touched a thing. Alarm bells went off in my head, but I figured maybe it was only this one time since we were in a rush.
Letting the thought die, we made our way outside to the back of the school between the trees along the brick pathway. Entering the gymnasium, Raven led me toward the girls’ locker room, where we were assigned a uniform. Changing into our clothes, Coach Simmons directed us outside to the football field. We were instructed to perform endurance and strength testing starting with dashes.
“I’m pretty sure—Coach Simmons—is trying to kill us,” Raven huffed out as she caught her breath. “Ugh, I’m so out of shape.”
I sprawled out on the grass as Coach yelled for a ten-minute recess before picking back up with the class. Raven laid down beside me, the sun hitting our faces radiating warmth. I listened to our breathing as it slowed back to its regular rate. Birds tweeted in the distance as the sky was endlessly blue; not one cloud was visible.
“Thank whoever’s up there; our last class is coming up,” Raven said, gesturing with her hand towards the sky. “I’m not sure how much more of this I can take today.”
“I know exactly how you feel,” I sighed as I heard the whistle. With a groan, we helped each other up and returned to the track for our next assignment.
“Did you know Denise is hanging out with your mom at the end of the week?” Raven asked as we got into our starting positions for the dash.
“What?”
The whistle blew, and we sprinted down the track toward the 100-meter line. Once I crossed the finish line, I turned around to see Raven’s red face. “How do you know that?”
“I heard Denise talking on the phone the other day. She also asked me if I wanted to go over to your house that day,” Raven replied.
“Uh, yeah, you can come over. Of course!”
“Sweet, I’ll bring over some horror movies. This is going to be fun!” Raven exclaimed as the whistle blew once again, signifying the end of class.
We headed inside to change into our regular clothes before parting ways. I headed down the pathway towards the greenhouses. Once inside, I joined the crowd of students standing near a table of plants. Jason stood at the far end.
I held my hand up and gave a slight wave. He smiled at me before turning his attention back to the teacher. She was quite eccentric when it came to plants, speaking to them as if they were alive. In a way, I suppose they were, but the way she talked about them and to them was something else. I copied down some notes about each of the specimens before she turned us loose throughout the greenhouse. The assignment was to feel the plants and their energy for the last few minutes of class. I wasn’t sure I was building a connection, but I enjoyed having that time to myself.
As I glided down a row of ferns and coleus plants, I heard the crunch of gravel coming from behind me. I turned around and saw Jason admiring the burgundy leaves, touching them gently before facing me.
“What do you think of Mrs. Richards?” Jason asked, shrugging his head over his shoulder to where our teacher was talking to one of her baby sprouts.
“I like her. She’s different. We need more people in the world like her.”
“She is passionate about her plants,” Jason smiled, glancing over his shoulder at her. “How was your first official day?”
“It had its ups and downs, but that’s life for you,” I admitted. “If I’m absolutely honest, I’m glad it’s almost over.”
“It gets better. I promise,” he said. We heard the bell ring in the distance as our teacher ushered us towards the door so she could lock up.
“I guess I’ll see you later,” I said.
“Most definitely,” Jason replied before heading off towards the gymnasium for his football meeting. I walked in the opposite direction through the school towards my locker. As I pulled out my backpack and stuffed my books inside for all the homework I had to do, Jess grabbed me from behind, startling me.
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br /> “Geez, Jess! You scared me,” I said, facing her with my back against my locker.
“Sorry! I was just excited to see you,” she smiled. We headed down to the first floor and out of the building towards the car riders' loading ramp. Our mother pulled the car around, waiting patiently for us to arrive.
We hopped into the car, and she sped off, trying to avoid all the traffic with the flow of students. Once she was out on the main road, she turned off the radio to ask us about our day. I listened as Jess rambled about all the new friends she made until my mother finally turned her sights on me. Taking the bait, I told her about my classes and some of my teachers. She seemed genuinely happy that her plan to help me make some friends before school started back worked.
“Are you and Denise hanging out soon?” It felt like a good thing to bring up to divert her attention from me.
“What? How did you know about that?” she asked, surprised.
“Raven overheard something Denise said over the phone to you. I was just wondering,” I explained.
“Yes, we’re going to go get some drinks together. It’s been a while since I’ve hung out with a friend. Are you okay with that?” my mother inquired.
“Sure,” I said. “Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?”
“Well, no,” she replied. “Your father got called for a contracting job a few hours away, so you two will have the house to yourself for a night this weekend. Will you be okay?”
“Mom, I’m not a child. You don’t have to keep treating me like one,” I snapped. “I can handle a few hours by myself while you blow off some steam with Denise.”
My mother smiled weakly, but I could tell she was worried about leaving me alone. I looked away out the window as we turned onto our street. It upset me she didn’t trust me even though she swore up and down she did. I could tell in the way she treated me. I was starting to feel as though I would never regain the trust of either of my parents. The only word to describe my feelings was hopelessness.
Chapter Eight
“What are you reading?” I asked Raven as she hung over the side of my bed upside down.