It was close to four in the afternoon when we finally ran out of things to talk about. We remained on her bed, staring at the pictures around the walls.
“You know something, Lily?”
“Hm?”
“You’re really a fun person,” she smiled. “I mean, once you loosen up a little!” she teased, poking me playfully in the stomach. I chuckled, worming away.
“What are you talking about?” I said jokingly. “I am always fun.”
Becca glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and I laughed louder. Then I turned to the clock, seeing the time and sighing.
“Okay,” I admitted, “I should probably head home…”
“Yeah…” Becca agreed. She sat up and patted the yearbooks again. “Tomorrow, I’ll come over to your house and quiz you on everything you learned.”
“I didn’t know I was going to be tested!”
* *** *
I was excited to have my first friend in Central over to our new house. I was helping my mom unpack, trying to pass the time quickly before Becca showed up.
“You seem pretty excited about your friend coming over,” my mom noted, unwrapping another glass and placing it in its appropriate spot with the other fine china.
“I am.”
“Seems like you two have really hit it off,” she said, reaching for another glass as I closed the cupboard doors on the fancier plates.
“Yeah, I guess,” I admitted, trying to act casual, though I was counting my lucky stars with how well I got along with Becca.
“Is she a nice girl?”
“Of course she is,” I told her. “She’s been telling me about the school and everything I need to know.”
“That’s good. It should make the transition a little easier.”
Becca came around at about ten in the morning, ringing the doorbell and staring at our house. When I answered the door, she was staring around at the entrance with wide eyes.
“This is one amazing house…”
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Come in.”
I introduced Becca to my mom, who greeted her warmly and thankfully said nothing embarrassing. After she had met my mom—she would have met my dad, too, but he had already left for work—Becca and I went to my room, where she met Dexter. With Dex curled up next to her as she sat on my bed, Becca began quizzing me on what I remembered from the previous day. She corrected me on things I missed, teasing me that this knowledge was more important than class.
Once we had reviewed the information, Becca sat through an hour of me showing her pictures of my friends and adventures back home. Soon, we were laughing at silly pictures and memories as I told her stories about the antics of my friends.
When we came across one of the pictures, she asked me where it was taken, seeing the images hanging on the wall in the background.
“Oh, that’s at an art show the students put on at my school,” I explained.
“Are you an artist?”
“…I wouldn’t call myself an artist…”
“You draw, though?” When I nodded, her smile broadened. “I wanna see!” she gasped. “I can’t draw to save my life.”
I stepped over to my desk and collected the sketchbooks, including the newest one. I was always a little nervous letting new people look at my work. I always got good response, but I was continuously worried that someone would tell me something else. I did not take criticism well.
She took the sketchbooks and looked through the pages, her eyes wide.
“These are really amazing!”
Feeling more at ease than I had a week before, I enjoyed the afternoon, feeling better able to handle the transition into Central with Becca helping me. I was so relieved that I had found a friend like Becca.
Chapter Five
It was the day every student dreaded.
The first day at a new school.
Becca had agreed to meet me before the day started, since we had the first class together anyway.
I rode the bus to the school, nervous butterflies eating my stomach. I fiddled with the straps of my school bag, feeling as though I was walking into a battlefield. Of course, every student who ever went to school would say that Third Tier was a warzone. For how many years I had been going to school, I knew I should not have been so nervous. But I could not bring myself to not be nervous.
Finally, I saw the front of the massive school pictured in Becca’s yearbook. The apprehension inside me got stronger. At my old school, I was one of three students who had connections to the Central and I had tried to pretend that there wasn’t a difference between my family and my friends’ families. Now, I was going to a school full of children connected to the government and that terrified me.
The bus approached far too fast for my liking, which caused the loud students to stand. I took a deep breath and, as the rows in front of me cleared, I stood and walked off as well.
I quickly looked around, trying to remember where Becca said she would meet me. There were more kids than I expected. It was a much larger school than my old one, but I didn’t expect the immense size of the student population. I was quickly lost in the flow of students heading into the building in a wave. Rather than stop and obviously point myself out as the new girl, I followed the traffic.
Entering the main doors, I tried to remember how the school was set up from Becca’s yearbooks, discreetly glancing around.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to flounder for long.
“Lily!” Becca called, weaving her way through the students.
“Hey, I was worried I wouldn’t find you…” I grinned in relief.
“I’d never leave you alone,” Becca assured, placing an arm around me. “Let’s go to the office and find your locker and ID and everything like that.”
“Ah, formalities,” I groaned.
Becca led me to the main office, where I was given the normal paperwork—a map of the school, my locker number and combination, as well as my ID that was to be on the lapel of the uniform blazer at all times.
Becca helped me find my locker and, as I was placing books inside, a girl I recognized as Becca’s bet friend Jill, started toward us.
“Hey, you,” she smiled, sneaking up behind Becca. Becca whirled around and grinned, throwing her arms around Jill.
“Hey!” she squealed. “I missed you so much!”
“I know!” Jill nodded, hugging back. “God, it was so weird not having you on the trip. It’s the only year that’s happened.”
“I know…” Becca said, rolling her eyes. “Stupid body. It hates me.”
“That’s alright, we’ll just take a trip ourselves!” Jill declared. She turned to me and smiled. “Who’s this?”
“This is Lily Sandover,” Becca introduced. “She’s new here, so we’re adopting her.”
“Great!” Jill nodded, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jill.”
“Hi, Jill,” I greeted, smiling awkwardly.
“What’s your first class?”
“Economics…” Jill groaned, rolling her eyes and making a face.
“Aw, I hoped we were going to be in the same first class.”
“Who do you have for Lit?” Jill asked quickly, looking expectantly at Becca.
“McDermott.”
“Yes!” Jill cheered. “Me, too! Third period?”
“Yes!” Becca cried loudly, hugging Jill again. “We all have the same Lit class!” Becca nodded, motioning to me as well.
“That’s perfect! So does Taylor,” Jill added.
“It’s fate!”
I watched silently, not sure what to say. I felt out of place as I listened to the two. They were obviously very close, and with how little I knew about Jill, I was awkward in the conversation.
Jill must have sensed it because she turned to me and smiled warmly.
“Sorry,” she laughed. “We’re a little crazy. Seriously, if you want, just pop into our conversation. Be crazy with us, it’s more fun in a group.”
“I t
hink she’s a little nervous,” Becca smiled. “But, we have to go to biology,” she said, turning to me. “You remember how the first day of school goes, right?”
“All rules and syllabus reading?”
“Yep,” Becca agreed. “We’ll meet up again in Lit, and then again at lunch, so we’ll have time to get you completely integrated.”
“Like riding a bike,” Jill assured. “You’ll fall right into place. It won’t be an issue.”
Becca bid Jill goodbye and we headed to our first class together. Biology was going to be simple for me. I had taken Honors Biology at my previous school, but had not passed the test well enough to avoid taking it again. Looking over the syllabus, it was clear I already knew everything for the class.
When I told Becca that, she told me that she was going to be borrowing my brain for the class, since she was not strong in science.
After the first class, I did fall into the routine easily. Becca told me where my next class was after looking at my schedule and pointing out the room on the map. She also told me where the third period Lit class was going to be before sending me on my way.
My nervousness ebbed away as I realized the school was really no different than my old one. Since I didn’t have the map glued to my face, the other students could not immediately tell that I was new. I was sure that not everyone knew one another in the large student body, so I was safe for now.
My second class was English, another subject in which I had always done well. My teacher, Mrs. Booth, was a small, soft-spoken woman, which made me glad that I had chosen to sit close to the front of the room.
After I left Mrs. Booth’s class, I made my way to the room Becca had pointed out earlier. I was excited for that class, mostly because I was going to be in it with my new friends, but also because the teacher was one of the best in the school. And, we were supposed to be spending all year on An Angel Without Wings, which I had been dying to read.
I saw Becca waving to me from one side of the classroom. I walked over and sat down next to her, diagonal to Jill.
“So, how’s it been so far?” Jill asked.
“I’m still alive,” I shrugged. “And…for the most part, sane.”
“That’s the spirit!” Jill laughed, clapping me on the shoulder.
“I am so happy we all have this class together!” Becca grinned. “It will make things so much easier.”
“No kidding,” Jill nodded. “We’re reading J.A.N.E. now, too, so things are going to be difficult in this class.”
“That’s the only book we’re reading, though,” Becca pointed out.
“Good, because Mr. Garth has at least twenty books for us to read in his English class,” Jill groaned, flopping back in her chair, dramatically lamenting her fate.
“There’s Taylor!” Becca said as she waved the other girl toward us.
Taylor looked exactly the same as she had in the pictures I had seen at Becca’s house, albeit a little heavier than I expected.
“Hey there,” Taylor greeted, sitting in front of me and smiling at Jill and Becca. She reached over and placed her hand on Becca’s. “How are you, girl? I missed you on the trip.”
“I know, I missed you, too,” Becca pouted slightly. “I’m alright now,” she assured. “How about you?”
“Fine.”
“Taylor, this is Lily,” Jill introduced me. “She’s our adopted child.”
“Oh, hey, it’s nice to meet you,” Taylor smiled. “Are you Lily Sandover?” she asked. When I nodded, her smile broadened. “I thought so. My mom’s been talking about your dad. She came over and helped you guys move in, or something like that,” Taylor nodded. “She said that you were really nice, but kinda quiet.”
“Naw,” Becca assured, winking at me. “She’s pretty loud once she loosens up.”
“Good morning, class,” the teacher started at the front of the room. I blinked in shock, not expecting Mr. McDermott to be so young. I had passed him off as a student or assistant at first. But when I saw that he was the only one at the front of the room, I realized he was the famous Mr. McDermott. “How was the trip?”
The class answered with a chorus of answers and cheers and the teacher smiled, nodding.
“Good, good, glad to hear it,” he smiled. “How many of you got sunburned?”
Several members of the class raised their hands enthusiastically and Mr. McDermott laughed. “Yeah…I went to Fiji this summer, and I got pretty sunburned myself, but…I can’t show you where because I could lose my job.”
I laughed with the rest of the class.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you go to Fiji and your friends insist on going to a nudist beach,” Mr. McDermott nodded, turning to grab a tablet off his desk. “Learn from my mistakes, don’t give in to peer pressure. It causes skin irritation and a whole slew of other problems.”
We laughed again.
“Alright, I know a lot of you, but I have to take roll anyway…” He tapped the tablet screen to life and scrolled through the list with his finger, calling out the names on the attendance sheet as we affirmed our presence. When that was over, he grabbed a stack of papers off his desk.
“Alright, everyone, let’s do it together and get it out of our systems,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “We have to read over the syllabus now. Everyone groan on three. One, two, three…”
The class groaned and griped for the fun of it and Mr. McDermott nodded.
“Perfect,” he complimented. “Okay, pass these around.”
We went over the syllabus as we had in my other classes, even though Mr. McDermott would crack jokes about the things we had to do and what should have been common knowledge by that point in our schooling.
When he got to the schedule, he told us to look up from the syllabus and focus on him.
“Okay, as you have all heard, we are reading only J.A.N.E., so I want you to really pay attention to what I am going to tell you right now. There is only one book to read for this entire year, and I know you’re celebrating internally, but that means that if you don’t do the reading once, I will know…and I will mock you in front of the class,” he teased. We chuckled until he motioned us quiet. “However, in all seriousness, it is very important that you follow the reading schedule. Do not read ahead. This is a complicated book, and we need to go over it as I have broken it up. This is extremely important. Do you all understand?” We nodded obediently and Mr. McDermott looked around suspiciously. “Do we need to make an oath?”
He raised his right hand.
“Everyone raise your right hand,” he instructed. We laughed and followed the orders, rolling our eyes. “Okay, repeat after me. We, as Mr. McDermott’s third period class…”
“We, as Mr. McDermott’s third period class…”
“Do solemnly swear…”
“Do solemnly swear…”
“To do the assigned reading, and only the assigned reading…”
“To do the assigned reading, and only the assigned reading…”
“Under the knowledge that my punishment will be to act out the chapter as a mime in front of the class if I stray off the schedule.”
We all laughed and asked him if he was telling the truth.
“Finish the oath,” he said, avoiding answering directly.
We raised our right hands and finished the recitation, giggling the entire time. Mr. McDermott nodded, satisfied.
Chapter Six
It didn’t take me very long to get into the swing of school. However, I was worried about what Jill had said about the darker side of the student body being shown when everyone settled into routine.
By the middle of the week, some of the people in the school knew I was new and introduced themselves. I recognized some of them from my previous study sessions with Becca. Most importantly, I remembered the ones I should stay away from. I thanked them for greeting me and then quickly walked away.
I became increasingly apprehensive about the Welcome Back party at Club Archangel that Frida
y.
“So, about the party this Friday, do you want us to pick you up or do you want to meet us there?” Jill asked. “You know you have to go, right?”
“Yeah…” I nodded. “I don’t know…I mean…I’ve never been to a club before…”
“It’s really not that big of a deal. Most of the time, these parties are kinda boring,” Taylor admitted. “I mean, there are certain rules you absolutely have to follow, but—”
“Rules?”
“She means that there are some things you are expected to do,” Jill clarified. “You kinda-sorta-in-secret circle the room and pick up on any gossip. Then, you compare what you heard with your group of friends,” she motioned to the four of us, “and try to figure out if the rumors are true.”
“That sounds complicated…”
“Don’t worry,” Becca assured. “It’s a little hard to explain. You’ll understand when you get there.”
“So, do you want us to pick you up, or meet us there?”
“Please pick me up,” I pled.
For the first time in a very long time I had plans for Friday night, which completely surprised my parents.
“Do you mind if I go out with my friends on Friday night?” I asked over dinner on Wednesday. Both of my parents froze, staring at me in surprise, my father’s mouth open, his fork suspended in the air.
“You don’t have to act as if I just asked you if I could get married…” I groaned.
“No, honey, sorry, it’s not that…” my father assured, shaking his head. “It’s just…you’ve never had plans on a Friday night to go out with friends…even back home….”
“I know…” I groaned, rolling my eyes. I decided not to tell them how much I didn’t want to go.
“I think it’s a good idea,” my mother nodded strongly. “You need to get out and enjoy your youth a little more. I mean, you’re young. You need to go out and have fun.”
“I have fun,” I protested.
“It’ll be good for you to make some friends that you can go out with,” my mother continued. Then she nudged me with her elbow. “Maybe you’ll even find a boyfriend…”
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