Chapter 1: A New Year
An alarm blared into the crisp morning air as I opened my eyes and saw the beams of light which reflected the particles of dust peeking through my window. 'It's already six am,' I groaned, switched off the alarm and swung my feet over the side of the bed. It was definitely one of those days where I wasn't at all excited about the upcoming events. My schedule would now be as full as ever and each day I would have to drag my sorry carcass to the dirty and people-filled building known as Holy Forest High School.
As I stepped into the steamy shower, I couldn't help but reminisce about that place. I focused on how it was 3 months ago and what teachers I could hardly stand. I knew full well that in about one hour I would have to see them again, talk to them again and make them believe that I actually care about their lives.
Don't get me wrong though; there are a few good teachers at that high school. Ones that I do care for; the few that actually did teach me something in those two previous years that I stayed. The teachers that talked to me like I was an adult yet could joke about when I joked with them. They were my favorites. I couldn't help but smile to remember that time Mr.Zenley played air guitar to the Rolling Stones album during a field trip. Oh those were the days...
I snapped back to reality to find that I've already finished bathing. 'Wow,' I thought, 'That hardly took any time...'
I stepped out of the shower and continued doing the normal things that girls must do to get ready in the morning. You know, brushing my hair and teeth, getting dressed, that sort of thing.
Finally I looked in the mirror and deemed myself presentable as I hooked my earphones to my ears and turned on my IPod. Fall out Boy screeched one of their many depressing tunes into my brain as I headed out the door to the bus stop.
A black messenger bag that was covered in various band pins and patches hung from my shoulder and swung back and forth as strolled down to the corner and waited for the bus.
A good ten minutes must've passed before I heard the loud scraping of the bus tires on the ground. I climbed onto the bus and sat down in the first open seat that I saw.
I looked around and studied the faces that were scattered about. Some of them were recognizable but most of them looked to be scared little freshmen. I yawned and nestled down into the cold plastic seat, sleep was already trying to beckon me to it's grip and I was so close until I felt a strong vibration in my pocket that made me jump in surprise.
I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was eying me and sighed when I saw that no one was. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small cell phone and flipped the cover open. A new text message was on the screen and I felt a small, sly grin wipe across my mouth. It was Mark; he asked how I was doing on the bus this very fine morning. Jokingly I texted back, 'Not bad, A few freshies r eyeing me awkwardly but other than that I'm doing pretty well, how 'bout u?'
A moment or so later I felt another vibration but this time it wasn't as startling. I opened up the phone once again and read Mark's reply:
'I-ing u huh? Well I bet it's cuz ur so beautiful...'
That was Spencer for you. He knew how to always brighten up my day, no matter how horrible things seemed. He was my best pal, the kind of guy that actually wanted friendship and not just to ogle you like a fancy car or piece of meat.
Soon after receiving the last text, the bus pulled up to our school. The building was the same as always. The dark brick exterior with a dismal sign out in front that had the name of our school and a message to all students;
'Welcome Back!'