In her seventeen years of existence, Gabriella Montez had already lived in twenty-four cities in fifteen states. Her mother was a successful author who liked to go to different places constantly to get inspiration, and Gabriella, being an adventurous and artistic person herself, was more than happy to accompany her wherever she went. She was homeschooled most of the time so that she wouldn't have trouble keeping up with her studies, being on the road so much and all, so she was a bit lacking in social skills. She'd never had a best friend, let alone a boyfriend, but it didn't bother her. She was happy just being with her mother and living life day to day. But when her grandmother in Albequerque had insisted she needed a more stable environment to grow up in, Gabriella had reluctantly agreed to move in with her and attend East High Boarding School for her senior year. She wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of attending a snooty school where they forced everyone to wear uniforms, but she was willing to suck up her apprehensions because her mother promised to buy her a new car if she stuck with it.

She'd arrived in Albequerque two weeks before the start of classes and in that time, she had accomplished all her admission requirements and gotten her uniforms fitted. It was now the last Sunday of summer vacation and Gabriella was loading the things she was taking to her dorm, into the trunk of her beat up gold Camry. Just as she shut the trunk, her grandmother walked toward her with a glass of iced tea in her hand and smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here another night? Classes don't start until Monday, dear," she said, handing her the cool, frosty glass.

"I know, grandma, but I want to get there a day ahead so I can familiarize myself with the campus," Gabriella said, sipping the iced tea and wiping her lips on the back of her hand. "I mean, I don't want to get lost on my first day."

Her grandmother sighed and nodded. "Okay, dear, but promise me you'll visit at least once a month when school starts, all right?" she said, kissing her forehead and stroking her cheek.

"I promise, grandma. I'll visit you every weekend," Gabriella said, draining her glass and smiling at her grandmother.

"You won't be saying that once you've made friends and are having a blast," her grandmother said, smiling. "I remember how high school was."

Gabriella looked at her toes and forced herself to smile, but inside she was scared out of her mind. She wouldn't know anyone at her new school, so she was pretty anxious about her first day. She also hasn't attended a real school in four years so she didn't know what it would be like to be in an actual high school. She just hoped the students there weren't stuck up, spoiled snobs, but fat chance of that since she knew boarding schools usually catered to the offspring of upper crust power couples. In any case, she would walk into this just being herself. She wasn't the kind of person who cared about what other people thought of her anyway. She'd always sort of just marched to the beat of her own drummer.

"Gabriella?" her grandmother said, gently waving her hand in her face. "Are you all right, dear?"

Gabriella snapped out of it and smiled at her grandmother. "Yes, grandma. I'm fine," she said, handing her the empty glass in her hands. "But I should probably get going. I want to get there before 1 pm."

Her grandmother smiled and nodded. "Well, goodbye, dear. Have fun and take care of yourself," she said, hugging her granddaughter and and kissing her forehead. "I love you very much, dear."

Gabriella smiled. "I love you too, grandma. I'll call you as soon as I've settled in," she said, getting into the car and starting up the engine. She pulled out of the driveway and honked her horn as she pulled away from the house. She watched her grandmother's waving figure gradually disappear from the rearview mirror and sighed. This was it. There was no turning back.