Adele Caldwell was tired of living. With her kind of life, she thought she might be better off dead. Honestly, was it really worth living through getting shoved into the locker, getting spitballs blown into your hair, called all sorts of names, etc. day after day? Just yesterday, while sitting alone during 6th period lunch as she always did, some jock she didn't even know emptied his tray on her jokingly saying, "Oops. I hope I didn't ruin that weave of yours," while the whole cafeteria was laughing. She didn't know how she lasted through the rest of the day, but apparently she pulled through, although she was late for class because of the time spent cleaning herself up. Consequently, she ended up with a detention because that was her 3rd time late, and it was the last week of 8th grade. To think she had to go through 4 more years of this hell! She didn't think she could bear it.
Then came the sound she been dreading the entire night, the alarm clock. Hastily silencing it, she pulled the cover over her head as if to delay the horror of her first day of high school. She had been telling herself it would be different the whole summer, but whatever courage she summoned up till then suddenly vanished because she knew it will not be different, just like it wasn't any different the first day of junior high and the first day of 4th grade when she moved to Syracuse. Finally, when she knew she couldn't delay any longer, she got out of bed reluctantly to begin the first day of high school, and ultimately the first day of a new chapter of her life.
As she made her way downstairs, her sister Cassie was about to take the Honda to school. In sharp contrast to Adele, Cassie was one of the popular girls who drove sports cars, had the hottest hairstyle and clothing, dated football players, etc. She seemed to get along very well in her clan in spite of her ten year old Honda that she shared with her parents before they bought a new car. Adele did not drive, being only 14, and had never cared for sexy clothes, feeling that they ruined her modesty. Still, in spite of it, she was pretty with dark brown hair, green eyes, and slim figure, although she didn't always feel that way. Just before her sister left, she called out, "Wait up!"
"I got less than a minute so it better be quick," Cassie replied, losing her patience. She didn't want to be late for meteting with her friends in the hallway just before the warning bell.
"Look, I know you don't usually want me around but our parents are at work already so I wonder if you could give me a lift." Adele didn't really expect much, but it's the least she could do to ask out of desperation.
"Look yourself, moron," Cassie retorted. "If I'm seen with you ever, my social status will drop like hell and I'll be stuck down there with you for good. I don't know how you take being unpopular, but it's below my dignity. Why don't you tkae the bus?" Before Adele could reply, Cassie got into the drivers seat, backed out of the driveway, and sped off, leaving her stranded on the porch and waiting for the bus.
Adele stood over at the front of the bus looking for a seat. She certainly didn't want to sit in the loser seat directly behind the driver as she had all of last year. Yet, she wasn't sure if the back seat would want her. At the very back was the cool guys who smoke and play sports. They never had to worry about asking the girls out because the girls are naturally attracted to them. Towards the middle are the cheerleaders, none of whom wore clothes over size 5. The front are the nerds and geeks who had enough status to avoid the seat behind the driver. Finally, she spotted a girl who no one was sitting with towards the middle. The girl had been somewhat nice to her when no one's around. Gathering her courage, she asked if she may sit there.
"Sorry, girl," was the reply. "Seat's taken."
"It's your sweater you're sitting with," Adele faltered, feeling her confidence fade.
"Well, better my sweater than you." With that, the girl glanced over at her firends to show how cool she was when she blew off that nobody. Adele resigned to the seat originally hers all of last year as the bus started to move.
Within minutes, something wet landed on her hair and more of it came in torrents. She ran her fingers through and found spitballs, like always. At least they weren't throwing rockets like back in 7th grade. Then a guy thought it was funny if he could throw a lit cigarette at the back of her neck and did so promptly. As Adele grabbed it off, the driver, who saw through the rearview mirror, yelled, "Girl, quit smoking behind me like that. If you want to ruin your health, do it outside."
"But it wasn't me," she pleaded. "I don't do any stuff like that." It was as if nobody heard her. Anger swelled in her chest at the thought of being picked on and subsequently blamed for it. Her attackers were good at lying evasively to convince adults that she was the culprit so consequently, no one believed her. She was on her own. After several more pick ups, some of whom she didn't even know, they reacher their destination: North Shore High.
From the start of the first day, she knew high school will certainly not be different from junior high. There will be more hell to come that she had no choice but to go through. Only 620 days until graduation.