Cassandra was in the backseat of her uncle's car, nervously drawing in a sketchpad. Well, she had every reason to be nervous. They were driving to a new high school that her father and her uncle had decided to construct as part of their company's education division. They named it Avalon High School and she had been placed in charge of it.
Her uncle looked at her from the mirror as he drove her to her new school and saw her nervous expression as she doodled in her sketchpad.
"Nervous, my dear?" He asked.
She looked up and sighed, "You have no idea, Uncle Lance." She ran a hand through her red hair which had some pink highlights.
"Don't be." He said.
"This is like my 4th school, from living in different countries, the Emirates, the U.S, the U.K, Kenya and I'm back again in the States. I've had to change myself a lot so people could accept me and it would mostly backfire on me. I've always felt like an outsider and I've always been treated like one. I don't know what will happen next."
Lance listened to her patiently as she spoke and then said with a smile, "Then be yourself. Let the world see you for who you truly are and then some. And since your practically the manager, treat the others well and make them belong."
Cassandra digested this advice and then smiled. 'I will,' she thought to herself.
They arrived at the new school and they parked the car at the parking lot behind the admissions office. They got out of the car and Cassandra looked in awe at the expansive campus. Lance said, "Here we are, Cass. Welcome to Avalon High. "
There were classrooms shaped like graduation caps, different hangouts for people of different cliques: Jocks, Nerds, Preps, Musicians, Artists, Slackers, Outdoors, Rebel and Class Presidents. Everyone had a place to hangout and unwind after a long day of school or in between periods. Each with its unique design. The Musican, Rebel, Slacker, Artist, Outdoors and Class President hangouts were still a work in progress though but they were coming up well.
There was a library having its finishing touches being placed and a party spot.
Lance led her to the football field and saw the bleachers nearly finished up with construction materials on the grass. The workers were working hard to get this place up and running.
Cassandra could picture herself scoring touchdown after touchdown or using the field to practice her martial arts.
"This place is gorgeous, Lance. I love it." Cassandra finally stated.
"I know it is, we had to give the best. Now it's up to you to maintain those standards, Cassandra. It's all up to you now."
Lance put an arm around his niece and Cassandra said, "I won't let you down, Lance."
Lance and Cassandra walked back to the admissions office and Lance left her there as he had to rush back to work. Cassandra looked around that beautiful place and decided to give herself a further tour of the place. She entered the classrooms and touched the mahogany desks and smelt the fresh aroma of paint. She went down the hallways and admired the brass lockers and smooth tiles on the floor.
She got out and ran around the expansive campus, loving every bit of the lush lawns and trees. After she had her fill of adventure, she went back to the front of the admissions office. She then heard the sounds of footsteps, which was odd. As far as she was concerned, she was all alone in the school. The workers had gone for lunch and no-one was meant to be here at this time.
"Hello, is anyone here?" Cassandra called out.
"Hi there." A feminine voice came from behind Cassandra. Cassandra turned around and saw a girl with tan skin, brown hair styled in an over the shoulder braid and brown eyes looking at her and giving her a sheepish smile.
"I'm Autumn. I heard that this school was opening today." She says. "It's not much to look at though," she said in a mildly disappointed tone.
Cassandra wondered, 'Hey, what did she mean by that? We are trying our best here. Pressure much?' She decided not to take it personally though and held out her hand to greet Autumn.
"It's nice to meet you, Autumn. Though, aren't you kinda trespassing?" Cassandra asked in a joking manner as she folded her arms.
"I...I wouldn't say trespassing. Call it more of exploring without consent alone," Autumn stutters.
Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her and Autumn said, "Okay, maybe I'm trespassing but if it's a turf war you want, I'm afraid I left my nunchucks in my other purse. Besides, I'd rather start out as friends. Or what do you think?"
Cassandra's lips formed a smile and she laughed lightly. She put an arm around Autumn and she said, "I'd rather be friends too. Call me Cassandra, my dear."
Autumn returned the smile and Cassandra asked, "So, where do you go to school, Autumn?"
"I go to Hearst High right over there," she replies, pointing to a large school down the road and she crinkled her nose at the mention of the school. "I come here a lot, to think and be alone. The guys there, they can be jerks," she continued with a sad expression on her face. "That's why I was pretty excited when I heard that there was a new school in the area opening. My dad wouldn't let me leave Hearst, being the most prestigious school in the area and all. But if this school grows and becomes better than Hearst, I'm sure my dad will let me transfer here." She says, her face lighting up with a hopeful smile.
Cassandra just listened and nodded. She then told Autumn with a coy smile, "We'll do our best. But right now, I think your lunch break is nearly over."
Autumn came to this realization. "True. I'd better go. Nice meeting you, Cassandra. See you later. " She ran off the school grounds and Cassandra just chuckled at her antics. She turned around and went to the admissions office where a girl with long wavy black hair and black almond eyes was being admitted. She was dressed in a white dress with a white headband with white flats. Cassandra made a guess that she was a prep. She greeted her and found out that her name was Brianna. After Brianna was done with her admissions, they walked towards the finished prep hangout. Brianna gushed when they entered, "OMG! This place is looking gorgeous!" She jumped up and down and twirled.
"I'm glad you like it, Bree. But we'd better go to class now, if you don't mind. "
She agreed and they went to class where they found one teacher, Mr. Olson. He was a friendly older man with spectacles and he didn't teach much, given that they were two students but they had a good lesson and gave them opportunities to express their thoughts on some of the topics they'd learned and clarified what they may not have understood.
When they were done for the day, Cassandra heard a familiar voice call out to them, "Hey, you two."
Cassandra and Brianna turned around and saw Autumn come towards them with a bounce in her step. "Hey, Autumn. You okay?"
"I'm good. How was the first day of school?"
"Not bad. Just an English lesson."
"Wow, hitting the books already? " Autumn teased.
"Well, I may be a jock and Brianna here a prep, but we know how to study." Cassandra replied with a smirk.
All of a sudden, Cassandra's phone went off with a notification. She frowned as she took her phone from the pocket of her black pants and looked at the text.
"I have a message from some girl named Kara." Cassandra said. Autumn paled at the mention of Kara.
"Oh no. That must be Kara Sinclair. She's the head cheerleader at Hearst and not someone you want to mess with. She's one of the jerks I told you about, Cassandra." Autumn informed her.
"How does she even know my number?" Cassandra asked with a confused look on her face.
"Oh, it must have been easy for her. She's an expert in rumours and blackmail."
"Of course, she would be." Cassandra groaned as she put a hand around her neck. "Let me see what she wants."
"I wouldn't go alone if I were you. She probably is with her boyfriend, Max Warren. He's the son of the principal of Hearst. Those two are really rich." Autumn warned.
"Who says I'm going alone, Autumn?" Cassandra asked rhetorically with a smirk on her face. Brianna and Autumn looked at each other then at her confusedly. "You coming?"
They smiled then they followed Cassandra to the school entrance where a tall, athletic-looking guy with short blonde hair, ocean blue eyes and some stubble on his face was waiting. He was dressed in a green letterman jacket, a black shirt, jeans and sneakers. Besides him was a girl in green cheerleading uniform and her black hair was in a ponytail with bangs. Cassandra presumed them to be Max and Kara.
"Well, well, well. Seems like Loser High got its first loser." Max called out boisterously.
"And lookie what we have here. Little Miss Quirkface. I always thought Autumn was a loser but not a traitor." Kara sneered, a hand going to her waist.
"Hey, back off! What do you have against our school anyway?" Brianna asked hands crossed on her chest.
"There's a plan for this land and it doesn't involve your crappy school." Max venomously spat.
"Tell that to Creed Enterprises, you jerks! This land is theirs." Cassandra watched smugly at their discomfort. "I don't know you two or what you're all about, but you can't go around bullying people."
Kara gave Cassandra a glare and stepped closer to her. "And what you going to do about it, dork?" Kara hissed.
"Well, I can't hit you unfortunately. With all that make-up on, it feels like you're wearing face armor." Cassandra commented.
"Excuse me?" Kara looked at her in disbelief.
"Yeah, it looks like a clown threw up on your face, chickie."
Autumn and Brianna were shaking in laughter at this point. Cassandra continued, "Honey, I don't know if you've heard, but less is more. But I guess for someone like you, you've gotta fake it till you make it."
She shrugged and looked at her friends who were laughing so hard. Kara growled in frustration and said, "This is so not funny. I won't forget this." She stomped her foot on the ground and marched off with Max in tow.
Once the laughter had died down, Autumn said, "Now you see why I don't like being at Hearst."
Cassandra narrowed her steel grey eyes at their retreating backs and agreed, "Oh, I see alright." She turned around and looked at the school with its complete and incomplete buildings. "I don't think anyone should put up with bullies like them. I'm going to make this a school where everyone can feel welcome. For those who are bullied, ignored or they just feel lost..." Cassandra trailed off remembering the numerous times she'd felt lost and alone. She thought back to her uncle's words in the car. "For all those types, they will be welcome here." She finished.
Cassandra heard Autumn sniffle and was surprised when she gave her a hug from behind. "Oh, Cassandra. I wish could transfer here."
Cassandra put her hands over Autumn's and told her, "Don't worry, Autumn. I'm sure he'll come around. We'll convince him soon enough."
Autumn let go of Cassandra and wiped her tears. "Yeah, well I have to go now. See you, Cassandra." She waved at her then Brianna and walked off.
Brianna bid Casandra goodbye as well and Cassandra was left all by her lonesome. She stood there for a few more minutes and with her eyes wavering in determination, she made a promise to herself to do right by her family and the students of this school.
Author's note: Hey guys, so I was listening to Eyes Wide Open by Sabrina Carpenter when I was writing this chapter hence the title of the story. I also got the sketchpad doodling idea from the music video of the song. I'm not sure how often I will be updating but I will do my best to update and try to finish up this story. Forgive my typos and grammatical errors if I have any. Reviews are welcome but no flames. Ideas are welcome also. The rating may change depending on where the story takes me. Also, I may change up the dialogue of the game and some scenes to suit my story. Thanks for reading! : ) Bye bye! Canary out!