Chapter One

Ally was nervous. It was her first day at her new boarding school. It was Washington Heights Boarding School, to be exact. She got a scholarship for the four whole years she would be in high school. Ally wasn't nervous the whole time she was getting ready for school. When she saw the school though, her feelings and thoughts changed. "What if they don't like me? What if I get bad grades? Then my scholarship would be over, and back to my father's house I go." Her older brother saw her puzzled and nervous face.

"Hey lil sis'… Are you ready for four whole years of this?" He said.

"Yes and no… I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous. I'm exited too! I don't know what I'm feeling, Cow."

Cow was her nickname for her brother. His real name was Kyle, but when Ally was little, she couldn't pronounce her l's right. So she called him Cow. She still does.

"Don't worry. I remember my first day. I was scared shitless."

"LANGUAGE." I replied.

"Whatever."

Ally chuckled, and looked out the window of her brothers 2001 Mitsubishi Diamanté. She looked down, and saw her cardigan of her uniform didn't hide all the bruises on her arms. She pulled it down so it reached her wrists, but it wouldn't stay. "Crap." She crossed her arms, hoping it would help. It did a little bit, but she knew she couldn't keep her arms like this ALL day. Kyle's bruises were almost gone. He still had a scar by his eye, where their dad threw him into a coffee table, when Kyle was four. Kyle is 19 now, so he's out of the house, and he doesn't have to worry about the abusive man they called their dad. Ally's mother decided to send her to Washington Heights because she could get away from her father as well.

They drove through the iron gates of the school, and down the gravel drive towards the big glass front doors. Kyle dropped her off, and whipped away.

"Bye. I guess." Ally mumbled.

"HI!"

"Oh! You scared me. Hi." Ally replied to the strange, quirky redhead who stood before her.

"I'm Dexter. But people call me Dez." He said, happily.

"Allyson. But please, call me Ally."

"I'm your tour guide for today. Your new here right?" Dez asked.

Ally shook her head yes, while trying to hide her bruised arms. Dez noticed her acting strange but didn't ask. He decided to finally start the tour, after what felt like eternal awkward silence.

"Okay. Well, let's get started. First, you'll probably want to see your dorm room. Do you have your map and list of classes with you?"

Ally nodded, and grabbed the papers from her oversized shoulder bag. She handed it to Dez, who scanned over it for quite some time.

"Okay, Ally. Well your down hallway 6Y, room 127. Let's go check it out!"

He led her down the crowded hallway, with people staring at her left and right, Most of them were nice, 'Hello. Welcome!' smiles, but one glare really stood out. A Cheerleader's (She could tell because all of the cheerleaders wore their uniforms to school) smile looked like 'Get out of here. This is MY school, and you're not welcome.' Ally didn't make eye contact with the girl, because, you know… AWKWARD.