I walked into class and immediately fell into a chair at the back of the room. It was half way through my first day at my new school, Parksville Shore High school and so far my friend count remained at what it usually was. Zero. The teacher hadn't arrived yet so I plugged in my headphones and slumped back on my chair. Although the music was pounding into my ears, my mind was elsewhere. I was thinking about why I had even been sent here. Oh, right. Because my parents divorced. Mum and I had moved from our country home, to the cheap, sunny suburb of Parksville. My dad had stayed behind, so I have to travel into the country every second weekend to go and see him.
I had a brother too. Peter. I was six when he disappeared. Peter was on medication for his insomnia, fits of anger and anxiety and our parents were always fighting in the house. When they finally announced the divorce, Peter seemed ok about it. He went upstairs but I heard him slam the door. I didn't want to cry in front of my parents because they wouldn't understand, so I followed him. He was shoving everything into his small suitcase and when I saw him he slowed and came over to me. He crouched down on one leg. I asked where he was going. He told me he would be gone a little while. He promised he would come back for me. He promised he would call me every night. But after that night I never saw him again. He never came back for me. He never even called.
Then mum and I moved here and I went to a small school. I was there for six years and I was an outcast. Everyone picked on me for no other reason than that of they were bored and had nothing better to do. At the end of my sixth year, I was fifteen. Mum took me out of the school and put me in this school in hope that I might soon fit in somewhere. Sorry mum.
The teacher walked in and slammed her books onto her table, shaking me out of my daze. The rest of class flew past in a blur and when the bell rang, I felt sick. I had to go to lunch. I walked out of the classroom and to my locker. After about five minutes of fumbling with my lock, it spun oped and all my books cascaded to the floor. A few girls who walked past laughed at me and tossed back their long, beautiful hair. Once I had packed my books away, I walked to the cafeteria. It was a crowded room filled with yells and shouts as people tossed items to each other. As I walked to get my food, I saw a guy chuck tomato sauce on another guy's head. The guy with sauce on his head spilt water down the first guys' shirt. I walked past and noticed a table of people in the back corner of the room talking quietly. All the seats on the table were full except one. They were all strikingly beautiful. Every other seat in the cafeteria was taken so I was going to have to try and make some friends. I grabbed my lunch. It was now or never. I walked up to the table and they all looked up at me. I didn't know what to say so I stared blankly for a while before coming to my senses and speaking.
"Umm…hi. I'm new here and I don't…"
"Yes we already know, Mia. Sit," said a girl with blonde hair. She looked at me as if she already knew all my deepest, darkest secrets, but still accepted me as I am. They all did. But I could sense there was something about them that was different. I didn't know if was just the fact that they had let me in, or if it was the fact someone had actually spoken to me, I couldn't tell. As I ate lunch with them I noticed some of them looking at me strangely. But not like they were going to pick on me like everyone else would. It wasn't the look I got from most people. It wasn't the regular 'I haven't even met you but I would really like to make your life a misery' look. It was a different look. When they looked at me they looked understanding and…fearful.
As the bell rang for the end of lunch I walked to my next class and automatically walked to the back of the classroom. The teacher hadn't arrived yet. I was about to plug in my headphones but suddenly she was right next to me. Startled, I looked up to find the same blonde girl who sat next to me at lunch was now sitting next to me in class. She was the same as I had first seen her. She had the same bright blonde hair and porcelain skin. Her eyes were a striking silver colour, a colour I had never seen before.
"Hi," she said, her voice soft and rich.
"Hey," I replied in a cautious voice. And then there was a slam at the front of the room as the teacher waltzed in and slammed her books firmly on the desk. The teacher turned to the chalk board without another glance at the class and began talking.
"Hey Mia?" the girl whispered at me. I turned my head in her direction and she held out her hand, a folded piece of paper clutched in her fingers. I just stared blankly until she nudged it forward at me and I got the idea. Oh, right, I was meant to take the piece of paper. As I took the paper and unravelled it I wondered a few things to myself. Is this what passing notes is like? Is this what all the cool people do? I looked at the paper and read the words which were scribbled in a distinctive handwriting: Hey Mia, meet us at the coffee shop after school today? Love Alexia xxx
I knew the place. There was a local coffee shop at the village at the end of the road near our school. I walked past it every day. I flipped the piece of paper over and scribbled 'I'll be there'. I reached out to hand her the note but a booming voice rang out through the air.
"Passing notes in class are we? I do realise you are a new student but here at Parksville Shore High school we do not cater for that type of behaviour." I froze. Please don't give me a detention. Please don't. I've just made a new friend and please don't screw this up. The teacher sighed and turned back to the board.
"We are, however, allowed to make exceptions for new students. But just this once. I will not accept this type of behaviour ever again." I sighed with relief and dropped the note into Alexia's hand before slumping back into my chair. I felt her smile as she read it. But it was more of a sad smile. I suddenly felt excited for this afternoon where I would do this 'hanging out' with my new friends.
