Lacee Miller grinned as she stood at the foot of the stairs. She had been hoping that this was a possibility, not just a dream. It was surreal to her now, to be standing in front of the building. Degrassi High School, home of the Panthers. Lacee could barely contain her excitement as she proceeded up the front steps and into the lobby. No one gave her a second glance; everyone was focused on seeing they're own friends, not making new ones. Lacee wasn't disturbed by this problem at all; she would meet people soon enough.
Go to the office as soon as you get in the school to get your schedule. Her mom's words rang in her head, and she quickly headed to the clearly marked room. A stockier girl was waiting inside of the office, her hair in mousse curls. She was gesturing with her hands a lot, and Lacee could feel the annoyance radiating from the girl; even before she entered the room. But the idea of being late for her first class seemed like bad karma just waiting to happen.
The girl didn't even glance at her as she entered the office. She kept flailing her hands and finally, with a lot of controlled effort, placed them onto the counter. "Are you telling me I can't take my spare because it isn't allowed for grade eleven's anymore?"
"Miss Edwards, I am deeply sorry, but it is now school policy. You know what happened, and there are changes within the school. This is one of them. Only grade twelve's are allowed spares now," the secretary said. She pulled off her spectacles to look at the girl better. "You know, I don't like these changes, but I can't argue with them. I would advise you to do the same."
"But Mrs. Hambley, you can't be serious," the girl complained. The secretary just ran her hand through her shortly cropped grey hair before glancing over at Lacee.
"Ah, Miss Miller. Welcome to Degrassi. I have the schedule of your classes all ready for you." She quickly popped up from her chair and headed down the hall at an unnatural brisk pace for a woman of her age.
"New to Degrassi, huh?" the girl asked without turning around. Lacee nodded in response, wishing that her schedule and Mrs. Hambley would return sooner than later. She quickly realized that the girl couldn't see her and stammered out something along the lines of a 'yes.'
The girl turned around slowly, trying to control her rage. "You came at the wrong time."
Lacee raised a brow at the girl in questioning. "Oh come on, you must have heard what happened at the dance." Lacee didn't respond. The girl put her hands on her hips and allowed her jaw to fall open. "You have got to be kidding me." She looked Lacee up and down once before shaking her head. "Well it has changed a lot. Hence the uniforms." She motioned to her body then Lacee's.
Lacee nodded. "I wondered why uniforms were mandatory all of a sudden. I'm Lacee, by the way."
"Clare," the girl responded. She fidgeted with her pleated skirt before picking up her book bag, which she must've dropped in her fuss. Just as Clare began to say something, the door swung open with vigorous force to the office. A gorgeous red haired girl entered, talking animatedly to a toffee skinned boy. He gazed down at her, more distracted by her beauty than actually paying attention to what she said.
"So what do you think?" she said, clutching her clipboard to her chest. She snapped her fingers in his face when he didn't answer. "Sav?"
Sav shook his head, before smirking at her. "I think it sounds great, Holly J." Holly J nodded in approval before looking at Clare. "Oh, hi Clare," she said casually, before proceeding down the hall. Lacee studied the obviously upperclassmen as she trotted away… and she didn't think she held her emotions when Holly J whipped around to look at her. She strode right up to Lacee with newfound determination, stopping only a few feet away from her. "You are new."
Lacee nodded slowly, not sure how to answer that. "Yes, I'm Lacee Miller."
"Holly J Sinclair, President of Student Council. Let me formally welcome you to Degrassi High School. This is Sav Bhandari, my partner for student council." She glanced over Holly J's shoulder to Sav, who waved coolly. Lacee was almost knocked off her feet as the words bubbled out of Holly J's mouth.
"Thanks," Lacee replied. She seemed … genuinely nice.
"If there is anything you need, just let me know," Holly J replied. Alright, pretty nice. Holly J turned on her heel, grabbing Sav's wrist and towing him out of the office and towards a glass compartment at the back of the room.
"You have now met the biggest perfectionist in all of Degrassi High. Holly J Sinclair," Clare commented. She rolled her eyes, before looking Lacee over. Clare made Lacee feel uneasy as the girl pricked at her with her eyes. Lacee shifted uncomfortably before Mrs. Hambley returned and handed her a timetable. "And you have locker number one hundred and seventeen. Right beside Clare." She looked at Clare for good measure, before disappearing again.
"Thanks, Mrs. Hambley," Lacee replied, skimming over the paper. English, first period. Seemed like a good enough start to her day. She exited the office behind Clare, who immediately asked for the timetable. "You have first period with me," she said. "I'll take you there after we go to our lockers."
"Thanks," Lacee replied, flashing Clare a smile. Clare returned it, relaxing as she walked down the hallways, avoiding screaming girls who were embracing each other.
"First day of second semester; it's always a little chaotic," Clare commented as she pulled Lacee out of the way of two flying girls.
"I can see that. This school just seems to have spirit though…" Lacee admired. She stared at the walls, covered in flags and posters cheering on the Panthers, and other clubs.
Clare followed her gaze before shrugging. "Sometimes too much." They walked up a set of stairs before Clare stopped in front of lockers one hundred and seventeen and sixteen. "Here we are, home sweet locker."
Lacee found the combination on the back of the lock and stuffed her things inside. She glanced down the hall, watching as students passed by her. Occasionally someone would stop by and introduce themselves, but the majority passed her by, continuing to class.
"Damn, Lacee, I am sticking with you," Clare laughed. Lacee stared in response. "Have you not seen the amount of boys staring at you? They just gape at you and almost run into each other as they look at you." Clare ran her hand through her head, before shutting her locker.
Lacee smiled to herself and pushed her dirty blonde hair back behind her ear. She had never gotten a compliment like that before.
"Welcome, to our newest student, Lacee Miller," the woman at the front of the class said. Everyone followed the teacher's gaze and looked at Lacee. She smiled and waved a little, mouthing a 'hi' before returning her hands to her lap. The class went by in a blur. The first day of classes was always slack, so it had been easy enough.
"I wish we would've actually done something, though," Clare complained as they exited the room, "I mean, come on. Anything."
"It was easy enough to settle into," Lacee replied.
They proceeded out the door and towards the hall until Clare's name was called. Lacee searched for the sounds that had escaped the lips of someone, but only saw a rounded faced boy walking towards them. "Clare!" he said again. His voice was higher than it should've been at this point in high school, but Lacee wasn't one to judge. She shifted her bag on her shoulder, and stayed half a step behind Clare.
"Adam!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her arms around the boy. He laughed and started blubbering about something Lacee couldn't relate to. He started to complain about something, when he glanced over Clare's shoulder.
"Oh, right, Adam, this is Lacee. Lacee, this is Adam. Lacee transferred from … where did you transfer from?" Clare asked. She was perplexed on why she hadn't considered asking before.
Lacee let out a light laugh. "From Calgary, in Alberta. And nice to meet you Adam."
"Where are the cowboy boots and hat?" Adam joked. Lacee could sense the hint of seriousness in his voice though, and just rolled her eyes. "Left them at home," she replied.
Clare snapped out of her state and pulled the two towards her locker. "You were saying something about Drew, Adam?"
Adam sighed and threw his hands up. Everyone in this school seemed express his or her emotions very freely, Lacee noted. Back home, she was always terrified to actually state her opinion. Being the outcast did that to you.
"He still hasn't gotten over Ali, even with this whole Bianca fling. She is basically just a rebound until he finds someone that he likes better, or he just ends it." Adam shook his head in disapproval. "He needs to end it. It is seriously getting annoying. He is always bipolar when it comes to her. She either puts out or she doesn't."
"I talked to Ali. She's over him it sounds like. So I don't think there is any chance of them reuniting? Plus, Ali is still over at her all girls school as far as I know," Clare replied.
Lacee opened her locker slowly as the two rattled on about Ali and Drew. She thought she knew more about the two people than she wanted to within minutes of the chatter. Lacee stepped back from her locker, pulling her hair to the side and allowing it to fall over one shoulder as she did so. She looked out at all the people and realized that there were more people in this hall than her whole grade back in Calgary. She shuddered and pushed herself against her locker, trying to keep herself from recoiling into the memories.
Only one person caught her eye. Despite the time of year, his skin was tanned and was a slightly lighter shade than his short hair. He was walking with causality down the hall until he glanced over at her. The boy looked down before his head flicked up again, taking a double look. His face broke into a smile, and Lacee couldn't help but admire the perfectly aligned teeth. She returned the gesture before shifting to be included in the conversation between Clare and Adam. She looked at him once more, catching his eye again, before looking to Clare and Adam.
Clare's jaw was almost hitting the ground, and Adam was grinning from ear to ear. "What?" Lacee asked. She didn't really feel like answering any questions resulting what had just happened. She honestly hadn't known. Back home, she had never flirted with anyone. She had had a fling with a couple of guys, but they never went far, and meant nothing to her. This was her first day, and already she felt like she was a completely different person from who she was back home. Yet, she had done nothing different.
"Adam." A voice came from behind Lacee. She slowly turned around and backed up to stand beside Clare. Lacee knew she looked like a fool with her books pressed against her chest. She felt like she was suffocating the books- and they didn't even breath. The boy stood in front of her, holding a football and looking between her, Clare and then Adam.
"Coming to check up on me?" Adam asked, his voice thick with annoyance. "I really should be the one doing that to you. We don't want any more boiler room incidents."
The boy's face contorted before it slipped void of emotion. "Uh, excuse us ladies," he said before wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders and hauling him away.
"Lacee Miller. I saw what was going on between you two. That, my friend, was steamy." Clare smirked at her, but allowed her gaze to rest on the two boys walking away.
Lacee shook her head. "What do you mean?" Play dumb, play dumb.
"Don't be stupid, Lacee. You and Drew Torres; you two were totally giving each other sexy looks. Drew looked like he wanted to grab you right then and there. He looked like he had never seen anyone so beautiful on the planet," she said with a matter of fact tone.
What could she do? Lacee buried her face in her hands. "This can't be happening," she murmured into them.
"Believe it, Lacee. One of the most gorgeous guys in the school has his eye on you. I don't know if you realize this, but you are beautiful."
Lacee peered out from between her fingers. "Don't say that, Clare. If you knew where I came from, you would know how I feel. I wasn't remotely close to the word beautiful on the scale there. Those girls, back home, are gorgeous."
Clare looked at Lacee, studying her. "You didn't have an easy time in Calgary, did you?" she asked.
Her only response was shaking her head. Lacee sure as hell didn't want to talk about it now, either. This was way too much. She just pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to push out the thoughts in her head, along with the memories that threatened to come to the surface. Those memories were secrets that she was storing away in her head. But each one had a voice of it's own, and tried to make her remember. Remember the pain.
"Well, like it or not, Drew and Adam are coming back," Clare whispered. She put a hand on Lacee's shoulder, and Lacee unburied herself to look at it. "And I am here for you," Clare finished.
Lacee half smiled at it before looking up and forward to the two returning boys. She could tell that this year was going to be a whirlwind of emotions already. But with Clare's hand on her shoulder, she found some of the strength that she lacked.
