She expected her first day back to be something different. Something new. Over the summer, she'd done a lot of sorting things out, and she was happy for the first time in months. Her happiness grew dull on her first day back. She felt like she had gone back in a time machine to a year ago, when she was virtually friendless and alone. The only friends she had were the Torres brothers, but Drew was swept up in student council duties, and Adam was hanging out with Becky, who had been done most of the summer.
Her first class, Chemistry, was filled with unfamiliar faces and groups of established friends. It was exactly like her experience just one year ago.
In her second class, she was greeted by Drew, but he was smiling and laughing with his jock friends, so she didn't want to interrupt.
On the way to third period was where her day really turned sour. She was scuttling down the hallway when she dropped her sketchbook. Miscellaneous papers went flying and she sighed as she reached down to get them.
"God, get out of the way," she heard from above her. Imogen looked over and saw a wedged shoe kick her book across the hall. Looking up at the culprit, she saw a brunette with a style that Fiona would have adored. As her mind drifted off to her ex –girlfriend, she frowned.
"Uh, hello? Earth to freak?" the girl asked, "Are you going to move?" Imogen stood up and put her head down, "Sorry," she muttered, shuffling to the other side of the hallway to grab her book.
When Imogen heard the girl's heels clicking down the hallway, she leaned up against the lockers and took a deep breath.
Imogen skipped her next class upset in the bathroom. She thought that this year was going to be better, but nothing was going how she expected it to. Of course she didn't expect to go back to Degrassi with people in line to be her friend, but she expected more than this.
Lunch was the highlight of her day. She joined Adam at a table and laughed for the first time that day. He told her stories about Becky's summer, and Imogen couldn't help but notice how completely in love with the blonde girl he was. He lit up when he saw her, and she just hoped she'd find something like that again.
"Adam?" she asked, when the conversation dulled down. He looked up at her. "Will I ever have that? What you have with Becky?"
Adam chuckled, "Of course you will, Immy, don't be silly." That was enough to make Imogen drop the subject.
Art class rolled around after lunch, and Imogen was excited about it, until she heard the familiar clicking of heels coming into class after the late bell. "You're late," the teacher scolded, giving the girl a look. She shook it off, mumbling a whatever. She took the only available seat, which was next to Imogen, and sighed.
The class started off with simple sketches, which Imogen excelled at. The teacher took notice, and showed off a few of them to the class. The girl beside her, on the other hand, could have used some of Imogen's artistic abilities.
"Miss Moreno," the art teacher called with a grin, "can you be a dear and help Zoe here?" she motioned to the brunette beside her.
"I don't need her help!" Zoe screeched, throwing her hands up overdramatically.
"Miss Rivas, you could learn a thing or two from Imogen." The teacher walked off, not wanting to fight with the stubborn student.
"Look," Imogen whispered to the girl beside her, "If you want some help, I can help you, but if you're going to treat me like garbage, I have better things to do,"
"Like what?" Zoe questioned back in a bitter tone.
"I'm taking back my offer. It's unfortunate that some people can't accept help when they desperately need it," Imogen snapped back, and began to gather up her things. She went up to the teacher and asked if she could be dismissed to the library. The teacher nodded in approval, and Imogen walked out the door, giving Zoe a glare as she left.
