Pale. I'm so pale. Then again, I've always been this pale. Jeez, how long have I been staring at myself in the mirror?
"Phoebe! We have to go!" Ted, my older brother, calls out from downstairs. "Coming," I answer, snatching my custom black satchel from my bed and slinging it over my left shoulder. I take one last look at myself in the mirror. Hair slightly wavy from the bun I put it in a few minutes ago, check. Red plaid polo neatly tucked in my jeans, check. Black skinny jeans with 3 inches of it folded just above my ankle and finished off with a brown belt, check. My white gold bracelet with the inscription "Phoebe Coleen Grey" that my parents got me for my 6th birthday, check. Lastly, my gray and white topsiders with neat tassel twirls, check.
I head downstairs and Ted is pacing back and forth the breakfast bar repeatedly running his hand through his hair. Such an obvious sign of impatience.
"Finally," he sighs. I roll my eyes at him.
"You both are definitely your parents' children." Mrs. Johnson laughs from the other side of the breakfast bar. She gives us both a warm smile and hands us our packed lunches.
"Thanks, Mrs. J!" Ted and I say in unison before heading out to the porch. As usual, mom and dad are having their morning tea/coffee there.
"Good morning, dears," dad greets us.
"Good morning, daddy," I say back, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, mommy," I turn to mom to do the same. Ted's already ran to the car as he's always so eager to head to school.
"Have a great day," mom says to me. Her voice always so reassuring and soothing. I walk to the car. Usually, we take the white Saab, but since mom has (finally) convinced dad to let her drive her own car, we started taking the sleek black Audi R8, which (of course) attracts more and more attention in school.
"Good morning, Miss Grey," Luke greets me. I nod and smile at him in return as he hold the car door open for me. I slide in and before I knew it, we were moving away from the house. I have an hour to think.
Being a Grey, society expects much of you. Sometimes, a little too much. It's not everyday you find yourself to be a daughter of this gazillionare CEO who has taken the business world by surprise with his expertise. Mom would always tell me what it was like for her when she and dad were dating. The paparazzi, the haters, everything that she never expected to happen in her life. "Well, that's what I get for marrying Christian Grey," She'd always tell me. So I'm guessing this is what I get for being Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele-Grey's daughter. With dad taking over the business industry, and mom taking over the publishing industry, I think society expects me and Ted do some taking over as well. How about taking over high school first?
Oh! I'm finally going to a school! It's finally sinking in! After being homeschooled for the past 15 years of my life, I'm finally going to attend a real school! Crap. What if people don't like me? What if they only like me for the money? What if I end up being a loser or what if I do something to cause myself social suicide? I mean, I have no problems with academics (with dad being his controlling self and all) but I don't really have experience in socializing. Ugh, I am so dead. I bury my face in my hands, Teddy takes notice.
"You okay, Phoebes?" his voice concerned. Teddy has always been good to me. He's my bestfriend.
I don't respond. He shifts and puts my head on his shoulder. "First day butterflies, I'm assuming." I nod, my hands still hiding my face. He grabs my hands and puts them down on my lap. "Phoebes. You're going to be fine. I'm not gonna let anyone mess with my little sister."
"Thanks, Teddy. I'm just really nervous. What if people don't like me? What if I embarrass you?"
He cocks his head to one side and raises an eyebrow, like dad usually does. "Phoebe, guys are going to be all over you. The only thing you need to worry about is how you're going to deal with the attention. And of course, the jealous ones." He laughs.
I give him a shy smile. Only Teddy can cheer me up in situations like this. He looks out the window, his expression suddenly confident. "We're here," he sighs.
Luke pulls up on the driveway and gets out of the car. He goes over to my side and hold open the door for me and Teddy.
"Ready?" Ted asks.
I take a deep breath and nod.
I exit the car and I am fully aware that people are staring at me. Teddy gets out of the car after me and puts his hand over my shoulders. We wave at Luke as he drives off. We turn around and a group of jocks are heading to us.
"Hey, guys! You remember Phoebe, right?" Ted gestures towards me. Oh, these are his friends who used to come over to play ball.
"Of course! Welcome to Garfield High, Phoebe Grey!" they say loud enough for everyone to hear. Now the murmuring gets louder. Thanks a lot, Ted.
"I'll head to class already, okay? You can get your sched from the administration office. It's at the end of the quad. See you later, sis!" Ted hugs me then heads off to class with his friends. I run a hand through my hair, take a deep breath, and start walking.
I do my best to keep my eyes forward and ignore the fact that almost everyone I pass by is staring at me. I reach the admin and the lady greets me with a welcoming smile. "Yes?" She asks.
"Err… I'm here to get my class schedule. Phoebe Coleen Grey, please."
"Oh, of course. Please wait for a while, Ms. Grey."
I nod. She turns her attention to a file cabinet and searches for what I assume is my schedule.
"Here we are. Your locker is besides your brother, Theodore's, as requested by him." She tells me as she hands me my schedule. Teddy requested our lockers be beside each other? Wow.
"Thank you, Miss," I quickly glance at the name plate, "Miss Lawson." I give her a warm smile and head off.
Hmmm. Should I visit my locker first? I check my schedule and I have English class first which starts in about 20 mins. I search for locker 608, which is conveniently located 3 classrooms away from my English class. I open it and to my surprise, there's a note inside.
I told you I'll always look after you.
Enjoy your locker, Phoebes!
-Teddy
I smile at the note and place some notebooks inside my locker. I close it and turn around to this group of girls passing by me giving me the stink eye. Ugh. I shake my head and start walking with my head down. Suddenly, someone crashes into me and I fall on my bottom to the floor. "Ow," I wince. I hear laughter from behind. Great. Just what I needed. I look up to see who this jerk that ran me over was.
"Oh, crap! Are you okay? I'm so sorry," this strangers green eyes meet mine. He quickly gathers my things and gets up while I'm frozen there trying to analyze what happened. He walks towards me and extends his hand. I look up and take it, and he helps me stand up. "I'm so sorry." His voice filled with worry.
"I'm fine." I mutter.
He reads my schedule with my satchel in his hands. "Phoebe Grey, I presume. Seems like we have the same schedule." He grins. Wow. He's cute. Really cute.
"I'm Alex Marshall. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, I can think of better ways, Alex." I laugh as I shake his hand.
"Yeah… Sorry about that." He gives me a shy smile and hands me my things. I sling my satchel on my left shoulder and run my hand through my hair.
"Err… Can I walk you to class?" he asks, running his hand through his dark brown hair.
I nod and he grins at me.
"Would you err… want to have lunch with me later? I can show you around." He asks, almost nervously.
"Err… sure. Why not? After all, you're the first person I've met so far." I laugh.
"Great. So it's a date!" he grins as we approach the classroom.
He takes his seat in class while I hand the teacher, Mr. Williams, my schedule. Strangely, Alex puts his bag on the vacant seat beside him.
"Class, please take your seats." Mr. Williams says. Mr. Williams looks like he's in his mid-twenties. Pinstriped shirt that's tucked in his black slacks, black leather shoes, blonde hair and hazel eyes. Wow. Even the teachers here are seemingly attractive. "Everyone, this is Phoebe Grey. Miss Grey will be joining our class. Alexander, I assume you've met. Please look after Miss Grey. Her aunt is an acquaintance of mine." He says to Alex. Alex nods and grins in response. "Miss Grey, please take your seat beside Mr. Marshall." I nod and walk to my seat. I feel everyone's sharp gaze at me while I get settled.
I look to my right and Alex is looking at me intently. His eyes suddenly widen then he turns his attention forward. What was that about? I turn my attention back to Mr. Williams who is discussing the evolution of English Literature. I don't quite pay attention because I've already studied most of the material to be discussed in this level of education. I sigh. This is going to be a long day.
