By the time Candice and Alex got to Mr. Cole's class, the bell had rung and class was beginning. When they walked through the door, all eyes in the room were on them as they came in.
"New year and you're already being tardy, Hardy?" snapped Mr. Cole.
"I-I'm really sorry Mr. Cole, b-but I was helping Candice here make her way to class. I'll go to my seat now." Alex said, stammering.
"So you're the new student to join my class? Well, come to the front of the room and introduce yourself to the class." Mr. Cole said.
Sighing, Candice walked to the front of the room.
"Well, for starters, my name is Candice Beckman. I moved here from Milwaukee over the summer. And, I like singing as a hobby. That's me in a nutshell. If you want to know more, just ask." Candice said.
"OK. Now that we've taken of introductions, Candice go sit in the desk next to Alexis in the back." Mr. Cole said.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Candice went to go sit beside her new friend.
"That's some luck. Mr. Cole put you back here with me and my other friends." Alex said smiling.
"Yeah. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was anywhere else in the room." Candice said smiling back, causing Alex to blush slightly.
"Candice! Welcome to the dark side." Kaitlyn said in a spooky voice.
AJ laughed. "Yeah. Like Kaitlyn said, welcome to the 'dark side', so to speak."
"Guys, we're being rude. Candice, we have two other friends in here with us too." Alex said. Motioning to her left, Alex said, "Candice, these are two of our other best friends. John, Melina, this is Candice."
"Hey Candice. Nice to meet you. I'm Melina, like Alex just said." Melina said smiling.
"And I'm John, but some of my friends call me JoMo." John said smiling as well.
"Nice to meet you guys t-"
"Quiet down in the back you six! Don't make me separate you already!" Mr. Cole snapped.
"Sorry Mr. Cole!" chorused the six friends.
"What's his deal?" Candice whispered.
"It's just the 'Mr. Cole curse'. We have no clue why, but he just doesn't seem to like us or anyone else in our group of friends. Maybe it's because we're not afraid to be different and fun, while he's a stick in the mud." Kaitlyn shrugged.
"Oh. Reminds me of one of my teachers back in Milwaukee that would snap on me and my old friends for talking about anime during class." Candice said.
Before Candice knew it, she had five pairs of eyes on her.
"What is it guys? Was it something I said?" Candice asked mildly confused.
"Umm, it's just…well…it isn't that often that people actually admit to liking anime and other stuff like it openly. Most people think it's pervy trash, so most fans of the stuff hide their love of it." Alex said.
"I can already tell you're going to fit in nicely with everyone else in our circle Candice." Melina said laughing.
"Totally. As long as you don't say the main serieses you like are ones like Naruto and Vampire Knight. Seems like everyone is into those animes." John said.
Smiling and laughing, Candice talked the rest of the period with her newly made friends until the bell began to ring signaling the end of first period.
"So Candice, what's your next class?" Melina asked.
"Umm, next I have English with Mr. Adamle and then my third period is Aerobics with Ms. Saeed." Candice said.
"Awesome. We have the same class together next. You have third period same time Alex and John do, so that's cool too." Melina said smiling.
"Yeah. I guess it is. Maybe you could show me how to get to Mr. Adamle's class." Candice said.
"Sure thing. See you guys at lunch. Bye JoMo." Melina said, kissing John.
"See you at lunch Melina." Alex, AJ, John, and Kaitlyn said.
When Melina and Candice walked into Mr. Adamle's class, Candice had to do the same thing she did in Mr. Cole's class.
"Now, Ms. Beckman, take the seat between Melina and Michelle." Mr. Adamle said, pointing to Candice's new seat.
When Candice sat down, she smiled over at Melina, but at the same time, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she looked over to see that the person trying to get her attention was a girl with long blonde hair. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a pair of heels.
"Hi. My name is Michelle. Welcome to Union Pines, Candice. What are you doing being friends with the freak to your left?" Michelle asked.
Melina frowned in Michelle's general direction and flipped her off.
'Freak? Does she mean Melina?' Candice kept thinking while English went on. By the time the bell rang to end second period, Melina leaped up from her seat, grabbed Candice by the arm and pulled her out of the classroom.
"What the hell was that all about in there? Why was Michelle calling you a freak?" Candice asked Melina.
"Because…OK. Believe it or not, Michelle used to be a member of our circle. But then when we started middle school, she started to turn into a class A hormonal bitch. Ever since sixth grade, she's been acting like a bitch towards me and John and AJ and Kaitlyn and Alex and everyone else." Melina spat out angrily.
Hearing Melina say this made Candice curious, but also a little mad at the same time. But she decided she would ask about it later.
"Hey Melina. Do you think you could show me where the gym is? I have to get there for Aerobics next?" Candice asked breaking the silence.
"Sure. I don't really have a third period next, so I'll probably sit in the bleachers." Melina said.
Once Candice and Melina got in the gymnasium, Alex and John were already with their class. John saw Candice and waved her over and Melina took a seat in the bleachers after telling Ms. Saeed she was just there to watch.
"Hey John, hey Alex." Candice said, when she made her way over to her friends.
"Hi Candice." John and Alex said at the same time.
Ms. Saeed called for the class to be quiet and after spending 30 minutes talking about what they were going to be doing in Aerobics, the class spent the rest of their day talking amongst themselves.
"So Candice, how'd you enjoy Adamle's class?" John asked.
"It was fine, until some motormouth blonde started talking to me and called Melina a freak." Candice said.
"Who's the blonde, babe?" John asked Melina.
"That bitch Michelle McCool. She called me 'freak', even though I was near her, and then she had the nerve to try to talk to Candice like nothing happened." Melina said, fuming.
Hearing Melina mention Michelle made Alex go slightly pale. No one noticed it until Candice looked over and saw her.
"Alex. Are you okay?" Candice asked worriedly.
Hearing Candice snapped Alex out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I was…uh…just thinking about something. No big deal." Alex said smiling.
Candice was about to ask Alex if she was really feeling fine, but she was interrupted by the bell dismissing their class to lunch.
"Finally! Now we can go eat at last!" John said.
"Babe, if you eat any more, you're gonna swell up like a ballon." Melina laughed. "You want to come with us Candice? You can meet all of our other friends too."
"Sure thing. Let's go." Candice said smiling. She quickly put away any thoughts she had of questioning Alex further away at the prospect of making more friends. All Candice hoped for now was making a good impression on her future friends.
Candice's day seems to be going well. She's already made two more friends, but unfortunately, she's also encountered her first enemy as well. What will happen when she meets the rest of Alex's friends? Stay tuned for Chapter 3. =)