Back again. Well, this honestly came out longer than I intended. Flashback mode alert. Told you to pay attention to the date.
Response to anon reviewer Oompa Loompa: adfojaofjeaoj;...I know I know! DX I'm sorry!
Anyway, apologies for any typos, grammatical/spelling errors. Did not proofread again, what a surprise.
enjoy!
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Chapter 2:
Junior Year
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"See you." Cloud muttered, rolling up the window before I could respond. He pressed the gas, making the engine rumble loudly. With a flushed face, I spun around to see if anyone heard. They did.
I knew I stuck out like a sore thumb. The new girl from Twilight Town, big shot city, moving to somewhere as empty and close-knitted as Destiny Islands. I was pretty sure those things were running through people's heads as they watched me scurry to the entrance. Or at least what I hoped was the entrance.
I held my book to my chest, looking cautiously around the cacophony resounding through the hallway. Admittedly, it scared me a little. Girls giggled into their phones, as they shot the raucous boys a sultry look. A boy with long spiky hair, in particular, pounded against the nearest locker with his drumsticks, grinning maliciously at me. I shrunk away, gripping the book tighter.
Things were definitely not like this at my old school. In fact I was pretty sure at my old school, every single one these hooligans would be suspended. Where on earth was the principal?
The office door came into view, like a beacon of light in this crazy jungle. I hurriedly rushed to it. However, I did not anticipate, running into an object that popped out of nowhere. Okay that might have been a lie. Considering that this was a raging jungle, it was safe to say I should've expected running into something.
Fiery, cherry red hit me in the face. My book spilled over the floor.
"Watch where you're…" The voice stopped uneasily.
I glanced from beneath my eyelashes to find a very flushed looking redheaded girl. She matched the color of her hair. Big, dark, blue eyes widened in embarrassment, as I continued to study the girl, who visibly shrunk.
After what felt like an hour of the unrelenting staring, I bent down to pick up my book, but the girl quickly kicked it so that it toppled over a few feet away.
"Watch where you're going loser." She finished her earlier statement, pushing past me. I wasn't sure if I was more shocked or worried about the state she left my book in. I crouched down to pick up my book, inspecting it for any damages.
When I found none, I quickly brought it to my chest, gazing in the direction the girl walked away.
That certainly never happened at my old school. The most controversial thing that happened at my school was a boy getting suspended for pasting a kick me sign behind a poor unsuspecting freshman.
I was aware of the eyes that fell on me as I picked up my book. I was aware of the snickering and laughing. It felt strange – obviously. And it left me apprehensive. How does one even react to these kinds of things?
With a small huff, I stood up and continued my trek to the main office. My face was burning in shame by the time I reached the door and escaped the laughing students. I coughed, placing a cold, clammy palm against my boiling cheek, willing it to cool off.
The receptionist lady eyed me warily, as I continued to hold my face stupidly. I moved my hand away in an instant. I smiled sheepishly, before walking up to the desk.
"Hi –"
"Naminé Strife?"
I nodded. The receptionist looked away, and turned her attention to the computer in front of her. She began typing away at it like a madwoman. Her lips pulled downward in distaste.
"We've been expecting you."
Well, that wasn't creepy at all.
"You have?" I muttered out uneasily. The receptionist lady fixed her glasses that were falling off the bridge of her nose, finally looking up.
"I'm printing out your schedule." She answered offhandedly. I waited uncomfortably, my eyes taking in the office. It was cramped. The desks looked a couple of years old. The floral wallpaper was chipping at the edges of the ceiling. The only thing that looked relatively new was the computer; the receptionist was hacking away at.
The bell rang, making me jump.
"You can take a seat." She gestured towards the dingy chairs by the door. I tightened the strap of my bag, moving over towards the chair and sitting down. "The printer has a habit of acting up." She said from behind the desk. I didn't bother responding. The metal wired basket was in the way, anyway.
I toyed with the pages of my book, for what felt like a good ten minutes. Wuthering Heights. It was sort of my go-to book. The perfect book to get your mind off of stressful things – like the first day of school.
The door creaked open, breaking my attention from the book. A boy with spiky brown hair walked into the office, carrying a sheet of paper.
"The internet's down, so I've got the attendance here." He called out to the receptionist, waving the piece of paper in her face. She glared at him irritatingly, pointing to the wired basket. The boy shot her a huge grin, setting the paper down.
"It's too early in the morning for this." She muttered, rising from her seat. "Oh, before you go, I need you to escort Naminé to her classes." She stopped at the printer, where my schedule was conveniently printing. Once it was done, she whipped it out and handed it to him.
He stared at the paper, his smile fell a fraction of an inch, before he turned to look at me. His light blue eyes fell on me, raking me in. I felt a small flush form on my face. There was something in his eyes that made me uncomfortable.
I coughed, getting up from my seat.
"I guess." He mumbled.
"That's um, okay, I think I can do it myself." I answered.
"In that case –"
"-Hey." The receptionist interrupted warningly. He sighed.
"Fine, come on." He waved for me to follow him. I glanced at the receptionist, who was back in front of her computer. I let out a small sigh, following the brunet boy out the door.
The hallways were empty, as he walked through them, backpack slung over his jerseyed back. The name Highwind was imprinted against the bright, red jersey. I inspected his slender form, as I tried to keep up with him.
"You're new here, huh?" He asked, without turning around. I fought to catch up.
Isn't it obvious?
"Yes," I responded.
"I'm Sora Highwind," he introduced himself, stopping and turning around. He held his hand out for me to shake which I did. It was a hard grip. "I'm quarterback of the football team."
I couldn't help but think he was showing it off – his status. Admittedly, it kind of bothered me. I didn't bother to tell him though. He looked like the type of person who didn't listen, anyway.
"I'm Naminé Strife."
"Well, Naminé Strife, looks like you're in my first period class." He said, gazing down at my schedule, which, might I add, I still had not looked at. I reached for the door, but the brunet lunged forward stopping my hand.
"What is it?"
"Naminé, you're the newbie here. So people are going to pay you special attention. If you play your cards right, you'll be popular, like me." He said hurriedly. "But, if you make a slip you'll go down."
"Are you trying to help me?" I asked suspiciously. Sora leaned back against the wall, a small smirk on his face.
"Well, I can't let a cute girl get labeled as a loser on her first day, now can I?"
Yes, that's what it was. He seemed cocky. And I didn't like it. At all.
I hid my disgusted frown,
I opened the door walking in to what looked like a math class. What seemed like every head in that classroom, turned in my direction. Some of the gazers were the people that laughed at me in the hallway. My face immediately flushed as I realized this.
And as if to make things worse, that redhead girl who called me a loser was sitting in the seat nearest the door.
Her deep, dark blue eyes narrowed as she recognized me. Her fingers clenched around the pen in her hand, and her body stiffened. Her cherry hair was carefully pinned back in a tight ponytail, bangs parted to the side. I held her gaze for what felt like hours.
It was odd how everything just suddenly became muffled and blurry, except for the vivid image that was her. I didn't know what to do. Her gaze was heavy and loaded, and it made me tremble. The book in my hand was threatening to topple over again.
I was only half-aware of Sora brushing past me, and taking the empty seat next to the redhead. It wasn't until I saw his arm hang loosely around the back of her chair. I blinked out of the stupor I was in. The redhead, however, was still staring at me intensely. It was… distracting.
"Hey, Kairi," he greeted, throwing his bag on the desk. Kairi. I mused, thoughtfully. Kairi. It sounded pleasant in my head. Almost too pleasant, for the seemingly unpleasant girl glaring at me.
"What took you so long?" She snapped, her tone was sharp and made the brunet cringe. His bright smile melted away, as he glanced from Kairi to me. His eyebrows were furrowed in distress. And for some reason, I had a slight inkling to what he was thinking – or rather what he was trying not to do.
"I had to deliver the fresh meat." Sora snickered spitefully, nodding his head in my direction. That caught me off guard. The way his whole cheery demeanor seemed to have flipped. I mean, I knew he seemed like a pompous show off, but I thought he was at least nice. The girl, Kairi, smiled maliciously.
Perhaps, the whole popularity thing at this school was as bad as Sora's haircut.
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Sora did not show me the rest of the way to my classes. That, I kind of had to figure out by myself. From the way he was glued to Kairi, I came to the conclusion that he liked her. It was blatantly obvious. Kairi, on the other hand, was a little harder to figure out.
I didn't bother with them though. Despite the fact that I shared two more classes with them.
It was also blatantly obvious that I was new.
One or two people, out of pity I assume, came up to me and pointed the direction I was supposed to go.
On one of these occasions, a group of girls stopped in front of me. I immediately recognized the redhead from my first period class. Kairi was staring at me with a cold expression, as one other chocolate haired girl stepped forward.
"Hey, new girl." The brunette greeted in a not so friendly way. She introduced herself, along with the rest of the girls that I suddenly became aware of, surrounding me. I forgot all of them by the time she was done. "Where are you from?"
I blinked, feeling my hands turn clammy against my book.
"Um, Twilight Town." I answered. Kairi moved from her spot, pushing the girl out of the way. She stood in front of me proudly, hands on her hips. It was then that I noticed the red cheerleading uniform. My eyes swept over the crisp top, stopping to observe the golden stitched C, on the right side.
I didn't have any problems with cheerleaders. Cheerleaders were cool. Well, at my old school. Hollywood had royally screwed up the image of cheerleaders, giving them bad name. And, I'll admit after having a marathon of Bring It On with Cloud, I had a change of heart.
But from the looks of the girls – their posture, and attitude, I had a sudden realization that maybe those clichéd movies were right for once.
"Twilight Town?" She sneered. "Do people over there even get any sun? You look like a vampire."
The other girls snickered in response to the redhead. She looked at me triumphantly. I felt my face flush in frustration. I was aware of my pasty complexion. I didn't need people to remind me, either.
"Oh, perhaps. It's all real though. There's no need for fake tans or hair dye back home." I responded coolly. Kairi's eyes narrowed, as her face turned red. The other girls took a moment to realize what I just said was insulting.
"You think you're funny?" The brunette beside Kairi demanded. I backpedaled. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said that. I could be such a doormat when I wanted to be. And right now, my head was telling me to collapse and lay flat on the floor. "Huh?"
"N-no.."I stammered out, finally feeling outnumbered and surrounded.
"Come on Selphie," Kairi spoke up suddenly. The girl – Selphie – glared at me, before nodding her head. The group pushed past me, each one had the decency to shoulder me as they walked by.
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When I walked into my Chemistry class, I was early. I introduced myself to the teacher, who showed me my assigned seating. When people started flowing in, and Kairi herself walked in, I swear the blood drained out of my face. The redhead stopped, alarmed, when she spotted me.
An angry flush formed on her face, as she stormed up to me and plopped down on the seat next to mine. It was silent, before I decided to break it.
"Hi, I'm really sorry -" I started.
"-Shut up," she snapped, pulling out her binder from her bag. I flinched at her hostility. The whole of fifth period went on in uncomfortable silence.
Kairi even angled her chair in the opposite direction. As if I wasn't there. I knew I shouldn't have expected much, especially after the angry look she gave me in first period. It still left me slightly miffed.
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The week went by. Kairi's attitude didn't fade away. The cheerleaders didn't bug me – didn't talk to me since the first day. However, they kept eyeing me weirdly. Almost like they were sizing me up. It unnerved me, and for some reason I got the feeling that they were plotting.
I was alone most of the time. The few friendly people seemed to have drifted away from me.
I set my bag down, as I watched the nearest group of people scoot away from me at the lunch table. Perhaps drifted away wasn't the precise way to describe their behavior. The students immediately picked up their trays and hurried away.
Yep. They were avoiding me.
Did I have something on my face?
I mulled the thoughts over as I pulled out my sandwich packed in my bag. I took one sniff of it and cringed. I felt a twinge of annoyance as I unwrapped the sandwich from the plastic. The smell of mayonnaise hit my nose in an instant. I nearly gagged.
My mother – sometimes she was so scatterbrained she never realized she put mayonnaise in her daughter's sandwiches. I despised mayonnaise.
With a huff, I rose from my seat, picking up the ham and cheese catastrophe, making a move towards the trashcans. As I dumped it in the trash, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me. I lifted my head, suddenly feeling paranoid. Yes, someone was watching, in fact, the entire population that was within a ten foot radius stared at me. Some looked shocked, others shot me a sympathetic look, and a few were even laughing.
I felt my face heat up in an instant. Because everyone was looking at me. Did I really have something on my face?
I bowed my head and scurried to my bag, praying to god that I remembered to pack a mirror. Except my bag wasn't there. I whipped around, surveying the rest of the benches. Maybe I got the wrong bench. Maybe it was the yellow one. Maybe –
My thoughts – along with the rest of my body – froze as I caught the group of cheerleaders migrating back inside the hallway. And in the brunette cheerleader's hand was none other than my bag. They disappeared behind the door by the time I shook some sense into myself.
I chased after them.
If it hadn't been for their loud laughter echoing throughout the empty hallway, I wouldn't have been able to keep up. A few turns, and I was in the indoor pool room.
A cold shiver ran down my spine, as I glanced at the ominous water. Fear spread throughout my body in less than a second. It could have been because I was terrified of water. Because I couldn't swim and almost drowned when I was about seven. Or it could've been because Kairi Lockhart was smirking at me, holding my bag out, threatening to drop it into the crystal clear abyss.
I couldn't find my voice. Even when the brunette huffed impatiently and knocked the bag out of the redhead's hand. Even when the zipper ripped open, spilling out most of my belongings. Pencils, my binder, random sheets of paper, and my copy of Wuthering Heights floated around helplessly.
Kairi's smirk fell, as she scooped my bag from the pool, flinging it to the side.
"Selphie!" She scolded. Her voice sounded strangled a she continued to berate the shorter girl. I was only half aware of the yelling. A loud pounding in my ears blocked out most of the voices. Dizzily, I realized that it must have been my heavy footsteps as I ran to the edge of the pool.
My book floated towards the center of the blasted rectangular evil device. I wanted to scream. I wanted to jump in and grab it. Most of all I wanted to cry. It was silly, yet it was so appropriate that I allowed it. I allowed the hot, thick tears to build and spill over. I allowed the low whimper, and shallow breathing.
My hands trembled as I grabbed my bag. This action made the cheerleaders freeze. They waited – for something. Anything. Retaliation.
Instead, I did the most cowardly thing a person could do. I ran away.
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The dismissal bell rang, but I stayed put. I felt like a gargoyle statue on the auditorium stage.
After blurrily running through the hallway, I'd found a perfect place to have a meltdown. I tried to find humor in my statement but I couldn't. Even if this place was empty, it wasn't comforting. Being alone wasn't comforting.
I didn't even have friends to cry with.
I curled my legs inward, feeling the tears sting at my eyes. It was horrible. It was so horrible. Why were people so mean? What did I ever do to them?
The smirk on her face still burned into my memory. There wasn't an ounce of remorse. Was she even human? I hated her. NO, well, I wanted to hate her. But, there really isn't any kind of place for hate inside. I was never an angry person. And in this case, I was sure I wasn't going to hate her either.
I sniffled against my sweater sleeve. My fingers carefully wiped my already puffy eyes. I probably looked like a drowning cat. It was kind of pathetic, and I felt so ashamed about it. How was I even supposed to show my face after this?
It didn't make a difference. I would never fit in at this school. They made that certain the moment they dropped all of my things in the pool.
I could feel my eyes tearing up angrily as I thought of it. That satisfied smirk that adorned the redhead's lips. Or the smug expressions on the faces of the rest of her crew as they watched me desperately scramble for my stuff. I didn't manage to recover most of my things. My eyes glanced towards the sopping wet bag lying helplessly beside me. It wasn't like it mattered. Everything in that bag wasn't that important.
Well, everything except for my book. I frowned, the moisture brimming over the rims of my eyes. And it was my favorite book too. A surge of frustration billowed deep in my chest. The book. My book.
It was probably a shipwreck anchored to bottom of the pool. Even if I could get someone to grab it… it would be useless.
I couldn't happily wallow in my depressed state, because in the next second, the auditorium door swung open. A small figure stepped through the doorway. I was tempted to apologize for being in the empty, until I caught a glimpse of the deep, cherry color.
I rose from my seat defensively, in an instant.
Kairi Lockhart, in her horribly graceful glory, nervously walked down the aisle of seats. My body stiffened, glancing from her to my soaked belongings drying out on the stage.
"W-what do you want?" I demanded suspiciously. I tried to sound angry, but I was pretty sure it wasn't louder than a small squeak. Her blue eyes glanced up towards me. It shocked me that there wasn't a hint of malice in her expression. In fact, she looked…apologetic?
Her bottom lip tucked beneath her teeth apprehensively, as she shifted uncomfortably. Her fingers toyed with the end of her perfect red ponytail. Her pristine Nike's kicked the floor lightly. I almost wanted to stop her – from getting her shoes scuffed. But that was stupid.
"I-I um, well," she struggled. It was odd and almost unnatural hearing her sound so uncertain. It was weird – not hearing the irritation and superiority lacing her voice.
The girl's face flushed, as I stared at her warily.
"I just, um," she paused, before reaching into her bag and pulling something battered from the front flap. "I wanted to return this to you."
It took me a moment to realize that the battered thing she was holding out for me was my book. It looked like a roll of newspaper someone left out in the rain, and decided to bring it back inside the next day. Obviously she tried drying it with something. And obviously she tried to tape the edges.
It – confused me. And it sent me even deeper into my defensive mode.
"Is this a joke?" I sputtered out unattractively. I even had the decency to peer around her shoulder, expecting one of her followers to pop out with a video camera.
"No, no it's not!" She exclaimed, taking a step closer to the stage. I, in turn, shrunk away. "I mean, I just… I didn't mean for this to happen. I never meant to hurt you."
Oh, yeah right, I thought angrily. But I held my tongue. Because I don't think I could've voiced my thoughts even if I wanted to.
"I just – here." She stammered, throwing the book at me. I flinched, as it hit me and fell on the floor. Kairi gaped at me in horror. She quickly scrambled to the edge of the stage in a flurry of what seemed to be embarrassment. "No, I didn't mean that. You were supposed to catch it."
I blinked, watching her ramble, too confused to say anything. She brought a hand to rest on her already crimson face.
"I'm sorry." She choked. My eyes narrowed as I studied her, looking for any insincerity behind her apology. When I shockingly found none, I slowly bent down to pick up my book.
I peered down at it, preparing for the worst. And "worst" it was. The pages were stiff, like tortilla chips. I could still smell a faint chlorine scent as I looked through the already yellowing smeared pages.
My heart sunk. It would've been futile to try to read it now. The words were blotched out.
"I can't read this." I whispered out, without realizing it. I glanced at the redhead, hoping she did not hear me. Bu the disappointed look on her face told me otherwise. The sinking feeling felt worse when I saw her face. It was inexplicable – the amount of something (I couldn't quite put my finger on), I felt when I saw her expression.
I sighed heavily, bending down to retrieve my wet bag. I cringed as I felt it soaking through my shirt. I hopped off the stage pausing next to the redhead, who looked like a kid that found out Christmas was cancelled.
I shuffled awkwardly. "Um, thanks."
I left without another word, the battered copy of Wuthering Heights clutched tightly at my side.
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Well there's some thoughts to mix around your head. Reviews are lovely, by the way ;)
