"Well, this is it. No going back now," I thought to myself, an envelope clutched tightly in my hands. I looked up at the entrance to Degrassi Community School, where I would be beginning my Senior Year the next day. But I had a feeling that nothing was going to go as planned...

With a heavy sigh, I walked inside the building, walking toward the principal's office. Grams had explained I was supposed to meet with Mr. Simpson, the principal, at 4:30, and according to my watch, I was 15 minutes early. Hopefully I could meet with him and head back home. My day had been long already, and if this meeting ran long, I figured I would lose my mind.

I walked into the office and spoke to the receptionist. "Excuse me, I have an appointment with Mr. Simpson," I said. She nodded and picked up the phone, informing Mr. Simpson of my arrival. The door behind her desk opened, and a tall man walked out. "Ah, you must be Daniella Colvin," he said with a smile. "Come in, come in." He ushered me into his office, and I politely followed behind.

He motioned for me to take a seat at his desk, and I did so as I looked him over. He was tall, he was baled and had a clean shaven face. All in all, not what you'd expect a principal to look like. He gave me a smile and began to talk about Degrassi, and what was expected of me as a student. It was pretty much common sense stuff: don't cross any lines, keep your nose clean, and you'd be alright.
"Now, I believe on the phone your grandmother told me that you were home-schooled?" he asked. I nodded and handed him the note that explained everything. After reading it over, he placed it in my file and gave me another smile, along with my schedule.

"Well, that's about it. Welcome to Degrassi, Ms. Colvin," he shook my hand and opened his office door, letting me step out before him. I gave him and his receptionist a smile and walked out into the hallway, looking down at my schedule. It didn't seem to be too complicated, and thankfully I didn't have to do gym. But then again, Grams wouldn't allow it, and I was thankful for that much.

I saw my locker number at the top of the paper and figured I might as well try to find it while no one else was here. I began going down the first hallway, looking around. It seemed like a normal school, classrooms, a cafeteria, library, gym, the usual stuff. It'd been a long time, almost four years, since I'd been in a public school, but it felt like just yesterday now that I was walking the halls of Degrassi.
I finally found my locker, number 214 on the second hallway. I turned the dial with my combination and it clicked open. On the inside, I pulled a picture out of my messenger bag along with a roll of tape, and put the it on the inside of the door. Stepping back, I looked at the photo: two children, a boy and girl, smiling happily over a Pokemon birthday cake with six candles sticking out of the top. Written in red and purple icing were the words "Happy Birthday Corey and Danni"...

I smiled and kissed my fingers, putting them over the face of the little boy. "Well Corey, looks like you can go through Senior Year with me after all," I said quietly. Corey was my twin brother. He passed away shortly after the picture was taken, his life cut short by a battle with Leukemia too advanced for him to overcome. Though by looking at the picture, you'd have never known he was sick. His bright blue eyes shown like little sapphires, and his face appeared so happy...
I had to wipe the tears from my eyes, glad no one was around to see me like this. I hated when people saw me cry: I'd rather keep up a front than to let people see my true emotions. With a quick look at the picture one last time, I shut the locker and sighed. I was ready to go home.

Before I could take a step, I heard voices, the sound of a splash, and laughter. Thinking I might have been losing it, I walked around the corner to see a girl and a guy standing beside each other, looking up at the second floor stairwell. The girl's shirt looked wet, and she looked embarrassed. I guessed someone just pelted her from above, and that the guy might have just seen. I usually wouldn't try and get involved in something like this, but I knew how embarrassing stuff like that could be.

I walked over, pulling my dark blue hoodie out of my bag and going to hand it to the girl. "Here," I said, handing it to her. "Just in case you want to change." I went to walk past, but the guy's voice spoke out, "Danni?" I turned around, not believing my ears. "Sav?" I asked, now recognizing him. I hadn't seen him in years, and a smile crossed my face as he came up and gave me a huge hug.

"It's so good to see you," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "How have you been?" We parted, and I took a good look at him. The last time I had seen Sav, we were in our freshman year back at Lakehurst High School, before it burned down. He had grown up a lot since then, and I was glad to know I was going to have a friend at Degrassi.

"I've been alright," I replied, "Grams home-schooled me up until this year. You know, being all protective until I begged her to let me finish out my last year in a real high school." He nodded, "Well, I'm glad you'll be here. Degrassi's nothing like Lakehurst." He then turned to the girl whom I'd given my hoodie to. "This is Anneliese Tasker. She's new to Degrassi too. Anneliese, this is my friend Danni Colvin." I extended my hand and she did the same, "Nice to meet you," I said with a smile. "You too," she replied, smiling warmly. "Thanks for this," she continued, holding up my hoodie.

"It's cool," I replied, "I have a hundred of them, you can keep that one. At least you won't have to walk around with a wet shirt. In fact," I continued, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"
"Holly J. happened," Sav explained, and I tisked in disgust, "Typical," I replied, my hatred for Holly J. rushing back as if it never left. She and I used to hate each other, and I was glad I hadn't seen her do this to Anneliese, or I would have gotten kicked out of school before I even started. "Trust me, you're better to stick with Sav than go anywhere near Holly J. She's the typical Alpha Bitch: Challenge her; she'll cut you to bits. Although," I continued, rubbing my chin and looking Anneliese over. "You might be the one person who could whip her ass and hand it to her on a silver platter."

That made her crack a smile, and I was glad to see she seemed pretty laid back. I had a feeling I could become good friends with her, if she hung around me and Sav. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," she replied, tugging the hoodie over her head. "The next time I see that bitch, I'm gonna slap her back to last week."

I laughed a little. "Well, I'd love to stick around, but I have band practice. I'll catch you guys tomorrow, ok?" I flashed them both a smile and then gave Sav a smirk, "And if you see Holly J., let her know I'm back in the fold. I'm sure that'll bring her down a few notches off the ego meter."

I made my way out of the building, walking down the sidewalk toward home. I pulled my MP3 player from my pocket and started playing My Savior by Dead by April, the song I used to clear my mind.
Just as I came to a crosswalk, I happened to look up and saw a hearse coming down the road. A chill ran down my spine as it came closer to me, and it slowed down to go the 35 mph speed limit. This allowed me to get a good look at the driver, a guy my age...he had dark brown hair, cut emo style, and eyes to match. He seemed to stare straight through me as he drove pass me, then snapped his head back and slammed on the gas, speeding away.

The scary thing was? It was when the lyrics "I'm free, you are my savior," played when his eyes met mine...and that unforgettable chill hit me, making me mutter, "Damn...I want my hoodie back..."