It was finally the night before the first day of school and Anya had the most difficult time getting her mind to calm down. How will this place be like? Will she fit in with everybody, or will she stand out? Mercedes made it seem like she was getting worked up over nothing, but she hadn't really talked to anybody else her age since she moved out here nearly five weeks ago. Her tired and anxious mind eventually found what it needed to lull her to sleep, the girl hugging a pillow as the first glimpse of a dream to be when she was disturbed by a shrill cry. Annoyance was all she felt now as her bloodshot eye opened up and she groaned. Sammi was awake again.
In reality, Anya hasn't had a good night's rest in nearly three months, so this disturbance typically wouldn't have bothered her. Unfortunately she was in desperate need of rest because she knew she would have to rely on her brain to get her through with learning a new class schedule and layout of a school. Also, she hasn't been feeling all that well and feared that she might be coming down with a cold. That would suck. Not only would she be the new girl in school, she could possibly be that annoying person that constantly sneezed or coughed in the classroom. Before she settled into bed three hours ago, Mrs. Jones gave her some Nyquil to help her get to sleep and hopefully knock out any ill feelings she had. Drowsiness set in immediately and she just felt like she had been dipped in cement, weighing down the mattress with her body, but sleep didn't accompany it. When she was finally on the cusp of it she had to deal with a crying baby.
She really shouldn't complain as Mercedes had it worse After Grams and Mercedes' parents had the lengthy discussion about where Samantha should stay, the girl who was depressed without her baby girl, was called down and explained how serious motherhood was and that it wouldn't be simple. Anya wasn't there for this, but she was told by an overly exuberant Mer when she found out that she would be able to raise her little girl after all. That happened a week ago and since then the entire house was on the edge of sleep deprivation and crankiness due to the lack of sleep. Sammi was a fussy baby, adorable and fun when she wasn't bawling, but extremely irritable at all hours of the day.
Anya rolled over onto her stomach and pulled the bed sheets up to her under her chin, in hopes that if she were to get herself as comfortable as possible that she could trick herself into falling asleep even with the wails from the room over. Nope. Not even the beyond soft feather down comforter could help her now. She sat up, body swaying side to side as she got used to the new position. One of her feet dropped down to the floor, toes tracing the carpet as she readied herself to stand. With a push she wobbled forward and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand. Anya left her room, the hallway dark at the 2 o' clock hour of the night, and she went to Mer's door.
Her knuckles rapped against the hollow door that didn't contain the sounds of the baby inside. Mer opened it, holding Sammi, looking a right mess. As she should! After all this time it was a miracle that she could even function anymore. Anya extended her arms out as if she were about to take a sack of flour instead of a 3 month old baby. With much appreciation on the exhausted girl's mocha skinned face, she passed the wiggling baby over to Anya. She moved her tired body over to the rocking chair as Mer went downstairs to warm up some milk hoping in vain that the baby was just hungry.
Sammi's tiny hands opened and closed, shaking fiercely back and forth, with her cries. "What?" She asked quietly, drained from even trying to be sweet anymore. "Why are you crying? It's not like you don't get enough love here!" She normally didn't talk like this to Sammi but this was night 6 with the seemingly unhappy baby and she just wanted her to stop. She held her close and gently rocked, humming a random tune. It felt like the bags under her eyes were getting heavier, which sounded preposterous but it really did. It seemed that Sammi knew she was thinking about the dark circles under her eyes because a tiny fist came up and whacked her there. "Ow! Sammi!" She maneuvered the baby around so she could put her hand to her streaming eye. "Dangit. That really hurt." Stings and tears poured from her left eye and she rose to her feet. She bit down on her bottom lip hard to keep herself from cursing at the infant. It wasn't like she had planned to hit Anya in the face. Or did she?
She walked around the dimly lit room and stepped on a stuffed animal, nearly sprawling across the floor with Sammi. A bunch of lights splashed across the wall in front of her and, she had a quick heart attack moment when she thought she was about to bite it on the floor. It took much stumbling but she steadied the two of them. Anya kicked the stuffed Dream Lite turtle to the side. "Dream Lite my ass. You're job at comforting this crazy baby is a joke." She mumbled more unpleasant things to the turtle while Sammi struggled in her arms. When she felt all hope was lost, Mer appeared with a bottle and fresh swaddling cloths.
Anya handed her over, Sammi's hand stuck in her hair in a brutal tug of war battle between the two exhausted teen girls. Trying to pry her hands was difficult and she felt like maybe she'd just stand there for the rest of the night and pray that she could sleep while standing up. Mer teased the baby's lips with the rubber nipple from the bottle as she held onto Anya's hair for dear life. The cries softened and the baby took much interest in the new item that Mer pushed into her mouth. The pain Anya felt when her hair was tugged subsided and Sammi let go. The baby quietly fed on the bottle, sucking noises and faint music from the crib played a relaxing tune into the room. The girls looked at each other and Anya gave Mer a quick congratulatory kiss on the cheek before returning to her own room, practically collapsing sideways on the bed with her legs hanging off the edge of it.
Morning was hell. The sunlight hurt, the idea of getting up and taking a shower made her goan and the nerves she felt the night before about starting school made her physically ill. Her throat tickled slightly and she knew that the medicine she took the night before didn't help at all. Mrs. Jones opened the door to pester Anya out of bed, and if it was her own mother doing that she would have thrown something, anything at her to shut her up. "I think I'm going to die today." Anya spoke to the ceiling after Sheila left her to get ready. "Yes. I will die." Zapped of all energy and desire to get ready, she forced herself out of the cocoon she had made out of the blankets. "Ugggggh." she grumbled and moaned all the way to the bathroom, pressing her hand against the wall next to the door not sure if somebody was in there or not. She felt dizzy and disgusting. How was she to make a first good impression when all she wanted to do was punch anybody that said a single word to her?
She readied herself as quickly as possible and the shower she had before actually did help her wake up. The warm water practically washed away all of the ickiness and exhaustion she had woken up with. The night prior she had prepared for today and was now in front of the mirror adjusting the black clips she had placed into her thick brown hair to keep her long bangs from getting into her eyes. Anya rummaged through her purple makeup kit, picking out soft tones of grays and pinks to match the outfit she chose to wear on her first day of school. With a quick dusting of some icy blue eye shadow to lessen the brightness of the pink, a penciling of the shimmery black eyeliner and press of lips to blot the subtle pinkish lipstick she gave her reflection a warm smile making sure her makeup looked fine with a final lookover. Anya felt the first bits of actual excitement to get to school and meet people settle in over her like a freshly laundered sheet. She stepped away from the dresser mirror and took in the entire outfit she had put on. Her new pink and white Alpine sweater that Sheila and Marcus gave her for Christmas was oh so warm and quite adorable if she must say so herself. She loved how it fit on her body and thought the design was cutesy. Anya decided to match the baby pink in the sweater with a dark gray knit cap that had a white poofy little pom pom on top of it along with her favorite pair of white mittens which would keep her hands warm from the blistering cold. She wished she had a new coat to match this outfit, but her white wool one with the golden lining would look pretty great with what she had on. When everything was put together, her dark blue jeans tucked into her black, cotton lined boots she knew she was ready to tackle McKinley High School.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones both had to work that morning so Anya was left on her own to face the school principal. Sheila had enough time to drop her off at the front of the school and gave her an encouraging pep talk the whole drive there. Anya originally was to have Mercedes give her a tour of the school, but all changed with Sammi was taken in causing Mer to take time off from her classes to take care of the infant. The talk that Sheila gave her made Anya feel like she was a little girl that was about to attend her first day in elementary school. Even at this point she probably wouldn't have protested the motherly woman to take her hand and lead her inside the school, just like her own mother did all those years ago.
Students, in a daze from their winter holiday break, zombie walked into the large school shaking off powdery snow from their coats and jackets. The pristine hallways buzzed with chatter and groups of kids hugged and loudly talked about what they did during the holidays. Nobody paid her any mind and she didn't know whether to feel relief or hurt. It didn't take long for her to dwell on this as she was now in the front office. The paperwork that Principal Simpson mailed to her a week prior clutched in her trembling, damp hand as she explained who she was to the secretary. Papers were exchanged and she looked them over before announcing to the small Indian man standing in front of his desk who was in the middle of a morning stretch, or so it appeared that she was there to see him.
The man waved her in and Anya looked over at the secretary that gave her an assured smile. Anya hesitantly stepped inside the office with it's glass walls that faced out to the front of the office. She could see kids walking up and down the hall just beyond the receptionist's desk and Anya felt some relief that it wasn't shut off. She wasn't one to get claustrophobic, but she never really liked being in a small room closed off room, especially when she was this nervous.
"Have a seat, Miss MacPherson." The man said in a voice with a rather thick accent. She did as he instructed, placing her backpack and purse on the floor next to her foot. "First off, greetings and salutations from the McKinley Titans. You should fit in nicely here." He continued to speak, Anya straining to understand him. "It's a pleasure to have the exchange program between your school and our own. Your principal helped open up a way to save a good chunk of change by propositioning this idea during an online Scrabble game." Anya did not know what he was speaking about and honestly didn't want to inquire about it. "Now. Here is the map to our school, do not go into the red sections I have highlighted for you. Hoodlums spend their time there and we do not need to worry about our Canadian student to spend her time in the nurse's office." She pulled the map from the glossy surface of the desk and looked it over. Sure enough, there were a couple of small spots that were bright red and said 'Stay Out' on them. "Here is your class schedule and locker number and combination. You will be in the same classes with another student from your previous school. Imogen Moreno. She has already been by this morning and she is such a breath of fresh air with those tiny cat ears she worn to school." exclaimed the small man in the brown suit and black tie as he stood up behind his desk and extended his hand out to her. Anya followed his lead and did the same, giving him an uncertain handshake, as if she has just signed her life away. "May your days be ever so pleasant in our school. If there is ever a problem, figure out how to solve it yourself." Anya let go of his hand and gave him an absurd stare. "I'm only joking. The other girl was more into my sense of humor than you are." She gave him a nervous chuckle and retrieved her items from the floor, hurriedly leaving the office and out into the sea of students as the first bell was merely moments from ringing.
She barely made it into her seat when the bell brrnged. The teacher was behind his desk, not really in a hurry to start the lesson. Fellow students were either on their phones or talking amongst themselves. Anya had placed herself in the back of the classroom and slunk down. She was in the senior level History class and just stared at the various maps and pictures of historical figures that adorned the walls of the room. She felt like she blended in with the back of the room and realized that she was the only person still wearing her coat. The bashful girl, who was feeling out of place and alone, removed her coat one arm at a time, still looking towards the front of the room. When she moved her eyes out towards the window she saw a girl who fit the description that the principal gave and knew that she must be seeing the back of Imogen Moreno's head. Anya and Imogen didn't really talk much back at Degrassi. She had seen the girl around the halls and knew that she was close to Fiona. Actually, Fi and Imogen had been working on a Frostival Carnival before she left and now she wondered how that all turned out. She was more curious as to why she was here and not back in Toronto. There was an empty seat next to her and Anya considered relocating to it, just so she could have somebody to talk to instead of feeling like an isolated loser.
The history teacher was going over a book on his desk, lost in deep thought and Anya decided to hell with it. She gathered her backpack, coat and purse and moved up as quietly and stealthily as possible. The wooden chair creaked under her weight as she sat down and settled in. She halfway turned to say something to the fellow Canadian when the teacher decided that he would start the class instead of doing whatever it was he was doing for the past five minutes. Currently she was sideways in her seat, leaned forward, in a stance where she could easily speak to Imogen. Before she had a chance to turn around the girl next to her noticed that she was about to say something and she gave Anya a playful little wave. The cat ears, that practically blended into her hair, looked quite adorable and she wished she could wear something like that without feeling positively goofy. Anya returned the wave and mouthed out "Hi". Then she had no choice but to right herself in her desk and listen in for the remainder of the class.
History seemed like it was going to be difficult course for her to grasp. It required a ton of reading, which with her dyslexia, could make things rather tedious for her to do for long spans or time without getting a pounding headache. Why couldn't they just have textbooks in audio book format instead? It would make her life that much easier. They were relieved from the class by the bell and Anya finally had a chance to say hello to the girl next to her. "Hi. Finally." She said with a breathless laugh as she picked up her stuff. "I'm-" She started to say but was interrupted.
"You're Anya Marie MacPherson from Degrassi Community School. You were on the Spirit Squad and worked on the Anti-Grapevine with Chantay Black. My name is Imogen Moreno. Pleased to meet you." The girl, who was maybe an inch or two shorter than her, appeared to practically loom over Anya with how she knew her name and what she did in Degrassi. Anya took her hand into hers and shook it. Today seemed to be a day for handshakes.
"How did yo-" Once again she was cut off by the girl, who looked openly excited to have somebody to talk to.
"How great is this? You and me here in Ohio. It's like we are destined to be best friends. Best friends forever!" Her enthusiasm was contagious and Anya actually found herself chuckling at this. "What is your next class? Let's sit together and talk about anything and everything all at the same time!" Oh my. This was going to be something to get used to. The last time she had to deal with an energetic person this early in the morning was when her mother had one too many cups of coffee and made Anya reinact her favorite movie scene from Mommie Dearest. They were in the middle of doing laundry and her mother burst out into laughter when she picked up a wire hanger triggering the monologue request. That was one of those moments that she was so glad her mom was as big of a nut as she. Hell, she learned it from her.
Anya removed the slip of paper that contained her class schedule and read "Math" out loud. "I think Principal Figgens mentioned you and I will have similar schedules." She said slowly, reading over the rest of her day while Imogen busily chattered about how her day was going so far. Which Anya didn't know how she could talk so much about since they just finished their first class. Actually, it was quite refreshing to have somebody that was as happy as she was since home was up and down in the regards to moods.
The two girls walked out of the classroom together, Imogen hugging her school books close to her chest and Anya still with her backpack and coat drapped over her arm, moving slowly next to her. "Do you know where this class is? I'm still super lost here." She confessed, looking at the numbers above the doors. They continued to move down the center of the hall, students move along the sides of them as the two exchange students familiarized themselves with their new surroundings.
"Not a clue. We can make an adventure out of it. I can be the captain and you will be my navigator." She pretended to look through a spy glass around the hallway, which warranted her some strange looks from passer bys. Anya actually heard somebody mumble 'Freaky bitch.' under his breath and she shot him a rather dirty look. Even though she was new, there was nothing right about somebody calling a person a name, especially that one. Imogen didn't even seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't let it phase her. She continued on about what type of treasure they might find in the classroom when Anya realized she really needed to put her things into her locker. Luckily she knew that it was next to the History class they were just in and she kicked herself for not going to it right after they left the room. Oh well.
"Hey. I'll, uh, I'll meet you there. Alright? Save me a seat." Anya said with a smile and Imogen nodded her head in approval.
"See you soon, Anya Marie MacPherson." With that the girl, with the cat ears and brown hair in a few tight buns turned and headed into the direction of their math classroom and if Anya hadn't been looking closely, she would have missed that the girl was actually skipping.
She turned and headed back the way they had come, trying to race against the clock. A few kids pushed past her as they tried to hurry to their classrooms as well. She neared her locker when she heard somebody's laugh. It wasn't a laugh that was directed towards her, but more of a warm, sincere chuckle that actually made her stop in her tracks. She looked around, in search of the source when her eyes fell upon a rather handsome looking blonde boy who was leaning against a one of the locker. He was in the middle of a conversation, another laugh escaping him as he slapped his friend on the back of the shoulder with what she assumed was a form of approval for whatever topic they were discussing. Anya couldn't help but stare at him. There was something in his relaxed nature that really spoke out to her and she found herself drawn to him. He was wearing a white and red letterman jacket, so it was safe to assume he played sports. His blonde hair, which had fallen over his eyes as he laughed was quickly shaken back with a reflexive toss of his head that she actually felt her heart skip a beat. She had no idea who he was and was completely unaware that she was standing in the middle of the hallway gawking, until somebody came up behind her and rudely asked her to get out of the way. She snapped out of her trance and turned around to see a hulky guy give her an impatient look. It was the same person that called Imogen that nasty name. "Are you just going to stand there, shorty? Do you need me to move you myself?" He bellowed and Anya stepped to the side and frowned down at the ground. That didn't take long, she thought to herself, her cheeks red with embarrassment. When she looked back up to where the blonde boy was standing before she noticed him glancing back at her. She diverted her eyes quickly, feeling even more like a fool and hurried to her locker to drop off her things, unable to get the boy, who was smirking back at her moments before, out of her mind.