Early morning of Summer at North Shore High School was crowded, even boisterous. Several school buses stopped as students walked off from them. Several cars even parked as parents dropped their teenaged children off to school, bidding them goodbye while the teens would merely waved back or reply with short goodbye. Including the newbie.
A young girl with reddish brown hair, bright forest green eyes with fair complexion, her name was Cady Heron. If anyone question why her eyes shimmer with curiosity and anxiety, it is because she wasn't born in Illinois. In fact, she was born in Africa from her zoologist parents, Chip and Betsy, raised alongside with other zoologists, tribal people there and also, wild animals in small village until she reached her age of teen years. She was no stranger in wilderness and nature for her fondness of them but city, she was a guest. Normal. Wearing "lame" khaki denim jacket, red T-shirt, long pair of jeans and brown shoes. Her hair was tied in ponytail.
"Have a great first day, sweetie." Her mother said, her voice a bit nervous for her daughter.
Cady nodded, turned to go until she yelped for nearly hit by a bus as both her parents flinched by near accident.
"I'm okay… sorry…~," The brunette girl smiled nervously as she brushed the bangs to her side, "I'll be careful."
She proceeded to walk towards the entrance as her parents watched her, concerned. Their daughter have been homeschooled until now as they wondered if she will adapt in new environment. Cady paused for seconds when athletic girls walked from the side, briefly blocking her way until she could pass. Several group of teenagers were burning an… assignments, much to her frightened confusion, she nearly jumped when the boys who were taller than her are pouncing playfully at one another on her path. To her, the surrounding was somehow familiar yet so strangely dangerous.
'The lion cubs I used to watch over weren't that…wild.' Despite in thought of remembering her childhood of watching feline cubs playing, she carefully avoided the blocked path and continued to enter the school hoping she would manage to open up to these roaring and crowded people around her peers and make at least one or two friends.
With newly purchased iPhone as a gift from her father, Cady checked the time. It was 30 minutes before the class begin. In time, she could get schedule paper from principal's secretary. Her eyes wandered until they caught a door of Principal's office. Squishing her way through, she gently knocked on a door and opened to see the secretary. Managing to get her schedule paper and her student ID card, Cady looked through the schedule as for the first class was Calculus. Looking at the class number and floor written, she wandered the halls and managed to find it. Ring bell again as it alarmed 5 minutes before the class began she entered and looked around. Bumped onto tall figure, she immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry…! I didn't saw where I was going…"
The tall girl with auburn hair made an irritated look.
"Talk to me again, I will kick your ass."
Cady gulped internally as few students giggled. Unsure where to sit, she initially walked towards the spot next to the tall girl.
"You don't wanna sit there," Cady looked at the gothic girl who spoke, "Kristen Hadley's boyfriend sits there."
Speaking of which, the near-afro ginger-haired boy who was taller than said girlfriend came in just a right time sitting next to Kristen before kissing her, which spooked Cady as she looked away and decided to pick second choice which was behind the overweighted boy.
"Nuh-uh," the goth girl spoke again with warning look and whispered to her, "he farts a lot."
Again, Cady glanced at the pitiful, obese boy and was on verge of taking third choice before it was taken by other boy. Due to more students standing and blocking her sight to see any empty seats, she walked to the doorstep, only to bumped on middle-aged woman who was holding a cup of latte and donuts, causes the woman to spill the drink on her blue sweater.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am!" Cady apologized hastily as she helped the woman picking up her papers.
"It's okay," the middle-aged woman assured, "just a bad luck."
The woman pushed off the cream from her sweater collar before taking it off, not knowing her shirt stuck to it and the Principal had just entered.
"Ms. Norbury?"
There was seconds of pause before the woman, Ms. Norbury spoke.
"…My T-shirt got stuck with sweater, right?"
"Uhh, yes…" Cady replied.
"Fantastic."
Cady went to help her pull the shirt down, covering her bra as Ms. Norbury successfully took off her sweater.
"Is everything alright here?" Mr. Duval asked.
"Oh yes." The math teacher answered with smile.
"So… how was your Summer?" He asked, albeit a little shy, he seemed.
"I got divorced." She answered cooly, no sign of melancholy but seemed to feel refreshed.
"Oh…," the principal then proceeded to spoke to the class, "well, I just want to inform everyone we have new student joining us. She just moved here all the way from Africa."
"Welcome~!" Ms. Norbury added, enthusiastically.
In a middle of seats filled, the girl of African-American descent looked around then to the teacher, confused: "…I'm from Michigan."
"…great~!"
Mr. Duval held out his small paper as he pronounced the name.
"Her name is… Cady. Cady Heron. Where're you, Cady?"
Cady raised her hand before responding.
"That's me. It's pronounced like Ca-e-dy."
"Oh, my apologies," Mr. Duval smiled, "I have a nephew called Afronee and I know mad he gets when I call him Anthony… almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Afronee."
"Well, welcome Cady and thank you, Mr. Duval." Ms. Norbury said.
"Well then, good day class!" Mr. Duval waved to Calculus class before he walked out, if Cady hasn't mistaken, he seemed to walked out fast.
The rest HALF of her classes were very surreal to Cady Heron.
Some teachers in her subjects didn't allow her to do something out of school rules. Never use bathroom without a pass, never use pen during school assignments, never bring snacks in class, etc.
The cafeteria. It was much worse.
During lunch, she entered the cafeteria and watch a lot of students there. Anxiety took place in her stomach as she wondered what she could say. Taking deep breath, she approached to the first table she caught. The one table has fashionable group of Asian students talking to one another, only to be stopped when the leader of the clique spotted Cady and placed her backpack on one last seat, preventing her from taking it.
Stopped herself, Cady began to change the direction. Her eyes brightened to see group of African-American students sitting on their table. Having many friends from Africa since her childhood, she gained some of confidence and hoped to approach to them without making herself look like a fool. She quickly changed her mind as soon as she greeted them as what she received were cold, unfriendly, or judgmental looks on their face. Shoulder sagged in disappointment, Cady left the cafeteria with her packed lunch, to bathroom.
Not knowing she was watched by two pairs of eyes.
The brown eyes belonged to the young man from the table of Varsity Jock. Aaron Samuels gazed on the retreated brunette girl with sympathy as he could understand what is like as new student in a school. Her green eyes reminded him of a forest. And he can picture a fawn, lost and afraid. Cady was just like that lonely deer. The dark brown-haired boy then decided in his mind that next time he meet her, he would ask for her name and properly introduce himself. He might even get her number, if he was lucky.
The blue eyes were from the blond haired, good-looking teenage boy who was sitting with two boys on his both sides. One had long blond hair and paler blue eyes, scribbling doodles on his notebook. The other was brown-haired, tanned skinned boy focusing on the gossip medias displayed on his phone screen. Sitting in between, Regis George changed his attention towards Aaron, realizing that he had also looking at the new meat. But with different way. Grinning in interest, the blonde boy decided what to do for his new game.