Chapter 1
Starting a new school year as a senior had to be one of the worst things life could throw at a teenager. It certainly felt like it in the moments before Vivienne was meant to head to the bus stop. No friends to speak of, and nothing in common with the kind of people that lived in this new tiny bum fuck town. She was gonna have to make it on her own and the thought was anxiety inducing.
Vivienne slipped on the last of her jewelry, a few chunky silver rings and a choker necklace. She looked herself up and down in the mirror. She wore some dark jeans, converse, and a black, well loved, iron maiden t-shirt. She certainly wasn't the prim little cheerleader she had once been just over a year ago. Not since before her dad had died and her mom started drinking to escape the pain.
Her dad's death had made her realize that life was too short to waste it being someone she wasn't. She had never liked cheerleading, never liked popular music. She just did what was expected of her, and tried to be perfect in everything which had only caused her pain and misery.
Her life had been better since though, even if her mom and her had to move out of their expensive Seattle home to save money and end up in some rinky dink town in Indiana. The homes were way cheaper here, and mom put away the extra money they made on the house into a college fund for Vivienne.
She wasn't a bad mom really, she just wasn't coping well with the loss of her husband. She tried to be there for Viv, but she just couldn't always manage. She had promised to look for a therapist after they moved, but hadn't had much luck finding one specialized in grief like hers. Vivienne did what she could to help her mom along, but the loss weighed on her too. She had loved her father, even if he'd been overbearing and intent on her success. He'd just wanted her to be happy, but he'd been the one to decide what made her happy, rather than letting her choose for herself. She wished she'd had the courage to tell him what made her happy before he'd died. He probably would have been supportive. Right?
Vivienne came back to reality and grabbed her red leather jacket off the chair in her room before booking it downstairs. It got cold early in Indiana and with it being nearly the end of September there was a slight chill in the air. It didn't rain nearly as much here as it did back home, but it certainly seemed to get colder.
Viv's mom was sat down at the kitchen counter wrapped in her robe, nursing a mug of dark coffee. The bags under her eyes had a bluish hue to them and she looked absolutely exhausted. She often had nightmares these days. Probably why she had a steady drip of vodka on her all the time. Kept the nightmares at bay.
"Hey mom, I'm heading to the bus stop." Viv said, grabbing a poptart from the box on the counter and waving goodbye.
"Oh right you start today." She mumbled, mild surprise in her voice. "Well have a good day baby. Make friends okay?" she said, her voice slightly louder as she reached across the counter and gently grabbed Vivienne's hand before she could head towards the door. "I know it's been hard on you, this move. Please just try to make the best of it. For me." Her eyes were sad and defeated in her sunken face. She had been the talk of the town back home. A beautiful woman with the perfect family. Vivenne felt a twinge of guilt at the thought. Her mother hadn't exactly been happy when Vivienne had quit cheer. She'd been worried she was losing her daughter too, but when she saw how much Vivienne was thriving being herself, she slowly learned to accept her how she was. Viv had kept up her grades, even earning some college credits in the dual credit program when she finished the highest level math and science so she didn't have much to complain about with the changes. Her mother didn't really understand what drew Viv to the outcast culture, but she wanted her daughter to be happy and tried to be supportive.
Viv gently squeezed her mom's hand back in solidarity, knowing how much her mother worked against her depression to be the mother Viv needed. "I'll try mom." She replied with a weak smile. "I gotta go. Can't miss the bus." She dropped her mother's hand and readjusted her backpack before snatching up her pop tarts and heading out the door.
The bus was loud, filled with all sorts of kids of different ages. Seemed like the middle school and highschool used the same buses since they were right next to each other because some of these kids were clearly in their tweens at best.
Vivienne found an empty seat in the middle of the bus and took out her walkman, placing her headphones over her ears to block out everything.
She sighed and looked at the window as her favorite song started to play in her ears. She had nabbed the last copy of Number of the Beast Iron maiden's newest album before they had moved at her favorite record store Charlie's. The memories she had left behind there made a pit open in her stomach.
After she had quit cheer and started listening to new types of music her old friends dropped her like trash. They started saying she had gotten pregnant or something and couldn't cheer anymore. Which obviously wasn't true. She'd never even had sex with her boyfriend of 3 years, Jackson, even though he certainly tried to get her to. But when her dad died she realized he never actually loved her like he said. He'd just loved what she gave him in status as cheer captain. The thought made the poptarts in her stomach bubble uncomfortably.
She was grateful she had had her realization before she'd given in to him. It probably would have killed her to lose her virginity to that asshole and find out later he never cared. Not that virginity mattered to her. It was such a stupid concept to find a lack of having sex desirable. Surely it was better that a girl knew what she liked. Should make it better for everyone involved right? Then everyone would be satisfied?
She shook away the thoughts and looked over the seats in front of her toward the front of the bus, the highschool coming into view down the road. Vivienne sighed and prepared herself for what was to come. She knew this town was small and religious and expected people to start talking as soon as she walked on to campus. 'Expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed' she thought to herself as she stood to get off the bus, following the mass of kids piling out.
The school itself wasn't very big. Probably only a school of 300 students. She adjusted the strap of her bag and walked towards the administration office while keeping her eyes straight ahead, ignoring the stares she received from the groups of kids hanging out in front of the school.
Upon entering the office a woman with graying brown hair and reading glasses glanced up at her. The woman's half moon glasses were perched on a long pointed nose and framed two bright friendly brown eyes.
"Hello dear. Can I help you?" she asked, pulling her glasses down her nose to look at Vivienne.
"Uh yeah. I need to pick up my schedule." She replied awkwardly, walking up to the counter.
"Oh you must be the new student transferring over from Seattle!" she replied excitedly and pushed her glasses back up her nose, typing furiously on the computer.
"That'd be me." She replied, her mouth flattening into an awkward smile. She felt herself start to get fidgety, playing with the straps of her back pack.
"Let's see here…" the woman trailed off as she squinted at the screen. "Ah, here we are! Vivienne Farrow. I have you right here." She pointed at the screen that Vivienne couldn't see.
Vivienne simply nodded and gripped her backpack strap tighter. She really just wanted to get out of this office and get this day over with. Her suspicions about her first day were already coming to fruition and that was not a comforting thought.
"Let me get this printed out for you." The older woman said, hitting a button with a clack, the printer suddenly whirring to life. It spat out a paper and the woman at the desk rolled over in her chair to nab it. "Here we are hun." She said, taking a look at the paper. "Looks like first period is room 116 with Mr. Andrews. Should be down this hall to the right." She said pointing out the door of the office and handing the paper over to Viv.
Viv nodded her thanks and peeled out of the office to find her locker.
She found it a few minutes later, near the bathrooms which was kinda nice for days where she needed to drop off and use the restroom before class. She input the combination into her locker and stuffed a few textbooks in it before closing the door.
She jumped back as a boy's face greeted her, leaning against the lockers next to her.
"What the fuck dude!" she exclaimed, jumping back in surprise at the smug face, already mildly annoyed. The boy had short blond-brown hair, combed into a slight quaff. He wore a letterman jacket of green and white. 'probably the school colors' She noted to herself, before meeting his smug eyes with her own.
"Well well. Look what the cat dragged in." He asked in a mocking voice. "Looks like a rocker slut found her way to Hawkins." He said, glancing behind him to two boys wearing matching jackets who chuckled.
"Ooh burn." Viv replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice, going back to zipping her bag with disinterest. She's dealt with assholes like this guy and his lackeys plenty of times in the last few years. She knew perfectly well how they operated. "Get some better material jock. Your jokes are stale already." She threw her bag over her shoulder and turned back to face the boy. He was only an inch or so taller than her and she smirked as she stood to her full height and met his eyes. "If you're gonna try and bully me, at least make it worth my while and be entertaining." She rolled her eyes and started walking past the group of boys. The main boy whipped his hand out and grabbed her wrist.
"Listen here you dirty little cow, this is my school. When I say jump you better say 'how high'." He smirked, thinking that he was just sooooo intimidating.
Vivienne glanced down at her wrist qand raised her brow in amusement, her lips quirking up. "Oh I'll jump alright…" She said feigning a sultry voice and leaning towards the boy's face. His smirk widened like he had won this little tiff. He looked her up and down, obviously thinking dirty things at the sudden turn in her voice. 'Men are such pigs' she thought as she held his gaze. "And drop kick you in the dick." She finished in a sadistic whisper. She threw an elbow down into his wrist, breaking his hold on her arm. She raised her knee and kicked him in the abdomen, his back smacking into the lockers behind him.
"Oooh." came a cacophony of voices as people around them watched the air get knocked out of the Jock, his body crumpling against the locker with a whoosh of air. His friends backed up, surprised by the sudden attack.
She sneered at him and turned on her heels, walking quickly down the hall towards her first period classroom. She didn't want to be caught there by a teacher on her first day. It would be just her luck to get detention on her first day. 'Fuck couldn't even make it one day huh Viv?' she thought to herself and she found a seat in the classroom of her first period.