The worst part about starting at a new school, Shaw thought, was being lost. Since wandering around looking like an idiot was not an option, she just stood in the entranceway, pretending to look into the trophy cases lining the wall while she tried to remember where the front office was. She was supposed to meet some office aid and get her schedule.
This was her fourth high school in two years, and she was pretty much over school as a concept. Everything they taught her seemed useless and she never stuck around long enough to make any friends. Not that she really wanted to.
Being an orphan meant being bounced around the foster care system, and being the way she was... Well, families didn't usually like to keep her around for long. So, she had gone from school district to school district, until now. Apparently, there was no one in the whole state of New York that wanted to her. So, she'd been brought to Connecticut to live with a foster family until she turned 18.
Luckily for her, that wasn't too far away. Unluckily for her, she had to repeat her Junior Year of high school. This tiny, shitty town in Connecticut was so remote that they had lost her credits. At least she didn't have to start high school all over again.
She sighed and looked around the hallway. This school was nice, much nicer than the others she'd been to, which seemed weird for such a small town. The hallways were wide and clean, with high ceilings and shiny marble floors. The walls were painted navy blue on the bottom halves and white on the tops. She assumed those were the school colors. None of the steel lockers were dented and all the trashcans had thick garbage bags in them. It was a good school.
A few kids were starting to file in and Shaw tried to figure out what she'd be dealing with. The biggest surprise about her new town in Middle of Nowhere, New England, was how rich everyone was. She was used to living in shitty parts of the city, but her current family had a two story house, with a huge lawn and backyard. They didn't have a pool, but their house was nice. These kids looked like they lived in similar places.
They glanced at her as they walked past, further into the school. One of them waved at her, but she just scowled back, not willing to be the New Kid that everyone took pity on. It was only the first day of school, but all the kids here grew up here and probably knew each other really well. She wasn't even going to bother trying to break into a friend group. Her family was nice, but who knew if they'd keep her around long enough for it to matter.
Sighing again, she turned back to the display case. Her eyes landed on a group picture. Leaning forward, she saw that it was a girls' soccer team. Pushing up onto her tiptoes, she read the plaque. The Blair High School Bears. She scoffed. The only mascot more cliché would be the deer or the pine trees, or something similarly folksy.
Shaw hitched her bag and turned, deciding to just go looking for the office before more kids showed up to stare at her. She had a map in her bag, but she'd rather be shot than let anyone know she wasn't sure where to go. She opted for just starting down the hall. If Lionel, her new foster brother, had been here, then she could have forced him to look at the map.
There'd been a problem with his paperwork, though and he wouldn't start until the next day. Not that it really mattered. She barely knew the kid, and he was only a freshman. It was probably best that they didn't spend a lot of time together. She wasn't looking for a brother.
She found the front office just around the first corner. Shaw peered into a small window that was set into the metal door before pulling the door open.
There were a few chairs and a long counter that spanned the office. Shaw felt like she was walking into the waiting room of a doctor's office. Standing behind the counter was a small, skinny boy with glasses. He smiled at her as she entered and barely flinched when she slammed her backpack onto the counter.
"Hello," he started, politely, watching her pull out a manila folder. "My name is Harold Finch. I've been expecting you."
Shaw scowled and handed him her the paperwork that her foster mother, Alicia, asked her to bring. "Sorry, I was later than I'd hoped." She looked away from him, taking in the room and its tacky motivational posters. "The walk looked shorter than it was."
She turned back to him, catching his appraising look. It turned into a smile and Harold raised his eyebrows. He placed the folder into a box on the counter and reached under the desk to pull out another one.
"You're still 20 minutes early, so don't worry. This is your schedule, and your book lists. I'll walk you to your first class."
Shaw nodded, snatching the file from his hand. "Whatever."
Harold's smile flagged, but he picked it up again, apparently determined to be cheerful. He started moving out from behind the counter, taking a backpack off the end of the long desk. Shaw watched him hobble along awkwardly. When he came out onto her side, she saw that he had a pronounced limp.
Harold followed her gaze, seemingly used to the attention. "It was a robotics accident."
Shaw rolled her eyes, uncaring, but she opened the door for him and held it as he passed.
She followed him into the hallway, noticing more kids wandering around than before. Somehow, in the two minutes between her walking into the office and walking back out, the entire student body had arrived at school. The noise in the hallway was almost deafening; the sound bouncing off the high ceilings and metal lockers. Shaw fell into stride with Harold and they started down the hall.
"So," Harold began, "I took the liberty of looking over your schedule. Very impressive. Did you take high school math and science in middle school? You're ahead of your year."
Shaw nodded and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Yeah, but I also wasn't going to take the same shitty classes again. If I have to repeat a year, I might as well take APs."
"You're repeating a year?" he asked, surprised.
Someone bumped him and he staggered into Shaw. She caught him and helped him get back onto his feet, glaring at the kid until he ran away. When Harold was steady, they started walking again.
"Junior Year," Shaw told him, keeping a sharper eye on the kids milling around them.
Harold looked surprised. "May I ask why you're repeating it?"
"No." Shaw looked around, trying to understand the social dynamics of the kids around her.
There didn't seem to be any definite cliques, just friends. She knew that looks could be deceiving though. Some of these people could hate each other, but try to keep up appearances. She hadn't quite figured out teenage politics, but she could at least learn who the big players are.
"Well, you and I are opposites."
Shaw snorted. That was an understatement. She wasn't going to say it out loud, but she was definitely the opposite of a rich, white boy. That wasn't something people usually said to her face, though. She looked at him, eyes narrowed.
"I'm just saying," Harold said, holding his hands up in front of him. "I skipped 7th grade, so I'm a year younger than our class. You're a year older."
Shaw nodded. That made sense. This kid was puny. Shaw was more athletic than most kids her age. Another difference between them.
Harold slowed to a stop and gestured to an open door. "This is your classroom. First Period English. I've heard good things about Mrs. Russell."
Shaw nodded again and took Harold's proffered hand. She was surprised by the formal farewell, but took it in stride. "Bye."
Harold smiled, dropping her hand. "I'll see you for Biology next period. I'll meet you back here."
Shaw's face dropped and she stepped into Harold's space. She was eye level with him and tried not to be too angry that he was 2 years younger and almost taller than her. She glowered at him until he took a step back.
"I don't need to be babysat. Harold. I'm a big girl."
Harold swallowed and nodded. "Um, I'm actually in that class with you, though, and have to walk this way anyway, so it's just convenience, really. The class is in a weird corner."
Shaw searched his eyes and decided he was telling the truth. "Fine. Whatever. If you're not here quickly, I'm going ahead."
Harold nodded and turned around. He quickly headed back for the front office. Shaw watched as a taller boy moved to walk with him. When the boy glanced back at her, she rolled her eyes and walked into the classroom. So much for not making enemies before she needed to.
Shaw walked into the classroom and looked around. The entrance was at the back of the class and Shaw couldn't decide if that'd make it easier to sneak in or harder. There were more desks than she was expecting, but it was a classroom like any other. Shaw was pleased to see a chalkboard at the front of the classroom and not a dry-erase board. She liked the clack of the chalk against the slate.
There were already kids in the classroom, catching up and talking about their summer break. Shaw wondered how long they'd known each other. It was a small suburb; there couldn't be too many kids going in and out. She threw her bag on a desk. It'd be even harder to infiltrate a friend group than just make a single friend. Not that she wanted friends.
She was about to sit, when her stomach started hurting. The hair on her arms stood, and she froze, hand clenched around the strap of her backpack. She'd never felt anything like this before. It was like she'd been tazed, her whole body shivering and tense. A sense of being watched grew behind her and she turned around.
A lanky girl was standing there, clutching her bookbag in one hand. Shaw took her in. Skinny, with long hair, half blonde and half brunette, like her hair had changed colors in the past few years. She was dressed similarly to Shaw, dark jeans and a dark sweatshirt. She was pretty hot. When their eyes met, Shaw's stomach rolled over and she felt like she was going to vomit.
Pushing the feeling down, Shaw gave the girl a once over again. Shaw decided she could take her in a fight.
"What?" Shaw asked through clenched teeth.
The girl blinked, her eyebrows drawing down. She pointed at Shaw's desk. "The seats are assigned. Alphabetically. That one's mine."
Shaw tore her eyes away from the girl and looked down. In the corner, was an index card taped down with a list of names. The first one read Period One: Samantha Groves. Shaw scowled and stomped away. Great, now she was nauseous and she looked like an idiot.
Shaw moved to the other side of the room, figuring if "Groves" was near the entrance, "Shaw" would be towards the end. She walked up and down the last row a couple times, but didn't see her name. Shaw felt her mood darken. If Harold had brought her to the wrong classroom, she was going to murder him.
"Sameen?"
Shaw's heart raced when she heard her name and she turned, finding the girl from earlier looking at her. She grit her teeth. "Yes?"
The girl smiled, looking pleased. "You're right behind me. Mrs. Russell sorts alphabetically by first name. Samantha. Sameen."
Shaw stalked back to the entrance and slammed her back onto the desk, smirking when the girl jumped. "What kind of names do you people have if "Samantha" is only 10 names from the front?"
Samantha shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'd prefer it if you called me Root."
Shaw slid into her chair and unzipped her bag, pulling out a notebook and her pencil case. "Whatever," she shrugged. "I doubt I'll be calling you anything."
The girls face drew up into a smirk and Shaw was dismayed to see Root's eyes twinkle. Shaw squinted at her, suspicious. "What?"
The girl just shrugged and turned around, giggling to herself. Shaw rolled her eyes. Great, the girl had made her look like an idiot and now it seemed that she was unstable. No wonder she was sick to her stomach around her.
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Root listened as the girl behind her grumbled. She wanted to turn around and tell her to be quiet, but she wasn't sure if she should. She'd never seen Sameen before and she'd lived in this town her whole life. She knew everyone, either because she'd met them, or because she'd researched them. It was only a town of a few thousand people; no one was hard to find.
Root tried to rack her brain and think of who this girl could be. Maybe she was Alicia and Nathan's new foster daughter. If Root remembered correctly, the girl would be close to her age. Actually, Root thought, the girl was a year older than her. It was strange that she'd be in her class.
Sameen didn't seem to be paying too much attention to Mrs. Russell. Root would admit that Mrs. Russell could be gruff, especially after her husband had died, but she was going over the syllabus. There were several projects scheduled for the year and Sameen would need to be prepared.
Root looked over her shoulder. Shaw had her head down on the desk. The only thing Root could see written in her notebook was Snooze Fest. Root sighed and looked forward again. Shaw was really hot, but she needed to get her act together.
The bell rang, startling Root. She started packing up her things. She stood and turned to ask Sameen what her next class was, but she was already walking out the door. Staring after her, Root put a hand on her stomach. When she'd seen the girl at the start of class, her stomach had cramped. Now, she just felt a little weird.
Hopefully, it was just because she hadn't eaten breakfast. Root couldn't afford to miss school because she was sick. She wanted a scholarship for college and Junior year was really important for that. Shaking her head, she hurried out of the classroom to see Harold and Sameen walking together, towards their next class.
"Harold!" Root called out, hurrying to catch up to them. Harold turned around, surprised someone was calling his name. Root watched Sameen turn and smiled when Sameen glowered at her. Root stopped in front of them. "Hey, where are you headed?"
"Biology," Harold replied, happy to see her. "I assume you a good summer. I was jealous to hear you went to Robotics camp."
Root shrugged and started walking, Harold and Sameen followed her. "It was fun. I wish you were there, though." She sighed and looked at Harold, sadly. "It was weird being there without Hanna, but I know she would want me to go back. It's been a couple of years."
Harold nodded solemnly. "I know. It's good that you went. I would have, too, but I had my internship."
"You're already doing internships?" Sameen asked, annoyed. "Let me guess, you've got to have a good resume for Harvard."
Harold laughed. "MIT, actually."
"Same difference."
Root smiled at her from the other side of Harold. "What did you do with your summer, Sameen?"
Sameen scowled at her, apparently still upset she'd needed her help to find a desk. "None of your business. Why are you following us anyway? Don't you need to get to class?"
Root laughed. "I have Biology, too." She grinned at Sameen. "We're going to be together for 2 hours a day, Sameen! Maybe more, who knows."
Sameen crossed her arms. "Don't call me Sameen." Harold and Root looked at her curiously. "Call me Shaw. Only my friends can call me Sameen."
Root and Harold turned left down a hallway. Root laughed as Shaw had to pivot quickly to avoid walking past. "Do you have many friends, Shaw?"
Sameen rolled her eyes. "Fuck off."
Root just raised her eyebrows and looked away. Shaw was pretty rude. If it was anything more than a first day act, Root wasn't going to try too hard to be friends. She had two already and that was enough for her. Besides, having a friend as attractive as Shaw would get distracting. She wasn't even girlfriend material.
"I'm thinking about throwing a party," Harold said, filling the quiet. "My parents are going out of town in a couple weeks."
"A party?" Root repeated, laughing. "Harold, you've never thrown a party in your life."
"Well," he said, stopping beside the biology classroom, "maybe this is the year to do it! I've got a heated pool area, and you know everyone would kill for a pool party in winter."
Shaw looked between them. "I'm always in the mood for a pool party."
The image of Shaw in a bathing suit formed in Root's head, and suddenly her heart was racing. She swallowed hard, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, and nodded. "Yeah. Swimming is great."
Shaw gave her a weird look and walked into the science class. Wincing, Root followed her in. 'Swimming is great'? She was embarrassed for herself. She thought by 16 she'd be smooth, but it was becoming clear that that might never happen.
They walked further into the classroom and looked around. Root liked science classrooms. The black lab tables, the tall stools; it was all so comforting. It reminded her of Hanna, though. The thought didn't hurt as much as it used to. She wasn't 12 anymore.
There didn't seem to be any assigned seats, so Root picked a table towards the center of the room and sat on a stool. The tables were arranged so 4 people could sit, 2 on either side. Harold took the seat opposite Root. Root watched Shaw try to decide if she wanted to sit next to Root or Harold. Just when Root thought Shaw was going to pick Harold, John arrived and took the stool.
Shaw glared at John, who just stared at her blankly, placing his bag on the table. Finally, Shaw rolled her eyes and slammed her bag on the table next to Root. She climbed onto her stool, scooting as far from Root as she could.
Harold eyed her bag. "Ms. Shaw, I do hope you don't have anything breakable in there. You slam your bag around a lot."
Shaw just unzipped her backpack and pulled out a notebook. "Whatever." She jerked her chin at John. "Who's the thug?"
Reese smirked and held his hand out. "John Reese."
Shaw shook his hand and went back to digging around in her bag.
"So, did you finally pick a sport?" Root asked him. She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. "Do you still have a list of five?"
John shrugged. "I'm still torn between soccer and lacrosse."
"You are good at both," Harold rested his arms on the table in front of him. "Is there any way to play for both teams?"
Root and Shaw snorted simultaneously. Root looked at Shaw, but Shaw was ignoring her, still digging around in her bag. Root did notice that Shaw had a small smile.
Root crossed her arms on the table. "And what are you into, Shaw?"
Shaw froze, her face slowly turning towards Root. "Excuse me?"
"What team do you play for?" Root's mouth perked up into a half-smile and she slid her arms towards Shaw. "What sort of extracurriculars are you into?"
Shaw's eyes narrowed, like she was trying to figure out what Root was doing. Root just smiled back at her patiently. Even if she was still unsure about Shaw, it had been a while since they'd had a cute girl in their friend group, and Root wasn't against a little playful flirting. Besides, she needed to recover from 'swimming is great'.
"I play soccer." Shaw answered, looking away
Root nodded. "I could see that."
She really could see Shaw enjoying a sport like soccer. Shaw was small, but muscular. Root suspected that she worked out several times a week, if not every day. Root considered telling her that too much exercise could stunt her growth. They were at an important stage of their development.
She decided against it. Instead, she pulled out her own notebook and turned to the front of the class. The only downside to taking AP Bio was that their teacher would be Mr. Greer. He'd taught them in middle school, and she'd had him for freshman year. He'd always given her the creeps. He'd made sure to be extra sympathetic to the fact that her parents weren't around. Root didn't like how much attention he gave her.
The bell rung and their teacher wandered inside. Root was surprised to see that their science teacher was Nathan Ingram. Maybe something had happened to Mr. Greer. Root snuck a peek at Shaw and almost laughed.
Shaw was white as a sheet. She obviously hadn't expected her new foster father to be teaching her Biology class. Shaw noticed Root looking and schooled her face into a neutral expression.
Mr. Ingram smiled at the class. "Good morning! I know it's our first day and all of you are probably shaking in your boots. Don't worry, AP Biology isn't as bad as people make it out to be." He glanced at Shaw and winked. "You'll be seniors before you know it and then you'll be in college Biology."
The class groaned. Root laughed, lightly. She was looking forward to college. No more shitty town, no more shitty people. No shitty parents to disappear right when their daughter needed them most. Root felt her stomach clench again and closed her eyes.
There was no way she was letting herself get sick. She was not going to jeopardize her chance to get out of here. She didn't need parents. She was doing fine on her own already. If she could take care of herself and a house while she was still in high school, then she could do anything once she left.
She looked up and saw Shaw staring at her in her peripheral vision. She turned her head, expecting Shaw to look away, but they stared at each other. Root noticed how pretty Shaw was. Her dark eyes, strong cheekbones, and full lips. She felt her face heat up and turned back to watch Mr. Ingram.
This was not the time to let her hormones take control of her. A shiver ran down her spine and she shook dramatically. Beside her, she could hear Shaw chuckle. Root sighed and dropped her head onto her arms. She hated first days.
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Shaw thought her first day had gone well so far. She'd made casual acquaintances with Harold, Root, and John. She wouldn't call them friends yet, but they had sat together in the cafeteria at lunch time and that was the closest thing to friendship she'd ever had.
It was their final period of the day, now, and she was looking forward to it. She had PhysEd for her last class. Shaw was pumped. She planned to just stay in her gym clothes when class was over and jog home. She could do that whenever the weather permitted. She didn't have to worry about getting mugged in such a small town. One benefit to leaving the city.
Shaw walked into the locker room and groaned. Of course, Root was in her class. She and Root had every single class together. English, Biology, American History, Calc, German, and now PhysEd. She walked over to the bench Root was sitting on and swung her leg over, sitting heavily.
"Well, it looks like you're stuck with me." Root said, smiling at her. "All day, Every day."
Shaw shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head. She'd worn her gym clothes under her normal clothes. The uniform was just an A-frame and boy shorts.
"It could be worse. I could have PE with John." She looked around, picking the locker next to Root's.
Root laughed and pushed herself off the bench. "John has PE fourth period." She opened her locker and pushed her backpack in, piling her clothes on top. "You shouldn't be too competitive."
Shaw rolled her eyes and moved to yank open her locker. "Whatever. I'm not that competitive."
Root rolled her eyes, disbelieving. "Sure. I'm just saying that he's really good at sports. He's the best."
Shaw's nostrils flared. She stepped up to Root's face, their bodies almost touching. Shaw looked up an inch into Root's eyes. "I am the best. I will crush him." She turned and marched out of the locker room, on the warpath.
Root sighed and followed her. "At least you aren't competitive."
Shaw ignored her, bursting through the doors into the gym. She slowed her pace. This gymnasium was huge. The shiny wooden floors stretched in all directions. Shaw could see the paint lines for a basketball court, a tennis court, and a volleyball court. The bleachers stacked against the wall, not taking up any space. There were pull up bars in the far corner and weights across the room from them.
Shaw's mouth dropped open. "What the fuck kind of hicktown public school is this?"
Root shrugged. "It's the only high school in the area, so it's pretty well funded." She looked at Shaw and smiled. "How much can you bench?"
Shaw rolled her eyes and ignored her, leading the way to where the coach was gathering kids. They listened to the coach blather on for a while. Shaw was impatient to get started. It was PhysEd! Why were they just standing around?
Finally, the coach announced they were going to play dodgeball and split the teams into two. Shaw saw that Root was on her team and sighed. She wasn't really an advantage for their team. Shaw just hoped the other team didn't realize that, too.
Her stomach had been weird all day and a couple of times, the same electric thrill had run over her. She tried not to think about how it happened around Root. Shaw wasn't interested in dating in general, but she really wasn't looking to get attached to anyone when she was so close to turning 18. She had no idea what was going to happen then, and it would be better to stay on her own.
Shaw positioned herself at the front of the group, a few step backs from the center line. She was extremely confident in her abilities to either dodge the ball or catch it. She definitely wasn't going to be the first one out.
Luckily, her team wasn't half bad. They took out a fair number for the other team before their numbers started dwindling down. There was some girl on the other team who seemed to be as intense as Shaw.
After about 20 minutes, Shaw realized that she was the only one left standing against 10 members of the other team. She scowled, regretting the praise she'd given her team mates. They were weak. A ball came at Shaw, but she weaved to the side and it sailed past her. She was tempted to just get hit and let the game end, but she heard a whimper behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Root still in the playing field. Apparently, the girl had just hidden behind people until there were no people left. Shaw looked back at the opposite team and saw them whispering amongst themselves, glancing occasionally at Root.
Shaw took the break as an opportunity to move to Root.
"Hey, you ok?"
Root shook her head. "I'm not really a sports person. I mean, I'm good at tennis and decent at volleyball, but I am not a dodgeball person."
Shaw smirked. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
Shaw glanced over her shoulder at the other team. They'd started to spread out again. Shaw looked back at Root, who was almost shaking. "Why not just let them hit us and get it over with?"
Root nodded. "Ok."
"Hey, dykes!"
Shaw stiffened, her face scrunching in anger. She looked over her shoulder. A tall boy, with too-perfect hair, was standing close to the center line, a dodgeball tucked under his arm.
"I said 'Hey, dykes!'" The boy laughed, prompting some of the other team members to laugh. "I thought you were done with your lezzie phase, Groves."
Shaw looked back at Root, whose face had turned a dark red. Root met Shaw's eyes. She looked mortified and upset. Shaw felt her body turn cold, the way it always did when she was full of rage. Root's eyes widened and Shaw nodded to herself.
Shaw turned around, placing herself firmly in front of Root. She drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't terribly high, but it made her look stronger.
"Hey, asshole," Shaw called, "Don't be jerkoff just because you can't get any girls yourself."
Shaw watched the boy's face flush. He leaned back and threw the dodgeball as hard as he could.
Shaw caught it inches from her face. The loud slap of hand against rubber echoed in the large gymnasium. She lowered the ball, smiling smugly at the boy she'd just kicked out of the game. The gym was silent as he walked off the court. Shaw lunged forward throwing the ball and hitting another boy in the face.
The game resumed and Shaw felt a thrill run through her. She tried to hold her position in front of Root, but the girl on the other team was smart. Eventually, it was just her, Shaw, and Root left in the game. Shaw had moved to the other side of the court, leaving Root somewhat exposed.
Shaw watched the girl decide who to throw the ball at. She chose Root and Shaw raced across the court to get the ball. She was too far, she realized and jumped forward to try and close the remaining distance.
Her fingers brushed against the ball, inches from Root's face. Shaw tightened her grip and came to a sliding stop. She'd caught it. The girl was out and Shaw's team had won the game. Shaw heard her teammates cheering, but she just turned to see if Root was ok.
Root was staring at her, eyes till wide. Shaw dropped the dodgeball, and walked back to her, panting slightly.
"You ok?" she asked, looking Root over.
Root jumped. "Oh. Yeah. Just… Your eyes were… Nevermind."
Root turned on her heel and ran out of the gym. Shaw started to go after her, but someone called to her. She turned to see the girl from the other team walking toward her.
"Hey, that was a good game. Sorry about the boys." The girl looked apologetic. Sweaty, but apologetic.
Shaw nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. You're good." She held her hand out. "I'm Shaw."
"Joss." The girl replied. "Are you going to try out for any sports? I'm the captain of the soccer team. I'd love for you to join us. You've got good footwork."
Shaw smiled, nodding. "Yeah, uh, I was thinking about joining the soccer team."
Joss nodded. "Great. I'll see you around."
Shaw jogged to the locker room. The last bell was going to ring any minute and she wanted to find Root. She heard the showers running and walked into the adjoining room. There were rows of showers, each one with a curtain across the entry. Shaw saw a towel sitting on the end of the long bench in the center of the room and figured Root must be that way.
"Hey, Root?" Shaw called, feeling awkward. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," was the terse reply. "Go away."
Shaw felt like she should say something else, but she didn't know what. "Alright. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow." She turned and walked out of the room.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Shaw shook her head and went to her locker, gathering her things. She was glad she'd thought of jogging home. The run would help clear her head. Maybe it would help with her stomach, too.
Shaw gave one last look towards the showers and walked out of the locker room. Her first day hadn't gone as terribly as she had feared, but she didn't know if she'd call it a success. She might have made some friends and she might have lost some friends. Shaw sighed as she walked down the hallway. She couldn't wait for high school to be over.