I'm Your National Anthem

CHAPTER 2

She didn't even want to think about school. It was in one day. Her family had only arrived in their new Pennsylvanian town a week ago, so she still wasn't settled in. She had been FaceTiming her boyfriend Ryan, who still was living it up in Florida. School there started a little bit later than school for her in Pennsylvania. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. Ryan didn't seem all that sad that she was gone. Well, he told her how much he loved her and how sad he was that she moved, but underneath that, he didn't seem like it. He had to keep leaving their FaceTimes and Skype calls to go hang out with other friends. She felt like she was his second priority.

So, the day before school, after Ryan had hung up on her to go skateboarding with his best buddy Jacob Russo (who had always been stealing him away from Sophia), she decided that she should try and occupy herself. If Ryan was occupied, then she could at least try to be as well! With that, she decided to get out of their new home, and explore the town a little bit. She hoped to see some teenagers that would go to her school, so she could be friends with them when school started for real the next day.

"Have fun, and be safe, my little princess," Mr. Brannigan told his daughter, kissed her forehead, and waved as she started to walk away to explore the town. "Call me if you need anything, sweet heart! Dinner will be at seven o' clock, so don't be late! I love you, baby doll!"

She chuckled at her overprotective and loving dad. She really did love him, he was a wonderful father. Anyways, she started to walk around the town of Rosewood. It seemed like a place that had a lot to it. The people seemed extremely judgmental. She decided that she would just get something to eat. Maybe she would see some kids her age at a place to eat, since kids love food. She saw a coffee store in a plaza full of stores and restaurants. The sign read, The Brew. Her dad had given her five dollars to spend around town, so she decide she could spend it on a cup of coffee, and maybe a little muffin on the side or something.

After ordering her coffee, as well as blueberry muffin (the blueberries were ripe, making it a whole lot better), Sophia went to sit at a table in the coffee joint. She sipped it quietly, observing the people around her. There were people of all ages. She saw adults, as well as teenagers, which was the age group she had been looking for. But the girls she saw didn't seem like they were looking for a newbie friend.

"God, I don't even want to go to the party," one girl said, her blonde locks flipping and smacking some guy behind them, hitting him in the face. "Caleb is going to be there, and I am so not in the mood for ex-boyfriend drama! Why can't he just get over it? I don't want to be with him after he cheated on me with Jenna Marshall. Why did it have to be her out of all people?"

"To be fair, Jenna has a way of getting to guys," another girl, who was quite short, and had Hazel eyes, said. "She's gotten into the pants of so many guys, so we can't say Caleb is the only one. Rumor has it that she's just started seeing Garrett Reynolds! The bitch can't stay single for more than a week, can she?"

"Okay, I get you want to avoid the ex, but you can't run from him forever," a brunette says. "And think about my needs! Toby asked me to go with him as his date, and of course I said I would go, I mean, he's my boyfriend, but if you guys don't go, I'll be all alone when he goes to talk to his friends."

"Then tell your boyfriend to stop being such a neglecting guy," the blonde says, shrugging her shoulders. "I am going to run from Caleb for as long as I want. What if he shows up with Jenna tonight? I'll be mortified and dateless. I don't have a date to go with tonight, either. He'll be there, telling his friends how I'm a single loser."

"He's too sweet to do that," a tan skinned girl says. "He's not like that. I know he cheated on you, but he wouldn't trash talk about you."

"You don't know that," the blonde says, folding her arms. "You don't even date guys! Guys turn on you as soon as their big, fat egos are a teeny bit damaged. I bet when I dumped Caleb, his precious little ego got bruised, so he went off and told all his friends that he broke up with me or something. Don't you remember what Ben used to do when you said you didn't want to have sex with him, Em?"

"Yeah... he told everybody that we did," she said, sighing. "I know, Hanna, and it sucks that guys would want to do that, but I always thought Caleb was different. I always thought he was better than most guys. I never thought of him as somebody who would stoop as low as that."

"Did you think he would cheat on me with Jenna Marshall? No, you didn't," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Well, he did cheat on me, so that's that. I didn't think he was the cheating type, but clearly I was wrong, because he's a total asshole. But Spencer, if you really need me to go to the party, I will. You have to promise not to leave me anywhere near Caleb, though."

"Of course, I promise," the taller brunette, Spencer, says. "It doesn't have to be a bust tonight, you know. I bet you'll end up having a really great time. Noel Kahn never disappoints in his parties, especially his annual 'before school' party, or whatever he calls it."

Sophia was so annoyed with them. They all seemed like popular, boy-crazed girls (especially the blonde). It wasn't that she didn't like them, it was just that they seemed intimidating. She would have liked to be a part of that crowd, but they seemed too tight-knit. If she got into their clique or whatever, she would be the outsider. They seemed like they had known each other for a long time.

Party. That was a thing she wasn't expecting to care so much about. Apparently that party boy was throwing a big one. She went to a few parties in Florida, but only when Ryan begged and pleaded for her to come along with him. She wasn't much of a partier, but then she wondered if this could be her chance to change her image. Maybe she could become the life of the party in Rosewood! It all seemed so intimidating, though. What if she embarrassed herself? She needed to find a way to get into that party, but she didn't want to ask those four girls. Did she need an invite to get into it? She had no clue.

It was going to be a wild ride.