It was a dry and hot August morning. Antonia slowly opened her eyes and groaned as she pushed her blankets away. The AC in the mansion kept blowing out and she woke up in sweats throughout the past week. It was her first day of school. Public school. And she did not want anything to ruin her day. Antonia had previously attended a Catholic private school the past year when her family moved back to the States. It irritated her that she often moved from England to New Zealand, back to England, then back to the States. She had no issue making friends, but it was difficult to maintain those friendships when your parents were called for new job positions at any given moment. Luckily, her father got a great position in the city council meaning she would stay in California for a while.
However, Antonia had never attended a public school. Her parents did their best to pay for the best education they could provide her with but recently her father was taking smaller positions that were impacting them financially. But there was one thing Antonia looked forward to. The summer she turned sixteen, her family hosted a gathering at the country club in the gated community for her to make friends. She had met so many great teens and remembered that they were attending the school her parents registered her for. She occasionally called some of the girls and met up for shopping from time to time. One of the girls, Nicole, was ecstatic that Antonia was going to be attending school with the rest of the crew and thought it would be a great idea to give her a ride the first day. She was excited to reunite with some of her friends and wanted to see how different public school really was. She knew that it wasn't going to be anything like the cheesy '90s movies but hoped it wouldn't be dreadful.
"Antonia, is there anything specific you would like me to make for breakfast before your departure to school?" It was her housemaid, Janice. "Oh, no I don't really mind anything you make. Your food is always splendid," she smiled. Janice began working for the family when they had moved to New Jersey when she was nine. She always made sure everything was suitable to Antonia's liking and the young girl never treated her any differently from her own parents. Antonia got up to get ready for the day. After a cool shower, she started on her makeup before heading to the kitchen. She enjoyed the strawberry crepes Janice had made her and glanced at the T.V playing the news. She returned to her room after finishing her green juice and moved on to doing her hair. Antonia took a long time to get ready, but she took the time to care for herself. Girls always pointed out how she was always wearing makeup and dressed up for the smallest occasions. Antonia thought that fashion was an extension of one's personality and makeup was the last step to seal the whole look. In theory, people would view this perspective and think that a teenager with this mindset has good self-esteem and values others' choices in expression. But it was a bit off-putting to some as Antonia was goth.
Antonia sprayed some of her favorite Burberry perfume before leaving her room. The best thing that came from being enrolled in public school was not having school uniforms. She despised the grey skirts and white button-down shirts she wore for the past year. Today she wore a square-neck black baby tee with a long mesh maxi shirt. A layered mesh skirt to be exact that was blood red to match her fringe with little specks of glitter to shine in the sunlight. She walked down the stairs and made her way to the backyard. Her mother always spent time outside in the garden before staring at her day. Antonia thought her mother was the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen. She was much taller than her dad and had an hourglass figure other models would kill for. Her olive skin glistened against the sun and her black curls flowed past her shoulders. "Antonia? Shouldn't you have left already for school?" The young teen moved into her mother's vision, "Yes, but I just wanted to say goodbye before fleeing." Her mother smiled and gently hugged her. "Oh, Toni. You don't have to worry about anything. I'm sure you'll be fine." Antonia squeezed her mother tightly before being interrupted by the butler. "Miss Antonia, a young girl is waiting for you." Antonia let go of her mother to leave for school. "Bye, Mum." She had reached the other side of the house when she saw pink hair through the glass panel of the front door.
"TONI!" The girl squealed. She was shorter than Antonia and much thinner. She wore a mint-colored blouse tucked into a ruffled white maxi skirt. This was her soon-to-be best friend, Nicole. "Oi Love! Let me walk out the door first." She was squeezing Antonia tight, giggling. "Sorry! I'm just excited you're going to be in school with us! They are waiting for us." Nicole pulled Antonia through the door and the butler closed the door behind them. They walked down the stairs and approached the vehicle. A boy with curly blond hair was driving a Jeep and waved. A girl with long black hair opened the backseat door. "Hey, Antonia! How have you been?" It was a girl named Donna. She then moved over to the other side and Antonia got in. "I missed you, Donna! And I've been alright. How was Greece?" The blond boy looked back and smiled at the goth. "It's been a while." He signed to her. Joseph was mute and a close friend of Nicole. Donna then pulled a small little bag with silver stars and held it out to her. "I got you a little something." Antonia opened the little fabric pouch and a necklace with a shell charm gleamed in her palm. "Oh wow! It's really nice mate. Thank you!" She immediately put it on. Joseph pulled out of the driveway and went past the gates. The four were ready to begin a new school year.