Alone.

Chapter 2.

Ninth grade. The first year since fifth grade I haven't been to the same school as Sarah. And for once, I was semi-happy. It was the first day of my high school career. The past could repeat itself. Or maybe I could finally have friends. And be popular. My dad dropped me off. "Good luck." He says, driving off. I smile slightly. "This year is gonna be better." I whisper to myself.
I wore my hair in a tight high ponytail. I was wearing a pair of shorts my mom bought me during the summer, a black tank top that I bought with my allowance, and a cup of iced coffee. I hold my breath, stepping into the school doors. And of course, the first thing I do is trip. When I look up, I see the drink has split. And not just on the floor. In front of me, I see a girl with brunette hair, red lipstick, who seems to be wearing very expensive clothes. I had spilled the iced coffee on her as I fell.

"I am soooo sorry!" I gasp, standing quickly looking at the mess I've made. I try to help.

"Omigod! Look at what you did!" The girl shrieks angrily.

She turns around to two who resemble her and grab their coffee, which wasn't iced by the way, and poured it on my head. I gasp, the hot liquid going into my clothes and my hair.

"Why would you do that??" I ask, close to tears.

"Do what? It looks like you spilled coffee all over your head! You should go change." She laughs a little. And the girls behind her laugh as well.

It was starting all over. What I wanted to avoid. No one would want to talk to me now. This wasn't fair. This girl was like Sarah. I wanted to avoid this. I stand in the hallway, frozen. Watching as people take pictures of me and laugh. But of the crowd, I notice someone not laughing. A boy. He seemed to be a freshman. I never had friends before, but I was hoping me and him would get close.
As the crowd dies down, he remains. Soon, he is the last in the hallway along with me. I hadn't moved. I didn't want to go to class. But then he was gone. I was officially all alone. Soon, I go to class. Once I walk into class, the room fills with laughter.

"Isn't that the girl Mackenzie spilled coffee on?" I hear a girl whisper to another in the front of the class. The girl nods.

"Quiet down students." The female teacher demands. "You must be... Ms. Carter?" I nod. "Well, don't just stand there. Take a seat."

The rest of the year, Mackenzie harassed me. She would verbally abuse me. She called me fat, ugly, worthless, and she said I was a waste of time. She'd throw food at me during lunch. She did much worse. But by the end of the year, it seemed to all end. Mackenzie apologized to me for all the hurt she caused. And I felt forgiving. I've been hurt the way she hurt me before and I heard it in her voice. She was sorry. Genuinely sorry. But since that day I wondered if I actually made the right choice.
Nobody remembered what happened in the beginning of the year, and Mackenzie was a senior, so she'd be graduating this year. Next year, I'd have to be careful. Very careful. I really wanted this to change.
It's the last day of school. Throughout the year, I did make a friend. Her named was Samantha, but she liked for people to address her as Sam. We worked on a science project together and we kept in touch. My parents didn't approve of her. And they tried to beat sense into me. But I wasn't about to let my only friend leave. Honestly, at the time I didn't view her as a friend. And I feel bad, because I basically used her just to have a friend.
Just as I leave the school, I feel someone put their arm on my shoulder. I turn around to see the boy. From the first day. He had sandy blonde hair, a breathtaking smile, golden skin, and he was well built. I've seen him throughout the year and he's become fairly popular. Only being a freshman he made the varsity football team. People found this impressing.

"Hey, uh, my name is James." He says, putting out his hand and quickly pulling it away, as if he didn't mean to put it out in the first place.

"My name is Talia." I tell him.

"You're so beautiful." He says. "I-I mean you're face is beautiful. I mean... you're name is so beautiful." He begins to stutter. I feel my cheeks begin to burn.

"Thank you." I smile at him.

We exchange phone numbers to keep in touch. Sam runs over and squeals. I shush her. 'I really like him...' I tell myself. Maybe we could be friends. Maybe we could be more than friends...

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I apologize that this chapter is kind of lacking. I'm trying not to make it too boring and I wanna basically get to the point, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter! Thanks for reading.