We're More Similar Than You Think

The New Kid

    The town of White Pine Bay could be intriguing to the eye once someone lays their eyes upon the site. There are beautiful beaches and the wind smells of sunscreen and salt. It could be a bit of a delight once you stumble upon it. Most people would, dare I say it, call this town a bit of a paradise once they found it, but they were all wrong. This town's secrets is haunting and it scars most of the people. It has people who could be completely and utterly gross and mean and then there are the nice people in this lovely town who are trampled upon. Then there's the infamous side of murder and death. That's what White Pine Bay is all about, and no one seems to realize it. As I stumbled to the bus stop on the south end of town, I realized there was a boy who actually lived in the vacant motel that no one even pondered to think about anymore. I met him at this very bus stop and I knew him as "The New Kid." I remember that day vividly:

        I was wearing shorts that went up to my waist. They were black with buttons on each side to give a symmetrical fit. The white blouse that I wore with it hid most of me since I didn't like to dress nicely, but I had a sister who was desperate for my high school years to be filled with happiness and friends, which they were never going to be so due to my retched past. I wore combat boots to balance out the femininity that was spewing from my body and I had a fedora propped upon my brown, wavy hair that was normally in a ponytail, but not that day. I pulled my bag closer to my side as I sat down on the seat of the bus stop and I watched as the road stood empty and lonely a lot like I was. It was a pretty warm morning, but I was considered as cold as ice. I was always alone at the bus stop until the popular girls came along, gossiped, and were picked up by their friend. Simple and normal day, but not today. No, today was different. I heard leaves rustling behind me and turned around, thinking it was just the girls trying to scare me, but it wasn't. It was a boy who I had never seen before and that was abnormal. I was considered an "observer". I always saw things from a distance and I knew every kid at my school, but not this boy. He had to be new. 

        "Hello." I said awkwardly, pushing a strand of my wavy hair behind my ear as he looked behind him awkwardly and took a seat. 

        He was an awkward boy who was extremely tall. His eyes were an icy shade of blue and his lips contrasted as a pale pink against his pale white skin. Told you, I was an observer. I smiled as kindly as I could to him and he coughed awkwardly, taking a seat on the bench next to me. We stayed there in silence for a good minute until he broke it by glancing at me with his eyes and giving me a kind smile. 

        "Hi." He said in almost, but not quite a whisper. 

        I felt victorious that I made a kid as awkward as him say a word even though it was only one syllable. His hair was brown and wavy, like mine, but only shorter. He had the bangs on his forehead and his lips twisted into an awkward semi-grin. He coughed slightly at the awkwardness surrounding us and sighed. 

        "I'm Katie... Katie Dunn." I told him as friendly as I could and he seemed to calm down a bit. 

        Maybe he didn't like people and that just made me want to be his friend more because I wasn't a people person either; therefore we could be socially unaccepted rejects together.

        "I'm Norman, Norman Bates." He said, glancing at his hands and then at mine. 

        I figured I might as well, so I grabbed his hand and shook it politely. Oh great I made a friend, my sister would be proud. I knew that he was new, but I decided to be a rebellious and clueless teenager and ask him that dreaded 'let me get to know you' question. 

        "So, you're new in town huh?" I asked, trying to spark up a conversation with the only person who would sit on the bench at the bus stop and would probably not cause me to want to inflict serious pain upon them. 

        "Yeah," He said, laughing shyly at the answer. "I uh- moved into the motel just a few blocks away. Planning on running it... with my mom." He continued, his deep voice ringing in my ears. 

        I smiled at him and sighed. He talked when he was nervous... Yeah he and I could be considered friends now. I glanced at him and crossed my arms over the silky blouse that I was wearing. I hated it, but I had to just deal with it for the next eight hours. The Motel that everyone in town had forgotten about. The motel that served a home to the idiots who actually wanted to live in the town now housed the only ray of sunshine that could possibly be in my life. 

        "Oh cool... I always snuck in at night when I wanted to hide from my sister." I said honestly, playing with the ends of my hair in fascination. 

        Norman let out a small chuckle and smiled at me. He seemed to be nice. 

        "What about your parents?" He asked me, cocking one of his eyebrows. 

        Bingo. That's how you knew that Norman was new. Everyone in town knew why I lived with my sister and why I never spoke of my parents. They were also the reason I was considered weird and was actually a loner at the school. The dark past that I had was the main reason that this town had a reputation. 

        "Actually I don't-" I began, watching the popular girls run up to Norman and sit next to him, causing me to fall off the bus bench since they had pushed me off. 

        "So you're new!" Bradley said, crossing her legs and giggling girlishly. 

        Bradley Martin. She was an arrogant, social butterfly with artificial hair dye contaminating her hair. She was bowed to everywhere she walked and that annoyed me. I was one of those rare people who didn't find her attractive. 

        "Y-yeah." Norman stuttered. 

        Quickly, one oft eh girls who was in the ring of populars pulled up in her car, every girl squealing to get in. I was glad that they were about to leave fast so I could be with Norman, but that didn't last long. One of the girls turned and winked at Norman. 

        "You coming?" She asked. 

        Norman nodded and stood up, glancing at me with kind eyes. 

        "Are you coming?" He asked. 

        I shook my head and saw the girls in the car giggling and waiting on Norman to grace their presence. 

        "I don't think there's enough room." I mumbled, standing up from the dirty ground and patting the dirt off of my clean clothes. 

        "Oh," Bradley said, looking at me. "Yeah, there's no room." She told Norman as he climbed in and glanced at me. 

        "Bye Katie!" He waved, the car driving off rapidly and leaving me to my thoughts. 

        The one person I thought was decent in this stupid town and the bitches had to take him right from under me. Great.