The Model

Chapter 3

Ahhh, Monday. New day, new school. I got up and checked the time. 6:00. School started at 7:30. I had about 50 minutes before I had to catch the bus. I put on a pair of yoga pants and a grey Serengetee t-shirt. I loved the brand. I went downstairs and ate some cereal and then went back upstairs to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and then brushed my hair. I never did my hair. But, I had to when doing photo shoots. I had my own hair stylist. I felt my face. I was forgetting something. Oh yeah. My glasses. I looked super different without my glasses. No one would recognize me with them on. Hopefully. I ran out the door to the bus stop. I saw Ethan and Grayson there.
"Hey" Grayson said.
"Hi" I said, nervously.
"Um, do you want us to show you around the school?" He asked.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure. I could use the help" I said, holding up my schedule. Ethan took it from me.
"Oh, cool. We have four classes together" he said. Grayson then looked at it.
"And we have three. Hey! I love that brand. Serengetee" he handed my schedule back to me. The bus soon came and I sat alone up front while the twins sat in the back with their friends. It was your typical bus ride. Wads of paper being thrown, yelling, screaming, the bus driver telling them to keep it down. About five minutes later, we were at the school. I got off first and waited for the twins so they could show me around. They finally got off after what seemed like forever.
"Hey. Are you going to show me around?" I asked, a little snobbish.
"Yeah. Calm down" Ethan said.
"Sorry. If you haven't noticed, I moved. Across the country, I live in a new house with no one but my mom. I'm starting at a new school where I have no friends. Not exactly my idea of a good time" I said. We walked in and Grayson met a girl. She was a little shorter than me. Then again I was pretty tall for a 15 year old girl. 5 foot 9 inches. She had brown hair and brown eyes and a nose piercing. She looked really nice. Hopefully, I'll have one friend this year. Grayson wrapped his arm around her. Girlfriend. Definitely.
"Hey babe" he said, kissing her. "Oh, uh, sorry" he said, looking at me. "Belle, this is my girlfriend, Kristin. Kristin, this is my new neighbor, Belle" he introduced us. She came up to me and hugged me. I didn't hug back. I wasn't a hugger. She was super nice. It was so great to have at least one girlfriend here. We all walked to class. Apparently we had it together. All four of us. Math. To be honest, I was really good at math. I walked in and sat next to Ethan. The teacher, Mrs. Last, walked in and noticed me. Of course, she did. It was November and I was new.
"Well, well, well. A new student. I forgot. Please stand up and introduce yourself and tell us something about yourself" she said, a little too cheery. Great. Well I can't tell them I was a model.
"Uh, hi. I'm Belle Livingston and I really have nothing to tell you about me" I said, sitting down.
"Ok. Then. Well today class, we will be having a test on Radical Expressions" she said.
"Yes!" I whispered a little too loudly. Everyone turned to me. "Sorry" I said.
"So, Ms. Livingston. You like math?" Mrs. Last asked.
"Yeah" she didn't respond and handed out the tests. I turned mine in first. She quickly graded it, entered it in the grade book and handed it back. 100%. Yay! I showed it to Ethan and then Kristin. They both smiled. My first test and I aced it. Today started out to be pretty good.

Finally. Lunch. I sat down with Ethan, Grayson and Kristin. No one else sat with us. It was weird. I was used to a whole flock of people sitting with me.
"No one else sits with you guys?" I asked, eating my chips.
"Nope" Kristin said. "Say Belle, have I seen you somewhere? You look awfully familiar" Oh god. Please no.
"Shit" I whispered. She heard me. I was on a roll today. Note the sarcasm.
"What?" She asked.
"Uh, nothing. No I don't think you've seen me. I don't know where you'd have seen me. Why would you have seen me?" I said really fast.
"Huh. Well, I know you're hiding something and we can't be friends until I know what it is" dang this girl was hardcore. "Hey, why don't you come over to the twins house tonight" she said, enthusiastically. I looked at them, waiting for an ok. Ethan nodded.
"Sure. I'll be there"

5:00. I was at the Dolans house and we were watching tv. Kristin got up and went into the kitchen. She came back with a soda for her and one for me.
"Oh, no thanks. I don't like soda" I declined. All three of them gasped. I just ignored it.
"Hey. Let's play truth or dare" Kristin said.
"Sure why not" the twins said.
"Belle? You in?" Ethan asked. Well, I didn't want to be known as a chicken with these guys so I gave in and played.
"Sure, I guess" I said. We all sat in a circle playing. Finally it was my turn.
"Belle, truth or dare?" Kristin asked. I knew she would tell me to say what I was hiding if I picked truth. So I picked dare.
"Dare" I said.
"Ok. I dare you to tell us what your hiding" crap. I should've seen that coming.
"I...I...I can't" I said stuttering. "I lost all of my friends because of it and I don't want to lose you three. You're the only friends I have" I said, getting sentimental.
"Belle. You won't lose us" Grayson said.
"Yeah, well. I don't know that. I let fame get to my head and lost all my friends because of it" I said. I looked up and saw their eyes were wide. I realized what I just said and covered my mouth with my hand.
"What fame? You're famous?" Kristin asked.
"Belle, we're famous" Ethan said, pointing between himself and Grayson"And we didn't lose any friends because of it. You won't lose us"
"You didn't let fame get to your head" I exclaimed.
"Just tell us. We promise we won't make a big deal of it" Kristin promised. I sighed.
"Ok. I guess. I don't even know if you are going to recognize me" I said. I took off my glasses, knowing that anyone who was a fan of me would recognize me instantly.