Seeing Red

Amber Hill High

The sunlight streaming in from the open window pierced my eyes.

"Red?" My mom called, poking her head into my room. "Are you up?"

Tossing my legs over the edge of my bed, I quickly stood up. "Yeah mom."

"Well hurry up and get dressed, you're going to be late for the first day of school."

"What time is it anyway?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. The numbers on my dark red alarm clock came into view. "7:20?!?!" I had 10 minutes to get to school on time! My mom had gone back to the kitchen, so I pulled on my clothes. I searched around the room for the box that held my clothes. My mom and I hadn't fully unpacked yet from the move, so our stuff sat in cardboard boxes stacked in the corners of every room. Once I had on a red tank top, a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and my red high tops, I was set. I tossed my dark red messenger bag over my shoulder and headed downstairs. My mom was already at the table. As soon as she saw me she held out a cereal bar and my red cloak sewn for me by my grandma.

"Have a good day honey!" I nodded, and grabbed my car keys off the rack before walking outside and hopping into my red Vespa. Plunging the keys into the ammunition, I took off down the road to the high school.

~☼~

Once I got there I surveyed the parking lot. There were so many expensive-looking cars. The school was like one out of a movie, tan walls and it's name, Amber Hill High, emblazoned across the top of the double doors in gold-plated lettering. There were crowds of students in the front, some in the parking lot, while others were on the grassy field, or the benches that were strategically placed under several trees to the right of the school. 7:25. Great. I had 5 minutes to kill. I got out of my vespa, throwing my messenger bag over my shoulder.

"Hey Red-Girl! Hey!" I put my hand to my forehead to shield my eyes from the blinding sun. A few football jocks in red and gold jerseys stood about 20 feet away, next to a bright, yellow, gas-guzzling Hummer. "Hey Red-Girl! Catch this Red-Girl!" A football came hurtling toward me. Out of instinct my hand shot up, snatching the ball out of the air just before it hit my face, and throwing it back to them, where it hit the guy who threw it in the stomach. He doubled over.

"Happy first day to you too!" I called to him and his friends, before tossing my blonde hair over my shoulder and walking through the double doors and into the school.

~☼~

"We have a new student today!" The professor exclaimed once the bell had rung, signaling the start of homeroom. "Would you please come up here and introduce yourself?" I felt like rolling my eyes. Introduce myself? This wasn't elementary school! I stood up and walked to the front of the classroom.

"Hey. I'm Red." A couple of the football jocks looked over me appreciatively. Most of the girls glared at me.

"Miss. Di'Santos-" The classroom door burst opened and a boy strutted into the classroom. I glared at him, realizing that he was a football jock. The football jock, the one who'd thrown the football at me. "Late again Wolfe." The teacher remarked.

"I actually have a nurses pass." The boy held out a slip of paper with what seemed to be the nurse's signature scrawled across it. Mr. Charles sighed and waved him into the classroom.

"Miss. Di'Santos, it says here your name is Raven-" Mr. Charles glanced down at his paper.

"I think I know my name.." I remarked sourly, cutting him off.

The class laughed as he looked up, shocked. "Perhaps you don't understand Miss. Di'Santos. That kind of behavior is not tolerated in my classroom. If you behave like that again you'll have to endure the consequences."