New Girl

chapter 1

Being the new girl isn't that bad.

I've done it before. Plenty of times. I move around a lot in order to secure that I'm not found. Dyed my hair. Cut it. Switching between wearing make-up all the time and not. The process is easy, and I've got it down.

You see, I'm on the run. No, not because of murder, or something else that big. I am literally on the run.

My parents were abusive and negligent. And instead of telling the authorities, I ran off. I ran away. Away from them.

I started a new life.

Became a new girl. A new person with a brand new mind. It was like a game to me.

A game I absolutely won at.

New school? I got this. Merrimore High. It was big. Way too big for my tastes.

Counselor's office. I've always hated counselors. They do and change nothing.

The counselor's name was something stupid, like "Mrs. Diddli" or something. She was a short, rotund woman with thick white glasses. Absurd.

Mrs. Diddli smiles with lip-gloss-covered lips. "And here's your schedule, Miss Liagiba! Just ask another student for directions if you become lost!" she says.

"Right. Thank you." I scratch the back of my neck. I cut my hair short enough to reveal the back of my neck, and had to shave the excess hairs on my neck. It itches. I love the color, though. I dyed it a dark red-brown this time.

I exit the office, examining my schedule. Math first. Ew.

I begin walking towards the math-

Wait.

I have no idea where I'm going. Great.

I end up walking around for minutes on end, unsure of where to go. I was totally, utterly lost.

I'm staring down at the schedule in my hands when I bump into something hard and flat. Looking up, I see that it's a. . . Wall.

To the right of me, I hear snickering. I whip around with wide, embarrassed eyes. There's a brunette boy standing with his hand on the door behind him. He stares at me with a smirk.

Quickly avoiding the awkward silence, I ask him, "Do you know where Mrs. Hampson's room is?"

"Maybe."

"I'll take that as a yes. Can you show me?" I sigh and then add, "Please?"

"I guess I can." The boy shrugs. "I mean, I'm going there anyways."

"Okay, great."

He begins walking, with me in tow. "So, you're new?" he suddenly asks.

"Y-Yeah."

"Where'd you move from? And why would you want to come to Merrimore?" The boy had frowned.

Oh, no. My mind whirs for anything that seems possible. I can't really think of a town, so I just say, "I lived with my mom up north, but then I decided to move down here with my dad."

"Oh." He goes quiet, believing my answer. I silently thank the heavens for him doing so.

The rest of the trip is silent, but only a minute passes when we're standing in front of Mrs. Hampson's door. The boy opens the door, making a very dramatic entrance. "We have arrived!" God, like he's some sort of prince or something.

"Great, Porter. I see you've found our new student." Mrs. Hampson picks up a paper on her desk. "Miss. . . Liagiba, is it?" She makes a face full of confusion. She seemed to be thinking, what kind of surname is that?

A made-up one.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" She smiled. Jesus, what is this? Elementary school?

"Um, alright." I walk more to the center of the class before speaking. "Hi. My name is Jasper. I like a lot of things. I'm not very outspoken. Hope you enjoy. . . My. . . Presence." A few students chuckle, but one certain girl only stares at me with no emotion whatsoever.

"Good, now pick an empty seat, and we'll be onour way."

I ended up sitting next to some kid in the back of the classroom who never did his work. Class went by surprisingly fast, and when the bell rang, that staring girl walked up to me. "Hi!" She greeted with a plastic smile. She seemed too perfect. Her brown hair was too straight, her clothes were too neat, her make-up was too good, and I didn't like it.

"Hello," I replied.

"It's Jasper, right? I'm Veronica, pleasure to meet you!" Her voice was high-pitched. "I can tell we're going to be great friends!" She said, walking out of the room. No, we're not, Princess.

I have a feeling this is going to be a stressful day.

Lunch. I had my food, and stared at the cafeteria with the tray in my hands. Oh, where to sit?

No one has made an effort to befriend me, except for Veronica, but no way in Hell am I sitting with her.

Wait! There's Porter! Maybe I can sit with him!

I force my short legs to take longer strides to reach his table quicker. "Hey, Porter? Can I sit with you?"

Looking up, his face brightens. "Of course! Sit, sit." He pats the seat next to him, and I do as told.

"Thanks," I say.

The girl across from him smiles. "I'm Melissa. But call me Mel."

"Jasper."

"Nice to meet you!" She takes a bite of her spaghetti. "What are your electives?"

"Art and," I pause to look at my schedule, "Mental Health." I take a bite of my own spaghetti.

"Cool, when?"

"Art is third and mental health is sixth," I say, gazing at my schedule that was situated on the table.

"Oh, nice. I have mental health sixth, too."

"That's great," I breathe out. At least I'll have someone I know in that class.

"So, what are you interested in?" The boy with sandy hair asks. "I'm Nick, by the way."

Crap. What am I supposed to say? I've already used every hobby in the book! "Uh," I say, wanting to break the silence. And then I say the first thing that pops into my head. "I like riding horses."

Mel giggles. "Oh, I have a horse of my own! Maybe you can visit sometime!" This girl is way too nice for her own good.

"Thank you. I-I'd like that."

"Maybe this weekend? I'm free Saturday. Oooh, we could have races!"

"O-oh, sure thing." Oh no. I have never ridden a horse in my entire life. Either back out now, Jasper, or go and end up getting a concussion. But I'm no chicken. No way I would back out. "So, Saturday? What time?"

"Is noon okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

I'm so, so screwed.