Gaia

Chapter 2

After arriving at South Taranaki Girls' High School, Gaia reluctantly parked her scooter and put her helmet into the scooter seat. Shaking out her messy hair, she walked into the school to her locker. She wound her way around students in the crowded hallway, careful not to touch anyone or look anyone in the eye. Gaia always gets the feelings that people are looking at her and thinking things about her. Everyday she feels like a daisy amongst a crowd of roses, standing out awkwardly.

Once she finally gets to her old locker she gets her books for the day, trying to remember all the subjects she has and what books she needs for each one. Why do school lockers and hallways always have to be so ugly and old? These lockers are no exception. They're a grey, murky colour, matching the chipped paint on the walls. Some of these lockers are even broken. The school probably doesn't bother to fix them. What about a touch of colour or a new paint job? It could really brighten the place up, not that it would make school anymore enjoyable.

Gaia has to do her hair in the dirty school bathroom every morning because she can't wear her helmet with her hair done. Annoying right? Gaia thinks so. She can't wait until she gets a car so that she doesn't have to scooter in the rain or do or hair at school. But let's not worry about things like that. That's just Gaia's first world problems. After doing her hair, sighing in front of the mirror and shoving her bag on, Gaia trudged over to the school library. Another library used more for a hangout than actually reading or getting books. She spotted Alexis and Sophia, sitting in their usual spot before school.
"Hey guys". "Hi", they reply. I sit down and chat with them until the bell rings.

As she sits in her History class, listening to Miss Baker blabbering on about the 1905 Russian Revolution, Gaia finds herself thinking as she often does, about what life would be like in South Africa. How different would her life be if she lived in Cape Town instead of New Plymouth? Would she be skinny instead of chubby? Would she be popular instead of shy? Confident instead of awkward? These thoughts fill Gaia's mind all the time. If her and her family had never moved to New Zealand, Gaia would have an Afrikaans accent. She would feel at home. She would be able to see the rest of her family more. She would be able to relate to everyone else in South Africa. She would be able to completely speak Afrikaans and read and write it.

But also on the other hand, she might not be as happy in South Africa as she thinks she is. Gaia loves visiting South Africa and feels happier and more at home there, than she ever has in New Zealand. Gaia wishes to be able to go to an Afrikaans school, study in Afrikaans and speak to everyone in her own language. She feels burdened form her culture and heritage, living in New Zealand.

Although New Zealand is a lot safer than South Africa, Gaia feels as though she does not belong here and there is nothing she can do about it.