How it happened.

How a girl starts a new school.

  "And this is Joe. Say hi Joe. " The guy in the uniform in front of me lets out a grunt and waves, sweat dripping down his red face.

I cast a worried look over my shoulder as I’m dragged further into the common area. Dull grey walls surround me and people were walking everywhere. Shouts bounce off the walls and girls hang off guys like clothing.

   The principal, who was a tall lady with red hair, guides her way through the sea of people, like a boat on some great expedition. She looks over at a girl sucking face with a guy and she just keeps on walking as if it was the usual thing.

  I’m pretty sure if Mr. Marks would have seen them, his face would have bunched up in fury and he would have called their parents.

  I hike my book bag further up my shoulder, trying to follow as best as I could. Three necklaces hang from my neck and the cold material slaps against my collar bone. My hand fingers the edge of my black tank top, nervously running up and down the edge of it.

My Aunt tried to get me into a sun dress, but luckily I packed plenty of black tank tops.

   The white belt clasped at my waist held my lose, dark jeans from falling down. No , they weren't over sized and big top looking, I just was never a fan of the whole skinny Jean era.

  People look at me with little interest and a lot of people’s hands keep reaching in their back pockets, probably waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch a smoke behind back.

  I follow Mrs. Rose, the principal, into a room behind a glass door. She walks forward and opens another door and we step into what I guess is her office.

  She sits in her chair and I silently sit my bag on the floor. I watch as she starts to open her desk drawer, and she pulls out a file. I really was starting to hate those things.

  She lays it flat on her desk and smiles up at me brightly.

 "Welcome to Star, Brooke. We are glad to have you here. but not too glad !" She leans closely at the last sentence and she laughs at her own Joke. I laugh a little, making sure the girl wasn't crazy or anything.

    "So, the rules here are simple." She smiles behind her glasses and I fiddle with the chair fuzz. "There is no smoking on campus. No beer or any other sort of beverage is allowed here either. . If you skip, don't get caught. No guns, knives, or anything sharp of any kind is allowed through the Star doors. " She smiles again. "We like to keep our campus clean."

    I shake my head. I really was in freak ville. My stomach turns and the breakfast my Aunt Linda made me was threatening to come back up.  When she told me to eat , I told her she didn't have to go through all of this for me but she, of course, just smiled and told me she didn't mind one bit.

  My Aunt was really a good person. I knew that. But.. She had her moments. Like how she woke up barefoot and wrapped in a flower robe, talking about a Chinese tradition.

  I blink away the memories and I see Mrs. Rose turn and frown at something behind me . Sometime during my thoughts, someone knocked on the door.

  'This will just be a minute, ' Mrs. Rose smiles to me, yet again, and she stands up and walks to the door.

  A bald man , with a vulture nose, was standing on the other side, his eyes blood shot. He was breathing heavily and he had his arms crossed over his chest tightly.

      Mrs. Rose looks him over with worry and she puts a hand on his strained arm. ' Is something wrong ? '

  He moves out of the way and me and Mrs. Rose get direct view of the scene.