Under the sheets

Chapter 19; Social pyramid

After watching Dean's car drive away from the entrance I made my way inside, I tightened the straps on my book bag, I did my makeup that morning and I wore something cute,
I was nervous now, after what he had said, he looked right through me.
My camera hung on my body as always, and my steps shaking as I took them, High school was a jungle, I had made it through 9th 10th and half of 11th grade all on my own, High school in California was simple, there were so many students that one could go by unnoticed.

"Hey!" A voice stopped me dead in my tracks I turned around
The guard was pointing at me, I smiled shyly
-"I've never seen your face around here." He gawked at me,
-"I'm new here-
-"Yeah, Yeah c'mon."
He cut me off standing up and signaling me to follow him,
I tagged along behind the man, the school seemed stuck in time, but everything in this town seemed that way, the walls were stained with paint as old as time it self, the floor was cleaned and polished, however the years and years of students running and walking through it, were noticeable.
The hallway felt like; it was going on forever and the amused looks of other students was suffocating.
-"here, go in here and get your school program and what not..."
The indifferent guard walked away from me.

I was 15 minutes late to class when I finally had my school program in hand, my locker combination and my school ID,
I found myself in front of the door to my first class thanks to the directions the woman at reception had given me, I breathed in deep, I had to get ready for the gazes and glares from the students, I couldn't believe I was actually scared of being the new kid, I thought about Dean laughing at me mockingly and the thought was enough to get me fired up,
I knocked on the door and waited.

Moments later the door flew open, a lady smiled at me warmly, I could only asume she was the teacher.
-"Come in!" She invited
I hesitated at first, but her smile pulled me in the class, I walked in and the sound of the door closing alerted me, now I knew there was no escape, I turned around to where the class was staring me down, a few whispers and giggles made the hairs on the back of my head stand up, my hands started to sweat.
-"Class, we have a new student!" The whispers and murmurs grew louder, and I wanted to jump out of the window.
-"Introduce your self!" The teacher invited
I screamed internally, but the smile on my face was hiding my anxiety,
I took a deep breath and looked at the class then I noticed, Pearl! Dean's friend was sitting in the crowd of people; smiling at me from ear to ear, my insides went on spin cycle, just my luck.
I smiled nervously
-"My name is Blaire" I muttered,
The whispers and murmurs started up again and I just felt like I was about to die.

The teacher signaled for me to sit and conveniently sent me to the desk behind Pearl, I walked through all the desk and felt the gazes and glares from the others burning Holes through my back,
Another thing I noticed was that this classroom was significantly less packed than a normal classroom in Cali, it almost felt ghostly,
I took my seat and looked up at the class, I tried to not pay any attention to the curious gazes people made my way, it almost made me feel like I had something on my face or my clothes but no matter how much I checked, there was nothing on me.
Upon further inspection the faces weren't glares or mocking looks,
Almost all smiles and grins; maybe they too knew what being the new kid felt like and tried to make the situation comfortable but that was not how I felt like.

Pearl turned to my direction, her enthusiastic smiled was contagious enough for me to smile back...
-"I'm so excited that you're here!" She whispered shaking with joy
-"And in my class too!"
I understood there and then that Pearl wasn't being cynical, this was just how she was a total happy go lucky camper.
-"I'm also h-
-"Wait don't say anything I'll talk to you after class!" She cut me off and turned around, I now also understood that Pearl was hyperactive, I smiled to myself.

English class went by smoothly, I was ahead in California so I already knew the topic being discussed in class,
After class Pearl naturally stopped me as she said, she wanted to talk to me.
-"Blaire! Let me see your program!"
I handed my program to the excited girl, her personality was exhausting but charming,
She gave me her signature contagious smile for the 100th time since I met her, she pushed her round frame glasses over her nose
-"Yep, same classes as me! Come we have Art next!" She held my hand and pulled from my arm,
Art class was the only class I wasn't taking in California, I was taking theater, but whatever works, works.
-"Can you tell me a bit about the school?" I asked genuinely curious
I walked next to her now,
She arched her perfect eyebrow and her beautiful blue eyes took my breath away,
-"that's an odd question, what do you want to know?"
I realized my question was faulty because I didn't know what I wanted to know.
I bit my lip
-"anything..."
She Giggled,
-"Wanna know some drama?" She said with a sly smirk,
I laughed, now I knew what I wanted to know, I nodded
-"Well the school is technically divided in to a giant pyramid of social classes." Pearl explained, she flipped her perfect fluffy mane away from her eyes, I was confused.
I looked at her and let her continue her explanation,
-"at the top of the pyramid, lay the popular kids, the jocks especially, the untouchables, bellow them, the somebody's, the kids who's parents have money and they pretend to be someone, in the middle the normal students and at the bottom the nobody's." Pearl explained,
-"I need to go get my art notebook from my locker." She excused herself, I followed her there and I noticed that my locker was two lockers down from her's! What a coincidence, that, or she also was a recent enrolled student... I shyly pointed at the locker number
-"This is my locker" I muttered
Pearl looked at me, she seemed giddy almost
-"I saw it on your program!" She said in a giggle.

We resumed our walk to class
-"Oh right!" She burst out remembering something
-"I'm a nobody!" She said, at first I didn't understand what she meant, but then I remembered,
-"You don't seem too bummed about that!" I said almost surprised...why wouldn't someone want to be popular, that makes no sense.
-"It amuses me honestly, this is high school, not some shitty TV show, these dumb asses take this way too seriously." Her words jabbed, they made me feel immature for wanting to be up there with the popular kids.

-"Honestly I wanted a chance to be popular, I was never granted that opportunity back in California, the school had way too much people, it was impossible to stand out and since this is a small town, I figured it might be simpler."

I did want to be the popular one, I dreamed with being prom queen and having that perfect high school   life I read in books and saw in movies but instead of being the shy and quiet lead character, I wanted to be the explosive and outspoken cheerleader!
Pearl shook her head,
-"No Blaire, You don't want to be them, you're better than all of them, I have no doubt that you can be a popular kid, but why Aim so low?"
Her words made me think and made me reevaluate all my stupid fantasies and I thought how alike Pearl and Dean were.
We sat at the table in art class the teacher was still not here.
-"I have a plan and now that you're here I can set it in motion." She said with a distant glint in her eyes that made me shudder,
-"I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you." She said with a charming smile, the way her pool blue eyes gazed at me, made me blush, she was intimidatingly pretty.

-"Hello class!" The teacher came in to the classroom as soon as I was about to say something, her eyes stopped at me
-"You must be Blaire!" She said smiling ear to ear.