FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

Chapter 10

Alyssa

It was Monday morning and I was trying to decide what to wear to school. I was in the fifth grade now and today was the first day of school. I had completely forgotten about the three kids I had seen on the camping trip in the holidays.

Summer was over and gone were the long holidays full of fun and happiness. A new school year stretched out before me and to be honest, I was scared stiff.

What if everyone else had grown taller over the summer? My mom said that I would have a growth spurt soon, but I didn't believe her. First of all, I had talked to my friend Kellie on the phone, and she had said that she had grown three inches. Kellie and I were the same age and we did everything together. If she had had her growth spurt already, and I hadn't, the that meant that I would not have mine soon. At least that's what I thought.

People said that High School was the toughest time. Well, I hadn't exactly gotten there yet, but I could honestly say that fifth grade was the toughest year I had faced so far. First of all we would be sharing a lunch period with the sixth and seventh graders, so we'd be the youngest kids in the cafeteria. Secondly, you needed to be very careful with what you wore. I knew this one kid who wore a shirt with a picture of a horse on it, and the other kids laughed because apparently, it was a character from a kids' TV show. The other kids made his life miserable for the whole year.

Lastly, and this was the worst thing yet. You had to avoid getting Marked. Every year, one of the sevent graders cornered a fifth grader in the hallway and "marked" him. Then everyone treated that kid as if he had cooties. If he touched anyone else, the Mark would be passed on.

I chose a casual floral patterned dress and decided to wear my new pink sandals. After picking up my purple bagpack, I made my way downstairs. Today, my dad had taken it upon himself to cook breakfast, and I could only hope thar it would taste alright.

"Hi, mom, hiya dad!" I greeted my parents enthusiastically. You see, I was morning person and I just loved to see yet another day begin.

"Morning, homey," they both murmured and turned back to what they were doing. Ny mom was drinking a steaming cup of black coffee and my dad was cooking french toast. A few moments later, he came and placed the plate on the table. He was wearing an apron with the words: KISS THE CHEF printed on them, and I laughed as he took it off and threw it across the kitchen so that it landed on the opposite counter.

"So, " he said. "Got anything planned for this year? Cutting down on pranks maybe?"

"Not gonna happen, pops," I giggled and he sighed.

"Alyssa," my mom began. "If I get one more phone call..." I cut her off.

"You won't get a call, mom. I planned everything out this time. When I get caught doing pranks, my name will be Alecia Harrington and my parents will be in on vacation in...The Amazon." My dad chuckled and mom simply frowned.

I wolfed down my toast and barrelled out of my house. The bus stop was only a few blocks away so I didn't have to walk for long. The morning was warm and crisp. I pushed my pack higher on my shoulders and looked around for any signs of my friends. Nothing. So I walked to the stop on my own. It was crowded. The other fifth graders milled around and were trying their best to blend in. One boy with whitish blonde hair was trying to stuff his pockets with as many tissues as he could. He wore a striped shirt with black pants and his nose looked red and puffy. Another girl with blonde pigtails was reading a book on the bench and her gaze was glued to the book.

I quickly spotted my best friend, Kellie and ran over to her. She was standing next to a tall tree, trying to fix the zipper on her bagpack. She was wearing a pink top with a blue denim skirt and had left her hair hanging loose.

"Alyssa!" she shrieked, and squeezed me in a tight hug. "I'm taller then you!" That put a damper on my mood.

We stood there and chatted until the bus came. As soon as the doors opened, everyone thundered up the stairs, desperate to get a good seat. Lucky for us, we got a pretty decent one next to the window. The bus ride was filled with chatter and laughter, and when it ended, Kellie and I clambered off before anybody else.

After picking up our schedules and locker numbers, ww trudged down the many halls of Crescent Hills Middle School until we came to the hallway that had our lockers. Luckily, this year my locker was next to Kellie's. Last year had been a nightmare. My locker had been next to a boy who loved tuna sandwiches way too much and the stench had been unbearable.

"What do qw have first?" Kellue asked.

"English," I replied and she grinned in response.

"Let's go!" We easily found the room and idled in. The teacher, Mrs Huton was riffling through some papers and everyone started taking their seats. Ww found two empty ones next to Eleanor Sanders and Emily Rene. These girls were very popular and not at all mean, which was what I secretly admired about them. Another girl, Michele Peterson was the meanest person you'd ever meet. But I highly doubted she could talk back to the seventh graders in the cafeteria. She had chosen a seat at the very back and had put her bag on the one next to it.

So thus began another boring day of another boring year. Mrs Huton gave the usual start-of-the-year lecture before taking roll and beginning the lesson.

The first few classes went by in a blur and soon, it was time for lunch, also known as trying to lie low while the seventh graders tried to mark someone. Kellie and I chose a table at the back where we were sure that we'd be hard to miss. I made for the line in front of the lunch lady but Kellie stopped me.

"I heard the food is horrible today," she told me. "Lucky for you, I brought an extra sandwich. I sighed in relief and we started to walk towards our table. As we passed a few older kids though, we caught snatches of what they were saying.

"Which one did they Mark?" a tall brunette asked excitedly.

"Oh My Gosh, you mean you didn't see it!?" another tall girl chirped.

"They Marked this really snooty girl with a weird hairdo." A buff boy laughed loudly.

"Oh yeah," says a slender girl with wavy blonde hair. "I think the kid's name is Michele Peterson."

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A/N

So umm not much of a chapter, but anyway, how did you like it?

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