Something New

1 - The Beginning

It was the start of my sophomore year of high school, and I was dreading this moment more than one could imagine. I established myself pretty well my freshman year by becoming part of the "popular" group, which consisted of guys that dressed and acted like the typical frat boy and the girls that looked just like the Instagram models, and then there was me.

I knew I didn't belong, but the only friend I had, which was no other than my best friend, started hanging out with the "cool" crowd, so I didn't really have much of a choice other than following suit.

Her name was Teegan. She always had the perfect long, naturally blonde hair with deep blue eyes and freckled tan skin. We grew up as tomboys together, always playing football with the boys, tackling them left and right until we would win the game. Though the older we got, the more she changed to fit the scene and the more I changed to fit my own.

Part of me always felt guilty assuming that she only stayed friends with me because she knew that I had no one else, but part of me was always grateful that she always tried to invite me into conversations to get me out of my comfort zone.

"Francesca honey, you're going to be late to school if you don't leave the house in the next 5 minutes!" Of course there was no one better to knock me out of a daze than my mom. In a matter of minutes I was running to the front door, grabbing a bagel off the counter, and saying a muffled goodbye all while rummaging through my bag for my car keys to ensure that I wouldn't get detention on my first day back.

Which leads me to where I am right now. The first four periods were a blur, mostly consisting of me trying to not fall asleep because I am quite the opposite of a morning person and doodling on the syllabus that the teachers provided. Lunch time was put after 4th period, and as I look at Teegan sitting next to me, she's in her designer clothes with flashy flip flops and a designer bag. I on the other hand am wearing my curly black hair in a messy bun with ripped jeans, a black tank top, tan cardigan, my comfiest pair of vans, and a shoulder bag that I bought while thrifting. To say a lot has changed over the years would be an understatement.

"So Francesca, I see nothing has changed about you over the summer" one of the guys said to me, and all I replied with was my middle finger, which caused a roar of laughter from our table in the lunch room. Which, by the way, was conveniently the first table to your right when walking into the cafeteria, making sure that they're all noticed just so they can pretend that not all of the eyes in the room were on them.

I sat with earphones in until the end of lunch, when the bell rang my best friend sent me an apologetic smile while walking away with her boyfriend, who just so happened to be the guy that every other girl wanted to be their boyfriend. I shrugged, waved it off, and made my way to fifth period reminding myself that I only had 3 classes left until I could be back in my room getting lost in a book.

While climbing up the stairs to the second floor, I stepped on a shoelace that I didn't know was untied and nearly face planted while my binder and the papers inside went flying. After cursing under my breath for a few seconds, I pushed myself up and started to quickly collect my papers off the ground.

In the midst of all of this, I was too lost in my own thoughts to realize that there was someone helping me pick up the papers that had dispersed. Once I heard his deep voice say "here you go" and I looked up to see who was handing me my belongings, I was instantly tongue tied and could barely mumble out a "thanks" before grabbing the papers and quickly walking away before he could see the pink that formed in my cheeks.