Before Dance Moms

Chapter 1 || School

-Kendall-

Nobody wants to be friends with the new girl.

That's just the way things go. People already have their friend groups perfectly set up, they just don't have room to take in a newbie. And unfortunately, that's what I discovered when I entered Hickory Hills Intermediate Middle School for the first time.

I know what you're thinking. How did a school get a name like Hickory Hills Intermediate Grade School? I wondered the same thing at first. Really, it's just a fancy name for a fancy private middle school. People there call it HHIMS for short.

As soon as I set my left pink Paisley Bow Ugg Boot into the building, I regretted everything. "Why did my dad have to get transferred to stupid Pittsburgh?" I grumbled to myself, shivering due to the cold, January weather.

And now you're thinking again. Yes, my dad was transferred several months into the school year. Yes, my first day at my new school was the day back from Christmas break. Talk about bad timing.

"You must be Kendall Vertes," a secretary lady greeted, speaking out of nowhere. "Here is your schedule."

She handed me a crisp, white sheet of paper, and I slowly flipped it over to reveal my classes. I scanned the bold typing, seeing General Music was my first class. "You'll be in homeroom 211," the secretary lady added. "Go straight down the hallway and make a left."

"Thank you," I barely whispered, fighting back tears. I was not the tough type, and often had trouble hiding that. Especially then, on my first day of 6th grade, at a completely new school, with no friends or familiar faces. Thinking about it just made me want to cry more.

I shuffled down the hall, mentally following the directions I was given to my homeroom. I took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy oak door to reveal about 25 sets of eyes perched on me.

"Kendall!" the middle-aged teacher chirped, hopping up from her chair to escort me to my seat. At least she was happier about my presence than I was.

She crossed the room, her sleek black heels pattering against the floor, her highlighted blonde hair bouncing with each step. She flashed me a welcoming smile, and held my shoulders with both hands.

"Welcome to Hickory Heights, your seat is right in the back over there," she informed me, pointing to the far back corner desk. Good, at least I wasn't in the front.

I hesitantly made my way to the back of the room, trying to ignore the whispers and stares but feeling my face grow redder at the mention of the name "Kendall". After what seemed like a decade, I reached my seat, and slid into it, relieved.

Placed atop my shiny desktop was a thick binder with my name labeled on it. Shrugging, I picked it up and added it to my stack as the bell rang.

"Get to your first class people!" my teacher (whom I didn't even know the name of) shouted and everyone scurried for the door. Confused, I followed.

Where even was General Music? Deciding to ask for help, I tapped on the shoulder of a girl who looked the same age as me with gorgeous dark skin. "Hello," I stuttered. "I'm going to the music room, do you know where that is?"

The girl smiled. "You can follow me, I'm going there as well." She stuck her hand out for me to shake, shifting her binders around. "I'm Nia." I did the same. "Kendall."

"Oh, so you're the new girl?" She realized, and for a second I wondered if she was going to run away in disgust. I shrugged. "That's me." With a joking grin, I added, "Any pointers? It's pretty intense here."

Nia's expression turned serious. "It's hard to make friends here. They all have their groups already, you don't want to mess with them. Don't try to associate with any of the Populars, they'll laugh at you, and anyone else will ignore your presence. Not too much room for new kids here. Good luck."

With that, Nia bolted down the hallway, leaving me lost and confused. The bell rang as I stood stranded in the hallway, and I wanted to cry. I had already started off the school year with a late to my first class, great.

What did Nia mean, when she told me there's 'not too much room for new kids'? There was an untold truth, to Hickory Hills Intermediate Middle School, and I was determined to find out what it was.

Boy, if only I knew that was just the beginning of the craziest year of my life.

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author's note: hi guys! I hope you liked the first chapter, I know it's boring but I promise you it gets better. I really like the style of writing in this one, I feel like it might actually be longer than like 15 chapters (the usual lol)

thank you for reading, I love followers, votes, feedback, and reads! and if you're writing a fanfic, please leave the name of it in the comments so I can read it! 😀

-caidawg (I wuv yew)