Allured

Chapter 1- Kira

"Do I have to go?"

"Yes, Kira," my mother says coolly, blowing out a breath of frustration. I sigh heavily and glare at my mother's back as she gathers her files and papers. She turns and narrows her eyes when she sees me still standing with my arms crossed next to the kitchen table.

"This is completely pointless," I tell her. She slams her files down on the table and pinches her nose in exasperation.

"Kira, this isn't up for debate. You are going to school. I really don't care how much you whine and beg, you are going to school, end of story. Now get your things, I'm already running late for work, and I still have to fill out a few more forms before you are registered."

A few minutes later, I stare out the car's window, the palm trees blurring together after about two minutes of watching them flash by in the window, their enormous fronds drooping down towards the sandy side of the road in a nearly endless row.

I despise having to start over. I hate having to go to school after school after school and having to be the new girl time after time after time. It's always awkward, uncomfortable, and irritating. And here I am, starting over again.

My mom attempts conversation repeatedly throughout the drive, but I'm in no mood to talk. After about five minutes of stony silence on my end, she gives up, allowing me my last few minutes of relative comfort in the car before I'm thrown into the chaotic messy world that is high school.

As we near the school I flip down the rear view mirror, doing a quick once over. My brown curls are still an untamed frizzy mess. My boring brown eyes are still painfully unnoticeable. My splattering of freckles are still strewn chaotically across my almost permanently flushed cheeks. I flip the mirror back up, my sour mood worsening. Try as I might, I have never been able to smooth my hair, make my eyes appear even remotely interesting, or hide the dark brown freckles scattered across my face. I won't suddenly grow five inches or lose twenty pounds becoming tall and skinny. I will always be frizzy haired, freckled, short, red-faced and chubby with plain old boring brown eyes.

Wonderful.

I sink lower down into my seat. My mom glances over at me.

"It'll be okay," she says brightly. I roll my eyes, glaring out the window at Seaside High. My mom navigates the car into an empty parking spot and turns it off. She looks at me, and I sigh as I grab my tattered grey backpack and open the car door. My mother grabs her purse, exiting the car. She leads as we enter the bustling school, searching for the administrative office. My mother walks briskly, her heels clicking across the floor. I follow slowly, dragging my beat-up converse across the tile. My mother abruptly turns into an office marked "Administration." I stop just outside the door, watching as she leans over a desk to talk to the secretary, and I contemplate running one final time.

"Here we go again," I mutter.

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I turn the "map" around and around, trying to make sense of the haphazard lines that decorate it. The buildings are simple smudges on the page, with illegible names scrawled above them. I look up from it helplessly, trying to see if the secretary has any actual help to offer, but she has already gone back to her paperwork.

I exit the administrative office slowly, trying to read the messy map while attempting to not run into anyone. I am unsuccessful, however, and within ten seconds I run into a broad male chest. Hard.

I let out an embarrassing squeak, and the map flutters from my hand as I begin my plummet to the ground. Hands reach out to steady me though, and I manage to regain my footing. I look up, and the apology on my lips dies the second I see the boy I had run into.