Caught in the Crosshairs

Chapter One - First Day

"Finish your eggs honey!" My mom reminded me. "You need a healthy brain for your first day at a new school."
"I know mom," I replied. Truth was, I felt less and less healthy the more I ate. Butterflies flew around in my stomach in herds!....or packs? Whatever you call it, I was definitely nervous. I was starting my freshman year of high school without any friends at all! I had just "officially" moved here two days ago to Parkersville, a small town outside of Orlando, Florida. My Dad, a tall strong man with sharp green eyes and a playful smile, was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer. Three months ago he lost his battle, so my mom, brother and I couldn't afford to live in Hawaii anymore.
"Hey, Samantha, you ready for high school to start today?" My big brother, Kyle, asked me. He is only 2 years older than me, so we are really close.
"As ready as I'll ever be!" I smiled. "But no one could be more ready than you." I stated.
"What d'ya mean?" he questioned.
"You're a Junior, handsome, super-athlete quarterback and make friends in like 5 seconds. And....well, Samantha Berg is just, Samantha Berg. Your typical nerd who's way ahead in science, has asthma, and can't take two steps without tripping over her own feet."
"C'mon, Sam, you know that's not true...well, the asthma part is, but you'll do fine, honest!" He grinned a million-dollar smile. "Now lets go to school."

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Eeeeeekk! The tires on Kyle's car came to a screeching halt in a parking space. Perfect, I thought to myself, school.
I slung my purple and teal-print backpack over my shoulder, closed the car door, and headed up the steps to Westdale High. Kyle was right next to me, and we opened the double-doors together.
"And welcome to high school!" He said with a flourish and a grin.
I stood in the doorway, looking in at the flocks of teenagers, friends coming together and catching up after summer break. How can I ever fit in with them all? I wondered. I shook off the temporary shock and decided to find my locker. I walked down the halls and finally stumbled on it. C0314, great, my locker was a math equation. I reached into my jeans pocket for my locker combo. 10-1-14-9-20-15-18. I opened my locker and noticed that it hadn't been cleaned out. There was a paper bag inside with green smudges on the front, along with an envelope and a nasty stench.
"Eew, gross," I muttered. "Looks like someone's moldy lunch from last year." I mused, grimacing as I grabbed the trash and turned to throw it away. As I did so, I almost ran into the janitor as he wheeled his cart down the hall. He grunted "Watch where you're going, wouldn't you."
"Sorry," I murmured and tossed the trash into a nearby trash bin. He left promptly, mumbling about "kids these days." I decided to place some textbooks in my locker to lighten my backpack. I looked at my watch. 8:27, three minutes til school starts. I made my way to French II and found a desk. As 8:30 neared, more students flowed into the room and found their desks as well. RIIINGGGGG!
"Hello class! As most of you know, I'm Ms. Campbell, your French teacher for this semester."
I took in a deep breath, 'So, this is high school.'
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Boy, I sure am hungry now, I thought to myself. Unsure exactly of where the lunch room was, I followed the flow of students through a hallway and eventually to a set of double doors being held open with doorstops. Since it was a relatively small high school, all of the students ate at the same time. I got in line and grabbed a tray as I went through the different foods various workers were serving. At my old school, the lunch room food was quite unappetizing, but this high school's food was amazing! I got Chicken parmesan, steamed vegetables and a fruit salad on my tray, then paid for it at the cash register. Now to find an empty table. I looked around and spotted one in the back corner of the room. Perfect, I thought. I sat my food down on the table, avoiding a weird sticky spot in the center. A quick scan of the cafeteria table and I realized there were many other stains and spots of dried milk splotches and jelly globs.
Sheesh, the Janitor needs to start doing his job.
I had just taken one bite of my fruit when.....

"Well, lookie here Jenna, do you see what I see?"
"I sure do, Krissy." Jenna replied. "You're the new girl, arent you?" Jenna questioned.
"Ummm, yeah, I'm new. How'd you know?"
"If you haven't noticed, it's a small school. Everyone knows everyone else, so, um, yeah." Krissy said with sass.
"Um, well nice to mee-"
"So, like, where did you come from?" Jenna snapped.
Well they seem real nice, I thought to myself. Just keep your head down and hopefully they'll go away.
"Hey, rude chick, Jenna asked you a question. And when Jenna asks you a question, you will answer her. Understand?" Krissy sassed.

"I moved here from Hawaii." I mumbled as I let my hair cover my face.
"Like, why would you leave such an awesome place?" Krissy questioned.
"We couldn't afford to live there anymore, because-"
"Oh, so you're saying that Parkersville is cheap?" Jenna said in an offended tone.
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
"Well, you'd better watch what you say from here on out, got it?" Jenna threatened.
"We couldn't afford to live there anymore because my dad died." I said coldly.
"Wow, trying to dodge a bullet by making stories, are we?" Jenna hissed.
"Hey, is everything cool over here?" I heard a voice behind me ask.
Oh great, I'm already making a scene I thought to myself. Just keep your head down and don't make eye contact.
"Um, yeah Drew, everything's cool here. We were just introducing ourselves to the Hawaii girl." Krissy explained.
"Really, cause I think I heard you bullying her? I just wanted to make sure if the principal needed to know...." Drew prodded. "Ugghh, sure Drew. C'mon, Krissy, this loser isn't worth our time." The two girls walked away to another table where Jenna stole someone's dessert and threw it in the trash. I shook my head in disgust.
"Hey, are you alright?" Drew asked.
I turned to see who had helped me. My eyes met the gaze of a tall, muscular, dirty-blond guy who looked a little younger than Kyle. His green eyes and smile reminded me of my father, and I instantly felt better.
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's their problem?" I wondered.
"Their just jerks, that's all. It's practically their mission to make the new kids miserable."
"Well, they sure are good at their job." I joked, poking at my now cold chicken parmesan.
"I'm Drew Johnson."
"Samantha Berg."
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Drew asked
"No, not at all." I smiled.
"Listen, I couldn't help but overhear that your Dad passed?"
"Yeah," I started, "we found out he had Stage 4 lung cancer, and 2 weeks later," I choked.
"Hey, it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it." He said reassuringly. After a pause, he continued. "So, where'd you live in Hawaii?"
"Oahu." I sniffed.
"Do you know how to surf?"
"Oh, yeah, I've been up on a board every summer since I could walk!" I managed a smile.
"Nice." He grinned. "So, what grade are you?"
"I'm a freshman."
"Oooo, so new school and first year of high school, that's rough. I'm a Sophomore, and I remember how tough that transition was all too well." He said emphatically. "Oh, hey, so Kyle is your brother?!" He realized.
"Yep, that's my bro."
Ringggggggggg!
"Well, break from the torture of school is over." He sighed dramatically. I laughed.
"But seriously, if those two ever give you any more trouble, let me know. They have a rep for being bullies, and the principle is always glad to give them detention!" He chuckled.
"I will-and thanks, Drew....thanks a lot."
He smiled, nodded, and walked off to his class. I grabbed my back pack, got up and immediately tripped over my shoelaces. I got up as quickly as possible, but Jenna and Krissy were already laughing at the top of their lungs. Trying to ignore them, I tied my deck shoes, fingered through my blonde hair, smoothed my tank, and walked confidently past the bullies out of the room.
Ugghh, why am I such a klutz? I shook it off, went to my locker, and grabbed the next half of textbooks I needed to finish off the day. I quickly glanced at my schedule for the day.
French II, check!
Writing, check!
Social Studies, check!
Art, check!
Lunch - Just barely...
Yes! I thought to myself. Chemistry is next.
Science has always been my best subject - ever since I made a volcano out of baking soda and vinegar when I was six, I knew science was for me. Age-wise, I'm supposed to be in Biology, but I did that over the summer to keep my mind off of..well...harder topics to think about.
So, my mom talked to the Chemistry teacher and he was more than ecstatic to have another student in his class.
Finally, something I'm really good at!
I grinned as I walked down the halls and into the classroom.

A.N.
Hey guys! Hope you're liking it so far. If you have any thoughts, edits or critiques I'd love to hear from you!