Cree laid sprawled underneath her warm duvet, her eyes averted upward towards her taupe colored ceiling as her mind absentmindedly wandered about the day that she had been woefully dreading prior to their moving here. She'd spent two weeks idly lounging around, not even bothering to get accustomed to the place that they were currently living at for the time being.
The thing she loathed the most about moving was having to be a new girl school; the unwarranted glares while they scrutinized her from afar, the quiet whispers to their friends as they watched her struggle to find her first period class, having to find a table to sit at during lunch — it was just awful and though they've moved a great deal of times throughout the year, she's never adapted to the feeling of being the new girl.
While she still harbored a great animosity towards it, she found that she could use it to her advantage. Sometimes, at her previous schools, when she would get in trouble for fighting with the girls that were tormenting her or leaving without permission or if she just simply didn't like being there, she knew that she wouldn't have to endure it for too long because she knew that eventually they would be moving within the next few months and that she would just start over at another school.
Upon living in this new neighborhood, Cree decided to keep an open mind about being here. She could see how determined her older sister was about this being there permanent residency for more than a year or so, she could tell that from the cheeky smile that appears on Camryn's face every time she comes home from work that she actually liked living here. The other day, she even told Cree about some new friends that she made at work and how they were planning on going dancing sometime later this week.
Cree was happy for her sister, she knew that while having to be a new girl at school wasn't easy, neither was having to be the new girl at work. Camryn was constantly bearing the brunt of their unstable lifestyle. Cree was happy to know that she had finally found some happiness and friends while being here. She just wished the same could happen for her.
She's been here nearly three weeks and still haven't made any friends; well with the exception of the group of boys that she was constantly inadvertently running into, but even then she wouldn't call them her friends per say being that she only held a conversation with them twice. They had their own little group, they've known each other for years there was no way that they wanted another person to be inserted into their tight knit of a group, especially not a girl.
With an exasperated sigh spewing from her parted lips, Cree scrubbed a hand over her bleary eyelids as she slowly felt herself succumbing to her exhaustion. She was sheepishly roused the next morning by the loud timbre of her sister's voice, "Time for school!" She clamored from the kitchen, the lingering aroma of bacon simmering on the stove whiffed in her nostrils and made her mouth salivate from the delicious smell. She groggily tossed the covers aside and clambered out of bed, much to her avail.
"I can't believe you're starting your first year of high school already." Camryn egresses with a sullen sigh, placing a plate of food down in front of her. Cree smiled wryly, inwardly feeling a sudden timorousness thronging through every crevasse of her body. It was easier being the new girl in middle school, high school however was much new territory. She's going to have to go there with people who've known each other for years and who have already formed their cliques.
Normally, she would've scrounged up some pathetic excuse about her not feeling well so that she could stay home, but she wanted to at least make an effort while living here for Camryn. "Do you want me to drive you? I have enough time before I have to get to work." She offered after shooting a quick glance towards her watch, retracting Cree from here reverie.
"No, I'm fine with walking." She retorts before picking up get slice of buttered toast and taking a large bite out of it.
"Okay." Camryn says, taking a small sip from her cup of coffee as she rouses from her chair. "Well, finish up kiddo. I don't want you being late on the first day. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"
Cree jestfully rolled her eyes, she mered a playful scoff as she rose to her feet and sauntered towards the sink to place her dirtied dish inside. "Yes, mom I'm sure. I'll be fine, have a great day at work." She assures her after placing a gentle kiss on her left cheek, followed by embracing her in a genial hug.
"You too, kiddo." Camryn said, returning the heartfelt gesture by pampering with a gentle kiss on the forehead and a gentle squeeze of the shoulders. She smiled sheepishly at Cree before idly mussling her fingers through her kinked curls, causing Cree to playfully chastise her.
This school was different than all of the others that she had attended throughout the years. It was much more clean and unbearably doubled in size in oppose to the previous ones. Just as she presumed, the moment she arrived and stepped foot into the school she saw countless of bodies, huddled up and loitering the hallways as they stood around and gingerly conversed amongst each other. Everyone was hugging and speaking erratically as they went into great detail about their upcoming schedules and what they did over the summer.
Cree squeezed her way through the hallways, murmuring low excuse me's as she walked by. Though it was difficult to pave her way through the crowded hallways at first, she managed to find her first period class; English. Just as predicted, she received a few scrutinizing glares as she entered the classroom. She ignored them however and continued to saunter further into the room until she found an empty seat. She settled herself down in the chair, exhaling a deep sigh as she prepared herself for the long, dreadful day ahead of her.
She managed to proceed throughout half of the day, thankfully. By the time lunch approached, she was grateful to learn that they could eat outside. She could read or draw comfortably in a hushed silence without having to hear the loud clamor of her classmates interrupting her tranquility. She found a spot, huddled underneath a tree that was perched in the back of the schoolyard.
She nibbled on the lunch Camryn prepared for her while she quietly read. It wasn't until she felt the impact of a baseball hitting her shin that she looked up. Wincing while she gingerly rubbed at the maimed spot, she flickered her eyes around, preparing to offer some filthy obscurities towards the person who hit her. "I am so sorry!" A boy said, jogging over to her and scooping the round ball into his battered baseball glove.
He tilted his head as his eyebrows furrowed together. "Hey, I know you." She glanced at him, squinting her eyes with a dubious scrutiny until she began to recognize his familiar face.
"Oh! Yeah." She says, nodding her head as she closes her book shut. "Smalls, right?" She asks, recognizing his face after meeting him at the pizzeria last week.
He nods. "Yeah." He replied, pursing his lips together as he allowed his eyes to gingerly linger behind him where he and the rest of the guys were playing a game of baseball in the empty field behind the school. He sees Benny and a thought occurs to him; "Hey, uh, we're over there playing a game of ball. You can come over and join us if you'd like?"
She glanced hesitantly at him, ambivalent on his suggestion. "I don't know...I'm not really good at playing baseball."
Smalls snorted, an amused smirk on his face. He tucked his baseball glove under his arm and extended his hand out to her offering to help her up. "Yeah neither did I at first. The guys gave me hell but Benny helped me get better. Come on, it'll be fun." She reluctantly slotted the palm of her hand over his and allowed him to gingerly lift her to her feet. She dusted the excess dirt off of her pants as they walked side by side.
