My High School Days | Teen Ink

My High School Days

December 19, 2013
By StephJackson, Maple Ridge, Other
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StephJackson, Maple Ridge, Other
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Favorite Quote:
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'im possible'"


Author's note: I was inspired to write this novel because although I have never been home schooled, i know how she felt during the times of entering something new. The smells, sounds, and the people. I hope that when people read this novel that they will realize that if you are being bullied or something is being mean to you, that if you stick up for yourself, then everything will be alright. Sometimes bad things happen because of a misunderstanding, and when you confront them about, then you can sort everything out.

High School
Chapter 1
The pink fluffy panda jumps up from behind the tree! All the little minions wattle around like….. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, the sound of my alarm clock startles me from the corky dream I just dreamt. I attempted to open my eyes, but had to peel them open because they are glued shut from the eye mucus that has hardened from throughout the night. I lied in the queen sized bed that is on the floor. This bed is extremely comfy and warm and I hardly want to move. I glance over at my alarm clock and see that is it 6:00 and I continue to lie in my bed and enjoy the warmth. I grab my new iPhone 5 that I had just gotten in the summer, and scroll through all the social media Apps. By the time I am finish it is 6:30am and I slowly start to make my way downstairs. I live in a town house that has 2 floors plus a small but comfy attic that is where my room is. I make my way down to the kitchen, the sounds of the stares cracking every time I move. Mom has already laid everything out, from kitchen mats, white plates, to the little napkins that are under the utensils.
“Good morning Emma” as she mixes the pancake matter. “Are you hungry for breakfast”?
“Of course I am hungry for breakfast!” Emma replied in a very enthusiastic tone. “I am always hungry”.
I make my way to the kitchen table; the cold hardwood floor is making my feet feel like ice.
“How are you feeling about the first day of school Emma? Do you have everything? Do you have your outfit picked out? Do you need a lunch?
“MOM you need to chill out!!! You are totally over thinking everything!” The sound of the pancakes slightly burning makes me excited to eat, the smell is floating in the air and is making the town house smell like loveliness. Mom comes over with the fluffy, but burnt pancakes; she slides it on my plate, and continues to make more for my other siblings. I stuff my face with the pancakes like there is no tomorrow. I finish and wipe the syrup off of my face with a napkin.

“Thank you so much for the pancakes mom” kissing her on the cheek.

“You’re welcome pumpkin, you need something delicious to last you the entire first day of school!”


Running up stairs I skip every other step. I look at myself in the crooked mirror that is on the wall of the second floor. This is it; this is the day I get to be a normal teenager. I hear a door squeak while it opens and a pair of glowing eyes appears.

“Can you stop making so much noise? Some of us are trying to sleep….” Said Danielle than shut the door like there was a monster on the other side.
I have two younger siblings, a 9 year old sister named Danielle and a brother whose name is Jasper, but I call him Jay for short because otherwise I think of Jasper the friendly ghost. He is only 7.
I continue on with my morning after my sister interrupted my mood. I remain going up the 2nd flight of stairs onto the 3rd floor, which is pretty much an attic. I have a family of 5, and they can get pretty insane at times. So of course I thought that I should attempt to stay away from them at any possible time when things start to blow up. So in conclusion I got the attic.



I walk into my room and my feet reach the carpet mats that I had laid down, they feel like you are walking on clouds, or even feathers, it is the best feeling in the world. The carpet warms my feet from when they turned ice cold during breakfast, and that instantly warms my whole body. I think my room is quit unique. When you first walk, straight ahead of you is a full length mirror that has Christmas lights around the rims, little hipster, but oh well it’s pretty. To the right is just plan wall, but to the left is where all the magic is. Since of course since it’s the attic the ceiling of my room has part of the outside roof in it. So under there I have my bed. It is just a mattress on the ground, but surprisingly it is the most comfortable thing you will ever sleep on. Next to my bed is my night table that is in comparison to a show box. It has my lamp, my clock and at night my phone. I love to scrapbook it is my hobby, usually I have pictures, paper, scissors, and any other possible scrapbooking material scattered around my room. Last but not least I have one window, it is a small window that is in correlation to if you had two average sized laptops and placed them side by side, yes I know, it’s a small window. After walking into my room I find myself sitting at my white desk with glass lying on top. I pull out my makeup back that is completely dirty. It has crushed face powder, foundation, and cover up splatted inside and outside the bag, and a few bright shades of power from the days where I was feeling a little festive, but failed miserably. I turn on my makeup mirror that has a bright light that circles the rim of it. I just continue to stare at myself like there was another human being sitting right in front of me. I have never been so happy. I reach into my dirty bag and pull out the essentials that I need: BB cream, face powder, liquid felt eyeliner that is in blackest black, and last but not least the most important thing ANY girl needs, mascara. When I am applying my BB cream I am thinking of everything that might happen at school, and I am starting to get mixed feelings. By the time I get to the eyeliner my hands have started to shake. I don’t know if it is because I am overly excited, or if the fear is kicking in. I manage to put everything on, and I look presentable, but my hand is still shaking.


It is time for the most important thing of the first day, the hair and outfit. I am sitting at my full body mirror, and my straighter is burning hot, the smell of burnt hair instantly is in the air. Strand by strand my fizziness turns into smooth pin straight thing of hair that is on top of my head. Perfect. I didn’t want to look too overdone, so I thought I would mix some casual with fancy. My outfit consists of a maroon dress that has a Peter pan color and it is snitched at the waist. I pair them with some black leggings that were honestly quit thin, but oh well, and to finish everything off, I was wearing an army jacket that was the new hot trend along with my brand new moccasins. I do my business in the washroom and when I come out the fighting begins. My siblings are like carnivores, and they want to eat each other. They don’t get along, even though they are little, I have never heard so much fighting.



It is now 8:00am and school starts in half an hour. Mom makes her way to the minivan and starts warming up the vehicle. I grab the black backpack mom had gotten me for when I went to summer camp in the wilderness a couple years ago. I got my binder, pens, pencils, and my laptop, I put it in the bag and I was ready to go. I met with mom in the van and we headed off.

Flash backs of my old life were starting to appear into my mind. I used to be homeschooled, from 2ed grade till 9th grade. My mom and dad decided that I should be homeschool and pulled me out of normal public school. My parents say that they pulled me out so that I would become more independent, and would be closer to my parents, but I know the real reason. I had ZERO friends from pre-k till half way through grade 2. I know that not a lot of little kids have set friend groups in such low grades, but at that age, all your classmates are usually friends. Not in my case though. No one liked me. I repeat no one. Not even that kid who would sit in the corner and pick his nose all day. I would only talk to the teachers, and would spend my recess and lunches by myself. That is the real reason why I got homeschool. It was pretty rational, and I guess that it all worked out in the end, and I did enjoy it quite a bit. My dad is a Doctor, so he is working ALL THE TIME so my mom would be my teacher. There is a 6 year difference between me and the next child, Danielle. This meant that it was only me who was being homeschooled at the time. It was really fun, we always went to field trips to the zoo or science world, and one time we went to Michael’s and I went through a course there. That lead me to scrapbooking, and that is my true passion.
When it came to grade 8, where I would usually be starting high school, I realized that I still didn’t really have any friends. I had the odd from a homeschooling program, but we were more acquaintances then friends. After a great deal of thinking things over and over again, I convinced my parents to allow me to attend grade 10 at a public high school, then simple take it year by year. I was so excited of the fact that I would actually have friends. I spent many years alone in my house doing work and most of the time I got distracted and would watch TV, and that made me realize even more how alone I felt. That was all about to change though. I am starting grade 10 as a sophomore and would the feeling of excitement is going straight through my body, almost like I have been struck by lightning, but in a good way.

*BUMP* When the minivan goes over the 2 speed bumps in the parking lot of the school brings me back from the daydream I was having pretty much the whole ride to school. I glance out my window and everything seems so real. From inside my vehicle I could smell the different scents of the mixture of perfume and cologne, I could hear the voices of all the different people talking, and I feel the good vibes that were bouncing off people. This is it, this is my time to shine.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” the words that came out of mom’s mouth seem excited but sad.

“I am sure mom. I have been ready ever since the idea came up about going to high school” I said while unbuckling my seat belt.
“Okay sweetie, but you know you can always call me and I will come right away and pick you up.”
“I know. Now I have to leave. I don’t want to be late on the first day of school!”
“Yes, I know, I just….. Be safe and call if you ever feel uncomfortable, I love you” said mother
“Don’t worry mom, I got this under control. I love you too” I kissed her on the cheek and gave her a big hug, well a big hug as well as you can while you are in a van. I got out of the car and grabbed my black bag and my cell phone. As my stared at my mom drive away, it finally hit me. I am on my own and it is my responsible to figure things out.


Back in the summer I would spend most of my days on YouTube searching up videos about the first day of school, some included: how to survive, what to do, how to make friends, etc. I would literally spend hours and hours watching them nonstop so I would be prepared for the real world. I turned away from the van that is leaving, I see this massive school, and all of these people, there are tons of people. Pulling my bag from my back to the front I unzip the zipper and grab the schedule that had been mailed to my house. I say that I have homeroom for first black, and it said it was in room 103. I zipped everything back up and headed off towards the door. Walking through those doors was so nerve racking. The doors were so heavy and made a loud squeak when it was opened. Many scents came to my nose. I could smell the rubber from everybody new shoes, the fresh clothing that has just been bought, and of course I could smell every ones freshly washed hair. I walked in and it looked like a jungle. There were people who were throwing papers across the halls, tons of load laughter and the old glare people would give to other people, mostly the girls would do this. I got my schedule out again and flipped it over where it had a picture of a map that indicated where every classroom was. I was walking and looking at the paper at the same time and BOOM!

“Hey watch it!” said Cassidy while she glared at me “do you not have eyes? You completely rammed into me.

“I’m sorry; I was looking at the map… Because I am new here…”

“Hahaha so you’re the new chick? Well welcome to high school where this first day will either make or make you”

“Oh… well my name is Emma, and since you are the first person I have talked to maybe we could be friends?

“Omg hahah! Are you hearing what she is saying?!” Cassidy said to her fellow peers. “I don’t think you understand. I am the most popular girl in school and I am an entire social class higher than you… So no, we can’t be friends. You would totally bring down my reputation.

“Um oh okay… I didn’t realize, I’m sorry for asking…” as I said while slowly taking away the eye contact. I didn’t know what to do next, and I was kind of upset so my body was in shock, I just sort of stood their awkwardly.

“Well shoo! We don’t want to be seen next to the new girl!” Cassidy said while waving her hand at me.
I slowly started to back away and continued to make my way to find my homeroom. I the sewing room, the theater, and the art room before finding my homeroom. I walked in and noticed that there were only 3 other people in my class, including my teacher.

“Good morning! Welcome to homeroom! My name is Mrs. Welsh”
“Good morning, I’m Emma, Emma Miller” I said while gradually getting closer to her desk.
“Ahh Hello Emma, please take a seat, you are a little early, and the rest of the students would start to file in soon”. Said Mrs. Welsh will having a ginormous grin on her face.
I stared at all the empty seats and had no idea where to sit. I made an instantaneous decision and went with the very middle seat therefor I was far enough from the front, but close enough to see the board, and was perfect distance from the side walls as one of them had a window which meant that from where I was sitting the sun wouldn’t be glaring at me, but it would be too dark.

Tic Tic Tic, I watch the clock as the big hand slowly moves. It has been a couple of minutes since I arrived at my first block which is homeroom, and so far no one else has come in. DING! The school bell rings and startles me, then suddenly a digenetic mob of people come through the doorway, approximately thirty students managed to get in. Mrs. Welsh shuts the door and makes her way to the front of the class.
Mrs. Welsh opened her mouth and began speaking “Good morning class and welcome to the first day of grade 10!”
By the looks in her eyes it was hard to tell is she was overly excited about school, or was putting on an act because she hated being there, I couldn’t tell.
“This is your homeroom class and……”
Bla bla bla bla bla, you would think that I would want to be paying close attention to what she was saying, but for some reason I could seem to focus. My mind was wondering, I thought about the people I saw, the smell of the hallways, and the look on people faces. I wondered off on a daydream and was completely oblivious to what the teacher was talking about. All of a sudden I came back out of the gaze I was in and everybody was staring right at me. It puzzled me for a second and then everything sunk in. My face went beat red, it felt like it was my face was on fire. The palms of my heads were so sweaty it was similar to if you put them into water, and my hands started to rattle.
“Emma, we asked you a question, twice.” Mrs. Welsh said with a concern but angry look on her face.
“Sorry um um um, can you repeat the question?” I said with a stutter that came with the nerves
“This is my third time repeating myself. What did you do this summer?”

I heard the giggles and the stares that made me feel so uncomfortable “I scrapbooked and I watched videos on YouTube.”

“Now was that so hard? Maybe just pay attention next time” she said in a sarcastic tone.

I shrunk in my sit as the humiliation took over my body. The kids in that class continued to stare at me and still remained snickering. The teacher went around and was asking everyone what they did in the summer and everything seemed fine, but deep down inside me I was so upset. What a great way to start the beginning of the first day of school.

*DING* the bell finally went and it was time for second block, sewing. I’m hoping that there will be a better start to this class compared to the one I just had. I stood up from my seat that was connected to my desk. I got pushes and was filed into the moving line that was heading for the hallway. I knew exactly where to go because when Mrs. Welsh was talking gibberish for decades, I was studying the map on the back of my schedule so I wouldn’t ram into people in the hallway. I made two sudden right turns and went through a long narrow hallway. I say the window that said “Sewing for Days!” I knew I was at the right door. I noticed that at the side of the door there was a tiny sticky note that said we would be getting assisted lockers at the end of the say. I have always wanted a locker, while I was still in public school when I was little I would always stare at the lockers the big kids got. They lockers looked like paradise, a place you can put anything you want! I am probably the only one fascinated by it, but whatever. The sewing room door was open and I walked straight in, I was again one of the firsts to get there, but at least there were a bit more people spaced out randomly. There was a dead silence and you could probably hear a pin drop, even the teacher was quite… I automatically when for the very middle seat again and while I was patiently waiting it sounded like everything was mute. All of a sudden the students came into the class in little groups, quite similar to what happened in the class before. I didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone so I started to pick away the nail polish I had but on the night before. Suddenly I hear someone clear their throat and I could feel a set of eye balls being drilled into the side of my head.

“Um who do you think you are you little piece of…” the sound of our sewing teachers chair making a loud squeal made Cassidy pause.

I look up at her in confusion of not know what I had done wrong. “What wrong? I am just sitting down…” Cassidy’s crew made a sharp and snotty giggle then looked at Cassidy.

“Amateur. That isn’t just any seat that is my seat.” She said will her laser sharp eyes were digging into my skull.

“I don’t see your name on it. Therefore you can’t have this seat. “I said trying to stick up for myself.

“Excuse me! Little miss new girl you have a lot of balls to say that to me.”

I stared her down not breaking eye contact, not even once.

“MOVE!” Cassidy said in an angry and loud voice.

The teacher yelled across the room at Cassidy because she was being immature and loud.

“Cassidy, you and your friends better find an empty seat right now or else I am sending you to the principal’s office.” Saying that as she banged a textbook against her desk.

Cassidy and all of her friends scowled at me and her face looked like it was going to pop off. They sat down 2 rows behind me and the teacher started the class.

“I am Mrs. Bic and I am your sewing teacher. In this class today we are going to be learning about the basic skills you need for learning and we will be exploring the machine.”

When Mrs. Bic finished talking we all got up and when to the shelf to get our machines. In that class we went over the basics like how to thread your needle, how to use the pedal and even how to put the thread roll on the right away. That was probably the worst hour and fifteen minute class in my life. The bell finally ran and I put the machine back where I had received it the first time. I made my way out the door and headed for the washrooms. Since today was the first day back from summer we had a different schedule, so we only had 3 classes that day, 2 in the morning and 1 after lunch. I entered the bathroom and it was completely different from how I respected it. I thought that it would be like entering a gas station bathroom, but no, it was way better. The mixture of every ones perfume and body splashes over powered my noise and everything smelt like a rose garden. After doing my business, I saw that there was a full body length mirror that was on the wall of the washroom, and surrounding the border was sticky notes that was covered with positive words, when I was reading the, I saw this girl that appeared just over my left shoulder.
It startled me and when I turned around she said “HI my name is Nicole! I didn’t mean to scare you”

“Hahaha its fine, my name is Emma.”

“You know that was a brave thing you did in sewing class! The way that you stood up to Cassidy!” she said in a voice that you would use to the queen.

“Oh thanks I guess. You know, what is so special about Cassidy anyways?” saying in a concerned and curious voice.

“She is like the Queen Bee; she is the most popular girl in school! She is even more popular than the girls in grade 2, two years older than us!”

“Wow, I didn’t realize. She is so mean.”

“I know” said Nicole “Hey do you want to grab lunch together? There is a Subway just around the corner, I can show you, and if you don’t have money, it’s on me”

“Yeah that would be awesome! And thanks I will pay you back as soon as possible!

Nicole and I went off the school grounds and made our way to Subway. This was a snappy decision considering I have just met Nicole, but I was despite for friends and this was all I wanted. It started off with an awkward silence and the only things you could hear was the sound of the birds, the wind wrestling with the leaves.

“So, what do you like to do?” I said while staring at my moccasins.

Nicole looked up and then looked back down, “I like taking pictures. It is kind of a hobby of mine.”
I looked up with excitement on my face, “That is so cool! You much be like a supper pro! What camera do you use? Do you have any samples of your work?”

“Hahaha calm down, I use the Canon EOS rebel! The camera itself takes amazing pictures, but I do have some samples if you want to see. I am no pro, but not to brag or anything I am quite good. So off of me and on to you, what do you do in your spare time”?

“I scrapbook, it isn’t as cool as being a photographer, but it’s what I love”.

“Wow cool! So what do you scrapbook?”

“Basically anything, I don’t have a lot of friends to take pictures with, so I mostly ripped pictures out from a magazine.”

“That’s still really cool! Maybe one day I can take pictures then give them to you and you can make a scrapbook out of them!”

“Yeah!” I took that to heart and I was going to make sure that the plan was going to follow through. We talked from the beginning of lunch straight till we got back to school. It was honestly the bed hour in my life. I felt like I was being free and that gave me so much courage for the rest of the day, and hopefully the rest of the year.

I was in my last class of the day, and that was English. It actually went really well and nothing bad happened. In comparison to the other two classes earlier, it was tremendous. The clock was slowly ticking down; the ticks were so loud it felt like it was inside my head. There was only five more minutes left in class and it finally hit me, I was about to get my very first locker! As the teacher started to stand up from her massive wood desk my attention went directly to her.

“Okay class, you are now going to be assigned lockers now. I am going to call out your name, your locker number and give you a piece of paper with your combination on it. When I finishing telling you, you may leave and proceed to your locker” she said in a cold but nice tone.


When my English teacher finally called on me she said that my locker was number 101. I put all of my scattered papers from my desk into my binder then grabbed my bad from under my desk and headed out the door. To get to my locker I had to pass two hallways and this felt like the longest walk I had ever done. Everybody possible in the whole school was trying to get to their lockers. It is a good thing I am not claustrophobic or else I would have passed out. It felt like an asana in halls, everybody’s body heat was making the air moist and was making my hair go frizzy. Finally, I spot my locker. The lockers are split lockers, which mean there is one on top and one on the bottom, and sadly I am on the bottom, but I am so overwhelmed with excitement that it doesn’t even matter. When I bent down my knees and ankles cracked like they do anytime I bent down. I pull out the tiny piece of paper from my backpack and read the combination. I struggled and tried not to make a sense. I finally managed to unlock it and the smell of cleaning supplies burst out from my locker. I took all my unnecessary stuff out of my bag and placed it into my locker. I stood up and glanced over to my right and found that Cassidy was staring me down like I was her pray and she was about to pounce on me. Quickly I looked away and acted like I never saw a thing. My heart was beating so hard it felt like a cartoon where the heart was beating so fast and hard that it was pumping through my skin. Great, I already have an enemy, someone who I am completely terrified of. Even though I tried not to show it in sewing class, I was scared shitless.
“You have messed with the wrong person” Cassidy said in a whisper to me as her and her crew walked massed me.
I took a huge gulp and speed walked to the main entrance. I was almost at the excite and suddenly I hear
“Hey Emma wait up!” as Nicole is running up to me.
“Hey Nicole”
“Hey! So do you like your locker? Mine is great, I am right in the middle of all my classes so there is no rush to get to my destination.” Said Nicole
“Lucky you, I am just a few lockers down from Cassidy, and she totally hates me and I don’t even know why.”
“Aw man that sucks. How do you know she hates you?
“Because she glares at me 24/7 and when she walked passed me she said that I messed with the wrong person”
“Oooo girl you’re on her bad side. You better watch out, she can do some nasty stuff.
“Great, Well I got to go now, I’ll see you tomorrow! Bye!”
“Bye!”
I maintain to excite the building, as I push on the heavy doors the fresh air fills my lungs. The bright sun blinds me at first, but then my eyes start to adjust. I see the mini van parked in the parking lot and slowly start to make my way to the car. So many things are running through my mind of what to say to my mom. I can’t tell her about Cassidy or else she will over react and pull me out of public school for sure. I finally settle on only talking about the good things, that way I would not be lying, I’m just excluding them from the conversation. I hop into the front seat of the van and smile at my mom.
“Hi mom!” i said with the biggest grin on my face.
“Hi sweetie! How what the day!?” saying with the same face I have.
“It was great...! I made a friend!” I said very enthusiastic
“You did! What is her name? What is she like?” mom said with such interest.
“Her name is Nicole, and she is so nice! She even took me out for lunch! We talked a lot and I found out she like photography!”
“That’s great Emma! I am so delighted you made a friend. What else happened?”
“Well I got my first locker at that was pretty breathtaking. You know I have waited my whole life for a locker and I finally got one.”
“That’s all I want to hear, is that you are happy. I love you sweetie”
“I love you too mom”
We drove back home without speaking, but listening to music. As we pulled up to our house I got honestly got really excited, I can’t comprehend why, but I was. As soon as I walked into my room I went straight into my room. I dropped my bag onto my desk and slugged myself towards my bed; I flopped down and laid in complete comfort. My whole body felt heavy, I rolled over to my stomach and shut my eye lids. I fell into a deep sleep, with no dream. Just a blank picture in my head, and it felt nice. I woke up to my mom shaking me saying that it was time for dinner. I literally rolled out of bed and dragged myself downstairs to the dinner table. For dinner we were being served salad, beans, and potatoes. The night continued just like every other night and the next thing I knew I was lying in my bed falling asleep to the sound of the winds whistle through my small window.

“*Don’t stop believing, hold on to that feeeeeeling!*” My mind slowly comes out of my dream as I wake up to one of my all-time favourite songs. The thought of starting fresh today gave me a chill, but in a good way. I started my morning my washing my face in the washroom of the second floor. I carried on upstairs and applied my “natural” make-up. Today I thought I would spice things up a bit and put my hair in a cute fishtail braid and finish it off by adding a little white flower near the root of the braid. Today I still wanted to be fashionable, but I wanted to be comfortable all day considering I have more classes today then I did yesterday. I wore my Los Angeles hoodie with my black lulu lemon tights. I finished everything off by slipping my white vans on my feet and went downstairs to have my breakfast. I was expecting to have a pre made breakfast like before, but when I walked downstairs, it wasn’t what I was expecting. My mom was sitting on the family room couch in her pyjama’s watching the 7 o’clock news. Breakfast was no though in her mind.
“Emma, since you are so grown up, you have to Esperance making your own breakfast, finding a way to get to school without me taking you”. Mom said as she was drinking her annual coffee she has every morning.
“What! How else am I supposed to get to school? You are my only source; I don’t know anyone close enough to carpool!” I said in a grumpy, but suitable tone.
“Emma there is such things called public transit, and I looked on your schools website and it said there is a school bus that stops at 8 o’clock just a block away from our house”.

“Great” just what I need. I am going to be that person who everyone looks at and says that I’m not cool enough is driving, and that only losers take the buses. I sauntered over to the kitchen and looked in the pantry for some food. I stared into it with a blank face. It was pretty much empty, nothing but stale Oreo’s and random things that nobody likes. I pulled out some Honey Nut Cheerio’s and set it on the table. I grabbed all the essentials I needed for cereal, milk, poon and a bowl. I turned on the keurig machine and slipped in a cinnamon tea containing, and it started to brew up some tea. I ate my cereal that made my mouth taste like honey and drank my beverage while scrolling through my phone trying to figure the bus situation. When I finally convinced myself to take the school bus it was time for me to start walking to the destination of where the bus was stopping. I ran upstairs running out of breath and grabbed my backpack from my carpet that only had my laptop in it. I speed walked down the stairs almost giving me a mini heart attack from almost falling down a thousand times, but I managed to get down safely. I kissed my mom goodbye and was out the door. As soon as my body hit the fresh air I got a shiver than ran from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I pulled out my phone and looked at the directions of where I needed to go. It said I needed to go through the park and down a trail and I would be at the spot. I proceed to walked and the coldness that was pinching my ears was actually quite pleasant and I was enjoying it. It was a very peaceful walk, the birds were singing, the crickets were making talking and the sound of my feet making a crunching sound when I was walking on the path was making me appreciate nature. There I saw the orange school bus coming towards me it looked big, but weirdly enough it looked too small. I didn’t know what to expect, maybe there would be just be a couple of us on the bus, or there could even me a full bus! The doors opened and the smell of old leather seats combined with rubber came rushing out from the door. I walked up the steps saying hello to the driver then turned to the aisle. It shocked me a little bit too only find approximately seven kids sitting down. The nerves hit me so hard when I had to make a decision on where to sit. After no time to think, I at three seats behind the bus driver, by myself. I liked it this way, I was able to think about things and have a pleasant time ride. The seats were not as comfy as I hoped, and when I stood up, there was a butt print moulded into the seat. The bus came to a halt and it was time to go to school. I went straight to my locker and pulled out my binder and pens from my bag then put everything into my locker. I pursued to my fist class, homeroom. Other than my face going red, nothing bad happened; Cassidy is not in my homeroom class so I have nothing to worry about. In homeroom we basically do nothing, so time went really fast, the next thing I knew I was in my English room. Today I sat next to Nicole, and after I sat down I realized that Cassidy was sitting right in front of me. Hopefully she doesn’t turn around. We got right into this class right away, we have already started readying a novel, and I am not much of a reader, so I was struggling to finished the about of pages we were supposed to read. Nicole beside me is like a genius. She could easily be smartest kid in my grade. Every other class went well. It is now lunch time and Nicole and I are planning on getting some cafeteria food.
“So what is the cafeteria food like here? Am I going to puke it up latter on today?” I said with a giggle but in all complete seriousness.
“The food isn’t that bad, just don’t get the beans… This one time I found a long thick piece of hair along with a nail clipping… BUT other than that it’s alright. OHH and get the yogurt, it is possible the best thing you could imagine.” Nicole said while putting her long brown hair up into a messy bun that looked perfect even though it was messy.
“Gross a nail clipping!” I lost my appetite, but as soon as she said that the yoghourt was delusion I suddenly regained it. We walked into the café and it smelt like a mixture of sweat, mould, hair stray, and food. Things were exactly how I see them in the movies. We have the cool girls like Cassidy sitting right in the middle, the jocks wearing their varsity jackets sitting a table away from them, the nerds sitting in the corner playing video games, and band members polishing their fragile interments, and last but not least we had the normal people, they were scattered throughout the whole room. We went into the line and the wait for food felt like a decade had went by. Nicole and I really hit it off; she is like one of those people who make you feel normal and where you don’t feel the need to hide your real self. After getting our food we were walking to find a table. The yogurt of my tray looked like heaven and I could not wait to take a bite. Nicole was leading the way towards the table and it just so happened that you had to pass Cassidy’s table to get to it. I did not want to make eye contact so of course I just stared right at my food, acting like I didn’t even now she was there, even though I did of course. I glimpsed up for just a second and out of the corner of my eye I see Cassidy Sticking her leg out right in front of me. It felt like everything was in slow mode, but I couldn’t find a way to stop myself. I went tumbling over Cassidy’s freshly shaved legs and it felt like the floor was attacking me. The food on my tray went straight up and landed all over me. I was filled with anger, embarrassment, and full of disbelief. My face turned blue and my ears were on fire, my heart was beating so hard that I wanted to cry. The yogurt that was supposed to be in my stomach was now all in my hair and in my face. Everyone was laughing at me, I heard some awe’s of sadness, but the laughter was louder. I glared at Cassidy as if she was a demand that had come from hell.
“Oops, didn’t see you there” Cassidy said while twisting her hair.
I continued glaring and didn’t leave eye contact, not once. I was not going to let what just happen satisfy her. She will not rule me and I will make her wish she had never met me. Nicole came and helped me up, even though I felt like I was defeated, I walked away as if I had complete confidence. Nicole took me to the washroom and made me look like nothing had ever happened. I am so happy Nicole came into my life.

It is now the middle of September and things haven’t been going as well as I thought they would be going. I spend most of my days hanging out with Nicole. Cassidy and the popular kids in her little social circle still hate me, for what reason I do not understand because I have done nothing wrong. Nicole and I have grown quite close to each other, and finding more and more about Nicole is making me feel like I have known her my whole life. Although Nicole is a fantastic person, I am yearning for some more friends.
As I watch the clock tick tock around in a circle while in gym class I wait for it to hit 2:40, and school will finally be over. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! *DDDIIIINNNNNGGGG* the girl gym class that has approximately 30 girls in runs to the door to be dismast.
“Girls wait! I have announcement!” said Mrs. Rush just after blowing her freshly polished silver whistle. “This year we are starting up a new club. This will be a dance club of which you have to audition for and the auditions are tomorrow during lunch. I expect all of you talented people to show up and those who are not as talented to still come and try your best.”
I looked at Nicole with excitement “We have to try out!”
“Are you crazy? I cannot dance for the life of me!” said Nicole as she game a confused stare. And since when have you been interested in dancing? You have never told me anything like that before, and trust me I would remember if you did.”
I gave a little shrug and went out the door with the rest of my fellow class mates. I have never really told anybody and I don’t even think my mom know about this either, but I have a secret compassion for dance! It all started in the summer of 2008 when I was 9 years of age. I was wondering around on the internet and came across this media site called DanceTube. I got quite intrigued by it and was on in nonstop. On this website you were able to look up videos about dance. From people preforming on stage to tutorials! I spent that whole summer teaching myself dance. From this site I was able to become really flexible and achieved a tremendous amount of technique. I am so pumped for this dance audition. I know I will get in, I have to! Plus all the cool kids will be there too and maybe I can meet tons of new friends and maybe Cassidy will become friends with me! This is so overwhelming, just thinking about it is making my brain fry.
“Hey Nicole, do you want to go to the mall tomorrow to get a cool outfit for the dance try out tomorrow? It would be supper fun and we can find something cheap but cute at target!”
“Yeah sure I would love to! It would be supper fun! Hey you know I probably will not meet the dance team, but if you do, you do not have to feel bad. I am more of a nerd then a physical activity girl”.
“Hahah awe thanks, but I might not even get in myself, we will just hope for the best.” Nicole and I went straight to the mall after school. We took the public transit which was completely sketchy. There were homeless people everywhere! That wasn’t the weird part though, there were people who were following us and making funny sounds. It was tariffing, but we managed to get to the shopping center in on piece and not harmed. We walked directly into Target and we headed left into the sportswear section. I tried on everything! From long leggings to capris, booty shorts to yoga pants. Not to mention in every color. After staring at myself in the mirror in the changing room for a good five minutes I went with the black long leggings and the grey loose fitted t shirt. I thought this gave it a sophisticated, but casual look. Nicole went for the typical yoga pants and the bright coloured tank top. We went to the food court to grab some dinner because we were starving. We each got a hamburger and fries combo with a coke. We were so hungry that it was gone in a blink of an eye. They only evidence that was left was the grease that was lying on top of our fingers. Our parents picked us up and it was the end of our very successful shopping trip. By the time I got home and finished my homework my eye lids were so heavy that it forced me to go to sleep. Right when I got my pyjamas on and lay in bed I was suddenly wide awake. All I could think about was the dance audition, my dream started as soon as I shut my eyes and began a daydream. It was the best feeling to know that you actually have a chance at something you are good at.

I woke up with no hesitation to get out of bed; I practically jumped out of bed! I wanted to look extra special today. I winged my eyeliner that made it look like a cat eye; I applied a bit of a Smokey eye and just a hint of blush. I put my straight hair into a high pony tail and finished it off with a cream coloured bow. I put on the leggings and top that I purchased the day before, and put on some high fuzzy socks. I grabbed my brown combat boots from my closet and the army jacket that was behind my door. I was so prepared for what was going to come my way today. I ran downstairs and grabbed a milkshake to go and was out the door and on my way to the school bus. I actually didn’t mind taking the bus. It was an easy way for me to relax and enjoy the morning fresh air that was so cold it slightly burnt the back of your throat, but it was a pleasing burn. I saw the bus pull up a head and ran towards it, I did the same routine I have been doing for a while, I say hello to the diver and stare at where I should sit. Ever since I have started taking the bus there has been more and more students who have been riding on it too. It is nice because I feel like everything is coming together. We drove and drove and arrived at school. Homeroom is getting really boring. Pretty much all that we do is just sit there and the occasional time someone will ask the adviser a stupid question. The bell took forever to ring, but when it finally rang I was out the door so fast I was like the Tasmanian devil. I strolled through the class room door trying to keep my cool. When I glanced over at Cassidy she was practically wearing the same outfit as me! Like what! No, this could not be happening! This is like my worst nightmare. I walked up the side of the classroom hoping that she would not see me and that god she didn’t see me because that would not end well. When I found my seat next to Nicole it finally hit me. I realized that Cassidy was trying out for the dance team too! That means that we have to see each other and be in the same room together bound to make eye contact and realize that we looked identical. Our class went by pretty fast and so did our next class. Lunch time had finally arrived and it was now time for me to show what I am made of. We all met in the schools theater auditorium and thing felt so real. I couldn’t believe that this was happening! We all started off by doing a basic stretch to warm our muscles up.
“Okay ladies, for this audition we will make you learn a combination, preform in, then you will be doing improve. Please make three lines and we will start with the choreography.”
We all lined up and Cassidy came out of nowhere and pushed me just so she could get to the very front and center of the stage, she acted like she was better than everyone else and that acted like she didn’t even need to be there, that she shouldn’t have to try out because she is awesome. Frankly I don’t think she is. We learnt that combination and it was absolutely hard, I could barely keep up. My face was red from my blood flow, and there was sweet pouring down from my face, my face looked like a hot mess. The teacher split us up into groups of 8 to perform. She said that I would be the last group to go, which was the 3rd group to go. As the first group went up, I was on the side practicing like there was no tomorrow, I was not going to mess up, and I am certainly getting on this dance team. After the second group had gone I had the choreography nailed in my head, I was feeling completely confident. When I walked on the floor, I realized that Cassidy and ALL of her friends were in the same group as me! Ugh of course.
“Now ladies at the end of the choreography, you will have to improve. Now feel free to express what you are made of, don’t be shy.”
*Music starts*

I am rocking the dance, I haven’t made any mistakes and I am feeling so confident in myself. The choreography ends and it is time to improve, I am shaking inside considering I don’t know what I am going to do, but I am just doing to go for it. There is only two counts of eight left to improve and I am so close to finishing. Out of nowhere I feel this pain coming from my back and all I can see is back.
“Stop the music!” the dance coach said as she was rushing over to me.
“What happened?” said a voice that came from the corner, then all you could hear was whispers.
“I think she has passed out, it is okay just staying calm, and I am going to take her to the nurse’s office. She picked me up and carried me like a baby as she went through the hall ways to get to the destination.
As I was passed out I could somehow see what was going around me seconds before I passed out. I remember seeing Cassidy, and… I remember her kicking me! In the back! It wasn’t an accident kick; it was a hard mean attended kick. The power of her kick made me fall and bang my head against the ground causing me to pass out. It all made sense. Cassidy hates me and when she saw that I was rocking that audition, she had to get rid of me.

“Emma, Emma, can you hear me, do you see this light?” the school nurse said while shining a flash light in my face.
I opened my eyes as slow as a slug and I finally came out of my pass out. “Where am I?”
“You are in the school nurse’s office sweetie, you passed out in dance class and we rushed you over here. How are you feeling?”
“Well my back and head hurt, a lot. Hey um when can I leave I need to talk to someone, it is really important?”
“You can leave whenever you feel steady enough to walk around without falling again. I suggest that you close your eyes and have a nice little nap.” The school nurse said.
I did just that, I closed my eyes and fell into a nice nap that made me feel refreshed. I woke up as soon as last bell was about to ring. I stood up, grabbed my stuff and ran out the door. I had to confront Cassidy; I want to put an end to this because there was no need for this to start in the first place. Right now I would be in gym class, and that happened to be on the complete opposite side of the school! I ran up and down halls, and up and down stairs, which is probably really bad for my back and head, but oh well, I needed to get to class before Cassidy was going to leave for the day. I could hare the sound of gym shoes squeaking on the polished floor, and the sound of random girl screams, I knew I was at the right place. I didn’t want to enter the gym because I would be forced to participate, and I didn’t want to. So I waited on the bench that was right beside the doors. *DING* I got a sudden motion that I was going to puke, but it passed. I watched as all the girls left the gym and when I spotted Cassidy I ran over and pulled her body over to the side. She once again gave a death glare, but this was going to end
“Cassidy I need to talk to you.”
“Why? I don’t want to be seen talking to someone like you.”
“Look Cassidy, this needs to stop. I have done nothing wrong to you and ever since the first day of school you have been acting like a total female dog. I have done over every day in my head before I go to bed, and physically cannot figure out why you hate me. Cassidy gave a blank stare, and I could feel like coming was wrong.
“Look” said Cassidy “To be perfectly honest to you. It isn’t that you have done something wrong, it is just, well…. I am kind of jealous of you.”
I looked at her like she was mistaking me for someone else. How? I am Emma, the new girl, who has no friends.
“You are perfect. Your skin is perfect, you have no ache. You are drop dead gorgeous, and plus you have such a high confidence that it is hard to believe. On the first day of school when you stood up to me, I realized that I was just a mean old female dog and that you were a sweet indicant girl who had high confidence.”
I started to blush, but was also confused at the same time.
“You may only have one friend, but almost every guy is falling for you, and girls want to become your friend, but are scared to talk to you.”
“Actually? But why? I said still confused.
“I have been jealous of you because you are better than me and I guess that I thought that if I be mean to you, I could stay the popular girl, and the girl who owns this school, and I guess I got carried away.”
“Okay, well tell me why you kicked me during the dance audition?”
“I kicked you because I saw that you were phenomenal. Your dance moves were great. And I over herd the teachers talking and you have made the team.”
“Really!!” I said with excitement while trying to keep my cool.
“Yeah, and I guess I thought that if you fell and hurt yourself you wouldn’t made the team, which meant there was a better chance of me getting on the team.”
“Look Cassidy, this was a very emotion speech you just gave me, but what you have done was really childish and I don’t know if I can overcome that.”
“Look Emma, can we just start over, and try to become friends? Because I am pretty sure that we are the perfect match of friends.”
“Yeah I mean, I guess we can try to become friends, it would not hurt, just as long as you do not kick me in the back, and trip me, and make fun of me, and you know don’t glare at me.”
“hahah yeah sorry… I just got a little carried away. I promise that I will never treat you like that ever gain.” Cassidy said as she said trying to keep her cool.
“It is okay, let’s just start over.”
“I agree” said Cassidy.
“Hi my name is Emma”
“Hello my name is Cassidy, nice to meet you.”
“Do you want to grab some food at the fast food?”
“I would love to”

Cassidy and I went and grabbed our stuff from our lockers and caught the bus to the food market. We talked forever and we learnt so much about each other. I learnt that Cassidy likes to scrapbook to, and take pictures. This was perfect because I like scrapbooking and Nicole likes taking pictures.
“You know Nicole will really like you too. She said that you scared her a little, well more like a lot, but once she gets to know you, we will all be best friends. We talked for hours at the Café and ended up losing tract of time. We both took the bus home and for the rest of my high school days, Cassidy, Nicole, and I were the best of friends, and everything worked out fine and my High School says were the best that they could have ever been.



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