Solo (3 page)

I was pleased to know that it would be an easy class. Reading was easy. Trying to pay attention when you're counting the remaining minutes of the school day is harder. I quickly realized that I wouldn't get much reading done during class because Casey liked to chitchat.

"So, you're a sophomore?"

"Yeah, I took extra classes in eighth and ninth grade. I was in some honor classes." I paused. "Why? You sound surprised."

"It's nothing bad; it's just that you have a lot of classes with the juniors."

"Every school is different, but I'm in the same classes that I took back home."

"Wow, you must be pretty smart."

I smiled, slightly embarrassed from the compliment. "Thanks. So, you're a junior?"

"Yeah, I know I don't look like a junior. I'm five-one on a good day. My seventh grade sister is taller than me," Casey chuckled.

I tried to act as if my 5'8" frame didn't tower over her. "You're not
that
short."

She laughed. "You know, you're pretty funny."

"Thanks, I guess."

I wasn't sure if Casey was always this bubbly or if she was trying extra hard to make me feel welcome. Either way, I enjoyed her company. She reminded me of Kelly.

"Wow, we've talked so long, it's almost lunch time. I can't wait for you to meet my friends."

After class, we headed to the lunchroom.

"Usually, we'd eat outside, but it's raining." Casey's face lit when we entered the cafeteria. "Oh good, they're already here." She pulled on my arm. "Come on, Eliana, I have some people I want you to meet."

I was excited to meet Casey's friends. To my shock, we walked to the table with 'Miss Popular' and 'Mr. Jock'.

"Eliana, these are my friends, Sasha, Evan, Emily and Jack." Casey pointed out everybody in the in-crowd. "Everyone, this is Eliana. She's new to Myrtle Creek."

Suddenly, I had a flashback of their whispers and snickers from second period. I took a seat. "Hello."

Emily made an effort to say hello. Sasha, Miss Popular herself, acted as if she had a much better conversation going with Evan. Evan had no problem staring at me as I sat down.

Jack put in a little more effort. "So, what brings you to Myrtle Creek?"

"Well, my dad is in the military and he was deployed overseas. This is where my grandparents live, so my parents decided my mom and I should stay here while he's gone."

While Sasha looked bored by my story, Evan listened with curiosity. He chimed in, "Where did you move from?"

"We lived in southern California last. We've moved around a lot." I took a sip from my water bottle.

"Do you surf? You look like a surfer chick." Jack seemed interested.

I choked on my water. "Surfing? Me? —No. But, I love to boogie board."

Casey laughed. "Oh, so you have a
real
California tan?"

I glanced at Sasha, then back at Casey. "Yeah, it's real."

Sasha glared at me. At that point, I knew we weren't going to be best buds. I sat quietly eating my lunch when someone caught my attention. I only got a glimpse of him as he left the cafeteria, but even at a distance, he definitely left an impression.

On our way to Spanish, I turned to Casey. "I hope I didn't say anything wrong at lunch, everyone got quiet."

"Don't worry about it. They'll warm up to you. It's just that we've always been a small group. It takes time for them to welcome new people."

Even though Casey tried to ease my mind, I still felt weird about Sasha's vibe.

We entered Spanish class. Casey introduced me to our teacher, Mrs. Hernandez. I thought I was in the clear as I started down one of the aisles, but I was wrong. Mrs. Hernandez said,
"Eliana, agradable, apenas usted sabe tan que hablamos solamente español en clase."

Great, they only speak Spanish in this class. This should be fun.

"Introdúzcase por favor a la clase en español."

I couldn't believe she really wanted me to introduce myself in Spanish. "Okay,
Soy Eliana y me moví aquí desde California meridional."

I could tell that no one in the class really cared that I'd moved from Southern California. I just wanted to take my seat, but the teacher insisted on asking more questions.

"Eliana, qué le trae Myrtle Creek?"

What brings me to Myrtle Creek? I guess the real question should be what can I say to get her to stop asking me questions?

"Bien, mis padres limitan, amordazado, y forzado me para moverse aquí contra mi voluntad."
I shrugged with a smirk.

There was a delayed reaction, but one by one, the students slowly realized what I had said. "My parents bound, gagged, and forced me to move here against my will." The roaring laughter caught the teacher off guard.

"Okay, Eliana, please take a seat. Your Spanish is remarkable." The teacher handed me my textbook.

I walked to a seat at the back of the class, impressed that I'd shocked Mrs. Hernandez into speaking English in her "Spanish-only" class. I sat next to Casey. Some of the students were still laughing as Mrs. Hernandez tried to get everyone focused on the day's lesson. Across the room, a familiar face smiled at me. It was Sammy Alvarez, the guy who'd given me a tour. I threw him a courtesy smile and looked back at the dry erase board.

I reminded myself I was only in Myrtle Creek for a year. I could handle this place if I found some kind of activity to keep me busy. The sound of the bell interrupted my thoughts. I couldn't believe I'd zoned out for the entire period. The homework assignment on the board saved me. At least I could read what they'd gone over in class. Casey walked to my desk while I was writing the assignment in my notebook.

"I'll wait for you after next period," she said.

Casey really was my lifesaver today. She made a great makeshift GPS system. I didn't have to ask a hundred people where my next classroom was. I thanked her as she dropped me off at my English class.

English flew by. We started reading a new book, Jane Austen's,
Pride and Prejudice.
The teacher spent the hour assigning books and passing out chapter summary worksheets and questions she'd compiled. She informed us that we would have to do an oral report when we finished the book.

I beat Casey into the hall and leaned against a locker, scouring the area searching for her. I spotted the guy from the lunchroom at the same time I noticed Casey coming out of a class two doors down. I headed toward Casey and lost sight of the guy in the crowd.

"Hey," I said, showing the same enthusiasm she did whenever she greeted me.

"Are you ready for gym?" Casey sighed.

"Gym isn't so bad. I actually enjoy it."

"Wow, most girls at our school hate gym."

"I'm not most girls. I love to run. Give me my iPod and a track or trail, and I'm in heaven."

Casey sounded surprised. "I guess you're not like most girls."

We entered the locker room to find Sasha mocking me from my lunch conversation. "I've traveled all over the place. I've lived in California. Who does that bitch think she is?"

Casey and I rounded the corner as Sasha finished her rant. I just stared at her. There was no way she was going to get a reaction from me. She just made me want to get this day over a little faster. I changed into my assigned gym clothes. I only had two classes to go.

"Nothing like short-shorts and a T-shirt at the beginning of April." I tried to lighten the mood.

Casey laughed, "Yeah, they are short, but you can wear black sweatpants if you buy them yourself. Besides, we do P.E. in the gym when it's cold."

"Really, you don't go outside in these shorts in the winter?" I cracked up laughing. This made Casey chuckle.

Sasha yelled as Casey and I headed toward the gym. "Casey, I won't be able to give you a ride home this afternoon; something's come up. Guess you'll have to catch the bus."

Casey turned and looked at Sasha. "Oh, um, that's ok. No problem."

It was obvious Sasha wanted to punish Casey for befriending me. I saw the displeasure on Casey's face. "Casey, if you need a ride, I can take you home. I don't have any plans after school other than to go to the store for a pair of black sweatpants." I pulled at the waistband of my shorts. With my long legs, the shorts looked extra short.

"Thanks, Eliana," Casey sighed.

"No worries."

The rain delayed a lesson in softball so class turned out to be a free period. One end of the gym had a basketball game going on. The other end was mostly girls with no interest in any kind of activity. I took it upon myself to jog around the gym so I wasn't lumped in with the unproductive group. Casey leaned against the wall chatting with a group of girls.

The jogging cleared my head so I thought less about the awful day. Instead, I focused on the fact that I had less than two hours before school was over. Sasha caught my attention with some kind of dance number she was doing with other girls. Their dance attempt amused me.

I wanted to go over to show them how a true dancer really moves. Thirteen years of dance and gymnastics had to count for something. I sighed, quickly deciding to keep my abilities a secret. If Sasha was already threatened by me, I could only imagine how things would go if I showed my true talent.

The coach's whistle startled me. "Ten minutes before next class; hit the locker rooms."

I entered the locker room smiling; only one more class and my first day would be over. I walked to my dressing area. "Um, didn't I leave my clothes here?" I looked around baffled, trying to retrace my steps.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"My clothes, they're gone."

Casey started looking around for my stack of clothes. We checked every open locker and under every bench. I quickly realized that someone had taken my clothes. One person instantly came to mind, Sasha. I looked at Sasha, barely restraining myself from leaping over the benches and ripping her artificially colored highlights out of her perky head. "That's a real mature move," I muttered calmly, even though I was livid that my favorite jeans were gone. I felt a knot forming in my throat and my eyes started burning when I realized I'd have to go to study hall in my new gym ensemble.
I will not cry. Sasha will not make me crack.

"I'm so sorry. I wish I had something for you to wear," said Casey.

"That's ok; I'm not shy. Besides, I've worn less."
On a beach
.

Sasha didn't murmur a word. She just looked outraged that she hadn't gotten a bigger reaction from me.

"Well, here goes nothing," I sighed. Casey and I left the locker room. "I'll meet you by the office as soon as next period is over."

Casey looked sorry for me. "Sure, I'll be waiting. Study hall is in the library; that's four doors down this hall."

"Thanks—see you after class." I walked toward study hall, trying not to think about the fact that I wearing the closest possible thing to a Hooters' outfit. I stared blankly at my schedule pretending to figure out where I was going. The four doors felt like four miles. The door came into view. Tunnel vision took over so I wouldn't see all the awkward stares, even though I knew I would still hear the snickers. I kept telling myself to just grin like it didn't matter.

I pulled the door open quickly, stepped in, and let out a long sigh. The library was quiet and practically empty.
Oh, this won't be so bad
. I walked to the counter. The librarian casually lifted her head. I felt my cheeks flush.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Um, I'm here for study hall." I tried not to make eye contact.

"Well, feel free to sit anywhere you want. You can leave when the bell rings."

"Am I allowed to listen to my iPod?" I asked with a hint of desperation. I really wanted to get lost in something other than school.

"I'm sure it will be okay. This is your study hour. Just make sure you keep quiet. There are six other students in here. As long as you don't interrupt them, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you." I walked to the table farthest from the door, figuring it would keep my appearance hidden. The students trickled in while I shuffled through my bag for my iPod and books that I needed to read. I kept my head down, putting in my ear buds. I had just opened my U.S. History book when I spotted the guy from the lunch room.

You've got to be kidding! Is this really happening to me?
Completely mortified, I sunk as low in my chair as possible. He sat two tables away with his back to me. I tried not to stare, but he had a unique style that stood out from the rest of the guys. He didn't seem to fit any of the stereotypes here. There were no signs that he'd just walked off a farm, and he wasn't parading around with his accomplishments on his jacket. I couldn't figure him out. Surprising myself, I actually got butterflies just looking at him. His light brown hair was just long enough for him to run his fingers through. I couldn't get a good look at his face, but from the side, I could tell he was a little older. His face was clean cut and clear. I wanted to get a good look at his features, but that meant we'd have to make eye contact. Here was a guy that I didn't know, had never spoken to, and yet he'd peeked my curiosity.