All Too Well - Chapter Two

Schieloh

“Schieloh, are you almost ready?” Envy called out to me from the bottom of the steps.

I took one last glance in the mirror. My jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers that Envy bought for my first day of school looked tired and worn. She said it was a new style, but to me, it was overkill. I could’ve worn the clothes I had from last year, they all had holes and faded coloring, but Envy said she wanted me to feel like I belonged.

Was that even possible?

My non-dyed, midnight black hair lay silky straight without using a flatiron. I had minimal makeup on, but the bit of mascara made my deep, dark, brown eyes look more mysterious. I had an average body, not firm or muscular, not plump and round, just the right amount of curves in all the right places. I had my fair share of whistles, but I never paid much mind to that type of attention.

One last call from Envy telling me she was leaving got my feet rolling towards the door. The last thing I needed was to be late on my first day and draw even more attention to myself.

Envy let the floor fall out from underneath me less than ten seconds into our drive. “So, the thing about this school,” she loved to talk as she was driving. She was always a nonstop chatterbox. “Most of the kids here are, well, they’re privileged.”

“What do you mean, ‘privileged?”

Envy ran her hand over her face, the thing she did when she knew I might have an issue with whatever she was going to say. “Well,” she drew out the word as if she was stalling to tell me. “I live in the last section of town districted to East Point High. It’s a public school, but most kids belong to well-to-do families. They’re the ones living in those multi-million dollar homes we passed on the way to my condo.”

I was like, what the fuck.

“Why are you just now telling me about this?”

“I knew you wouldn’t agree to the living arrangement if you knew. These are good kids. Well, most of them are.” Envy didn’t look like she could even convince herself with that statement.

She was right. I wouldn’t have agreed to go to this school. But, right now, I don’t have much choice. “I wish you would’ve told me sooner. I could’ve… I don’t know… I don’t fit in with these people.”

Envy patted my knee. “You’ll do fine. You always do.” She turned the car down the long drive that went past the sign welcoming everyone to East Point High School. “I made sure they set up a student chaperone to help you get acquainted with where your classes are and all the ins and outs of the school.” The car pulled up alongside the curb and slowly crept to the front entrance. “Someone, not an adult, who will be able to tell you all about the who’s who of the school.”

“Wonderful. Thank you.” Deep down, I was cursing this whole situation—a great way to start a year. I didn’t want to make a grand show that the new girl had arrived. I wanted to fade into the background and let everyone forget I was there. Having someone escort me and announce my arrival to all my classrooms increased the day’s stress level by triple.

Envy motioned towards the front doors. “Do you want me to come in with you to the office?”

I glanced over and saw a few students going in and out. Some of their eyes questioned the car, but most paid no attention to the older sedan that Envy drove. I saw the cars in the student parking lot as we drove through. Most cost more than some houses I stayed at as I grew up. Just that factor alone signaled I was way out of my league here.

“Nah, I should be good.” I stepped out of the car and swung my new ten-dollar backpack over my right shoulder.

‘Yeah, definitely not keeping up with the Gucci bag hanging from the five-foot-ten America’s Next Model contestant that just walked past the car.’

“Well, then,” Envy shifted the car into drive. “I guess I’ll see you at three-thirty.”

I gave a single nod and turned towards the front entrance.

“Schie.”I looked back when Envy called out my name. “Relax. Have a good day.”

‘Easier said than done.’

I gave her a thumbs-up and continued on my way.

The registration office was located directly on the left-hand side as I entered the building. Two heads shot up from behind the counter when I opened the door. An older woman with short, graying hair and wire-rimmed glasses greeted me with a warm smile. The other person was a student, a girl, somewhere around my age. Like the older lady, the girl had a pleasant smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

“Schieloh?” The student came around to the front of the counter. She was about my height of five foot five, had long, blonde wavy hair, and her clothing style matched mine with the torn jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers.

“Um, yeah. I’m supposed to check in here before my first class.”

“Sweet.” The girl handed me a piece of paper with my seven classes, the room numbers. and teachers. “I’m Maggie. I’m the student ambassador for all the new kids. Not that we have too many. You’re the first one in two years. I’ll be the one to show you around and introduce you to your teachers.”

“Great.” My one-word answer seemed kind of juvenile compared to her long speech.

“Ms. Scott.” Maggie tapped on the counter to garner the older woman’s attention. Ms. Scott glanced up from the piles of folders scattered on her desk. “I’m going to show our new student around the campus.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Schieloh, for not welcoming you properly. Some of these folders,” Ms. Scott patted the stack in front of her. “They got mismanaged during the summer, and now papers are missing.” Her glance went back to Maggie. “Yes, please, show Schieloh around and introduce her to some of the instructors.”

Maggie ushered me out the door and closed it softly behind her. “I won’t be a tagalong to all of your classes and embarrass you as the new student.”

A sigh of relief washed over me; it must’ve shown on my face because Maggie let out a small giggle.

“Yeah, they tell me to be a shadow. You know, do proper meet-n-greets with the instructors, introduce you to students, the usual stuff that makes coming to a new school even more anxiety pill-worthy.”

We continued walking down the hall. Maggie would occasionally say ‘hi’ to some of the students we passed; most gave me a look, knowing I was the shiny, new toy.

“This is the eighth high school I’ve been to since freshman year. I’m used to being the new kid.”

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Damn, that’s a lot. Not to be a nosey-ass, but can I ask why?”

Once again, I would have to explain the why’s for my situation. I took the easy route. Since I didn’t know Maggie, I didn’t go into too much detail and only told her I had recently moved, which I had, and I was assigned to this school district, which I was, see the problem solved.

The hallway got more packed once we rounded the corner away from the offices. I noticed the girl from earlier, the one with the Gucci bag. She was leaning against a row of lockers with several other model-wannabes and lots of onlookers.

“That’s Kaisey. Not K. and C. but K. A. I. S. E. Y.” Maggie spelled the name out like a cheerleader, which I’m guessing the girl Kaisey ruled.

“Who?” I pretended not to know who she was referencing.

Maggie’s head nodded towards the spot where the girls were standing. At the exact moment. Kaisey’s eyes met Maggie’s, and both snarled at one another.

“Guessing there’s a conflict between the two of you?” I questioned as we made it safely out of hearing range.

“You could say that.”

“Guy problems?” Yep, I was the nosey one now.

“Nah, family issues. We’re sisters.”

“Oof.” I inconspicuously looked back. Kaisey wasn’t paying attention to us any longer. “Yeah, I guess I can see the resemblance.” I mean, they were both blonde and beautiful. The only difference I saw at the moment was Maggie seemed the friendlier of the two. Kaisey gave off a bad vibe, and I was usually good at picking up on people who were not newcomer-welcoming.

“Our similarities stop at appearance.”

“You’re both seniors?”

“We’re only ten months apart. Yes, my parents were freakin rabbits back in the day. Kaisey is a September baby, and I was born the following July. We have five younger siblings, four sisters and our baby brother. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

I shook my head. “It’s just me.”

“Ahh, I couldn’t imagine. That would be so…quiet.”

A group of five muscular, sporty-looking guys walked toward us. The closer we got to them, my eyes focused on the one with tousled brownish-blond hair and crystal-clear blue eyes. It might’ve been three years, but I would know that face anywhere. I would bet my life the one in the middle, the one who seemed to be the leader, well, it had to be Traxx.

“Those are the untouchables.” Maggie’s words broke my stare.

“Who?” I kept my eyes down as we walked closer.

“The group of man-whores walking towards us.” Maggie’s grimace grew the closer they got.

I looked up just as the guys finally took notice of us. My eyes instantly met the one with sparkling eyes. A look of recognition washed over his face, he stopped mid-step, and the others followed suit.

“Magpie.” One of the guys grabbed Maggie by the waist and pulled her close. He tried to plant kisses on her neck as she squirmed away.

“Dammit, Eli, let me go.” Maggie finally worked her way from his clutches. She slapped him on the arm and straightened out her shirt that had gotten twisted in the play.

Eli’s attention turned towards me. “And who do we have here?” He tried to put his arm around my shoulders, but Maggie’s tug on my arm saved me from the intrusion.

“This is Schieloh. It’s her first day. She’s a senior like us.” Maggie waved her hand to the group. “Schieloh, this is Eli,” she nudged her elbow into the guy who’d grabbed her. His hand went to his side as he faked an injury from her bump. Maggie rolled her eyes and continued. “Left to right is Mekhi, Harper, Jerome, and last but not least is the fearless leader of the douchebags, Traxx.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mumbled to myself but not quietly enough.

“You two know each other?” Maggie looked back and forth between Traxx and me. We both kept a gaze on one another. He looked like he was questioning if this was the girl from his past. I knew the moment I saw him; it was the boy I had thought about every day of my life for the past three years.

“No.” I broke the stare and focused back on Maggie. “I was commenting that he looked like a leader.”

Maggie nodded but didn’t seem convinced. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Traxx still had his eyes glued to me.

Ugh. I stumbled forward and dropped my backpack as someone pushed past me. Maggie hurried and picked it up for me. I mouthed a thank you and got myself straightened upright again.

“Traxx, I looked for you earlier. Why didn’t you answer my texts?” Kaisey latched onto Traxx’s side and snuggled in close. She was addressing him, but her eyes never left me.

Traxx finally let his gaze slip away from me. He stepped away from the girl fastened to his side as if he was making a statement. “I got busy.”

“Kaisey, this is Shieloh. She’s new.” Maggie interjected and introduced me to her sister.

Attention was now back to me as Kaisey’s eyes met mine. She looked me up and down once again, and by the snarky smile plastered on her Barbie face, I knew she thought I was well below her status. She looked at her sister exactly the way she scrutinized me. “So.”

“You’re a bitch.” Maggie wasn’t afraid to step up to Kaisey.

“Better than being a nobody.” Kaisey could be in the running for the next Regina, the top mean girl everyone knows from the classic movie of the same name.

“Ready.” Maggie gave a slight tug on my sleeve. “I’ll show you where your first class is located.” We took several steps away from the Traxx group, who was thankfully not following. “And for future reference,” Maggie peeked back over her shoulder at Kaisey, “Those are the sorts of assholes you don’t want to get caught up in. They’re nothing but trouble. Especially my sister, she’s all drama.”

“Yeah, thanks for the warning. I’m just trying to get through the year and graduate.” I pretended to wipe my chin on my shoulder, but I wanted to get one more look at Traxx. He was watching me as Eli animatedly rambled on. Kaisey was still by his side, and if looks could kill, my obituary would be in tomorrow’s newspaper.

I looked straight ahead and pretended to listen to everything that Maggie was telling me concerning my first-period instructor.

By the looks of it, this year was going to be interesting.