• She sat in the blackness with her back to the door and arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She looked out the window with tears glistening on her cheeks.
    The weather, ironically enough, matched her mood. The sky was filled with angry black clouds and rain was pouring from their bellies.
    It’s just like last time, she thought. Same weather, same feeling. She bit her lip. Different reason. At that, pain coursed through her body, and fresh tears exploded from her eyes.
    At her next glance out the window, she could just barely see one star shining dimly through the storm. A new emotion flooded through her then.
    Hope.

    Natalie Roberts had had a perfect life. Perfect family, friends, and everything associated with that lifestyle. It wasn’t until the summer before her senior year in high school that her life was turned upside-down. Out of the blue, her parents got a divorce. Her father got custody of Natalie and her sister and brother, but then decided her didn’t want to take care of them and sent them to their aunts. Her older brother Josiah was able to escape once he turned 18, and her younger sister Robin went to live with their mom. Natalie would have gone to their mom too, but their mom was only allowed 1 child at a time. So Natalie let Robin go. She needed their mom more. Natalie was left to live with her aging aunt in a small town in southern Washington. She knew absolutely no one, and knew that it was going to be horrible, every single minute of it.


    I stepped out of my car into the bright sunlight. For once, the sun was shining in the town of Sienna, Washington. Compared to the normal drizzle, this was heaven!
    I stood on the curb, trying to prepare myself for what lie ahead. Finally I dredge up the courage to walk through the front doors of Sienna High, armed with a schedule, a map of the campus and a backpack.
    I barely made it to my first period class. Ugh, I thought. Pre-Calc. When I arrived, there were only 2 seats left. One in front, one in back. I opted for the one in the back, trying to be as inconspicuous as is possible for a new kid at a school with only 500 students in it. Just as I was about to sit down, the one thing I had dreaded occurred.
    Someone noticed me.
    As I slid into my seat, the bouncy blonde to my left turned to me and said, “Hi! I’m Abbie! Well, Abrianna but everyone calls me Abbie. What’s your name?”
    I gave her a quick side-glance. “Natalie.” I mumbled.
    “Ooh! That’s such a beautiful name! What’s your-“ Suddenly she stopped in midsentence.
    “Abrianna Lucas…” The teacher warned.
    Immediately Abbie snapped forwards, taking on the role of the model student. “Sorry Mr. Hancock. I was just getting acquainted with Natalie. She’s new.”
    “Oh.” He looked at me. “Nice to meet you Natalie…” He trailed off, searching for my last name on his roster.
    “Roberts.” I supplied.
    “Ah. Welcome to Sienna.”
    “Thanks.” Pssh. I wasn’t thankful to be in this watery hole of a town, but then again, nobody cared.
    Mr. Hancock went to the front of the class, and when he was satisfied everyone was paying attention, began to lecture us on “the wonders of mathematics”. The wonders of mathematics my foot!
    Eventually the bell signaled the end of our torture and everyone stampeded out the door. As I was gathering my books, Abbie stopped by my desk. “What’s your schedule, Natalie?”
    I shuffled through my papers to find the dog-eared paper called my schedule. “Umm…pre-calc, chemistry, foods, English, orchestra, health and P.E.” I replied.
    “Sweet!” She exclaimed. “We have foods and health together too! We’re going to be such good friends!” As she turned to go, she shouted over her shoulder, “I’ll save you a seat at lunch!” And with that she breezed out the door.
    Slightly bewildered by the friendly blonde, I continued through my morning classes without much conversation. A few of the braver souls in the school said hi, but I was mainly ignored, which was my goal.
    At the end of English, I was nearly asleep. My English teacher was not the most exciting speaker, and I hadn’t slept much last night due to the extreme anxiety of starting over at a new school. So when the lunch bell rang, to the great joy of us students, I headed toward the cafeteria with equal enthusiasm until I remembered Abbie’s promise. After that, I walked to the cafeteria slowly, dreading the fact that she might actually follow through with her offer.
    My stomach fell to my knees as I rounded the corner and saw that she did in fact save me a seat at her table.
    Excited, Abbie was waving wildly in my direction. “Natalie! Over here!” Embarrassed, I kept my face down as I quickly walked over to the table.
    Once I arrived, she quickly introduced me to her friends. Tyler, a darker-complected boy, well toned and quiet; Mary, kind of a punk, with razor-cut black and pink hair; and Julie, a quiet, fair girl with glasses. She finished introducing me to them and turned to her left, them stopped.
    “Guys, where’s Kyle?” Abbie glanced around frantically.
    “Lunch line.” Mary said.
    “Really? Huh. He hates school lunch…well anyways, guys this is Natalie. She’s new, and we have pre-calc and foods together.”
    “That’s cool.” Tyler said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    After our brief exchange, we all began to eat our lunches. Just as I finished mine and was about to get up and go to orchestra, when Abbie grabbed my arm and yanked me down.
    I looked at her, startled. “What?”
    “Kyle’s coming! You can’t leave till you meet him!” She drilled me with her best if-you-leave-I’ll-never-forgive-you look.
    “…Fine.” I replied, setting my books down and then sat down.
    “Hey guys! What’s up?” A new voice entered the conversation, and I looked up.
    Standing in front of me was a tall, handsome, blonde-haired blue-eyed young man.
    “Kyle, this is Natalie. She’s new here, and I’ve taken her in.” Abbie quickly said.
    “Uh-oh. That can’t be good.” He grinned, flashing bright white teeth. “Look what happened to us!”
    At that everyone at the table began laughing, and the underlying tension lessened measurably.
    The rest of my day went as smoothly as it could have. I had orchestra with Kyle, Abbie stuck to my side like glue through health, and Mary and Tyler had P.E. with me. They were all fairly nice people, especially Abbie.
    When last bell ring, I headed out to my forest green 1985 Ford F150, happy that the day was finally over. I climbed into the cab, glad that the real winter chill hadn’t set in quite yet. It was only November, of course. Then I weaved my way out of the parking lot and headed towards my aunt’s house.
    When I got home, I walked up the stairs and steered towards my room. Once I got there, I collapsed onto the bed, took a huge breath and closed my eyes.
    Overall, my first day at Sienna High went well. My original plan of going totally noticed didn’t really work, but even that had turned out all right. My classes were good, with the large exception of English. People hadn’t reacted the way I thought they would to a girl moving to their town a few months into the year from a posh New York suburb. I wasn’t as much of an oddity, and I was glad. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought it was going to be.