face. “Here you go, Blakely!” he said excitedly before handing me a haphazardly wrapped package. I took it from his outstretched hands and stared at the pink wrapping paper with uncertainty as Lance bounced on the balls of his feet.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s like you’ve never seen a present before! Open it!” Lance instructed. I knew his words were meant to be teasing, but he had no idea how true it was. Mama didn’t get me gifts, didn’t think far outside of her own selfish needs. I’d had presents before; I wasn’t completely neglected. But it was always last-minute, clearance rack clothes in her size instead of mine.
I tore through the paper and gasped at what I saw inside. It was a brand-new leather messenger bag with a designer label I didn’t recognize but knew probably cost a small fortune. “Lance, you didn’t have—”
“You needed a bag for all those books you’ll be carrying. Figured you should go in style, okay?”
“It’s too much.”
“It’s not.”
“You’re too nice to me,” I choked out, relentless emotions bubbling up within me as I tried to swipe at the moisture brimming in my eyes. I didn’t want to sound pathetic, but thoughtful gestures were a foreign concept to me.
Lance walked forward and wrapped me up in an awkward hug, my new bag held between us. “Knock ’em dead today! If anyone gives you trouble, text me or Deck—Mr. Harris, okay?” he said with a laugh.
“Okay,” I replied before stepping away. I was about to go to my room and load up my new backpack when I caught Decker’s expression looking back at me. It was a mix of protectiveness and awe. I nearly fell over myself at the sight.
“We’ll leave in thirty minutes,” he choked out once he realized I was staring. Stupid, stupid girl. Lance was standing right there as I ogled Decker. I needed to get this shit locked down. I didn’t even have the energy to argue with him anymore; I just needed out of the kitchen.
“Okay,” I replied before disappearing into my room. I quickly dumped out my old backpack with patches on the fabric and stains on the straps, wondering how I went from being the girl with all she owned on her back to being this.
Decker compromised by dropping me off a block away from MAMS, smirking at my heels as he pulled away. Little did he know, I preferred the stilts. I was my mother’s daughter, after all. I had every intention of winning this bet. I had to keep my truths close if I wanted to keep the boundary between us clear.
I walked up to the front steps of the large school as students loitered around the front lawn, catching up and laughing with one another. Everyone seemed sectioned off in groups and oblivious to me. The coiled venom in my chest relaxed a bit when I realized no one was paying the new girl any attention.
Yes. Just how I liked it.
Maybe my past, coupled with every television show or book I’d ever read, had conditioned me to believe that the new girl at a new high school would be the center of attention, but I was surprised that not a single soul noticed me.
The only person to even recognize that I was there was the front desk secretary who handed me my schedule. “Oh, you’re the one Mr. Harris kept telling us about,” she said with a sad expression while picking through pieces of paper on her desk. “I have your schedule right here, and everyone has high hopes for you.”
Something about her statement felt off. Maybe it was the sad look in her eyes or the way she gave me a sympathetic smile. Something told me that she knew more about my life than I wanted her to, and that pissed me off. Determined not to let it ruin my day, I took my schedule with a polite smile and went into the hallway.
I liked that they didn’t offer to show me around, nor did they assign a student to teach me the ropes. I guess they operated under the assumption that everyone was smart enough to figure out a map, and I liked it. Decker said that MAMS was more of a college preparatory than anything else, and he was right. In the halls, students looked over their brand new textbooks excitedly while comparing schedules. There was an eagerness in everyone’s energy, almost as if they were just as excited to start class