Cleaning my new room has been hectic. It's disgusting. There's even a dead rat inside. I even forced myself to have a good night's sleep after seeing how it died. Ugh.
"Nadine, stay strong."
These past few days, I have developed a habit of talking to myself—to the one inside my head, although I know that it's me. But I like to believe that I'm talking to someone else. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like an escape. My coping mechanism to forget that I'm... here.
—
And finally, the day that I have not been looking forward to is going to school. I'm in my second year now, and it's such a shame that I have to move suddenly. Although it's not like I was attached to my old school, it's going to be hard trying to fit in... again.
"You're going to be alright."
I hope I do.
My route to school was... hard. I need to take the train for 10 minutes and walk for another 10 minutes. I can't believe that I need to do this every single day. It's making me lose my mind. It's even hard enough to live in an unventilated room. Now I have to sacrifice my time to get to school before the bell rings.
What's the worst that could happen?
"You must be the new student, Nadine? It must be hard transferring in the middle of the year."
Being in the teacher's office is somewhat comforting. I don't know why. I just wish I wasn't in the same class as the twins. Dear God, please say no.
"It seems like you haven't got your uniform yet, here. Make sure to stop by the main office and ask the clerk for a uniform."
I just nodded at my supposedly homeroom teacher as she gave me a small smile. I must look weird since I'm the only one with a red blazer while the whole school wears a black one. The only thing that differentiates the students are their name tags, which have different colours. I was given a blue one, so I assumed the second year wears blue.
"Come on now, let's get you to your new classroom."
Ms. Joanna said as I followed her.
As we walked by the hallway, I could feel eyes on me. It must be so obvious that I just transferred here. Oh God, the stares are making me even more nervous.
"Listen up everyone, we have a new classmate joining us today."
Shit. I didn't realise that we were already inside the classroom. It was awkward standing in front of a bunch of strangers.
"Hello."
I managed to say something as I could hear a few responses. Well, it doesn't seem too bad.
"Class president, make sure you show her around. I have something to take care of; study on your own."
Ms. Joanna said as she gave me a smile before leaving the classroom. What the heck? Is she supposed to just leave like that? I don't even know where I'm supposed to sit. I don't even know anyone here.
"Hey, new girl. Here's an empty seat."
A girl calls out for me as I breathe a sigh of relief. It's good enough that I'm not being bullied on the first day. When I made my way towards the seat, I could feel eyes all over me. It's not uncomfortable, but weird. Do I look so different or something?
"What's your name?"
The same girl who had called out for me asked as I took a seat next to her.
"Nadine. You?"
I replied, giving her a smile as she shook my hands. Huh. Is that how you're supposed to do it?
"Wait, somehow your name sounded familiar... Anyway, my name is Ruby Johnson. Nice to meet cha."
She exclaimed, I can't help but feel thankful for her, for starting the conversation.
"Wait, did you go to Kings Middle School?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow as I just nodded in response. Did she know me?
"Ahh, you must be THE childhood friend then."
Ruby chuckled as I stared at her in confusion.
"Do you know me?"
I was curious about what she meant by "childhood friend."
"Oh no. It's our first time meeting each other. I just heard about you from Koby. He often talks about you back in middle school after you move, so your name rings a lot of bells."
Ruby replied, as I was overwhelmed with emotions after hearing the name she just said. Koby. My childhood friend. I wanted to ask her about him, but truthfully, Koby and I had lost contact with each other. So I don't even know if he still remembers me, although I do wish that he remembers me. I wonder if he even went to this school.
"Oh? Are you curious about your childhood friend?"
Ruby teased me as I couldn't help but feel embarrassed with how friendly she is despite just meeting each other a few minutes ago.
"He's in class 5. You know, the elite class. I'm surprised that you're not in that class, or is it because you're one of us?"
Ruby chuckled as I wondered why I felt relieved. He's here. And I can't believe that he's still studying well. I mean, he had always gotten good grades, although he spent more time playing than actually studying. I envied him for that. For some reason, he always ranked in the top 3 in our class, back in middle school. I was never close to him in that regard. I found it really strange how he managed to do that while always goofing around.
"What do you mean by one of us?"
I asked since I honestly don't understand what she means by that. And it's even weirder when I feel like everyone in the class was staring at me as I said that. I wonder if it's a trigger...
"The cool ones. We in class 1 are the best class you know? although not really in academic."
Ruby laughs as someone literally throws trash at her. I can't help but feel nervous—are they bullying her or something?
"Don't mind him; Jason has a loose screw. He's the physical strength idiot."
Ruby said, clicking her tongue as she threw the trash back at the boy named Jason. I don't know if this is normal here, but this is definitely new to me.
"Hahaha! You scared the new girl."
Another boy joined the conversation as he took a seat in front of me, smiling cheekily as he called his other friend.
"Hello there, my name is Felix, and I am the game idiot. This one here is Obi; he's literally just an idiot, so don't mind him. Can I get your number?"
I almost choked with how he introduced himself. He just called himself an idiot. Even the one he called an idiot doesn't seem to be fazed by that; Obi just raised his eyebrow at me, and I don't even know what that was supposed to mean.
"We're the three idiots. It is a pleasure to make your—wait, how do you say that one thing, aqua? Tense? Queen—"
Jason interrupted with his finger on his chin, trying hard to think about the word that he wanted to say. Woah. I was still surprised by their introduction. But the three of them seem nice. It's actually comfortable.
"Dude, she's laughing at your stupidity. Tsk. Tsk."
Obi added as he gave Jason a disapproving look and gave me a thumbs up. I am seriously still shocked at how they react to each other.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance."
I replied as Felix and Obi mocked Jason for not knowing the word he wanted to say, while Jason just blushed, saying that he forgot. It was funny being surrounded by these people; I almost forgot that I live in a tiny, unventilated room. Ha ha.
"Go away, you idiots! She's done talking to you guys."
Ruby shooed them away as I kept telling her that it was alright, but she seems to be the one who's annoyed with them. But I'm glad that my classmates are not weird people.
Literally. Not weird at all.