In My Arms

Beep. Beep. Beep.
I sprinted out of bed and ran into my bathroom to take a shower. After I washed up, I got out and blow dried my hair. I curled my hair and then did my make-up lightly. Once I picked out my outfit, I got dressed and grabbed my jewelry. I looked at the time and saw that I had forty five minutes until I had to leave. I grabbed my stuff and headed town stairs to see dad making me breakfast.
“What are you making?” I asked sitting down at the island.
“Chocolate chip pancakes with bacon.” He said smiling. He put some on a plate for me and immediately dug in.
“Oh my gosh! This is like heaven!” I said stuffing my mouth.
“Thanks.” He laughed.
“Who’s taking me to school?” I asked.
“I am.” He said.
“Cool. You’re not getting out of the car are you?” I asked.
“What, are you worried I’ll embarrass you on your first day?” He laughed.
“Yep. The last thing I need is people knowing I’m your daughter.” I joked.
“Just for that, you’re not getting your present!” he smirked.
“What? Present? I’ll be good!” I smiled and jumped up and down.
“Ok. Shut your eyes.” He laughed. I did as he said and I heard shuffling around.
“Open your eyes.” He said. When I opened them I saw that Brian had came into the room with a pretty wrapped package.
“Here you go squirt.” He said handing it to me. I ripped the paper off quickly wanting to get inside. When I opened it I found a very expensive looking camera. I was completely shocked.
“You like it?” Matt asked me.
“Are you kidding me? I love it? But why did you get it for me?” I asked surprised.
“Well it’s your first day of school and you have a photography class so I thought it might be helpful.” Mattt said.
“Thank you.” I shouted and hugged them both.
“You’re welcome! Now finish eating.” Dad said laughing. Once I was done, we got in the car and drove to school. Thankfully, Matt was wearing a long sleeve shirt that covered his tattoos, a hat, and aviators. Even though he wasn’t getting out of the car, I was still worried that someone might recognize him.
“We’re here.” He said and pulled up to the curb. I looked outside my window and saw tons of kids pouring into the school.
“On second thought, maybe I should just be homeschooled.” I gulped.
“What? Just a couple minutes ago, you were psyched about starting school? What happened?” He asked.
“I’m nervous.” I admitted.
“You have nothing to be nervous about. You want to know how I know? Because you’re going to get out of this car like the brave person you are, and you’re going to go walk into that school and rock it.” He said. I sighed and let out a smile. I could always count on him.
“Ok. I’ll see you after school.” I said.
“I’ll pick you up. And if anything happens just call me, and I’ll be here to pick you up early. But I know you won’t need to.” He smiled. I nodded my head and he kissed me on my forehead.
“Bye.” I said as I got out of the car. I took one last look at him and walked toward the school. As I walked in, I caught a couple people’s eye. It was most likely cause I was the new kid. I looked at my program card and saw that I had English for first period with Mr. Driscol. I used the map that Emma had given me to find his classroom. Luckily it wasn’t that hard to find so I was on time.
“Hi, my name is Kasey, and I’m new.” I said to the teacher politely.
“Nice to meet you. You can sit anywhere you like and we’ll start class soon.” He smiled. I nodded my head and found a seat in the middle. Slowly students came in and sat down around me.
“Ok you guys settle down!” Mr. Driscol said once the bell rang.
“Today we have a new student. You want to introduce yourself?” He asked me.
“Sure. My name is Kasey and I’m fourteen.” I said shortly.
“Do you play any sports?” The teacher asked me.
“No not really.” I said shaking my head. At my old school, I had never even tried to play sports.
“Do you have a favorite subject?” He asked me.
“English.” I said.
“Well you’re my new favorite student.” He smiled. I figured it was because this was English class.
“Do you guys have any questions for her?” He asked the class.
“What’s your favorite color?” A girl shouted quickly.
“Aqua.” I laughed.
“What kind of music do you like?” A guy asked.
“Country, rock, punk, and alternative.” I said.
“Why did you transfer here?” The guy next to me asked.
“I moved.” I said. Technically it wasn’t a lie. I did move, I just decided to leave out the part in which my sister was murdered and that her ex-boyfriend adopted me.
“As much as I would like to sit here and here your life story, we have work to do.” Mr. Driscol sighed holding up a small book. The entire class ‘awwed’. Apparently no one wanted to work.
“Aww! Who am I kidding, I don’t want to work! Let’s hear more about you!” he said and threw the book he had over his head and resting his head on his hand. So far it seemed like I was going to enjoy this class.
*****
“Do you know where your next class is?” Jason asked me. He was also the guy who sat next to me and asked why I transferred here.
“Not really.” I laughed.
“Photography with Mr. Len.” I said.
“I know where that is, I can walk you.” He smiled.
“Ok, thanks.” I said.
“So what do you have for third period?” He asked as he led me.
“History with Ms. Kim.” I said.
“Me too. You’ll like her. She’s pretty laid back and doesn’t give us much work.” He said.
“That’s awesome. Do you have a fourth period?” I asked.
“Yeah, football. What about you?” He asked.
“No, just three periods.” I said.
“Well here you are.” He said pointing to a class room.
“Thanks for walking me.” I smiled.
“Anytime. Are you doing anything during lunch?” He asked.
“No not really. I’ll probably go see someone real quick though.” I said.
“Well my friends and I hang out at the bleachers. You should come and hang out with us.” He said as he backed away.
“Maybe I will.” I smiled. As I walked into class, I stopped at the teacher’s desk and he talked to me about the class.
*****
“Kasey!” I heard a girl shout as I walked into the lunch area.
“Hey Emma.” I said walking up to her.
“How are your classes so far?” She asked.
“They’re ok. I met a cute boy.” I smiled.
“What’s his name?” She asked excited.
“Jason, but I don’t know his last name.” I said.
“Well these are my friends, this is Michael, Andrew, and Eric.” She said pointing to each person.
“Hi!” I said. They waved back at me while they ate.
“You can sit down.” She laughed.
“It’s ok. Jason asked me to hang out with him during lunch, so I’m gonna go. But I’ll talk to you later.” I said.
“Ok, here take my number and I’ll text you.” She said. I entered her number into my phone before I left to find Jason. I briefly remembered where Emma said the football field was so I found my way there.
“Hey Jason.” I said walking up to him.
“Hey Kasey. This is Aaron and Zack. They’re on the football team with me.” he said.
“Hi.” I said.
“Where did you transfer from?” Zack asked me.
“Valley Village. It’s a couple miles away.” I said.
“Do you like it here so far?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah, I do.” I smiled.
“Are you going to try out for the school talent show coming up?” Zack asked.
“I didn’t know there was one. But maybe. Are you guys going to?” I said thinking about it.
“No, but we volunteer to help out.” Zack said.
“Does this school have a dance class?” I asked.
“Only one, during fourth period. In room 51.” Jason said.
“Do you dance?” Zack asked.
“I used to.” I said.
“Well if you’re good, you might want to think about trying out for the cheerleading team. They could use some girls with actual talent.” Aaron said. The rest of lunch we just talked about the school. I was really thinking about trying out for the cheerleading team and the talent show. But I think I was more worried about the talent show. I hadn’t danced in two years. I never really planned on dancing again. But I figure since I started a new life here Huntington, maybe things will be different.
*****
“So how was it?” Matt asked me as I got in the car.
“It was great. My classes are great and I met a few people.” I smiled.
“See! I told you there was nothing to worry about!” He said.
“I know you were right.” I said.
“Do you want to stop and get something to eat before you go see Dr. Petrelli?” He asked me. suddenly I remember I had to go see the psychologist every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
“No, let’s just go straight there.” I said. I just wanted to get it over with.
*****
“Hey Kasey.” Dr. Petrelli said as I walked into his office.
“Hi.” I said and sat down.
“How was your first day of school?”
“Pretty good.” I said shortly.
“Did you make any friends?” he asked.
“Yeah, a girl named Emma and her three friends and then Jason and his two friends.” I said.
“Are you going to try out for any sports?” he asked.
“Maybe cheerleading. I was also thinking about trying out for the school talent show, but I’m not sure.” I said.
“Why aren’t you sure?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m a little scared I guess. I would need a lot of practice.” I said thinking about it.
“Practice for what?” He asked.
“Dancing.” I said.
“How long have you been dancing for?” He asked.
“Since I was 6, but I stopped about two years ago.” I said.
“Why did you stop?” He asked. I shrugged my shoulders not wanting to look up. This wasn’t a subject I really wanted to talk about with anyone.
“Ok. How have you been sleeping the past couple days?” He asked changing the subject.
“Better since they put in all the locks. But I still end up leaving my room. My dad said that a few nights ago he found be in the corner in the hallway just sitting on the floor, staring at nothing. But he was able to get me back to bed without waking me up.” I said.
“It’ll get better. I know there are things that you don’t want to talk about but you have to understand that if you don’t talk about them, things will just get worse. You can’t keep everything bottled up forever.” He said.