Cross My Heart

I was late for school. My first day at my new school. Well, like they say, the more you do, the more they expect. I stopped outside the doors. A few stragglers pushed past me and ran through the doors to make it to their first class.
I was used to the whole ‘new kid’ roll. My father had died when I was two. And my mother and older brother had died when I was ten.
It had been a car accident. I was sitting in the back. My brother-even though he was only eleven and the car manual said to you had to be twelve-sat in the front. We were hit head on by a car driving on the wrong side of the road. My brother was suffocated by the air bag, my mom died in the hospital two days later.
The next six years, I had been bumped around the foster care system. I had never spent more than one month in one place. Today, I hadn’t even been to my new home. Well, I had. I had gotten to it with my new ‘parents’, they gave me a bag filled with school supplies and pointed me in the right direction. They were getting my room set up for me.
I sighed, and walked through the doors to the school, resisting the urge to run off like I had done so many times. For some reason, I felt good about this town. Vancouver, BC. I had never lived in BC before. I had been tossed around Canada, and even spent a bit in Washington once.
I don’t know what it was about this place. Maybe because it was so beautiful, maybe because for once the fact that I had the skin tone of a white rabbit for once didn’t stand out to much.
I walked into the office. It smelt like a mix of old people and the drug addicts I knew had been in here. Hey, it was high school, what else can you find?
“Um, Phoenix Hanson.” I told the secretary. She was wearing glasses with the little string of you could put them around your neck if you really needed to. I always thought those were useless. I wore glasses myself. Thick, square ones. I saw no need for random strings.
The secretary started shifting though papers. “Your late already, head straight to your first class. She told me in a bored voice as she handed me three papers. A map of the school, a time table, and a sheet to get each teacher to sign, seeing as it was the middle of November.
“Thanks.” I said flatly and went out the door. I leaned against a wall, looking at the map, trying to figure out where my first class-English-was.
I heard an annoying, buzzy bell ring over head. “Oh god.” I shoved the papers into the bag that I had placed on the floor, picked it up, and started making my way to the class room.
By the time I shoved my way down the hall ways to a room near the back door-which just had to be so far from the office-I pushed open the door to see only one empty seat. Great, no choice for me.
“You must be Miss Hanson.” The teacher said cheerfully. Well, at least she didn’t look strict. “I’ll just sign your sheet and you can have a seat in the back next to Josh.” She said and pointed to the only empty seat beside a guy who looked totally zoned out.
He had brown hair, and that was all I could see of him because he had his head in a paper. The pencil he held wasn’t moving.
“’Kay.” I fished the sheet out of the bag. I quickly handed it to her and she signed it.
“I’ll spare the embarrassment of introducing you.” She said.
“Thanks.” I wasn’t much for the social thing. And, after six years of sending between a day and a month in each town, I learned to try to keep the friend making to a minimum.
I started walking down the middle of the desks. Eyes turned on me, all but the guy at the back of the class rooms. Suddenly, some bitch in a tube top stuck her foot out and I plummeted to the floor.
I reached out of the grab the nearest thing to stop myself. That think happened to be the back of the guy’s chair. “Holy shit!” He screamed and I clung to the back of the chair and it plummeted to the floor with me.
“I’m so sorry.” I said and quickly got up.
“It’s fine.” He said and started getting up. I looked at his face as he got up. He had blue eyes, and pale skin. He was actually really cute. No. You’re not going to even think about getting attached to people! I told myself strictly.
“And if the commotion is over, I will start the class.” Then teacher said. So much for sweet and nice.
I quickly got into the seat beside the guy who I had caused to fall. The teacher had said his name was Josh. I preferred to think of him as guy. My brother’s name had been Josh.
“So, you’re new, right?” Josh asked me once we had our assignment and the class exploded with chatter.
“No shit, Sherlock.” I said and began digging through the bag until I found a binder. I marked one of the dividers ‘English’ in my messy, half hand writing writing.
“Where did you move from?”
“I don’t think it matters to you, you haven’t even introduced yourself.” This is what I always did. As soon as someone tried to even be friendly, I would show them the attitude that I held naturally.
“Oh, sorry. Josh Ramsay.” He put his hand out, expecting me to shake it. I just grunted man-like and put my name and the date on the top of the paper I had settled on. “And you are?” He urged me on.
“Phoenix Hanson.” I said and began writing what I was supposed to write.
“Why are you pushing me away?” I looked over to the guy and saw he hadn’t even gotten any paper out.
“Because, I have learned, after being the new kid at least a hundred times, not to make friends. Now, you have work to do, so do I, please leave me alone.” I shoved my face in my paper. Yes, I felt good about this town. No, I didn’t think it was going to last. But, I was right, my skin didn’t stand out. Guy’s skin was about the same tone as mine. Yes, I was still calling Josh Guy out of pure boredom by the paper in front of me now.
The bell rang. I had written one sentence. Well, I was gonna be gone soon anyway, who gave a fuck?
“Phoenix? Josh? Could I talk to you two?” The teacher asked. We were both attempting to get out the door.
No, I don’t give a fuck what you have to say. “Yeah, sure.”
“Josh, would you mind showing Phoenix around the school? Sit with her at lunch, you know, walk her to her classes, just for a couple days, un till she gets her bearings.”
“Yeah, sure.” Josh smiled evilly. I had a feeling I shouldn’t have been so mean to him.
“Are you okay with that, Phoenix?”
No. He’s gonna kill me slowly and painfully. “Yeah.”
“Okay, perfect. You two better get to your next classes soon though. Don’t want to be late.” She shooed us out the door as other students started showing up.
“So, what do you have next, Phoenix?”
“Um…math, with Mr. Samuels. Room 106.”
“Great, so do I.” He said and began leading me down a hall way. It was mostly clear, a few people hung around in the hall ways.
“So, you gonna talk to me yet?” He asked as we made our way down the hall way, I noticed he was walking at a slow pace.
“Yeah, I guess so. I just really, really don’t want to get close to anyone. I have never spent more than a month in a town.”
“Why is that, anyways?” The bell rang over his voice, he didn’t seem concerned.
“Um…well…My dad died when I was two, and my mom and older brother died in a car crash six years ago. I’ve been bumped around the foster care system ever since. Either the people got tired of my attitude, or I got tired of them. It’s just what happens.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used to being alone.”
“Hey, well, now you have a friend. If you do leave, which I hope doesn’t happen, we will keep in touch. A friend can help, you do know. It’s not good to keep to yourself.” We got the class room as he finished.
“Late again, Mr. Ramsay.” The teacher said. “And you’ve made our new student late. Tisk tisk.” Mr. Samuels said from his desk.
“Mrs. L wanted me to escort her. We started talking, slowed us down a bit. Sorry.” Josh said. I realized I had called him Josh in my mind. Wow. That changed quickly.
“What’s your name, miss?” Mr. Samuels said as Josh went and sat beside a guy in the middle of the class rom.
I gulped. “Uh, Phoe-Phoenix Hanson.” I wasn’t good with the public speaking thing.
“Well, good to have you.” He said and signed the sheet I handed to him.
I quickly walked a empty seat in the back of the room. I sat behind Josh.
He twisted around the tell me: “Sorry I left you for the sharks up there. Guess you don’t like attention.”
“Not really.” I shook my head. The girl in the seat next to me was talking to the guy next to Josh very enthusiastically.
“Oh, this is Matt, my friend. And his girlfriend, Shaun. Doubt they heard what I just said. They get annoying sometimes.
“Ramsay, Webb, Hanson, and Kas, please, save the chit chat for when I’m not trying to teach a lesson.
Josh shrugged and turned back around. I fished though the pocket of my black skinny’s for my iPod. I fished the head phones through my yellow tee and shoved one in my ear, hidden by my long hair. I put on You and Me-Lifehosue and stopped paying attention to the world.