Raven looked down at her dress again, and her face grew red. This would never work out. It was bad enough that she had to go to a new school at all, but this outfit . . . ugh. It was a plain grey dress which came down just below her knees and hung awkwardly on her shoulders. She was skinny and tall, and this dress had clearly been made for someone a little . . broader. The sleeves covered her arms down to her forearms, and her wrists stuck out just beyond them. She gave one last despairing look at herself, then grabbed a black belt and cinched it around her waist. Well, not quite so bad anymore. She took a deep breath and slid her hand over her long, jet-black hair, toying with the idea of doing something with it. But she decided against the notion; she was running out of time. With some final touches to her makeup and a quick check to make sure she had her phone, she headed out of her messy room and downstairs to where her dad was getting ready to leave for work, and her mom was preparing some breakfast for the two of them.

Raven's dad worked at a nuclear power plant and her mom was an author. They weren't rich, but they managed. Raven sat down at the small wooden table and ate the fruit loops hungrily, not bothering to look outside at the grey skies and rain washed streets.

She leaped up as she heard the bus outside and grabbed her coat. "Bye!" she called to her parents as she slammed the door behind her and ran to the bus. Normally, she would have preferred to walk to school, but since today was her first day at this new school, she wasn't going to arrive strangely dressed and wet as well.

She shuffled along the central aisle, looking for a place to sit. She felt the eyes of nearly all the people looking at her, and her face turned crimson. 'I can't do this!' she thought, then answered herself savagely, 'Yes you can, stop being such a whiner!'

Yeah, having conversations with herself was probably not the most sane way of spending her time, but she was alone so much, she couldn't help it.

Finally, she found a space near the middle of the bus and sat down, gazing out the window and refusing to look elsewhere. She could hear the other kids return to their joking and talking, now paying no more attention to her than they might to an empty seat. As the houses passed by, Raven couldn't help wondering if, this time, she might actually make a friend or two.

Fifteen minutes later, they were at the school, and Raven was waiting for her turn to get out of the vehicle. When she did, she just followed the other students into the large building. She walked down the long hallway, which was buzzing with people calling to each other. 

"Hey, Claire!" 

"What's up, Don?" 

"Whenever ya like." 

She picked her way between the people until she found a locker with her name on it. Using the key stuck in the lock, she opened it and stuck her things in, everything she didn't need at the moment. She pulled out the slightly battered piece of paper from her pocket, and, thankfully, math was her first class today. She just wanted to get it over with. She took her pencil box, which she had supplied with several pencils, erasers, a compass, a protractor, and anything else she had thought she might need. Funny, now that she thought about it, she probably didn't need half the stuff that was in there.

Raven let out a long breath and stepped into the classroom. Some of the other kids looked up, but most ignored her; they seemed busy doing other things. She looked around the room for an empty seat and there it was - right in the front of the room. Raven's stomach flipped. She hated sitting in the front. But that was the only available seat, and it was probably going to be taken unless she grabbed it right now, so she did.

The hours of school passed her by in a blur, interrupted only by the teacher occasionally asking her a question, which she got correct about half the time.

At last! The bell rang and she found herself stepping out if the building into the fresh autumn air. Along with every other student. She wouldn't have bothered to look at them, but one tall boy caught her eye, his dark hair and light blue eyes making her breath catch in her throat. He held her gaze for a moment, then she looked away quickly, her face red.

All the way home, she thought about that look, and only one thought occupied her mind:

"Did he like me?"

* * *

Thanks for reading!! This is my first modern story, so please give me tips, corrections, etc. You guys are awesome!!!!!!! :D

One more thing. It's not a fanfic.