"You could start over."

The words echoed in Ginger's mind as she stepped onto the bus. The crisp morning air burned in her lungs. She had expected everyone to be gazing at her, but to her surprise, every child on the school bus was staring down at their phones.

Good.

Ginger sat down in the first seat, relief filling her mind, but dread still filling her heart. No one was looking at her. She would be okay for a few minutes.

The bus put-putted down the road a little farther, and then stopped at a house on the corner. A tall girl with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail got on, her nose stuck high in the air.

"You could meet new people."

Ginger watched as the girl, Megan Carson, sat down in a seat in the back and then giggled innocently with whoever she had chosen to sit down with. 

More teenagers piled onto the bus, some freshman, some sophomores like Ginger. She didn't pay any mind. 

Ginger stared out of the window, watching the world go by. Fall was approaching. The leaves of the maple trees that had scattered her neighborhood were turning colors. The bus rode over the bridge over the river, and the water twinkled with the reflection of the rising sun.

Sometimes, the world just looked so cheerful. If only life was that way, Ginger thought. 

Finally, the bus arrived at the high school, and the deep, crushing feeling of dread returned. It pulled into the parking lot, tires screeching loudly. The bus lurched forward as it stopped, and Ginger closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"You could have a new life."

Ginger stepped into the aisle of the bus, her face hidden in the hood of her blue jacket. She didn't want people to see her. They wouldn't want to see her, anyways. She followed the line of people down the bus, finally stepping off onto the concrete, facing the big school.

Ginger closed her eyes again, not believing that she had even attempted to come back here, especially after the horrors of last year. Nothing had changed. She opened her eyes again to see the school picnic tables sitting idly in the courtyard. 

Ginger winced as she was hit by a pang of guilt. Why had she come back? Why didn't she take the offer she had been given?

Noticing that everyone was walking past her, and she was standing still in the crowd, Ginger began slowly walking toward the building. Every step was a challenge. She could still turn back. She could still run home, away from this place with all the horrible memories.

But she had to stay strong. 

She stepped into the building, expecting some kind of dramatic silence. But no one noticed her. I guess that only happens in movies...She thought. It just made her sadder.

Ginger walked to her locker, number 219 as she was instructed by the letter she had gotten, and put in the combination, glancing around to see if anyone was looking. When the lock clicked open, she put her binders and books in. Her short brown hair dangled over her face, obscuring everyone's view of her. 

People strolled up and down the hallway, talking and chattering away before class started. Suddenly, someone rammed straight into Ginger. 

"Gah!" Ginger exclaimed as she was knocked to the floor. Her books flew out of her locker and landed on top of her and the other person. 

"I'm sorry!" The feminine voice squealed as she scrambled to her feet. "I didn't mean to, um," The girl stood up, "I was just-" Then, the girl caught a glance at Ginger. "You," She gasped, terrified, "What are you doing here? I thought you were moving!"

Ginger blushed deeply. "I-I, um," She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear, realizing people were looking at her now. "I-" Ginger realized she had nothing to say. Her throat tightened up and she could hardly breathe with all the pressure.

Quickly thinking, Ginger darted off down the hallway toward the library, where she normally spent her mornings, away from others. She slammed open the door, causing the librarian to shriek in fear.

"Miss Ginger! What on Earth do you think you're doing?!" She fussed, dropping her book. More kids turned to face her. Ginger blushed a deeper red. "Go back to the common rooms. You are not allowed in here."

Ginger's stomach churned as she remembered the incident. 

"You could redeem yourself."

Tears stung her eyes now. Maybe it was a mistake coming back. She slowly closed the door, and began to walk toward the common rooms. 

People really were staring at her now. A few girls whispered back and forth, watching Ginger's every step as she walked down the hallway. Boys snickered and pointed. 

Finally, Ginger entered to common room. People were laughing, eating, and running around the big gymnasium-sort of room. 

Ginger sat down at a table on the northwestern corner of the room where no one really stayed around. It was the closest table to the garbage can, so the odds of people wanting to stay there were slim. But Ginger had no choice. 

She buried her face in her hands as she fought back tears. Her parents had warned her that this may happen, but she didn't believe them. She had the chance to get everything she always wanted, but she had turned it down. Why? 

She didn't know. 

A group of girls walked by Ginger's table. Ginger looked up and was hit by a horrible wave of guilt. One of the girls caught a glance of her and sneered at her in disgust. Ginger looked down at the floor, ashamed.

People made mistakes. Ginger knew that.

But most people don't continue to make the same mistakes, over and over and over, like Ginger had, no matter how many hints she was given, no matter how many warnings, no matter how many things were lost due to her choices.

People also change. Ginger knew that, too, but obviously, others don't.

She had changed so much over the past summer. She had realized her mistakes and tried to fix them. However, nothing worked. 

Ginger stared at the ceiling, still wondering why she had even tried to come back. Her parents had offered to let her go to a new school, yet, she decided to give her old school another chance. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone plopped down on the chair next to her. "Ginger," The voice said firmly, and it sent a chill down her spine. "Look at me."

Ginger looked up, her eyes red and her heart heavy. "What?" She asked with a heaviness in her voice. 

The girl that had sat down next to her was Sofia Baker, her old best friend. "Stop crying," Sofia commanded. "You look like a wimp."

Ginger, angry from the insult, turned away. "Leave me alone," She grunted.

Sofia inhaled slowly. "I'm sorry," She sighed, "I guess that was a little harsh."

"You think?" Ginger snapped back.

The girls sat in an awkward silence, the tension lingering in the air. "How...was your summer?" Sofia asked at last.

"Terrible," Ginger growled. Sofia didn't answer. "After everything that happened, how can you even ask that?"

Sofia stared at the floor, "Ginger, I'm sorry. It was a long summer for me, too."

"How would you know?" Ginger demanded angrily, whipping her head around. "You're not the one who spent it without a best friend!"

"Well, maybe you wouldn't have had if you were maybe more considerate of my feelings, too!" Sofia retorted back, suddenly angry as well.

Ginger and Sofia stared at each other silently, both recalling what had happened at the very end of their freshman year. 

The two girls had been best friends since the beginning of middle school, where they had helped each other through it. However, with each passing year, Sofia began to drift away. She began making other friends, leaving Ginger in the dust. 

"How's Megan?" Ginger said with a jealous tone, "You guys still 'BFF's'?"

Sofia sighed, "Well, I can't just stop being friends with someone for your sake," She said coldly, "That wouldn't be fair."

"It is fair when I'm supposed to be your best friend!" Ginger cried in return, tears welling at the corner of her eyes. 

"That's just your problem!" Sofia exclaimed back, "You're so jealous of Megan, you're blind to the fact that you're a friend hogger! You can't have me all the time! I've got to make other friends, too! You're being so possessive!"

Ginger was quiet again, the guilt once again hitting her hard. "I know," She whispered, "You don't know how much I feel bad for that, too."

"Well, it doesn't feel like you do," Sofia squinted her eyes and glared bitterly. 

The girls stared at each other for a long time. Ginger thought about that last moment, the last moment they had ever been friends. That moment when everything just spiraled out of control. 

They were sitting at the picnic tables in front of the building, on the last day of school. Sofia had been talking about all the fun she was having with Megan lately, oblivious to the fact that Ginger wanted a Sofia-and-Ginger day. 

Then, Sofia said, "I'm so glad Megan's my best friend." 

That's when Ginger snapped. She had kicked Sofia as hard as she could, and then Sofia fell over, but then immediately regretted it. People were staring all around, looking at her as if she was a cruel bully. 

That event of that fateful day had scarred Sofia and Ginger's friendship forever. 

Jealousy gets you nowhere, Ginger had learned. Violence gets you nowhere. And you can't fix it once the deed's been done. 

"Or, You could try again." 

Ginger's father's words came back to her. She could have started over at a new school like her parents had offered her. She could have made new friends. She could have redeemed herself, started over with a clean slate. She didn't have to try again.

But she did.

"Do you accept?"

"Sofia," She sighed, tired of feeling guilty, tired of feeling bitter, tired of feeling lonely, "I'm so sorry I kicked you."

"I'm sorry I left you out," Sofia smiled weakly and then reached out to hug Ginger. Ginger accepted. 

They hugged in silence, both happy and relieved their friendship had been sort-of mended. "Sofia?" Ginger asked, muffled by her friend's curly black hair. 

"Yeah?"

"Can you give me another chance?"

"Only if you give me one."

"Deal," Ginger smiled, for the first time in a long time. 

"Ginger, You could start over. You could have new friends, meet new people. You could redeem yourself, it'll be like nothing ever happened. Or, you could try again. Rose Bloom High School is a very good school. You would be very successful there. You could have everything that you ever wanted. Do you accept?"

Ginger zoned back into her memory, that night when her dad had asked her to enroll at Rose Bloom. Her father was a caring man, and after he had heard about Ginger's fight with Sofia, he did everything he could to make her feel better.

He had warned her that starting over would be hard. But maybe, the only thing harder than starting over....was trying again. Ginger had to stay strong. So she decided to try again.

Was it worth it? Coming back to face the school that had now thought of her as a bully? Was it worth it to confront her best friend, knowing that she would probably be betrayed again?

Her father's voice returned to her head.

"Ginger, you could start over."

I know.

"You could have new friends, meet new people."

Who says that won't be harder than what I had before?

"You could redeem yourself, it'll be like nothing ever happened."

What if I don't want to forget?

"Or, you could try again." 

Maybe.

"Rose Bloom High School is a very good school. You could be successful there."

Sure, okay.

"You could have everything you ever wanted."

What exactly is it that I want?

"Do you accept?" The voice in her head asked. "Well, do you?"

No. I'm going to give my school a second chance.

The same words that she had spoken that night couldn't have been truer. Everyone deserved a second chance.

Even her. 

Ginger sat with Sofia, and let go of her shoulders. "Thanks," She said at last. 

The two friends smiled at each other. "Want to go try out that new coffee machine they installed in the cafeteria?" Sofia asked with a giggle.

Ginger smiled, glad to be back with her friend. "Sure!"