Early update? YASS! Happy Reading x

-THREE-

"Hi class, let me introduce you all to your new classmate. Meet Kyra Bryant," Mrs. Clark introduced me once I entered my second class, English.

English was one subject that I actually enjoyed and the teacher seemed nice as well. After the torture that was History, I was glad that I had this after. Till now, I'd gotten a lot of curious glances but no one had come up to me personally to say anything, positive or negative. I didn't know whether to be happy or disheartened about that.

But considering the attendance in History, I would say it wasn't really anyone's fault. Half of the people present were too occupied trying to sleep and thanks to the run-in I had this morning, I had come in a little late, when most of the people were already too busy to notice me introducing myself.

But English was the opposite of how the History class had been. The class was almost full and the students here were pretty attentive, which made me wonder what was so different about the previous one.

"Kyra, why don't you say something?" Mrs. Clark said, turning to me with a smile.

I was honestly hoping that she would be done after just telling everyone my name.

"Uh, hi. Nice to meet you all. I'll be spending rest of the year with you guys so I hope we get along well," I said, awkwardly, giving a short smile to everyone.

I heard a few snickers but I wholeheartedly ignored them, trying not to let them get to my nerves. I was just hoping that I made good friends this year.

I had lost all contact with my previous friends after my dad had passed away and that incident. It was the phase in my life where I had been at my lowest. All of my friends slowly left my side, not that I could blame them. Some of them did try but I was too far gone to be able to come back and I was just pulling them down with me.

Last year was the most progress I'd made since the tragic day. I was slowly coming back to the girl I used to be but I still wasn't there yet. I had a long way to go and I was hoping that this change would help me discover myself.

"Well, why don't you take a seat next to Lillian over there," Mrs. Clark said, pausing my train of thoughts. I turned to see her pointing to the middle of the class where a girl with bright orange highlights sat, chewing gum. She had blond hair with streaks of orange here and there and was busy examining her nails.

At her name, Lillian looked up, raising her eyebrow at Mrs. Clark and rolled her eyes. There seemed to be three empty seats, one beside Lillian and two behind her.

Giving one last awkward smile to the teacher, I made my way to the middle. I realised that a lot of guys were staring at me, which made me wonder if there was a hole in my uniform or if I had something on my face. I was really hoping for none of the above.

I quickly sat down and turned towards my desk partner and gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, I'm Ky-"

"Listen newbie, I don't really care what your name is or who you are. Just don't talk to me for the rest of the period and we'll be good. Okay?" she said, cutting me off straight away.

My eyebrows went up on their own accord and I blinked at her. Well, then. That went smoothly.

From what I had figured, Lillian fit in the category of those girls who were always in trend and loved to use napkins as clothing. I didn't want to stereotype her but going by how she had altered her uniform to hide practically nothing and how she was scrolling through her Instagram under the desk, to constantly check on her followers and likes gave me a pretty decent idea of how important social life and her standing was.

I shrugged, it was her life and it seemed that our personalities didn't really match well.

How she got away with not wearing the proper uniform was beyond me, though. Because as far as I knew, they were pretty strict about the do's and don'ts when it came to clothing.

Before I could gather more thoughts, the door to the classroom burst open and in strolled the same person who I'd ran into, this morning. His pushed his glasses up his nose as he made his way towards Mrs. Clark.

"Sorry Mrs. C, I had to help Miss Dubois de-clutter," he said politely, handing her what seemed like a class pass.

Though his tone was polite, his face said the opposite. He seemed as annoyed as he was in the morning, which made me wonder if that's the mood he was always in. Shame, for such a beautiful face to be frowning.

"Of course, Mr. Blackwood, how can I say anything to my best student? Why don't you take a seat," Mrs. Clark replied politely, giving him a smile.

Giving her a nod, he turned to face the class, looking for a seat. That is when I noticed how the girls were reacting to his presence. Everyone was so much more attentive now, including my desk mate. Her phone that had been glued to her was now abandoned somewhere while she leaned forward with what I could call a sly smile.

I blinked in surprise at the attitude change.

I guess he was popular among the females in this school. No doubt why, though. Even with his glasses and boyish look, he was no doubt extremely hot.

"Hey, Kylie? Why don't you switch places? There is an empty seat behind you," she said, giving me a sugary smile. So now she decided I'm worth talking to.

When I didn't respond immediately, her smile turned into more of a sneer.

"Listen girly, you better go back unless you really want me to make this year for you, especially bad," she said, glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes at her. As if her threat was going to make me cower.

Staying there for a moment, looking at her in the eye I gave her a flat look before deciding to shift anyway. I didn't want to unnecessarily get on her nerves and make her put me in the top of her to-kill list, assuming she had one. So, instead of arguing, I simply shifted my bag to the desk behind me and got up before anyone could say anything.

Mrs. Clark was facing the white board so she didn't notice the little switch but when I turned back around, Mr. Blackwood seemed to have. He studied me for a second, something unrecognisable flashing through his eyes but before I could figure out what is was, it was gone. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at me before glancing at who his partner was going to be. I noticed his lips pressing into a thin line before he simply shook his head and took his seat in front of me, with Lillian, who seemed to be elated with the circumstances since she couldn't stop whispering things into his ears which seeing how he was discreetly leaning away, he wasn't enjoying all that much.

Suppressing my smile, I thanked the lords there was no one beside me but that was also because the chair next to me seemed to be broken. Having no one to talk to helped me actually listen to what Mrs. Clark was saying, which is how my entire period went by.

***

"Hey, Kyra, right?" a voice caught my attention as I switched my books for my next class. I had a free period for now but I thought it would be better if I got a gist of what my next class was going to be about.

I turned to my left, where a blonde girl stood, smiling at me.

I returned her smile. "Hey, yeah. How can I help you?"

"Wow, you're pretty," a blonde girl blurted as stood beside me, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Uh...Thanks?" I replied, not knowing how to take the sudden compliment she randomly threw at me.

"Ahh sorry," she apologised, clearly embarrassed at what she blurted out.

"Let me start again, I'm June, I'll be helping you figure out all that is Hedgeview High," she grinned, her brown eyes sparkling, making me smile in return.

"I'd love that. Thank you," I grinned back.

"I'll be your official tour guide and informant for anything you may wish to know, after which I'll give you your student tutor's number. She'll be able to help you with your studies till now, whatever the teachers can't really help you with. You're lucky with who you got because she usually doesn't help a lot of students," she explained.

"Why not?" I asked, curious.

"Oh don't get the wrong idea. She isn't snobbish or anything, quite the opposite, actually. She stopped tutoring students a while back, you'll get the reasons later. Anyways, you ready?" she asked, clapping her hands in excitement.

I nodded, feeling her enthusiasm feeling mine.

"Great! I'm assuming you have a free period?" she asked, to which I nodded again in response.

"Perfect, let me start by giving you a tour of our magnificent gardens and school grounds. That way, we'll get fresh air as well as get to ogle at eye-candy," she said, her cheerfulness being contagious.

I laughed at her response. She seemed amazing to be around and her bubbly personality made her look adorable as she described the different facilities the school provided the students with. The gardens where we started off, were beautiful. I couldn't spot a single unkempt spot, it was pristine and the stunning surroundings made it really fun to talk and move around, too.

As June kept on telling me about different aspects of the school, I was amazed to know how in Gym class you could choose a general P.E or a specialised one if you wished to pursue any specific sports, including swimming, badminton, tennis among others. That was usually alternated with a general one.

The school also offered a lot of extra curricular activities which I hadn't decided which ones to take on. I got to know a lot about the school and how it offered every penny's worth.

"Enough about the school, now how about we move on to the students?" she asked, looking at me.

Before I could even respond, she continued talking, making me laugh at her enthusiasm.

She noticed that and gave me a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I tend to get carried away when I talk sometimes."

"No worries. I'm enjoying listening to you," I replied, making her beam with happiness.

"Thank God! Anyways, have you spotted anyone peculiar who caught your eye? I could tell you all about them. I practically know everyone in our year and the year below."

The first person to come in my mind was the guy I had run into in the morning and my English class, the Adonis recreated but instead of saying his name (or the name Mrs. Clark had called him by) I chose to ask her about Lillian.

"Do you know any Lillian?" I asked, walking with her as we crossed the gardens and walked towards the school grounds.

"You mean Lillian Harmon?" she asked, to which I responded with a blank look, since I had no idea what her last name was.

"Colourful highlights, sparkly nails and dresses like a hooker?" she elaborated, making me widen my eyes at her blunt description.

But it did seem like the Lillian in my class, so I nodded, not objecting to her choice of words.

"Ah! Classic wannabe Queen Bee. Her father is the head master of the Hedgeview so she basically gets away with anything. She used to be Montana's side kick until she left school and now she's just trying, desperately, might I add, to get into the Elites, so she keeps on seducing any guy who gets close to them," she babbled on, making me confused with every word she said.

June noticed my lack of response and turned to me. She must've seen the confusion written all over my face because she face-palmed pretty hard.

I flinched a little on the sound of her hand hitting her forehead. That's gotta hurt.

"Oh sorry. I forgot that I need to explain from the beginning." And so she did.

From what I gathered from her ten-minute long explanation, the Elites was the name given to a group of eight people, the richest and the most popular ones in the entire school. They were a pretty close-knit group and hardly let anyone in their circle. People considered them "squad goals" and anyone who was acquainted with them was considered pretty important too. Other than the Elites, there weren't any specific social cliques in the school but apparently it wasn't uncommon to see groups of jocks and cheerleaders falling next in the food chain after the Elites- but they were more diverse.

But as June mentioned, these groups weren't consistent. They kept changing.

Elites considered of four guys and four girls, one of whom had left school last year owing to her parents wanting her to study in Paris, instead. She was the one called Montana. Montana Reese, to be exact.

Instead of telling me about the others in the so called group, she said that she wanted to show me, to which I inquisitively raised an eyebrow.

We had reached the football field where a lot of guys seemed to be running drills, half of them wearing shirts and half of them not. I was thoroughly impressed by the physique of the boys, they were ripped.

To the far left side of the field, a big group of cheerleaders were practicing their routines, looking flawless with every move they made. From what I could see, they were in a pretty good shape too. Just looking at the students, I was glad that my habit of running kept me in a relatively good shape.

"Hedgeview takes its extra curriculars really seriously," June explained, probably going by my impressed face.

"Looks like it," I answered, still amazed by the dedication I saw.

"Do you see that guy?" She asked, pointing towards the group of guys that were huddled together. "The shirtless blonde one with navy blue shorts," she detailed.

Thankfully there was only one shirtless guy who matched the description so he was easy to spot him. Once I did, I nodded.

"That is Lucas Kelly, quarterback and ultimate chick magnet. He is the only one who ventures outside the group to satisfy his needs, if you know what I mean," June giggled but continued. "He is the definition of a typical player but at least he warns the girls so they know what they're getting into since a lot of girls seem to consider him a ticket into the Elites."

I let my eyes examine the said guy. He seemed to ooze confidence and it was easy to make out why he was the quarterback. The team seemed to listen to him really well.

"The guy right beside him on the right is Maxwell Carter, popularly known as Max and the second member of the group. He is relatively friendly and is currently in a relationship with Allison Russel. They've been together for two years now and are going strong. They're kind of the it couple of the school. Allison is our famous swim team and is one of the best in the entire state."

I didn't interrupt as June continued to explain, trying to hold on to the information.

"Moving on, do you see the group of girls right by the space near the bleachers?" I looked to see a group of girls in their gym uniforms performing stretches. That is the dance team and the blond girl talking to the teacher, is Maddison Beckett, the dance team captain and the fourth member of the Elites," she explained as we waled towards the bleachers.

I spotted the girl June was talking about. As we got closer, my eyes widened when I got a good look at Maddison. She was absolutely stunning. She had long blond hair and tanned skin with legs that seemed to go on for miles. Like Lucas, she exuded confidence and a vibe that basically screamed that you couldn't mess with her.

Watching the dance team get into positions to dance tugged at my heart, bringing memories back to the surface. Memories of the old Kyra, the same one who had been crazy for her love for dance. Flashbacks of my competitions and the trophies I'd won in them crashed my mind in an overwhelming speed. I really wanted to go back to it and maybe this could be the first step in pulling myself out of the phase I was stuck in these past two years.

Biting my inner cheek and filling myself with determination, I decided what I was going to choose for my first club activity. I was going to bring myself back to where I was. With every move the dancers made, it made me even more sure, considering how my body ached to move like them as I heard the music.

***

June had to leave me after the free period since she had to go for practice, promising me that she would tell me about the rest of it later. It was then that I found out that she was a cheerleader. With the stereotype of a cheerleader in my head because of my experience at my previous school, I would've never placed her in that category. But giving it a second thought, she seemed to also be a perfect fit, considering how bubbly she was. I bet her cheering was definitely be a strong motivator.

Glancing at the sheet she had handed me before leaving, I found in a neat scribble the phone number for my stand tutor whose name June had forgot to mention. At least with what we had talked about, it seemed to be a she, so it could be a little less awkward. I decided to give her a call or drop a message, to at least ask how we would be going about it.

I really didn't want to be left behind in subjects especially chemistry and calculus. If I got lost once in either of those subjects, I was going to be pretty much doomed. I still had around twenty minutes until the free period got over, so I decided to drop a text.

Me: Hey there, this is Kyra. I'm the new student and I got your number for student tutoring. I was hoping we could go over what I need to catch up on whenever it is convenient for you :)

After dropping the text, I decided to head to my locker to grab my schedule and the map for my next class. My phone buzzed with a text as I headed towards the lockers. I took it out to see a message from the tutor.

Tutor: Hi Kyra, I'm Mae. I could meet you during lunch in the library if that is okay with you. We can discuss the details then. Let me know if you're okay with that.

Me: That is perfect. Thank you, Mae!

I quickly renamed her contact in my phone and got to work. Pulling out my schedule, I groaned seeing calculus as my next class. This was going to be a long day.

**********

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

This was a little more of a filler, just to get familiar with Kyra's surroundings :)

Q: What is your favourite Disney movie?

Next update: 27 September 2020

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