You gripped the strap to your backpack, it feeling like your lifeline once more.  This time, you looked at the school, petrified for a different reason.  Although, you spotted Casey stepping out of a large yellow school bus, Stu practically attached to her hip.  She noticed you, and began to violently wave to you, beckoning you over.  You began walking in their direction, and Casey gave you a bright smile.

"Hey (y/n)!  How are you this morning," she asked.

"Pretty good," you answered.  "How are you guys?"

"Oh, really good!  My Stu-bear here picked me up from work and watched 'Groundhog Day' with me," Casey gushed.  "Isn't that right honey?"

"You know I'd do anything for you," Stu replied, wrapping his arm around her waist.

You had a feeling that the two did more than just watch a movie last night, since they were both teens, and felt like the type to have a high sex drive.  But, you didn't say anything.  It was their business, not yours.  Besides, that conversation would've been uncomfortable as hell, and so you'd prefer Casey leaving out the gross-ass details.

"Hey, who do you have for homeroom," Casey asked suddenly.

"Let me check..." you trailed off.

You quickly swung your backpack over your shoulder so that it was against your chest, and you began to root around the front pocket.  You could feel a crumpled up paper that had once been folded up nicely.  The pristine sheet somehow ruined within 24 hours of existing in your presence, even when kept in a pocket.  You felt like it was somehow a reflection of your current state of being.

You pulled the paper out of your bag, and began to open it up.  You looked at the timetable, eventually finding the homeroom block.

"Mrs. Brutechelli," you told them.

"Oh Jesus, that asshole," Stu muttered.  "Good fucking luck with her."

"Hey, doesn't Tatum have her for homeroom," Casey questioned.  "You won't be stuck alone with her!"

"You are such an optimist," Stu groaned.

"Well, I know you love it."

"I'll just leave you two to... whatever this is."

And with that, you made your way inside the school.  You went to your locker and grabbed the paper with your code (you were struggling to memorize the code), and grabbed the stuff you needed to get through the first half of the day.  You made your way to Mrs. Brutechelli's classroom, not wanting to be late.

"Hey, you're (y/n), right," a masculine voice asked from behind you.

You turned around, and saw Billy standing there.  He wasn't with Sidney, or anyone actually.  But everyone was staring at him.  He and Stu were quite popular.  They were stars of the football team, and Casey and Tatum were notorious for giving men the night of their lives.  So the clique that Casey was trying to adopt you into was one, if not the most popular group in the school.  So everyone was surprised when one of the most popular guys in school was talking to a no one.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well, I'm William.  Or Billy, like Casey said.  It's a pleasure to meet you."

He held out his hand for you to shake, and you looked at it questioningly.  For some god damn reason, you couldn't comprehend what you were supposed to do with it.  Maybe it was the fact that literally everyone in the god forsaken hallway had their eyes on you.

"Well, you, uh, already know my name," you said awkwardly.

"So, where you headed," he asked, retracted his hand.

"To Mrs. Brutechelli's," you replied.

"Oh, that bitch?  Good luck," he sighed.

"Yeah... I'm gonna go.  I don't want to be late."

"Alright.  I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, sure."

And with that, you turned and left.  You made your way to the classroom you needed to be in, now terrified of Mrs. Brutechelli.  Two people had called her a bitch and wished you luck in less than ten minutes.  Now you were wondering how bad she really was.  But, you also knew that Stu wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and that that type of behavior could rub off onto others.  So, was it just Stu that didn't like her, and the people around him (such as Billy) started to dislike her as well?

You finally found the room you needed to be in, and almost the exact second you sat down at an empty desk, the bell rang.  A short woman with skin that was whiter than a vampire's, as if she hadn't just never seen the sun, but as if she didn't even understand the concept of light. And the stark contrast of her dark curly hair didn't help with this.  She was fairly short, and was heavy.  This wasn't an understatement, the woman was waddling.

"Alright, I'll be taking attendance," she said in a gruff voice.  "Stay seated.  No talking, don't move, and any of you with cellular devices... if I see them, I will take them and keep them at my desk.  You can get them back at the end of the day."

She waddled over to her desk, sat down, pulled out a sheet of paper, and began attendance.  She didn't call out names and expect you to respond.  She would look at a name on her paper, scan the classroom to make sure you were there, then she'd cross out the name.  Once she got her lunch break, she'd deliver the sheet to the office.

You looked around the room, wondering if Tatum was in there.  You couldn't see her, and there were a few empty desks in there, so you figured she was absent today.

"Who the heck is (y/n) (l/n)," Mrs. Brutechelli asked.

You slowly raised your hand, as if to signal you were there.  The woman looked at you, back at her paper, than back at you again.

"Are you (y/n)," she interrogated.

"Yes ma'am, I'm new," you replied softly.

For the second time today, it felt like everyone's eyes were on you.

"I didn't ask if you were new, I asked if you were Mx. (l/n)," she scoffed.

She turned back to her paper to continue doing her job, and you slowly lowered your hand.  You felt your face get hot with embarrassment and shame, and you still felt like everyone was watching you, even though the interaction was over.

Damn, you really would need some good luck if you wanted to survive a whole year with this bitch.