August 25, 2017...

"Jade! You are going to be late for school!"

Digging through boxes to find my clothes this morning took half of my time away. Plus, Dad had already left for work so I had to walk to school. I ran outside without breakfast and towards the high school that was halfway across town. I slowed down to a walk when I went past the old diner. Brett was throwing away the trash and spotted me, "Hey city girl! Have you had breakfast yet?'

I walked over to him, "No, actually. I thought I was going to be late but I have a half an hour."

He smiled and pushed the hair out of eyes, "Well we can't have that. Come in for a moment, we'll fix you up something. The boss lady always makes sure her employees are taken care of."

We went into the diner and Cheryl was wiping down the counter. Brett sat down on a stool, "Hey boss. Our new waitress left home without breakfast this morning."

Cheryl went straight over to the pastry cabinet and put a chocolate croissant into a paper bag, sliding it over to me, "There you go. Feel free to come in anytime you want some breakfast. I take care of my employees. Now, get going or you will be late."

I picked up the bag, "Thank you Cheryl. I owe you one."

I walked out the glass doors, hearing her yell behind me, "You don't owe me anything."

I made it to the school five minutes later. Students were rushing around and standing in groups talking to each other. I walked up the cement steps and down the halls while almost everyone's eyes watched my every move. I finally found my locker, trying the combination only to have it not open. I leaned my head against it and sighed.

We are off to a great start.

"The lockers around here normally don't work very well. You always have to have a magic touch to open them."

I lifted my head up and saw a girl with flowing, blonde hair, leaning against the locker next to me. I shrugged, "I don't really need to put anything in it. I just didn't have anything else to do."

The girl from the sewing shop.

She smiled, making her whole face light up like a sunflower on a sunny day. She took my schedule from me. She instantly went to work and had the locker open in a second, "You haven't made any friends yet, I assume."

Oh god she's so pretty.

Many people didn't really know it but I was into girls. Yup, another socially awkward lesbian. But what can I say? I didn't choose the cards I was dealt, it's just the way it is.

"I am not really one to go out and find friends."

She leaned back against the wall, "I am not either... I saw you yesterday walking by yourself."

She saw me. I hope she didn't notice I was staring at her.

I nodded my head, "You were in the sewing shop window."

"My mom owns it... " She gave me back my schedule, "We have English together. Walk with me?"

I closed my locker and pulled on my backpack straps, following after her. Her hair gently swayed as she walked, "So what brings you to Melberry?"

Don't stare at her, Jade. She is going to think you are a creep.

I scoffed, "This is my third move of the year. My parents have had trouble finding work so here we are."

Her beautiful blue eyes connected with mine, "I am sorry about that."

Damn she even sounds sincere. Unlike everyone else that says it.

I looked down at the grey tile floor, "Don't be. I think this is the last time. My parents actually bought a house instead of renting an apartment."

"Oh yeah! You moved into Ms. Joon's old house."

"Let me guess she was murdered. That's why the house is probably haunted and torn apart."

She laughed, "I wish this town had that much excitement. She was just an old lady that couldn't take care of her house. Her family put her into a nursing home so her house was left to rot."

That is a sound I could get used to.

I sighed, "Well that would explain all the floral wallpaper."

She tapped my arm and pointed towards the door, "That's our English class for the next year. Mr. H teaches it. He is nice but trust me his lectures are so boring. You will be asleep twenty minutes in. It is the first day though so we just get to talk with each other."

We walked in the classroom having everyone instantly quiet down and stare at me. She led me to the back of the room and we sat down in desks next to each other. Class started and we were left to do work on our own. I looked over to see the girl sketching his notebook.

So she is an artist?

Then, I noticed she was sketching me. It was actually pretty good too.

Can this girl be any more likeable?

"That is a pretty good drawing."

She jumped from my voice and hid the drawing a bit with her arm, "Yeah, sorry I was bored and didn't have anything else to draw."

I shrugged, "I don't mind. So... Are you an artist?"

She relaxed a bit and passed me the drawing so I could see it, "No, it's just a hobby. I would rather be a photographer."

"What made you start doing that?"

She pointed towards the window, "The trees."

"The trees?"

She laughed, "You may not know it yet since you are from the city but the trees will start to grow on you."

After looking over the sketch of me one last time and handed back to her, "Your drawing is really good. It is almost a perfect resemblance. If you rule out the random straight line through my face."

She laughed again, "That will get erased later. It helps with the placement and size of the drawing."

"That makes sense."

The bell rang for the next class period and we both gathered our stuff, walking into the hall. She stopped in the hall, "Well I guess this is goodbye for now, Jade Willow."

"I just realized I forgot introduce myself."

She smiled and pushed her long hair behind her shoulders, "You're right. I saw your name on your schedule. I guess the thought that you didn't know me never crossed my mind."

I held out my hand, "Well nice to meet you..."

She took my hand with a smile, "Bree Clark."

I nodded, "I will see you around then, Bree Clark."

She released my hand and turned to walk away, "See you around, Jade Willow."

With that, I was left standing in the hall, watching the beautiful blonde hair of Bree Clark sway back and forth as she walked away from me.

And so the new girl already has a crush on the first person she meets. Good one Jade, you couldn't have at least waited until you made some other friends first?