Brooklyn was up early once again and made her bed, first thing. She was nervous and excited to start school. She knew that the Christmas holiday was only a few weeks away so she would have time to reflect on whether she was capable to continuing in school. But she also understood that the only other option available to her was homeschooling, and the thought of being cooped up in the house all day every day didn’t excite her. She had always thrived on social interaction, with her friends at school as well as with her family, so the idea of staying at home when she should be at school made her dizzy. After getting ready, she rushed downstairs to have breakfast with an energy level that had been lost the previous few days. She hoped to fit in and even make a few friends along the way.
Mary pulled into the parking lot at Pine Lake High School. Ben had helped Brooklyn pick out an outfit the night before to help her blend in. She appreciated the help, especially on the first day. She was used to wearing flip-flops, old shirts, and no makeup to school. She now had on a plain white long-sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans. She tied a light pink zip-up hooded sweatshirt around her waist and she was carrying a sea-foam green North Face backpack. Her jeans were tucked into Ugg boots, which came up mid-calf. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. On her eyes was a bit of pink frosted eye shadow, black mascara, and her lips glistened in a clear lip gloss.
“How do I look?” she asked Ben as he gave her a once-over.
“Take down the hair,” he answered. “All the girls wear their hair down.” Brooklyn pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair and let it flop around her shoulders. “Now you look Birmingham,” he added.
Mary and Brooklyn met with Principal Berg for an hour before school while Ben and Gabe sat on the floor next to Ben’s locker playing handheld video games. It was December, a rare time of year for new students to be coming in. To make the transition easier, Principal Berg gave Brooklyn the same schedule as Ben, just as the superintendent had suggested. Brooklyn was happy to have a familiar face in all of her classes. She had been more concerned about getting lost in the school than whether or not she would make any new friends. If she got lost and missed the start of class, she would have to walk in late in front of the entire room. The thought of that was terrifying to her at this point.
She and Mary walked back to Ben’s locker. The halls were beginning to fill with students.
“You’re not supposed to have your phone out, Ben,” said Mary. She held out her hand. He turned off the game and handed it to her.
“I was bored.” He stood up and turned to Brooklyn. “Are you ready?”
“I think so,” she replied. “But I’m really nervous.”
“You’ll do great. Call me if you don’t want to stay all day,” Mary chimed in.
“Mom,” interjected Ben. “We look like dorks with you babysitting us. Please go home. Are you trying to ruin Brooklyn’s reputation on the first day?”
“Okay. Be safe. Look out for her, Benjamin.”
“And don’t wave at us when you get to the end of the hall,” Ben shouted after her. He turned to Brooklyn. “Do you speak any French?”
“No, I took Spanish.”
“Spanish, huh?” he asked, taking into consideration for a moment how the two languages sounded very different to him. Maybe knowing Spanish would help her in French. “French is just like Spanish. You’ll do fine. All you need to know is Oui and Merci beaucoup.”
“What does that mean?”
“‘Yes’ and ‘thank you very much.’ I’ll help you in class.”
They started walking down the hall together when Brooklyn saw what looked to be a tidal wave coming at them. People in the middle of the hall were parting to the sides for the three girls headed right for her and Ben.
“That’s my girlfriend, Sara. The one in the middle,” whispered Ben.
“Oh. She looks nice,” lied Brooklyn. She was already petrified of Sara.
“Benjamin,” Sara said as she jabbed him in the chest. “I looked like a fool at Jordan’s party. What happened to you?”
“I got in trouble for biking in the snow to see you.”
Sara looked upset. “And you didn’t call because . . . why?”
“Because I . . . I . . . I didn’t want to fight with you.”
Her sidekicks, Kaylie and Stephanie, giggled. Brooklyn stood as still as possible at Ben’s side. Sara turned and looked right at Brooklyn. “And?” she asked inquisitively. “Just who are you and why are you with my Ben?” The emphasis on “my” was enough to instill fear in just about anyone.
“That’s my cousin, Brooklyn,” answered Ben quickly.
“What’s she doing here? I thought she was staying at home, with your mommy.” “She’s actually staying longer than I thought.”
Sara looked Brooklyn up and down. “You’re pretty. I’m Sara Schultz. I know everyone and everything there is to know at this school. It would be a good idea to stay on my good side. These are my besties, Kaylie Miller and Stephanie Keller. Just because you’re Ben’s cousin doesn’t mean I have to be nice to you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” mumbled Brooklyn. She extended her hand. Sara looked at it and smirked. The dolls on both sides of her smiled, mimicking their leader. Brooklyn wondered if they even knew how to talk.
“Walk me to class, Ben,” Sara snapped, and turned to walk in the other direction. Ben started to follow her and turned around to motion to Brooklyn to follow. She was a little hesitant at first, but decided it was a better option than trying to find French class on her own. When they got to Sara’s class, she passionately kissed Ben in the middle of the hall. Brooklyn was shocked at the public display of affection and the even more attentive audience. Sara obviously liked the drama.
French class went well, considering it was her first French lesson ever. The class gave her a welcome in French of course, which she couldn’t understand. Then, the teacher Mrs. Lawson tried to encourage Brooklyn to greet the class in French. Ben offered to help Brooklyn and handed her a piece of paper to read out loud.
“J’ai besoin de bière froide, s’il vous plait,” she managed to mumble, mispronouncing every syllable. The class started laughing and Brooklyn turned a dark shade of red.
“You’re a little young to be drinking cold beer, Ms. Thompson,” smiled Mrs. Lawson. “Benjamin, I would suggest you teach your cousin a proper greeting this evening.”
“What did you make me say?” whispered Brooklyn.
“I need a cold beer, please,” answered Ben, grinning.
Math class with Mr. Mason was a breeze. Brooklyn was well ahead of the class, at least for the time being. The only drawback was that Sara was in that class as well. She didn’t seem to pay any attention to Mr. Mason at all, spending most of the period passing notes back and forth with Stephanie. Thankfully, that was the only morning class they had together. English with Mrs. Dobbs was boring. The class was discussing a book they had recently read, and the teacher told Brooklyn to listen to the discussion. She would start a new book with the rest of the class after the holiday break.
History was not a history lesson with Mrs. Cartera. The class was learning about slavery and plantations, and their homework was to draw a plantation on poster board and color the entire thing. That was due next week. It seemed very elementary for ninth grade history.
Science was disgusting. Ms. Connors was teaching them how to dissect fetal pigs, which made Brooklyn feel sick to her stomach. As they were receiving directions, Ben was squeezing their science project, causing the insides to spill out onto the table. He was escorted out into the hall, where he received a brief lecture from Ms. Connors on dissection.
The lunch period followed science class, and Ben explained that half of the students from each grade ate lunch for the first thirty minutes of the lunch hour while the other half went to homeroom. After thirty minutes ended the school bell would ring and the first group would go to homeroom while the second group woul
d go to lunch. That was the only difference between a Schedule A and Schedule B assignment.
Brooklyn was excited to know that she had only two more classes after lunch. Overall, it had been a pretty good morning. Ben’s friends had all been pretty nice to her, with the exception of Sara. It didn’t really matter, though. She wasn’t someone that Brooklyn really cared to get to know, despite the reminder to get on her good side. Brooklyn wondered why Ben, who had been so nice so far, was even dating her. Brooklyn was walking to the cafeteria with Ben, when Lizzy, another freshman, came up to them.
“Hey, guys!” Lizzy said, almost out of breath. “We have French class together, Brooklyn. Do you want to eat lunch with me and my friends?”
“Umm,” she stalled looking at Ben for guidance. “What?” asked Ben. “No, Lizzy, this is Brooklyn’s first lunch period and she has to stay with me.”
Lizzy’s eyes and body language immediate displayed her disappointment. Her smile faded, and she turned her head to glance at the floor. But she gathered herself enough to say, “It’s okay. You already have people to eat with.” She walked quietly away in the direction of the cafeteria.
“Look,” said Ben, trying to explain his point of view. “I don’t care if you were a huge nerd in your last school, but I’m popular here, and I’m not going to let you eat lunch with Lizzy. She pisses in her pants.”
The cafeteria was huge. Brooklyn and Ben went through the cold lunch line, each getting a turkey sandwich on wheat bread, and apple and carrots. They walked clear across the room to the back right-hand side, passing every table in the process. People were staring at her, but she shrugged it off. It occurred to her that walking across the crowded cafeteria would have been a lot more nerve-racking if she hadn’t been taking her medication.
Ben’s friends were already at the table: Nathan Lutrelli, Jordan Dalton, Robby Riedl, and Adam Ashmore. Typically Sara, Kaylie, and Stephanie sat at their own table, but today they had joined Ben and his friends to investigate Brooklyn.
“Brooklyn,” said Sara, “I gave up my lunch hour to sit with you. If people saw us with you, it would do wonders for your reputation.”
“I don’t really care about that stuff.” “What?” she asked. The dolls laughed. “Of course you do.”
“I think it’s kind of cool,” chimed in Adam. “A chick that cares about something other than the popularity meter.” Brooklyn glanced over at Adam. She hadn’t noticed his blond hair, dark blue eyes, and broad shoulders before. Her heart started beating a little faster and she quickly looked down at her food.
“You would, Ashmore,” snapped Sara. “All you care about are sports and . . . sports.” Sara turned to Ben. “She’s at strike one, Benjamin.”
Ben was annoyed, but surprisingly more annoyed with his girlfriend than Brooklyn. “She didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Whatever. She can go hang out with Lizzy,” laughed Sara.
Ben didn’t really dislike Lizzy but he knew that his popularity at the school would suffer if he did not adequately distance himself from her. They had been in the same class since kindergarten and they had even had a few play dates until it wasn’t cool for boys and girls to be friends anymore, around second grade. At that point, cliques began to form, peer pressure mounted, a social status pecking order took over and Lizzy became one of the biggest perceived nerds in the class. It just was not possible for him to have the friends he wanted and be nice to Lizzy at the same time.
“Even Lizzy deserves to have friends,” said Brooklyn. “She shouldn’t have to eat alone every day.”
“Get up and eat with her, then,” ordered Sara. “Do you like Lizzy Wizzy? She might pee on you if she gets too excited when you’re around.”
“Enough,” snapped Ben. “I’m done. Brooklyn’s my cousin, and she can be friends with whoever she wants. It’s not a big deal.” He looked at the mysterious girl he had only known for a few short days and silently cursed his father for bringing her here. He did not need this extra drama with Sara. That road was already rocky enough without these confrontations. This lunch period was not going as well as Ben had hoped so he buried his head in his hands and waited for the next blast. It did not take long for Sara to deliver it.
“Let’s be clear about something,” Sara glared at Brooklyn. “If you want to be friends with Lizzie, then you are not friends with us.”
Brooklyn now felt like more of an outsider than the day she had arrived at the Thomson’s house. Nobody else at the table said a word, not Ben, not Adam, and Sara only smiled. She had gotten what she wanted. Brooklyn pushed away from the table and got up to throw her half-eaten plate of food away. All she wanted to do was call Mary and get out of this situation. She knew that her brother Nick would have never allowed this embarrassing situation to happen. How on earth did Ben not stick up for her? So much for the short-lived connection with Adam. She desperately needed the comfort of the swimming pool to escape this dreadful situation.
Deep down, Ben knew that he should be defending Brooklyn but he could not find the courage. “Let’s talk about something else,” he suggested. “Like how you stood me up at Jordan’s party?”
“And not that, either,” said Ben, followed by a sigh. “Look, I’m really sorry about that, but it was her first night here and my mom said I couldn’t leave. Besides, we’ve already gone over this. How long are you going to hold this over my head?”
Sara stood up. “Ben, it’s me or her.” Kaylie and Stephanie stood up, following suit. “Let’s go, girls. See you in gym, Benjamin.”
Ben smiled, but as soon as Sara was out of sight he grabbed his hair and put his head down on the table. “She’s impossible! She’s not even worth it, no matter how hot she is. Why does she even care so much about my stupid cousin?” His friends all started smiling and laughing.
“Ben, dude, your cousin’s hot. And she’s nice to people, including the geeks,” answered Jordan, pointing over to the garbage can where Lizzy was talking to Brooklyn.
“She is going to be the death of me, I swear,” Ben said, pointing to Brooklyn. “Isn’t it, like, an unwritten rule not to be nice to people who are major nerds? How can we ever let her hang out with us if she is friends with Lizzy?”
His friends laughed. “I don’t know how or why you put up with Sara,” said Adam. “I can’t stand her.” “You don’t like any girls at our school and you’re the captain of the football team,” said Robby.
The bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class. As Brooklyn walked out of the cafeteria, she spotted Ben and tried to walk next to him. She did not appreciate his inaction at the lunch table, but for now he represented her only sense of security. He shook his head the entire way to their art class.
“So, Lizzy pretty much thinks you’re the biggest asshole in the class.”
“I guess sometimes I am,” he answered “Thanks for making me look bad in front of Lizzy and my girlfriend.”
“I don’t think you hate Lizzy as much as you pretend. In fact, I don’t think you’re as tough as you act, either.”
“Look, B, I don’t care if you eat with her every single day. Just please, I’m begging you, don’t piss off my girlfriend. She will break up with me if she gets mad at you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Brooklyn looked at Ben’s pleading face. “But, okay, I promise.”