#anon sub

      “Alex! Hurry up, you are going to be late for your first day of school.”

“I’m coming mom!” Alex yells from her room as she takes one more look in the mirror.  She grabs her bag and runs down the stairs to eat breakfast before she has to leave.

 Not only is Alex starting high school this year but she is also going to a new school.  At her old school she was always the most popular girl in school; everyone knew her and everyone liked her.  She knows it wont be the same here because most of these kids have gone to school together since kindergarten.  It is a small private school that emphasizes sports.  The soccer team in particular at this high school is heavily favored.  They have won the state title for 3 years running.  She wouldn’t even be going to this new school if it weren’t for that and the fact that they basically recruited her to come here. She hates that she had to leave all of her friends behind at her old school but knows it is for the best.  She started playing club soccer over the summer with a bunch of the girls who will be on her high school team and has made friends with a lot of them.  There are still nerves though because even though most of the soccer girls know her, everyone else doesn’t.

“Time to go.” Alex’s mom hands her lunch and sends her out the door. Alex takes a look to her right before walking to school.  She sees Tobin and Ashlyn sitting on Tobin’s porch.  Both girls are on her soccer team, Ashlyn is one of the goalkeepers and Tobin is the star midfielder. Tobin is the “it” girl at this school. Everyone loves her, she gets invited to all the parties, and of course she is the star of the most successful sport at the school. Even though Tobin lives next door to Alex and Ashlyn only a few houses down she hasn’t gotten to know either of them. She has always had some kind of weird feeling that Tobin may not be too fond of her but she usually just shrugs it off or avoids her.

She gives them both a slight wave before continuing her walk to school.  Only Ashlyn reciprocates it and Tobin just looks away earning a slap from Ashlyn.

  “Dude. So not cool, the least you can do is wave.” Ashlyn smacks Tobin on the arm. “You’ve got three more years of playing with her so you better get used to her.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like her or be nice to her,” Tobin says rubbing her arm. “And that fuckin hurt”

Ashlyn stays silent staring at Alex’s retreating figure for no more then 5 seconds before she asks, “Are you seriously going to make her walk to school? She literally lives right next to you; did you even offer to give her a ride?”

“Nope, and I never plan to.  Bitch can walk.” Tobin states confidently.

“You’re an ass, you know that?  Can you tell me again why you don’t like her?  She seems like a sweetheart.”  At this Tobin fake gags and Ashlyn laughs at her childish antics “but really why don’t you like her?”

Tobin shrugs off the question with an “I don’t know, just don’t.”  Ashlyn can see Tobin’s mood change because of the topic so she lets it go.  The two grab their things and get into Tobin’s car.  They pass Alex walking down the street on the way but Tobin still doesn’t budge on giving the girl a ride, much to the protest of Ashlyn.

  Alex finally gets to school after a 10-minute walk from home and makes her way to her first class after stopping to talk to her closest friend at this school, Kelley.  Kelley guides her in the right direction but leaves Alex to find the actual class on her own.  She is taking biology so most of her class is going to be sophomores; it is likely she will be one of the very few freshmen in the class.  She’s the last student to get there because she passed the classroom the first time and had to turn around.

She walks in the class and looks for any familiar face from her soccer team but finds the last person she would have looked for talking to a few of the people in the class.

“Well, looks like I am on my own for this class” she think to herself.

“Oh fuck me,” someone groans from around where Tobin is sitting but Alex didn’t see who it was.  She sees the girl sitting next to Tobin stifling a laugh but tries to tell herself that it wasn’t Tobin.

“You must be Alex, one of only two freshmen in this class. Welcome, I am Mr. Miller.”

“Yeah, that’s me, thanks. It is nice to meet you Mr. Miller.” Alex looks around for an open seat in the classroom but it looks like most of them are taken.  There is one in front of Tobin but she’s definitely not sitting in that one. She begins to walk to one of the open ones in the very back of the class when she is interrupted by Mr. Miller’s voice.

“Alex, why don’t you take the seat in front of Miss. Heath. I am sure you are familiar with her since you both play soccer.”

Tobin and Alex both stiffen at the suggestion but Alex listens to the teacher and trudges over to the desk in front of Tobin.  She gives Tobin a small smile but only gets an icy glare in return. She sits down in her seat and takes out her notebook as Mr. Miller begins to talk about what the class will be doing all year.  The class flies by and when the bell rings she begins to pack up her stuff.  She drops a folder on the floor in front of Tobin on accident and Tobin rolls her eyes and steps over it, not even offering to pick it up.  The girl Alex saw laughing earlier sees the exchange and just shrugs her shoulders and follows Tobin out of the class.  Alex shrugs it off like normal but cant help wondering why Tobin seems to dislike her so much.  Before Alex can leave the class Mr. Miller calls her over.

“Alex, based on your transcript from your old school you seem to be well ahead of most of your classmates and your grades are exquisite.  Even though this is usually a class for sophomores, I will be expecting a lot out of you because I see what you are capable of.  If you need help with anything, whether it is biology related or not please do not hesitate to ask me. I think we are going to have a great year together.”  Alex is taken back but flattered by what Mr. Miller has offered.  She has never had a teacher seem so interested and invested before but she knows already that she is going to like him.