It is still 5 when I wake up, way too early. I try to get another hour of sleep but I just can't get my eyes to close anymore. Well, at least it's better than being late on my first day of school. I hop out of bed and rummage through my closet to pick out the outfit. I choose a pair of cream coloured pants along with a white shirt and a brown belt. I head to the bathroom to clean up and put my outfit on before doing my makeup. My hair is a huge mess since I didn't blow dry and comb it the night before after I'd taken a shower. It literally takes me 15 minutes just to get rid of all the knots, 15 minutes of pure pain. I promise myself to always not be lazy enough to comb my hair and not sleep with it. One last look in the mirror, I lift my chin up a little and put on my biggest smile.

"Hi, I'm Abigail Olson, you can call me Gail. I just moved here from Oakland, California and I'm a fucking disaster."

Dammit, how am I supposed to get through this. I don't suppose moving to a new school would be this nerve-racking. I finally grab my bag anyway and head downstairs. If only I could just stay at home.

Mom is leaning on the counter top drinking coffee, I join her after pouring myself a cup of coffee too. Hell, what can I do without a little boost of caffeine in the morning? My brain just doesn't seem to start working before consuming a good cup of bitter black coffee.

"School starts in another hour, but you might wanna hurry up a bit. You know, the administration and stuff." My mom reminds

I nod and finish the remaining coffee in one big gulp. I follow her outside and off we leave the house.

--

"Hey, relax! It's gonna be okay, I promise. It's not only the first for you, but for me too." Mom cheers me up as we reach the parking lot because I'm tapping my foot so fast like I always do when I'm nervous.

"I know no one, mom." I say slowly

"You know Alex, that counts."

I stare out the window, kids are talking to each other in groups. They're probably talking about how they summer went, they all know where they belong. Where do I belong?

"He likes pies." I blurt out. What the heck, Gail?

"What?" She makes sure of what she heard

"Uh.. Alex. He likes pies."

"Well.. We should bake him some maybe, someday. But now, I need you to get inside, meet new friends and have some fun. Or do you need me to come with you first?" She offers

"No, mom. I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll see you later, bye mom! Love you!" I say before stepping out the car

"Love you too! Have fun! Text me when you get home!" She waves from inside the car

The hallway is filled with new unfamiliar faces. They don't seem to really take a notice of me, I try to keep my head down as I find my way to the office. I walk out of the office a few minutes later with my time table in hand. I'm pretty happy with the subjects I picked as I scan the paper. I gotta get going to my homeroom class since the bell's gonna ring any second. It takes a while to find it, but I manage to be there before the class starts

"Welcome to Dulaney High, Gail! Please, take a seat so we can start the class and introduce you to the class." Mr. David welcomes after introducing myself as a new student

The room is almost full, especially the back, only a few seats left are still empty in the front. I pick a seat near the window in the third row just to keep it safe, beside a lanky guy with some streaks of blonde on his spiky brown hair. He has his earphone on, I doubt he even notice me there. I drop my bag on the desk but that skunky haired guy blocks me out of the way

"The seat's taken." He snorts

First day of school, don't want to make any enemies, do you? So I pick my bag up and move it to the seat in front. Good thing no one seems to be bothered by my decision this time. When the last kid closes the door, Mr David then starts the class. I know I should be listening to him, but I just can't get my mind to focus

"Gail?"

I daze out of my thoughts, "Pardon?"

"Don't you wanna come here and introduce yourself to your friends?"

I take a deep breath and stand up from my seat. The room is silent, they have their eyes on me. I tell myself to just get this over with and will eventually gain some friends.

"I.. My name is Abigail Olson. I'm from Oakland, California. I just moved here recently because of my mom's job. I look forward to knowing you all." I manage to smile after those words.

I get a smile from a couple of girls in return. I sigh in relief as I walk back to my seat. Mr. David starts taking the attendance but then suddenly a loud bang comes from the door. A boy, not just a boy, It's Alex. He bursts in casually, not giving a single glance at the teacher.

"Mr. Gaskarth, late on your first day? What an entrance you made." Mr. David shakes his head at his act.

Alex, who's making his way to his seat stops.

"Ah, how do I put this.. Sorry Mr. David, I promise it won't happen again." He says with a strong hint of sarcasm

"Just this time, Alex. Oh, and we have a new comer this year. Ga-"

"Yeah, seen her." He cuts

"Alright, take a seat." Mr. David gives up on him

He takes a seat behind me, beside the skunky haired guy. Well, I guess it's just Alex being him.
--

"A car travels from A to B at an average speed of 50 km/hour. At what average speed would it have to travel from B to A to average 60 km/hour?" She reads the question. I do a little bit of the counting for a second and raise my hand up when I figure it out

"Yes, Miss Olson?"

"75 km/hour?" I say

"Trying to make an impression on your first day, new girl?" says a voice from behind. Alex's.
No, mom. I will not ask him for a ride home.

"Well, Alex, if you can answer the next question, I'll give you an extra credit for that. Looking back to your grades-" Mrs. Lindsey turns to him

"Nah, not interested. It's not like they're gonna ask you about algebra and shit when paying taxes, huh? And school doesn't even teach us how to pay taxes, cause this so important algebra is way more useful for us in the future." He cuts. Damn, someone need to teach him a little respect

"That's the right answer, Gail. As for Alex, we'll see how you do this semester. One more comment and I'm sending you to the principal."

Two periods later and it's time for lunch. I decide to go to the bathroom first to fix my hair. I run my fingers through my hair and try to search for a bobby pin inside my bag, one hand still on my hair. But a clumsy person that I am, I accidentally push my bag towards the edge of the sink and dropping it to the floor.

"Shit!" I curse in reflex

I kneel down to gather my things that are now scattered on the floor, a blonde girl kneels down beside me to help

"Here, let me help you." She offers kindly

I stand up and zip my bag, "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. Hey, you're that new girl aren't you? I'm Jasmine. But people call me Jaz. Gail is it?" She asks

I smile, "Yeah, I am."

"I gotta get going, Gail. But if you don't have anywhere to go after this, you can come join us for lunch if you want!"

"That'd be really cool. Are your friends okay with it?" I ask, unsure

"Of course! They've been talking about you since you first showed up, that new girl." She leads me to the cafetaria and to a table in the middle. Back at my old school, the middle table's where the popular kids sit. I don't know how it works here, but Jaz seems really nice, what's so wrong about it?

"Holly, Chris, Steve, Lilia, Trav, this is Gail. I met her in the bathroom and invited her to come and join us. She's really cool." She announces to her friends

"Hey, Gail! We had math together, if you noticed." Travis clears a space for me to seat

"You sat behind Alex, didn't you?" I remember seeing him now.

"Sorry about him, he's a fun guy, he's not usually like that. I mean we're not really close to him, he only hangs out with his band." Travis explains

"He plays guitar, doesn't he?"

"You a fan? His band All Time Low's quite well known, I heard they actually toured in the summer after releasing their first EP. They're pretty rad." Chris fills in

"Well.. I kinda live across his house." I tell them

"Good luck with that." Lilia raises her coke

They are all really nice and fun, I get along with them real fast. Travis throws really funny jokes, my stomach hurts from laughing and I haven't laughed like this in so long. But sadly, the bell rings meaning we have to get going to our next class. I have literature with Lilia, US history with Steve and Holly and English with Chris and Travis again. I will no longer be alone, they also introduce me to the other kids in class. And when it's time to go home, I receive a hug from every each of them. The girls have cheer meeting afterwards so I go home straight away

"See you tomorrow, Gail!" They wave

I wave back but then realize that I have no ride home. I see Alex and 2 of his band mates in the parking lot. Jack, the lanky one, is leaning on the hood of Alex's car when he sees me passing by. I think of asking Alex a ride home, but my feet find their way to the pavement. I guess I'll walk today. And maybe the next day. And so on.

---
He's writing something, is he studying? After what happened today, I don't think of him as a study person. But I close the curtain anyways and crawl to my bed.


It's been a long day, a good one.

Notes

Enjoy the third chapter of The Boy Next Door! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to subscribe and vote :) Any suggestions and feedbacks are always welcome