The car pulled up, and the first thing I noticed when I exited, was the freshness of the open country air. The clouds hung lazily over the town. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The tall birch trees stood tall with grace, their branches poised as if for a picture. The stone houses loomed over me, worn with age. You could tell they were lived in for many generations.  The community was tranquil; there were no bustling cars, no blur of people in a rush to get from point A to point B. If you’d stop and listen for a while you could hear the birds crooning softly and the frogs humming, going about their day. All of this was refreshing yet very foreign to me. I sighed and decided to go check out my new room. I was still pretty upset about leaving everything behind in New York to come to Georgia. I really missed Jackie too. She was my best friend, my only friend in fact. “I’ll have to make note to call her later.” I thought to myself.  I glanced around my new space that I would be living in for the next few years. My bed was covered in crisp white sheets and a knitted, wool comforter. I laid down not even bothering to unpack; I knew I would have a long day ahead of me at my new school. I sprawled out on the mattress, tired from the move. I dreamt of  New York that night, still trying to hold onto my memories.
BEEEEP! A cacophony of deafening alarm bells filled my ears as I awoke pulling me out of my dreams. I stumbled out a bed and into the bathroom trying to get ready. I threw on a T-shirt and jeans and checked myself out in the mirror.  My hair was a fiery red resembling a hot fire. I always get asked if I dyed my hair when I was younger, others teased me and said it looked like ketchup. I always been “unique” mother said. I winced as I tried to comb out the curly knots. “Hurry sweetie, you’re going to be late!” My mom uttered as I ran out the door.  As I arrived at the school I kept my head held high and tried to appear to be confident (words of advice from Jackie to survive my first day).  The first thing I noticed was the overwhelming musk of sweat and perfume. The lockers were all beat in and graffiti filled. There were so many people densely packed in one place like sardines. With this much people I started to sweat because of my nerves. What do I do if someone talks to me? Oh man oh man. I quickly walked down the corridors trying to find my first class so no one would ask me if I needed help when all of the sudden my vision was distorted as my head was shoved in to the aforementioned locker. “ Ha ha, what are you gonna do pumpkin head? Cry to mommy?” The head-shover sneered. This garnered the attention of all the other students who had proceeded to laugh and gawk at me. My cheeks grew hot with humiliation and turned scarlet as I pushed myself from out of the filthy storage unit. I walked off quickly before anyone else could jeer at me. I mean come on it’s my first day and I already have a bully, talk about a fun start? After roaming around looking lost, I found my first period class. I scurried through the door trying not to draw any more attention to myself and sat in the back. I sat in class just thinking about how I could have easily said something back to the bully, but that’s so not like me. Some of my classmates who had seen the whole ordeal looked at me and snickered. I really should stick up for myself; I don’t want this to become a routine. Just thinking about how embarrassing that was made me mad I was unable to do anything.  The rusty bells had rung alerting us it was time for lunch, startling me out my thoughts. I walked with haste to the cafeteria just wanting this day to be over.  “Where ya going Jack-O-Lantern? How about you hand over your lunch money?’ The bully smirked. All the students had gathered around like news crew ready to catch up on the latest drama. I made a quick prayer and hoped that what I was about to do wasn’t going to get me beat up. I let out a sigh and uttered “Jack-O-Lantern? So original. And you don’t have two dollars to buy a sandwich? Now that’s something to cry to your mommy about” Everyone gasped and started to let out roars of laughter. He turned red like a tomato and you can tell he wanted to cry. The bully’s tough façade faltered and he ran off from embarrassment. I smiled, proud I wasn’t going to let him best me. I ate my lunch and continued to finish off my first day at my new school. Now how’s that for a fun start?