Chapter Text
It had been two months since you had officially moved into the new neighborhood in Texas. You father had gotten promoted, but, unfortunately, that meant that you were forced to move away from your rather large family, your social life, your home that you had grown up in. Of course, you didn't have much of a choice in the matter so you tried to liven the mood as much as possible by baking with all of the food that they would have thrown away had you not swooped in to rescue the eggs and milk that were scheduled to get tossed in the dump. There had been many tears from your cousins and brother (John had elected to move in with Jake and Jade a few years prior so he wasn't moving with you) and you all savored your last few minutes together, but even that had to come to a close. The final hugs were probably the hardest, but your family promised that they'd visit you and your father over every break. Finally, the tears dried, and you climbed into your father's truck, waving your final farewells as your father began the drive to the airport.
Behind you, your large, white, suburban home disappeared to be replaced with models of almost duplicate style and build. From the black trim around the windows and the chimney rising up out of the balcony...it caused a small pang in your chest. These were sights that you were familiar with, that you wouldn't get to see for a long time. You'd miss it all. The neatly trimmed lawns, the old tire swing and pogo ride in your front yard...hell, even the shitty Republican neighbors would be somewhat missed. After all, what was suburbia without the occasional yelling about how Gladys was stealing Elena's cookie recipe?
You supposed the thing you'd miss most was the neighborhood cat. The feline didn't have a name, but your family had dubbed it “God Cat” or “G.C” quite a while ago. He was a beautiful cat, pure white with a white spot over his left eye. His name had come from his tendency to get stuck in random places. You had found him in trees and on roofs, but those were more normal than some of the other places he'd been discovered such as the garbage can with a rock on the lid or your home freezer (he'd somehow just walked out of there, not cold at all). He'd been wandering the neighborhood for years, no one knew where he'd come from, but you'd grown close to him so no one bothered to have him taken away (even if he did give Georgia's allergies a run for their money).
It was pretty sad to have nostalgia already creeping into your system when you hadn't even been out of your home for more than two minutes. But what could you say? You didn't really want to move, but you didn't want to leave your father to deal with having both of his children leave before they were even eighteen (you had a year left to go and...your father deserved to have that last year of memory making). It had been a tough choice and John had nearly convinced you to just stay with him, Jake, and Jade, but your stubbornness in your decision had persevered and you declined the invitation. You hated to leave the rest of your family, but you were closer to your father than anyone, even your brother.
That had always been a bit of a conflict in your home. John and your father had always had a bit of friction between the two of them. You never understood it. Your father did everything he could to make John happy, taking up weird hobbies, and buying random posters because John always scribbled on them in his sleep. For goodness' sake he'd filled your home with Harlequin dolls because he thought that your brother loved them. Unfortunately, those actions had evidently been a mistake as it only made your brother more frustrated with your father to the point that he left home. After John left, your father was upset, but you thought it was for the best as their relationship grew stronger due to the slight distance it gave the two of them.
Unlike John, you always got along with him. Your fascination with baking was likely what had sealed the icing on that cake. He would often beckon you into the kitchen and the two of you would take turns pulling pranks until the timer dinged. You both would laugh and clean up the mess of exploded flour and icing while you waited for whatever desert to cool off for decorating. More often than not you had to shower after those encounters and you remember them fondly. However, despite the fact that all of you enjoyed pranks, John seemed to think that he never fit in. It made you sad, but you knew he was happier living with your two rambunctious cousins.
Jake and Jade were another story. The two were adventurous souls who weren't meant to fit in in your tiny town. They got into more trouble than you and John did with your pranks with their firing B.Bs into people's windows, consistent screaming, and their rowdy dog. Of course, your conservative neighbors couldn't always complain when Jake and Jade got to liberal with a gun, but they had tried to call animal control on Becquerel a few times. Somehow the dog always wound up back at their home...despite the fact that it had been locked up in a kennel (you swear that thing has transportation powers sometimes).
Your trip down nostalgia lane was abruptly put to a stop as the truck stopped at the airport. Someone else was going to take the truck down to Texas, but you would have a car until then. It would only take a day or two and you'd scoffed at the idea of taking a car when you would only need to use a taxi to get home. It wasn't as though you were planning to go anywhere. After all, there was a whole weekend of unpacking for you to do! But your father had insisted that an emergency could come up and he'd rented the car anyways while ignoring your eye rolls and attempts to click on the fancy Mercedes instead of the simple Volts Wagon Beetle he was renting.
The last of your suitcases got heaved up into your and your father's arms and then you'd stepped into the slightly-heated airport. You followed your father through security, shifting the weight of the suitcases in your arms as you longed to set them down. Finally, they were taken, and you sighed with relief. The rest of the time after that was spent grabbing a quick bite of lunch before you both sat down to wait for your plane to arrive. You had read one of your Nancy Drew books while chewing at your burger, ignoring the looks of horror and scandal that flashed across people's faces when they saw someone like you eating a hamburger of all things. One lady had the nerve to tell you that you should have gotten a salad instead and you smiled sweetly before kindly telling her to piss off while your father frantically tried to apologize to the astonished and offended woman.
You could care less about her, but your father was upset with you for “using such foul language against an old woman!”. However, he couldn't be too mad at you. He knew what you'd been through. Not to mention the boarding call for your section was made and you both got to your feet, pulling out your tickets while you went through the long tunnel-like thing to get into the flying tube that would carry you to Texas.
At least the seats were comfortable, but the peanuts nearly gave you an allergic reaction.
The plane ride had been long and relatively boring, but it gave you time to plan out what it was that you were going to do when you got to your new home. First you'd set up your bedroom and unpack as much as you could before you helped with dinner and dessert to celebrate your moving in. Then you'd go to bed, anxious, and worried as the days drawing towards your introduction to your high school began drawing closer. You had the weekend and then you would be heading into class. The thought was mildly terrifying as you weren't sure how well you would fit into the new school.
Your father called the whole move a fresh start. He said that you could make plenty of new friends and expand your horizons. You'd simply smiled and nodded a little, even though you had a sinking feeling that the people at your new school would not be that kind. It had taken a while for you to even make the small circle of friends that you had had at your old school as most people didn't want to be friends with the “fat” girl. Of course, everyone had eventually gotten used to you at least, and you made a few friends, but that was the extent of it. You weren't the type of person who would be able to easily fit in, especially with the fact that you didn't exactly fit the desired physical appearance that most people strove for. The lack of supposed “beauty” that you didn't have caused a lot of people to send spite and hate your way which led to a horrid time of your life.
Your arms were still covered with scars.
But, you had managed to pull yourself out of that pit. You knew it was a precarious balance though, the dark hole beckoned to you daily, trying to bring up buried memories of hateful words, doing anything it could to make you fall back into it. You fought it though and you persevered. Slowly, you managed to build up a level of self-confidence that you had once thought to be impossible. It was a meager shield, but it kept you from falling back into painful old tendencies. Not that that was the only thing helping you as your father had taken you to a therapist who prescribed some anti-depressants, but you liked to think that you'd helped with the process, and you had. After all, it was your mind.
Thinking about entering a new area, filled with new peers who could sneer and mock you made you unconsciously rub at the light pink scars on your skin. No matter what, you told yourself, you would not slip back into that mindset. You would not. Of course, easier said than done. So, you took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. You had to calm your racing mind and ease the anxiety and tension off of your shoulders. It was the only way that you'd even start to make it through an entire day of high school.
The two days before school started passed by relatively quickly, unfortunately for you. Finally, Monday crept up upon you, and you stood in front of your mirror, hands combing through your short, bobbed hair. You reached down, adjusting your shirt for the thousandth time as you tried to keep it from clinging to the rolls on your stomach, but it seemed to have a mind of it's own, and was doing the same thing within a few second after you removed your hands to pull your skirt down over your thighs (damn private schools and their uniforms). Sighing softly, you shook your head, forcing your red stained lips to curl up into a smile. You needed all of the confidence that you could get and, for some reason, smiling into the mirror always helped you calm down and feel good about yourself.
You managed to brush your bangs one more time before your father was calling you from down the stairs. He insisted on making you breakfast on your first day, despite your insistence that you could make pancakes with your eyes closed. A stern fatherly look was all it took to crumble that defense and you'd relented which earned you a gentle pat on the head before he'd ushered you off to get ready. After all, you needed to look nice for your first day. People may say that first impressions don't always matter, but for you...well your first impression could be everything.
With a faint smile and a murmured “thank you”, you sank down into your seat at the kitchen table, and began to eat the few pancakes that your father had made for you. The cake-like texture was delicious as always and sprinkled with...cinnamon? Yes, definitely cinnamon. You could pick up that taste anywhere and you knew that your father was always a fan of it. The syrup was neglected as the pancakes were moist enough without it, but you did apply some whipped cream to the tops of the breakfast food. That last added ingredient made them nearly god-like, but you didn't have time to sit and savor them, so you hurried to finish them before your bus arrived.
“Are you sure that you don't want me to drive you?” your father's concern nearly made you laugh, but you knew that your father was genuinely concerned for his little girl. After all, to him, it had only been a few days ago that you were running to Kindergarten only to trip and scrape your knees. Your father would tenderly bandage them, wiping away the tears before he carried you to school, and set you down at the front steps. He'd then kiss the top of your head and bid you a good day before ushering you inside.
“Yes, I'm sure dad. I can handle riding on the bus.” your voice sounded strained, even to your ears, but you were determined to ride the bus, “Besides,” you added, “you've got work and you don't want to be late for your first day or they might just ship us back to Washington!” laughter came easily enough and he seemed convinced, despite the fact that your fork clattered against your plate as you finished off your pancakes.
Standing, you ran over, and kissed his cheek before you picked up your lunch box, and slid your backpack straps over your shoulders. You went to the door, waving good-bye to your father before you stepped outside, the hot, humid air of your new residence hitting you hard. It was much different than the cool temperatures that normally hung over Washington along with rain clouds. Then again, you had always said that you liked the heat more than you did the cold.
You went to the corner, standing a little farther away from it as you avoided looking at the four other individuals that stood at your stop. They didn't seem to notice you...or if they did they ignored you. You figured that was better than having them poke fun at you so you allowed yourself to relax a little. Still, you had to keep your guard up, just in case. You didn't know what would be waiting for you on the sickeningly yellow vehicle that you could hear pulling up right next to you and the four other people. The doors squeak open and you follow the four of them in, looking around for an empty seat.
You stop when you see that all of the seats are filled and you glance around for a second before you quietly ask someone if you can sit next to them. The girl looked you up and down, lips tugging back in a slight sneer for a second before she finally nodded and scooted to the side to let you sit down. Just the sight made your heart sink and you sat down, staying as close to the edge as you could. Maybe this would be the one occurrence...maybe everyone else would just ignore you. You could only hope and you closed your eyes for a second, taking a deep breath as the doors shut and the bus lurched before it began taking you to the school.
You kept your eyes closed for a second longer, praying with all your might that today would go well. That you wouldn't get pushed back into the pit which was already starting to rumble and whisper, replaying the twitch of the girl's lips over and over again. The memory began to plague you and you struggled to keep calm, but forced your eyes open. You would not let the memory ruin your day. You repeated that phrase over and over in your mind until the hole finally hushed and you relaxed back against the bus seat. But things weren't always going to be that easy.
It should have been obvious based on the first response that you got, but the peers at your school were cruel. You managed to get off the bus without too much trouble and you got into the office with only a couple of weird looks and giggles. The heavy door shut behind you and you looked at the secretary who had wrinkled her nose as though you were a stain on her spotless white dress. Almost as if on cue to that thought, she picked a long black hair off of her dress, and looked at you, “I'm assuming you're the new girl. Your schedule is right here,” she pushed the papers forward, shiny blue nails reflecting light off of them before she retracted her hand. You pick up your schedule, nodding a little as she went on in a haughty voice that made your stomach churn, “Your locker combination is on there as well. First period starts in ten minutes. I'd suggest stopping there to put your lunch in there.”
The last sentence was an obvious blow, but you forced a smile, wondering just how this woman would react to a desk full of spiders. She'd probably enjoy it too much, she seemed like the type who would weave a web of lies and do whatever it took to keep that web stable, “Thank you ma'am,” you make sure enunciate your sarcasm and you swear you see a flicker of a smile on her lips before she waves you off and you exit the office. That was two negative interactions already...what a great start.
You let a soft sigh escape your lips as you looked for your locker. You found that it was almost directly in front of your first period class, which was good, and you spun in the combination. The metal door swings open and you put your lunch box inside. Thankfully, it seemed as though you would have the locker to yourself. Maybe it was a sign that things would start picking up from there.
Oh how wrong you were.
It wasn't even two minutes later when you'd walked into class that the stares started. You swallowed down your fear, going to the teacher to receive your seating assignment. The man looked at your schedule and huffed a little, mumbling about “increased work loads” and “what do they think I am, a baby-sitter?” before he gestured to a seat in the second row. You pulled the chair back, sitting down in it as you dared to look around. As you expected, all eyes were on you, and you bit your lower lip before chastising yourself for ruining your carefully applied lipstick. Almost on cue, your lips rubbed together, and you sighed softly. You loved your father dearly, but you weren't sure if you'd be able to handle this. Maybe online school wouldn't be that bad...
“Hey, you're the new gill, right?” a slightly tanned girl with two long braids plopped down in the seat next to you, kicking her feet up on the desk as a rather large wad of gum was blown into a bubble before popping, “Whale, one of 'em. There's always a couple that show up durin' the year.”
Her manner of speaking was a little strange, but...you supposed strange was alright. Strange was better than normal. Normal meant taunting, normal meant jeering, normal meant...well, not good things. “Yes, I'm Jane. It's nice to meet you um...sorry, I didn't catch your name?” you let your sentence end in a slight question. You didn't want to make the first person you met pissed off right off the bat.
She laughed and you could have sworn her teeth were pointed, “The name's Meenah, new gill. Meenah Peixes. My mom's the principal here. Which is why I kinda get away with everyfin.”
Indeed she did, as was evident from her clothes which obviously didn't fit dress code. Her top was a low-cut, black shirt, that looked as though it had been forcibly ripped at the middle, and she was wearing extremely baggy sweats. You supposed it wasn't the worse dress code violation you'd ever seen, but you figured that Meenah likely got away with wearing whatever she wanted, “Oh? That's cool. My last name is Crocker by the way-”
“Woah, hold up just a glubbin' minute,” she put a finely manicured hand up, sitting up a bit more in her chair to look her over, “Crocker as in Betty Crocker? The baked goods lady, right? Guess that kinda fits...”
The last few words were a bit of a blow, but you pretended to be oblivious, “Everyone always thinks that, but I'm not related to the company really. At least, not in a big way. My dad is a manager at one of the stores, he just got promoted, which is why we moved down here.”
Meenah laughed, more of a cackle really, but you could get used to it if it meant you two got along, “Aw shell. Gill you funny. I like you. If you need someone to come and sit by at lunch whale...you keep an eye out for me. Pretty sure you can spot me, right?”
You nodded quickly, amazed that you had managed to hit it off with her so easily on the first day, “Yeah, of course. Thank you, Meenah.”
“No problem gill. Now hush up. Mister Crabby-Pants is a good teach, but he's snappy as fuck,” she murmured to you as the bell started to ring and the rest of the class fell into a quick hush. Meenah seemed to be the only one at ease with a cocky smile on her face and her feet still up on the desk. The teacher remained still for a second, glaring at his computer before he seemed to give up and rose to his feet.
“Peixes, get your feet off of my desk. Your mom might be the principal, but in this classroom, I'm still in charge,” his cold stare only seemed to make her smile grow (and yes, her teeth are definitely pointed), but she dropped her feet off of the desk.
“My apologuppies Mr. V. Seems like I forgot aboat that one li'l rule,” she shot a wink at him and he simply rolled his eyes in response. It seemed to you as though this was a daily thing as the class was just quietly laughing or talking among themselves while they talked.
His reply was dry and sarcastic, “You always forget 'aboat that one li'l rule'. I know you're absolutely fascinated with trying to piss me off, but I have a class to teach, and I've already got your mom breathing down my neck about making sure you empty-headed-dead-brains do well at the end of year testing. Unfortunately for you and your sadistic plans, that means I can't sit up here and ramble all class period or else I'm going to wind up losing my job. Now, if you don't mind I would like to actually do that instead of blabbering my head off. If any of you actually cared to shut up and listen then maybe this wouldn't be such a big deal but...”
Meenah leaned over to whisper to you as Mr. Vantas (you finally noticed his name-tag on his desk) rambled on and on about how he wasn't supposed to be rambling, “Shit always sets him off. He'll start teachin' in a few weeks when the dead-lines get hella close.”
“You...you did this on purpose,” you laughed a little, amazed at how such a simple thing as putting feet on a desk could cause someone to launch into an entire rage. It blew your mind that Meenah was able to set him off like that, but you stifled your laughter. You didn't want Mr. Vantas' rage getting directed towards you when, at the moment at least, his lecture seemed to be directed at no one in particular. In fact, it seemed like he was starting to just mutter angrily to himself. Only, he was still talking to loud for it to really be considered muttering.
He spent about half of the class period managing to throw random words together into various names to call the class before he realized what had happened and started working on actually teaching, but everyone was already so rambunctious that he gave up. You realized as the bell was ringing that he never introduced you, but you didn't really mind, so you shrugged it off, and bid farewell to Meenah. It wasn't until you got out of the class and heard laughing from behind you that it occurred to you that there was an odd pinch on your shirt. Your hands shook a little as you reached back and grabbed the paper that was taped to your back. Shutting your eyes, you simply chucked the paper into the trash without looking at it before you hurried off to your next class so that no one else would have a chance to laugh at you.
So much for the great start.