CHAPTER ONE

“Charlotte Evans?” The teacher read from the attendance list and then scanned the crowd. Charlotte raised her hand halfway and let it drop immediately. But she wasn’t quick enough. People had already turned to stare at her.

It was the first day of senior year for Charlotte Evans, and she was starting and a new school. Well, it wasn’t brand new. Charlotte had attended the Anna Maria High School for a small portion of her freshman year, and had been with the same students all throughout elementary and middle school. It was a small town. She had left to spend the rest of her freshman, sophomore and junior years at a private boarding school in the city. Now she was back for her last year.

Charlotte couldn’t ignore the whispering that the students were doing. She could just imagine what they were saying. Either they didn’t know her and were surprised at there being a new student, or they were the kids she had spent her whole childhood with and were whispering about her return.

Charlotte hadn’t exactly been the kindest person in her earlier years. That was putting it nicely. She had been a bitch throughout all of middle school and had looked down upon everyone in her class. Sure, she had had friends, friends who wanted to be like her: rich, pretty, and popular for all the wrong reasons. Her dad was a C.E.O., her house was huge, and she had had all the right clothing, hairdos, and accessories. The girls also envied her natural looks. She had beautiful, long brown locks of hair that seemed to flow effortlessly down her back. She had bright green eyes and a face that made you do a double take. She knew how to apply make up in all the right ways, and she exercised regularly with her own personal trainer to maintain her good figure.

Charlotte had been thrilled to get into the private school of her dreams, and get the chance to go and be around people whom she had thought were more up to her standards. But now she was back in this place, and it seemed that people had not yet forgotten how badly she had treated all of them, judging by the dirty looks that were shooting her way. So much for trying to get through her senior year unnoticed and undisturbed.

Mr. Rolando, the Spanish teacher, finished roll call and dove right into the syllabus he had handed out as the students came into the classroom. Charlotte didn’t pay much attention. First days were always like this, going over what they would be learning in the months to come grading policies, absences, that sort of thing. Nothing she hadn’t heard before.

Eventually the bell rang and Charlotte went on to her next class, Organic Chemistry. She was the first one to arrive. Probably because they had ten minutes in between classes and she hadn’t stopped to socialize like most of the students did. Charlotte took a seat at one of the lab tables in the back.

The students started to file in. There weren’t that many of them in the class. Charlotte counted fourteen. The teacher, Mrs. Kross, came in right before the bell rang and immediately started taking attendance, just as Mr. Rolando had done. Of course, as soon as she said Charlotte’s name, everyone turned to look at her. Charlotte wondered how long it would take for the initial shock of her presence to wear off. She wasn’t a fan of being stared at.

“Okay, first thing, I want to assign your lab partners.”

“Assign?” One of the girls in the class asked. “We don’t get to choose ourselves?”

“Nope,” Mrs. Kross said with no hint of sympathy. She began to read off the partners and assign them their seats. Charlotte was one of the last few people called.

“Charlotte, you can stay seated where you are. And your partner is Jake.”

Jake Bevitt. Charlotte remembered him well. He had changed a lot. He had grown of course, and his hairstyle and clothing were much different than Charlotte remembered. He had lost the bowl cut hair and went for a shorter, messier style. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It was a big step up from the striped polos and khaki pants he used to wear every day throughout middle school.

Jake walked over to Charlotte’s table, dropped his bag on the floor, and took a seat in the stool next to hers. Charlotte didn’t want to talk to him, so she avoided eye contact and doodled on her syllabus so that he would leave her alone. Unfortunately, this tactic didn’t work.

“So what happened to your fancy private school? Couldn’t quite make the cut? Get expelled?”

Charlotte ignored him. She hadn’t expected any better treatment from him. Jake and her had been best friends in elementary school, until about fifth grade, when her father had been promoted and Charlotte’s whole life had been changed. She had quickly dropped most of the friends she had had back then. Jake and her had been on bad terms ever since.

“Earth to Lotty? You gonna answer me?”

Charlotte dropped her pencil and turned to look out the window.

“You know, looking at you, I was thinking you must have changed a lot. But you’re just the same stuck up bitch you’ve always been, aren’t you?”

Charlotte could see how Jake would think she had changed by looking at her. She knew she didn’t look anything like she did back then. She looked much older now, not so immature. Her long hair, which had been her trademark back then, was cut to lay above her shoulders in choppy layers. She was thinner in her body and her face and she didn’t wear make up anymore so there was nothing to hide her tired eyes.

Charlotte was grateful when Mrs. Kross told everyone to quiet down so they could discuss the syllabus. As soon as class was over, she bolted out of the room so no one would have a chance to say anything to her.

Charlotte’s next class, Creative Writing, went the same as her previous two classes did. She was grateful when it was time for lunch. She went to her locker and took out a container with grapes and pistachios inside. It was a weird mix but it was all they had at the house. Charlotte made her way to the cafeteria. It was filled with rectangular tables that had the seats attached to them. Now came the difficult part, finding some place to sit where she didn’t offend anyone.

Charlotte found a table with a group of girls sitting at one end. She went to the opposite end and moved to sit.

“What’re you doing?” one of the girls at the end of the table asked.

Charlotte looked up at one of the girls at the end of the table.

“You can’t sit here,” the girl said, a scowl on her face.

“Yeah, Princess,” said another girl. “Don’t you need a throne?”

Charlotte didn’t remember these girls. She hadn’t gone to school with them before, so why were they treating her like this? They didn’t know her. Charlotte heard loud laughter and looked over to where the popular crowd was gathered. They were all looking at her as they laughed. So apparently they had spread the word that Charlotte was a social pariah.

Charlotte left the cafeteria and made her way for the bathroom. It was fairly humiliating, but she didn’t really care. Soon enough it would all blow over and no one would be paying any attention to her. That’s all she really wanted.

Charlotte ate her lunch in one of the bathroom stalls and stayed there until it was time for her next and last class of the day, European History. The class went by slowly, probably because Charlotte kept looking at the clock on the wall above the door, wanting it to be over.

Charlotte was the first one out the door when the bell rang. She dropped her stuff off at her locker. She didn’t need to take anything back with her, since there was no homework. She made her way to the back entrance of the school. She had locked her bike on a rack there because no one ever took that entrance.

When Charlotte reached her bike she realized that there was another bike there. She decided she should hurry up and leave before the owner of the second bike came and gave her crap for a past she couldn’t change.

Just as Charlotte was taking off the chain, she heard the door behind her open. She glanced back and saw Jake Bevitt walking toward the rack. Just her luck.

“Hey, where’s the Benz today, Lotty?”

Charlotte had had enough. She had been silent all day. “Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you only go by ‘Princess’ these days? Or how about ‘Your Highness?’ Does that work for you?”

“Well, apparently since I seem to be the center of everyone’s world right now, it might be fitting. What is it with you guys that you’re so obsessed with me? I just wanted to go to school unnoticed, but I never stood a chance against this gossip.”

“Don’t act like you don’t deserve it.”

Charlotte took her bike off the rack and got onto it. She was just going to ride away. But she looked back at Jake to say one more thing she needed to get off her chest. “You know, I was a real bitch before, and I acknowledge that. But how are you guys any better? At least I’ve changed, but you’re all still holding onto a grudge about stuff that happened three years ago. Just grow up already.”

Charlotte turned forward again and started peddling. She had said more than she wanted to say. Her plan had been to stay silent and ride out the storm. She hadn’t uttered a word all day, but just then she snapped. Something about Jake giving her a hard time pissed her off more than the others.

Charlotte’s house was about three miles from the school. She rode home quickly, taking out her frustration in the peddling of the bike. By the time she got home she was worn out, physically and mentally. But at the least the first day was done. Now she just had to make it through the next day. And she’d continue like that, one day at a time.

So this is my attempt at a new story. My mind's been jumping around a lot lately and it can't seem to find a place to land but this story keeps revolving in my head so I'm thinking maybe this is what I'm supposed to be working on. I've got a couple of chapters written already and if it seems that I'm running out of steam for the idea, I'll let any readers that pick up this story know. But anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!