Dread clawed its way through Caitlin’s chest as she watched Gemma walk away. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, only minutes after she had gotten her back. Caitlin stared after Gemma until she lost her in the crowd, disappearing into the anonymity of NYC.
The city pressed in around her, concrete buildings looming like silent witnesses to everything she hadn’t said. Her breath hitched. The air felt thinner. Anxiety curled tight in her ribs, making it hard to tell whether it was the skyline collapsing or just her world sinking in.
FIVE
Fall Semester, Sophomore Year of High School
GEMMA TOOK A DEEP BREATHas her mother slowed the Honda Civic to a stop. She willed herself to open the door as she looked out the clean glass window at the teenagers walking by. She said goodbye to her mom and stepped out of the car, her nerves twisting her insides.
Life at fifteen was already complicated, but being uprooted and dropped into a new school right before tenth grade? That shit was brutal.
Gemma was the daughter of an Army officer, so she had learned to accept the constant relocations. Accepting them and enjoying them, however, were two very different things. Even though she knew what to expect, it still didn’t make the experience any less painful.
In the bigger cities, it was easier for her to disappear and hide amongst the masses of kids. But here, in the small town of New Hope, Pennsylvania, she didn’t think that would be possible. All the other students will have known each other since birth, and cliques would have been solidified years ago. She knew how this would go. Gemma would stick out like a sore thumb.
The last time Gemma transferred schools, she was in thesixth grade, and that was already her fourth move. Once Gemma had found her footing there, she had been able to create a tight-knit group of girls that she kept close for the last four years. When she realized that she was actually going to get to start high school with these friends, she had been thrilled. She had envisioned them dressed in navy and red beside her at football games, riding in the limousine together to prom, holding hands and crying at graduation. All of that came crashing down after the final bell of freshman year, when Gemma’s parents had dropped the news on her. They would be moving again.
It was now the first week of school, and the summer heat was still upon them, but at least the early September weather had started to lose its thick humidity. Gemma walked along the paved concrete path, lined with freshly mowed green grass and trees in full bloom, from the parking lot toward the entrance of Westmore High School.
That morning, Gemma had opted for a pair of black jeans, her new Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt—she had bought at the concert she attended with her friends before leaving Michigan—and her favorite Doc Martens, which had been worn in perfectly. And her dark locks were slicked back in a straight ponytail, freeing her neck from the heavy mane of hair.
As Gemma entered through the double doors, she took out her class schedule, which had been emailed to her just two weeks prior.
The school was set up like the college campuses she had seen in brochures, only on a much smaller scale. The academic buildings were spread out and connected by covered walkways, which Gemma assumed were there to protect the students from rain and snow. Living on the East Coast meant being subject to the full force of all four seasons. The main building housed the lockers, cafeteria, and library, but everything else was in different structures.
Standing in the main entrance, she squinted out the long wall of windows, trying to figure out where her first period class was located. Her schedule showed a letter and number corresponding to each classroom, so surely her first period in A101 couldn’t be that hard to find, assuming the buildings went in alphabetical order.
Gemma walked farther down the corridor and looked around for any sign that could help point her in the right direction. Paying no attention to where she was going, she collided with another student, knocking everything out of both of their hands.
“I’m so sorry,” Gemma said as she squatted down to collect her things from the old vinyl floor. “I didn’t see you.” She looked up to find the other girl gathering a notebook and loose papers.
“Don’t worry about it.” The girl graciously handed over the collected items to Gemma.
Gemma had never seen eyes so blue, like a summer sky stretched over a quiet field. For a moment, Gemma forgot to breathe. The girl was studying her curiously, her head cocked to the side, with her long auburn hair cascading nearly halfway down her back. Freckles scattered across her nose, which had crinkled with a warm smile. The girl was so beautiful, mesmerizing Gemma as she tried to pry her gaze away.
“You must be new here,” the girl said, now standing at the same height as her.
“What gave it away?” Gemma laughed nervously.
Neither of their eyes moved from the other’s.
“I’m Caitlin.” She reached out her slender, fair arm to Gemma.
“Gemma. It’s nice to meet you.” She shook Caitlin’s hand, and the soft skin of the girl’s palm sent tingles shooting through her arm. What was happening?
“You too.” Caitlin’s smile grew impossibly bigger and more beautiful. “Welcome to Westmore High.”
The bell rang, and Gemma felt a wave of sadness that their interaction was coming to an end.
“Could you tell me which direction Building A is?” Gemma asked, trying to prolong the conversation for a few more seconds while also gathering the information she needed.
“It’s down that path.” Caitlin pointed over Gemma’s left shoulder. “I’d walk you there, but I’m already late for class and I’m going the opposite way. You’ll see it, though, if you head straight out that door. I’m sure I’ll see you around!” Caitlin waved before turning and heading outside.
Gemma stood frozen, gazing through the doorway where the enchanting girl had just disappeared. She was already late, but it felt like time had stopped the moment she looked into those blue eyes.
Shaking her head to refocus, Gemma rushed out the doorthat the girl had indicated, hopefully toward her first period class. As she hurried down the path, her eyes drifted across the lawn, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Caitlin.
The first half of the day passed in a blur for Gemma. After going into multiple wrong buildings and classrooms, she had eventually gotten her bearings straight enough to figure out where the rest of her morning classes had been.
