It was the last period before lunch when Gemma walked into the science laboratory and saw that everyone was already sitting in pairs with their lab partners. Noticing that there was one seat left at a table in the back of the room, she headed down the noisy aisle where a girl sat alone, as far away from the blackboard as possible.
“Are you saving this seat for someone?” Gemma asked, pulling out the vacant chair.
“Nope, all yours.” The girl surveyed Gemma’s outfit. “I like your boots.”
She looked down and saw that the girl sitting in front of her wore identical black Doc Martens. Their whole ensemble was practically the same. The dark-haired girl wore a Stevie Nicks T-shirt with jeans. Having a similar vibe with someone was the first good sign that she may have found a friend at her new school.
“Thanks, I like yours too.” She placed her backpack onto the floor and slid her notebook onto the table. “I’m Gemma.”
“Darbie.” She smiled as they introduced themselves.
While they waited for the teacher to arrive, Gemma heard Darbie ask from beside her, “First day?”
“Do I have the words ‘new student’ written across my forehead or something?” Gemma reached up, making a show of wiping her forehead.
Darbie laughed. “No, it’s just a small town, so when there’s a new face, they’re pretty easy to spot.”
Gemma nodded her head, now understanding why she had felt like an animal in a zoo exhibit all day.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of things around here pretty quickly. I was new last year, so I know what it’s like. If you need a friend to have lunch with after class, you’re welcome to join me.”
Darbie was being so friendly to Gemma that she felt like the day might be starting to turn around.
“I’d really like that, thanks.”
Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang, and it was time for lunch. Gemma walked with Darbie to the cafeteria and jumped into line behind her. They gathered their meals onto their trays before heading to find an open table.
As Gemma and Darbie ate their grilled chicken wraps across from each other, they chatted away, getting up to speed on each other’s lives. Darbie told her that she had moved withher family the year before from Connecticut to be closer to her grandparents, since their health was declining. Gemma filled Darbie in on why this wasn’t her first move and that the latest place she had left behind was Detroit.
They talked about the wide variety of their favorite music, ranging from Fleetwood Mac and Pearl Jam to Tate McRae and Billie Eilish. Listening to the old rock and roll greats with the newer bops was already on their schedule for an after-school hangout session. Darbie let Gemma know about the vinyl store on Main Street, the park everyone hung out in, and the movie theater where she was most likely to run into someone from school.
They even discovered Gemma’s new house was only a street away from Darbie’s own, and Darbie seemed genuinely thrilled. Gemma assumed that everyone lived close to one another, though, since the whole town was under two square miles, but she didn’t say as much.
A rude scoff from behind paused their conversation. Gemma watched Darbie’s face fall before turning around to look at the person standing above her.
“Um, you’re sitting at my table,” the cheerleader said, looking down her nose at Gemma.
It wasn’t hard to guess which sport the girl partook in at the school since she was wearing a Westmore High Cheerleading T-shirt tucked into her skinny jeans.
“Weird, I didn’t see a reserved sign anywhere.” Gemma pretended to search for the sign in question.
She had learned from a young age that her sarcasm was her best weapon when dealing with mean girls. Gemma had never understood why some girls felt the need to tear each other down, but they seemed to be at every school. Why couldn’t girls just be kind to one another? Wasn’t life already hard enough?
“Excuse me? I don’t know who you think…” The not-so-cheery girl was cut off when someone from across the room yelled, “Gemma!”
Every head in the room turned, watching as Caitlin strode toward Gemma and Darbie.
“Kristie, why are you bothering them?” Caitlin scolded. Clearly, this wasn’t Kristie’s first time harassing people, since Caitlin had recognized the conflict from a mile away. “Go sit with the guys over there.” Caitlin pointed to a table on the other side of the lunchroom.
Kristie angrily stormed off, followed by three of her minions.
“Sorry about her. I’m glad I ran into you, though. I found this mixed in with my papers.” Caitlin handed Gemma the piece of paper with her class schedule printed on it.
“Thanks. I was wondering where I lost this.”
Caitlin wore a soft smile on her lips as she looked down at Gemma.
“I’m Caitlin, not sure if we’ve ever met.” She waved to Darbie across the table.
