Freak Shake

Blossom's POV

"And stay away from boys!" my mama called as I quickly ran down the steps to catch the school bus which should be approaching any minute now.

Today, I was a ball of nerves. It was the beginning of a new year and a new life for my mother and me. Two weeks ago, we migrated from Africa to the US for my mother's new job opportunity and my scholarship education at one of the most prestigious high schools in California state.

It was an overcast morning with no one in sight but me waiting at the bus stop for the bus. After five minutes, the bright yellow school bus with the name 'Pacific High school' displaying above its windshield.

I outstretched my arm and the bus slowed down before coming to a halt in front of me. The doors opened automatically.

"This is it," I told myself as I clutched onto my backpack tighter and boarded.

Rude stares and small laughter met me when I saw the other students and they saw me. I quickly found a seat, close to a window, and tuned everything out by opening one of my textbooks.

"Who's that?" I heard someone ask from behind me.

"I've never seen it before," someone else answered. There were more giggles and I slumped in the seat, wishing I could disappear, or this bus would turn around and drop me off where it found me.

After thirty minutes of pretending to be invisible, the bus pulled into the high school’s parking lot. The doors opened and everyone started filing out like sand being emptied onto a beach. I was the last grain of sand to get off. I slowly followed the others into the open hall which I quickly regretted because the stares were more, and the comments were getting ruder with every student I walked past.

'What could they be looking at?' I asked myself as I tried to find my assigned locker from the sheet of paper the Head Mistress had given my mother when we applied three days ago.

'Locker 26T, Locker 26T,' I mumbled as I counted. '23, 24, 25...'

"Hey!" someone yelled at me and I was instantly shoved against my very locker.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, new girl!" another hissed, coming to the aid of the first girl I accidentally stumbled into.

"I'm....I'm sorry," I apologized. Both their eyes blazed at me before they flipped their hair and walked away.

I opened my locker and placed my books inside that I wouldn't be needing for first period. The bell rang and I headed to my first class, or at least I thought I was.

I got lost and I knew I was going around in circles when I orbit at my locker for the second time.

"You there! Why aren't you in class?" a woman called from behind me. It was Mrs. Tisdale, the Head Mistress.

"Sorry ma'am, I'm new and I'm a bit lost," I managed to speak although I was shaking with fear.

"Ah! The new girl from Africa. What's your first class?"

"Geography with Miss.."

"Miss Harris," she filled. "Follow me."

I did exactly as told and followed Mrs. Tisdale. She was a stern-looking woman with a built body and light complexion.

_______

"Good morning," Mrs. Tisdale spoke when she entered the classroom. All the students stood until she gestured for them to sit.

"Miss. Harris, this is Blossom Wright. She's a new student this senior year and she'll be joining your class," she said to the teacher and left with me standing there feeling more vulnerable than ever.

"Hello Blossom and welcome to Geography. You can have a seat next to Sophia. Sophia is in the first row on the right," Miss. Harris told me.

I put on a smile. I felt comfortable. Miss. Harris seemed nice and she pointed to a girl with a similar skin complexion as mine. I quickly sat next to her and pulled out my textbook to catch up.

"Who can tell me the names of the seven major bodies of water found in the world?" Miss. Harris asked.

"Malibu Beach!" someone shouted from the back and the class laughed. I joined in the laugh to feel included.

"No Zac," Miss. Harris said. Then her eyes fell on me. "Blossom, do you know?"

I knew but I didn't want to show off on the first day.

"Y... not really," I answered.

"If you know the answer, it would be wise to speak up," Sophia whispered.

"The Gulf of Mexico. The Caribbean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea. The Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian Oceans," I spoke up.

"Excellent," Miss. Harris complimented and wrote my answers on the chalkboard.

"Now, we're going to in pairs. You'll pair up with the person sitting next to you and you have exactly twenty minutes to choose any one of the major bodies of water and find out as much about it as possible in terms of geography.

For instance, what lies beneath? Any underwater volcanoes? Has a tsunami ever occurred? Has a hurricane ever formed? Let's make it an exciting topic as well. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss. Harris," the class answered, and we got to work.

_____

"Which should we pick?" I asked Sophia. She was very pretty with black hair and brown eyes that matched her skin tone.

"The Atlantic. It got more activities such as Hurricanes every year. We can call it, 'Birthplace of The Winds.' We can research the hurricanes, the strengths, and which countries were affected."

"Sounds good." We set to work and within the next twenty minutes, we had two file pages of information.

The bell rang shortly after and Sophia disappeared before I could even ask to be her friend. I pulled out my class schedule for my next class.

English Literature with Mr. James. Room 102.

I set to find room 102 and again, I was lost. Why there wasn't a tour guide person to take new students to their classes?

At last, I found it and quickly walked in. The door slammed after me, alerting everyone to my entrance. I froze. The room fell silent and everyone stared once again.

"Who are you?" Mr. James asked.

"Bloom... Blossom," I said, feeling as if all the blood was draining from my body.

"Well Bloom Blossom, welcome to English Lit. I'm Mr. James and you're late. Have a seat wherever there's a free seat."

"Yes sir." I found a seat next to a guy this time, but oddly, he had his head on his desk and covered up with a grey hoodie so I couldn't get a good look at him.

Mr. James had the class do work from the textbook. There was a paragraph filled with errors and it was our job to correct it. It took the whole period to do so.

_________

Finally, it was lunchtime, and I was dreadfully hungry. I ran into the washroom to do my business before heading to the cafeteria.

I took my place in the line and selected the food most appealing to the eyes. To drink, I had a juice box, and I made my way over to a table but was cut short by the same girl who shoved me into my locker this morning, only this time, instead of our school uniform, she was wearing a cheerleader outfit.

"Remember me?" she asked with a smirk. She then took my juice box and squeezed the content all over my food, ruining it.

"Don't ever mess with us," the other said and I watched them leave and sat down at a table with a group of guys.

Tears caught in my eyes as my stomach rumbled. I joined the long line again and picked the unappealing food since the yummy ones were all gone now.

In the end, I had to rush into the bathroom again because the food wasn't settling right.

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Blossom's POV

After doing my business, I had a slight pain in my stomach as I made my way to the sink to wash my hands.

"That was ugly back there," a voice spoke. I turned and saw Sophia.

"Oh hey. Yes. It really was." I turned on the tap, wet my hands, and caught soap from the dispenser. I washed off my hands and toweled them off.

"To make it here this senior year, you should know a few things around here. Come on, I'll show you." She ushered me out of the bathroom, and we walked back into the cafeteria and I sat down with her and another girl.

"This is Nina. Nina, meet Blossom. She's new and she's from Africa," Sophia introduced.

"Really, which country in Africa?" Nina asked.

"Ghana," I answered.

"That's awesome," Nina replied with a smile and although it was hard to tell, I caught her dimple on the left side of her cheek. She was very pretty overall. She had dark brown wavy hair that ran down her back to her waist. Her dark brown eyes were like a shimmer and her tan complexion screamed perfection.

"I'm about to tell her the DD's," Sophia cut in.

"The DD's?" I was in confusion.

"The Dos or Die," Nina cleared.

"I'm lost," I told them.

"At PHS, there are several things you should and shouldn't do to survive here," Nina said with a serious look on her face.

"You're making it sound like a war-zone instead of an education facility," I said with a smile.

"It is a war-zone. A war-zone between the power statuses around here."

"Huh?"

"Let's bring you up to speed," Nina said and moved closer to me so that we were all looking in the same direction- across the cafeteria.

"In the women's division, there's one group that reigns supreme and you may or may not already encounter them," Sophia explained and her eyes traveled over to the girls that ruined my lunch.

"But in every power group, there's still a bottom. And at the bottom is Tina Fonty. Her parents are so rich, Tina could practically be a princess if she wants to be.

Next, that's Amy Price. Amy is the Big Bad Wolf of the pack. Her parents are also very rich. Her father runs a shipping agency, and her mother is a fashion icon in all of LA. Celebrities like Ariana Grande had purchased clothes from her mother and Amy wouldn't stop bragging about all the celebrities she had met.

However, at the very top of the pack, you'll find the queen. That's Brooke Elizabeth Diamonds. Even her name sounds expensive, right? Well, her folks own five jewelry supply stores in the state. You wouldn't find anything there less than five million dollars.

Brooke is the captain of the cheerleading squad and had won three top competitions in the past. She's worshiped around here so you're lucky you had your run-in with her minions and not the queen bee herself."

"Wow," was all I could say.

"Now, let's talk about the guys," Nina said with a beam. Sophia playfully rolled her eyes at her.

"Just like the women, we have the three top guys but at the bottom, it's Connor Holice. His parents are combined millionaires. His mother is an actress, and his father owns a helicopter establishment... And Nina got a crush on him," Sophia teased in the end.

"I do not!" Nina defended and playfully grabbed her, but she dodged out of the way in time.

"In second, that's Nick Markerson. Handsome, rich, and already famous in his own way. He's a singer."

"Really?" I asked.

"That boy is going to sing his way into my heart one day," Sophia said with a blushing smile and Nina gave her the 'I knew it’ look.

"And, at the top..." Nina said but paused.

"Drum roll, please..." Sophia said and started a drum roll on the tabletop. Nina joined in.

"That's Jevan Hollen."

"Jevan Hollen is the most popular boy here and the student with the most 'A's. He excels at everything he does. He's the star quarterback of the football team. His father is a billionaire and CEO of Hollen Tower. One of the most successful companies in the country."

"No No No. One of the most successful companies in the world since they're international now. The whole family is rich. Jevan's aunt established hotels around the world until she gave it all up and married a Prince.

His grandfather started the status and handed it down to Jevan's father and now Jevan would have it handed to him when his time reaches."

The two girls looked like they were spooning in thoughts. I looked over at Jevan and immediately felt a wave of current washed over me.

He was sitting with two guys next to him with a grey hoodie on.

'Was it him?' I mumbled to myself.

"Was him what?" Nina and Sophia asked in unison.

"I sat next to one of them in English Lit but he had his head down," I answered.

"You better hope it wasn't him. There are rules here with the power-ups, especially when it comes to Jevan Hollen."

"What rules?"

"You're to stay far away from him as you possibly could."

"Why? Is he evil or something?"

"No, but his girlfriend is."

We watched as Brooke got up from her seat and went over to him and kissed him sweetly in front of everyone. His hands circled her waist as he drew her closer to him and pinned her onto his chest.

"I think I might gag," Nina said and she made vomiting noises.

"They actually make a cute couple," I said.

"Looks are very deceiving. Brooke is such a bitch. She's awful, bossy, and loud. No amount of money could change a person's ugly attitude and personality," Nina said.

I watched as Brooke pulled away and left the cafeteria with her clique following in step behind her. My eyes darted back to Jevan and as if he was altered, he was staring right back at me.

I quickly wanted to look away, but it was like I had been captured underneath his trance. His grey eyes were luminous although he was on the other end of the large room. I felt butterflies forming and heat radiating within me.

"Blossom!" Nina snapped, cutting off my stare.

"Huh... Who...? What?"

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Nothing," I lied.

"You were just staring at Jevan. Are you crazy? Do you know what happened to the last girl who stared at him? Brooke had her beaten up so bad that her parents had to transfer her to another school.

This isn't a joke here. Things could get very ugly very quickly. Stay away from the power-ups. All of them," Sophia warned and the bell rang, ending lunch.

__________

I had Health and Family Life next and so did Nina so we both headed to class while Sophia went to choir practice.

"I usually sit here but you can sit behind me," Nina said. There wasn't a chair next to hers, so I took the two seats behind her, leaving room in case someone else wanted to sit.

As class started, Mrs. Smith, the teacher, started talking about teenage pregnancy and how difficult it would be to have a child while in school.

"Sorry for being late Miss. Smith. Coach wanted to see me," someone said as he came in the door.

"Please tell Coach that he should meet with you when you don't have classes."

"Yes, Mrs. Smith."

"Have a seat Mr. Hollen."

At the mention of his name, my head darted from the book and looked up at him.

'Please not here. Please not here,' I mentally spoke.

He sat next to me.

'Dammit.'

"For this project, you'll be teaming up with the person sitting next to you. And this is worth sixty percent of your final grade, so I expect you to take this very seriously," Mrs. Smith spoke.

"Take what seriously?" Jevan asked her.

"I'm so happy you asked” she answered and held up a stuffed doll for everyone to see and the class burst into a long 'Noooooo'.

"Oh yes. You're going to be parents," Mrs. Smith said with a triumph smile. 

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