Chapter 3: Worst day ever 1

My eyebrows furrowed as I try to decode the simple sentence my dad just said. He said that 'we' are moving to Canada. The word 'we' is very strong. 

"I don't understand." I removed my knee from my mother's grasp and glanced from my mom to my dad.

"We are moving to Canada. You, your mom and I." He said much more clearly. I felt like someone poured a bucket of ice over me. My brain shuts down for a minute or so. 

They can't be serious. I'm ok with him leaving. I'll miss him, but we'll definitely still see each other on holidays. But me moving to another country! I am not okay with that. I thought, with my heart pounding in my ears.

"Honey, are you alright?" My mom asksed. There was a look of concern on her face. But what good would that do? I closed my eyes and started to count. 'One… two…three…four…five' This is what I do during my panic attacks. I continued until thirty, but it didn't work! For the first time the 'relaxing method' my psychologist taught me wasn't working.

'Someone call an ambulance because I think I might faint, or go grab a bucket of water. I'm definitely going to need it.'

"Honey…" I immediately got up. I started to pace around the room.

"You want me to leave my city, my beautiful perfect school, (ok, the school might not be perfect) and my friends for some freezing country?" I asked them. I didn't expect them to answer me.

"I know it's going to be tough, but there's no other alternative." My dad said. There was a serious look on his face that said; 'Stop acting like a child and grow up!'

"But have you considered me! Do you know how tough it was for me when I changed schools years ago? And now I have to move to another freaking country!"

"Canada is a nice country with nice people. They have beautiful highschools and I'm sure you'll blend right in." My mom assured me.

"But I have my whole life figured out already. After highschool, I'm heading to university to study a pre-med course with Courtney and after four years of suffering, we'll head to medical school and graduate with flying colours!"

"You can still do all that, but without Courtney and in a new country." My dad said.

I stared at them dumbfoundedly. They weren't playing games. This is for real!

"So there's no getting out of this." I whispered to myself. My mom shook her head. I took in a deep breath and left, heading straight to my room.

I got to my room and flung myself onto my fluffy bed. 

"Argh!!!" I screamed into my pillow. Silent tears started to fall from my eyes. This can't be happening. It will definitely not end well. A new country, a new school. I won't survive it. Teenagers can be cruel, I've learnt that pretty quickly. And I'll be heading there as a senior instead.

"God what did I do to deserve this."

Old memories flashed across my eyes.

A ten year old Emily is seen in the car, clutching onto her school bag. Her hair is tied into two ponytails and a pink ribbon is on each of them.

"Emily, it won't be so bad. Look at how much fun they're having." Mrs Hernandez tells her.

"I don't wanna go. They'll all be mean." She says. She hides her face behind her bag.

"Then you don't mind them."

"Not when they start saying mean things and mock me."

"Sometimes, you just have to put on a tough skin. Just turn a deaf ear. Now go, or you'll be late." She says while shoving her daughter. Emily gets down from her mother's car. She stares at the bunch of people rushing into the school. Glancing towards her mom one last time, she heads over to where the kids her age were. Apparently, that's where the junior students stay.

She gets to the opened doors. Staring at the wide hallway that was filled with students around her age. She finally steps in, striding into the building. A few people glance towards her, but remove their gaze almost immediately. 'Is that a good sign or not?'

Everything goes smoothly throughout that morning, until lunch time.

Emily walked slowly into the dining area, staring at the middle graders in front of her. The place was filled with clattering of plates and the students chattering. Holding her tray in her hands, she tried to look for a table. Finally finding an empty one, she settles in.

A few minutes later, a girl no less than eleven strolls in with three other girls behind her. With her head held high, she walks towards the far front. She frowns at what she sees.

"Who are you? And why are you sitting at my table?" She asks Emily. Emily looks up at her confused.

"Are you deaf? You're sitting at our table." Says another girl.

"But it's a table. It can be shared." Emily whispers.

The girl in the middle glares at Emily. How dare she talk back to her. She must be new.

"You have a big mouth. It's obvious she's new here Felicia." The rest of the hall gets quiet, as they have turned their attention towards the girls.

"You must be foolish or are you just pretending. Anyway, since you might be new, let me make this clear." Felicia says. She carries Emily's tray of food and dumps it all over her. Emily shrieks in shock and so does the rest of the hall. There's a smile on her face.

 "This is our hanging spot and it's only reserved for us and for whoever we invite. And you were not invited, so get your butt off my seat." She says. Emily glares up at her and gets up.

"You didn't have to do that!" 

"And what do you want to do about it? Cry and go meet the principal." Says one of her friends in a mocking voice. The hall bursts into a fit of laughter.

Emily feels tears start to fall down her messy face. She was covered in juice, spaghetti and sauce. Without a single thought, she runs off.

"There goes the big baby." The hall continues to laugh. She dashes out of the hall, sobbing profusely.

*End of flashback*

I finally came out of my thoughts. Just remembering it brings shivers down my spine. Although I was still very young, the event stayed rooted in my brain. I cried my eyes out that day, not attending the rest of my classes. I met Courtney the next day. She stuck to me like a leech, and I didn't mind. We were similar. Antisocial, had similar tastes in food, music, etc. We became friends and then best friends.

Fairfield highschool became bearable because of Courtney. Although we weren't the most popular kids at school, we earned a good name from getting good grades.

'Will i have to go through the same thing again?' I asked myself.