MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Maryah
Within a matter of days my whole world had changed—again.
Dragonflies—way worse than butterflies—flitted in my stomach as I stared out of the living room windows, dreading my first day of school.
The front door opened and Faith yelled a cheerful hello as she sashayed around the corner. Talk about making yourself at home. We’d hung out every day since Krista left, but still, I couldn’t ever remember any of Mikey’s friends walking into our house without knocking.
She skipped over and pinched me. She was like a sparkler that never fizzled out. “First day at your new school! Who’s excited?”
“I give up, who?”
“Aw, you’ll love it. Let’s go. We’re late.”
I grabbed my book bag and headed for the car.
The ride was a blur of stoplights, other cars, and Faith singing. I was so nervous that it took everything I had to keep my cereal from coming back up.
When we pulled into the school parking lot, I gawked at all the nice cars. Jaguar Boy’s was among them. He pounded on the roof of a Lexus and laughed while talking to the flawless girl inside. I didn’t stand a chance of fitting in.
Faith and Harmony were in my first and last period classes, but I didn’t have any with Shiloh. Carson and Dakota were Juniors, so no surprise that we didn’t have classes together. The majority of my days would be spent alone, and I was good with that.
After a non-eventful homeroom with a bunch of strangers, I followed my map to English. Nametags were on each desk. Really? Nametags? Were we in kindergarten?
“Looks like she alphabetized us.” Faith pouted. “You’re in the back row and I’m way up there.”
“I’m grateful to be a Woodsen. A seat in the back makes it easy to hide.”
“Oh, stop. Maybe she’ll let us move seats once she gets to know everyone.”
I sat down in a wobbly legged chair. If I could go unnoticed everything would be fine. The bell rang and students scurried to their seats. A tall woman with auburn hair stood at the front of the room.
“Good morning, and welcome to the first day of your senior year! Isn’t this exciting?”
Why did everyone think today was so exciting? It was the beginning of another school year—long and painful like the others.
“What a monumental time in your lives!” The teacher made exaggerated hand gestures as she spoke. “My name is Ms. Barby, and I just moved here from Ohio.” Her smile never floundered. I’d have to drink six cups of coffee to have her energy.
Faith had a big grin on her face as she watched the teacher walk the aisles and continue with her perky introduction. Faith obviously liked Ms. Barby and I could understand why. Happy hyper people always like other happy hyper people.
Ms. Barby proceeded to ask each of us to stand and introduce ourselves, throwing a huge wrench in my “go unnoticed” plan.
Most kids stated their name and how they’d lived here forever, if they played a sport, and what college they were hoping to attend. I hadn’t noticed Jaguar Boy sitting beside me until he gave his introduction. He stood up and leaned against my desk before talking. I scooted back, trying to get some distance from his uncomfortable closeness, but my chair almost toppled over. Luckily, he had the full attention of the class.
“You all know me. I’m River Malone, lead singer of the Rebel Junkies—future professional rock star.” He held up his hands. “No autographs, please.”
Most of the class laughed or clapped. One guy high-fived him.
Faith jumped to her feet, temporarily silencing the room with an animated introduction of herself. Again, people whistled or clapped for her as she graciously curtsied. They made it look easy, so why was I terrified for my turn?
I was last to introduce myself. I took a deep breath, stood up, and began. “I’m Maryah Woodsen from Maryland. I’ve been living in Sedona for a few days and I don’t play sports.” I sat down before the last word came out of my mouth.
“You’re from Maryland? How nice!” Ms. Barby exclaimed with a cheesy grin. “What brought you and your family to Sedona?”
Was she really asking for more information, worse yet, about my family?
Faith tried to save me. “You forgot to mention your plans after graduation. Any certain college in mind?”
“Excuse me,” Ms. Barby said, “but I asked her a question.”
“Sorry,” Faith mumbled.
I clenched my teeth together. “I moved here to live with my godmother. My parents and brother died.” I glanced at Faith. “And no, no college plans yet.”
The room was so quiet the class probably heard me struggling to breathe. River turned to look at me. His eyebrows furrowed together in what looked like sympathy. I pulled the brim of my hat over my eyes, focusing on the book in front of me, and fighting the urge to cry.
Ms. Barby walked down the aisle and touched my desk. “Maria, I’m so sorry.”
“Her name is Ma-ry-ah.” Faith’s sympathetic stare penetrated me from the front of the room, but I couldn’t look at her. If I cried, I’d be guaranteed to make the headlines of the school rumor mill.
“Maryah. Right. What a beautiful name. Okay, let’s dive into our first lesson.” Ms. Barby handed out textbooks while River slid a note onto my desk.
Welcome to Sedona. I’m sorry about your family. I know how you feel. Let me know if you need a tour guide. Peace, River
Faith and I might have to agree to disagree about being a fan of River’s. I looked at him and mouthed the words “thank you.”
∞
I got lost only once while trying to find history. The rest of the day had gone pretty well, with no more drama, tearing up, or awkwardness—until last period music class.
River dragged a chair in front of my desk then straddled it to face me. My pulse pounded between my ears.
Our teacher hadn’t announced his name yet, but he didn’t look pleased. “River Malone, eyes to the front of the room please.”
“In a sec, Mr. Milton!” River kept his focus on me and lowered his voice. “Something about you left an imprint on my soul. You’ve been stuck in my head all day.”
I didn’t know whether to be creeped out or flattered. I clicked my pen repeatedly as if the noise would make up for my stunned silence.
“Mr. Malone!” our teacher yelled. The rest of the class stared at us.
“I said in a second,” River retorted calmly—the epitome of cool.
Mr. Milton held up a pad of pink paper, shaking it in the air as he spoke. “Your second is up. Turn around right now or you will be taking a trip to the principal’s office.”
River rose from his seat in one jaguar-smooth movement then strutted to the front of the class. He took the pad from Mr. Milton’s hand, tore off the top sheet, and scribbled on it. “I do love a good trip. I’ll sign my own ticket.”
He made a kissing noise at the teacher, and some of the class laughed while he strutted down the aisle to my desk. He whispered, “I’m gonna write a song about you.”
After he left the room, I looked up to see every member of my class, including Faith and Harmony, staring at me. A redhead one desk over had her phone aimed at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“Taking a video so April can see this.”
“April? Who is April?” I swatted at her phone. “Stop recording me.”
“April,” she said, typing frantically, “is River’s girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. Oh my god. Had he been flirting with me? I’d never been flirted with before. I wasn’t sure how I reacted, but would I look guilty on video? I tried to plead innocence. “I didn’t—it’s not like—I had no idea that—”
“Save it, new girl. Video has been sent.”
Mr. Milton started class and everyone but me seemed to be paying attention. I stared at a water stain on the floor, wishing it would turn into a pool I could jump in and drown myself. Somewhere River’s girlfriend was watching a video of her boyfriend causing a scene because of me, the new girl. Nothing good could come of that.
My plan to go unnoticed had failed miserably.
