My name is Bree Johnson. I’m a total nerd. I read a lot and I’m socially awkward. Braces and glasses don’t help the situation. Today is the first day of freshman year and judging by my morning, my day is going to suck.

     It started this morning at 5:30 AM. I dragged myself out of bed and face planted into the ground after slipping on one of the many books lying on my floor. I pulled myself up off the floor in a mess of drool and sleep hair. I slowly, but surely, started making my way to the bathroom to plug in my straightener to try to tame my mess of auburn hair.

      While I waited for my straightener, I got dressed. I didn’t even plan it out. I’m a wing it kind of person. I decided on a simple pair of black leggings with the bottoms rolled up a couple of times considering it was supposed to be 80 degrees outside today. I pulled on a white tank top with a floral skull on the front. Lastly, I slipped on my mint colored Vans that put me back $65. I could have spent that money on books, but a girl has to look good.

     I went back into the bathroom to find it filled with smoke and my straightener on fire. Well, great. I quickly grabbed the towel hanging on the back of the door and started slamming it down onto the burning straightener trying to put the flames out. It left the smell of burning plastic lingering in the air. I threw the melted straightener in the garbage angrily. This is just fantastic, ok, plan B. I grabbed my comb out of the drawer under the sink and started dragging it through my hair. A big clump of hair and half an hour later, my hair was somewhat flat and could be salvaged with a ponytail and lots of hairspray.

    After I finished pulling my hair up into a ponytail and basically spraying my whole head with hairspray, I could go eat. It was already 6:40 and I had to be at the bus stop by 7:15. I threw open the pantry door with a bang that sent my orange tabby cat, Jem, named after one of my favorite characters from the book Clockwork Angel, tearing down the hall.

     10 minutes later, I finally decided on a bowl of Fruitloops, after standing in the pantry staring blankly at the cereal boxes. I grabbed a bowl and the milk from the fridge and poured my cereal. I then perched myself up on the granite countertops as I did every morning before school. The air was hot and stuffy so, I hopped off the counter with a thud and trotted over to the big windows on the other side of the kitchen.

    I pushed on the sticky locks and they completely broke off with a snap, fantastic. I pushed up on the edge of the window choosing to ignore the broken lock sitting on the floor at my feet, and the window slid up with a slight popping sound. I went back to my spot on the counter to finish my cereal. I tried eating as slowly as possible, trying to drag out the time before leaving for school. I fished around my bowl for the last couple of stubborn Fruitloops and senselessly meowed back at the cat, who had decided he could trust me again.

    I finally caught those last couple Fruitloops and ate them quickly, glancing at the clock. It’s already 7:12. I run to the bathroom and grab my purple toothbrush and toothpaste. I take the lid off and sloppily squeeze it onto my toothbrush. I brush my teeth with a quick aggression I didn’t know I had. I run out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind me, sending Jem scattering down the hall again. There goes the trust.

   I trot into my room, grab my lace and leather backpack, and a couple books. I run out the door at full speed, not even caring to lock the door behind me. I dash to the bus stop a block away, not looking as I cross the street, trees passing fast as I run, my lungs threatening to explode. I arrive seconds before the bus pulls around the corner, beads of sweat collecting on my forehead in the heat, my breathing labored. Man, I need to work out.

    The big, yellow death trap slowly comes to a stop in front of the sidewalk. The door opens with a creak that has been there as long as I’ve ridden the bus. I make my way up the steep steps and mutter a good morning to the bus driver I've known since I was 11. She doesn’t say anything back, but simply grunts, I realized a long time ago that that’s the closest I’m going to get to a good morning or hello. I plop myself down in my favorite seat, number ten, and I pull out my copy of Legend.

    I am reading in peaceful silence for a good ten minutes until I see a small figure in the seat next to mine, glancing over at me. I try to ignore whoever it is, not wanting to talk to anyone considering the crappy morning i've had. Eventually, I give up and look over at my little spy.

   Turns out I was wrong. It, or should I say he, wasn’t a small figure at all. It was a quite large boy actually. Not large as in overweight, just broad shouldered and tall. I mean tall, like 6’5’’ tall. He was probably my age, maybe a year older. I guess I was staring for a while because he looked over at me staring at him and I quickly turned back to my book, my cheeks turning slightly red. I glance over a couple more times and notice a sharp jaw line and jet black hair pushed up in the front in a messy manner. The last time I look over he has a smirk plastered on his face.

    We’re both silent the whole bus ride, except for the one time he turns to me, looking as though he’s going to say something, then thinking better of it. The bus tumbled down the pothole filled road toward the rich kid houses. The bus stopped and the screaming and hollering of the popular, rich kids began. I tried to keep reading my book, but it’s kind of hard with a bunch of teenagers screaming in your ears.

    I glance over at mystery boy and see the smirk gone, replaced with a terrified look. One of the most popular boys, typical jock, sits next to him and tries to make small talk. He almost instantly loses interest when the jock starts talking about football. I chuckle to myself as mystery boy turns to the window watching the green hills roll by, completely ignoring the jock. Wow, mystery boy has guts, but he’s also going to find himself stuffed in a locker later.

     I sit there wondering if mystery boy has a name. That sounded really stupid, I mean of course he has a name. He looks like a John, maybe he has a unique name or he goes by a nickname. I would die if he had a name from one of my favorite books. Oh, I’m a nerd. We finally come up over the top of a steep hill and I see the massive high school campus I have probably driven past about 10,000 times in my life.

    The campus of John Adams High is terrifying. Not only because of the four huge two story high buildings that form a square around a patch of grass we call our courtyard, but all of the kids. There are over 8,000 kids in total and it’s absolutely terrifying. It honestly makes me want to hide under a rock. Obviously I’m not a people person.

    The bus pulls up the curb with a squeak of the old brakes. People automatically stand up and wait impatiently for the bus driver to open the folding doors. She finally opens them and we start filing off the bus, shuffling our feet as we go. I start making my way out of the seat and slide out in front of the jock who was bothering mystery boy earlier. He lets out a grunt as I step on his brand new Nikes, clearly annoyed. I smile to myself proud that the day hasn’t even started and I’ve already made someone mad.

    “Are you kidding me?!?” He half whispers half shouts from behind me. I’d rather deal with Draco Malfoy than this idiot. “No.” I say casually only making him madder. I turn around to look at him and he has a look of pure disgust on his face. I shuffle slowly behind a girl with bright red hair so frizzy that it almost touches the tip of my nose.

    “These were $140!!” He says getting angrier by the minute. “And you know what?” I say stepping off the bus, I walk a couple feet away and turn around looking at him, noticing that he’s several inches taller than me. He may be as tall as mystery boy over there. I see the name tag on his letterman jacket and see his name is Thomas. Maze Runner?? Really?! I was determined to hate him, but with a name like that, I can’t. Ugh.

    “I don’t really care” I declare sassily, giving a fake sympathy look. He gives me one last glare before stomping off in the opposite direction in the superior way all jocks do.“I’M HERE ALL DAY!!” I yell from behind him. I was wrong, I still hate him. 
I see a short girl with short, blond hair waving her hands frantically in the air across campus by the tall West building. After a few moments of staring dumbly at her with my mouth slightly open, my brain starts to function and recognizes her as Casey, my best friend. She got her braces off and cut almost all of her hair off! That’s why I didn’t recognize her. I quickly readjust my backpack straps and take off in her direction.

    I  earn a few strange stares on the way, which is usual, but I ignore them. I finally push my way through the crowded courtyard and get to the West building, freshman building. I finally reach her and she has a huge smile on her face, showing her now braces free teeth. “Bree!!” She screams when I open my arms for a hug. Casey flings herself into my arms and squeezes me so hard I can’t breathe.  “Can’t…...breathe..” I manage to squeak out. Casey immediately lets go, mumbling a quiet, but audible, sorry. Even though she nearly killed me she still has a smile on her face.
That’s one of the best things about Casey. She’s always smiling and happy, the polar opposite of me. We have been friends since first grade after she had to pull me off of Daniel Rick when I tackled him for calling me a nerd. I guess you could say I was a pretty tough little kid. We’ve been stuck like glue ever since.

    The bell rings and I grab Casey by the arm and rush into the building before we get trampled by everyone else. All I can hear now is the scuffling of rubber soles on the tile floor. I  dash down the hall with Casey in tow trying to find my locker behind all the bodies. There it is locker number 518, a nasty peach color that looks like puke. When I stop to look I let Casey’s arm go so, she can go to her own locker. She takes off down the hall. “Good luck!!” I shout, hoping she can still hear me. She turns around for a brief moment and gives me a reassuring smile. I smile and turn back to my locker. It’s on the bottom, great.

   After nearly getting my head dented by lockers and flying footballs, I made it to  English, my favorite class, in one piece. Or was my favorite until I saw Amanda Rey sitting in the back of the room with the rest of her Barbie dolls in the making crew. She glares at me the second I walk in the door. I glare back hoping she gets the message that I’m not taking her crap this year.
I quickly sit down in the front, I know, could I get any nerdier? The bell rings signaling the start of first period. Ten minutes into class, while Ms. Joseph has us doing a writing prompt, someone jabs me in the back with a pencil.

   “Who is that?” My friend Jessa whispers in my ear from the seat behind me. “Who?” I ask not taking my eyes off my paper, continuing my prompt on the summary of The Raven Boys. She jabs me again, this time on the shoulder, and shoves the pencil in the direction of the door where mystery boy is standing. I slowly turn around to face her, careful not to let the desk squeak, “I’m not sure,” I whisper, “He was on my bus this morning, he must new.” Jessa raises an eyebrow, then shrugs and goes back to work on her prompt.

    I turn back around in my seat and glance up at Ms. Joseph. She’s glaring at me so, I quickly go back to work. Mystery boys still standing at the door. Ms. Joseph finally notices him standing there and makes a gesture for him to come in. He swiftly walks to where she is now standing and towers a good nine inches over her.
“And who might you be?” She inquires staring up at him through her Dumbledore half-moon glasses. “Nate Collins.” He tells her quietly trying not to draw attention to himself. Half of the class is already staring up at them so, why even bother? Some of the girls are looking up at Nate like the emoji’s with heart eyes. It’s actually kind of funny.

    “Well Mr. Collins you are ten minutes late so you better get started on your writing prompt.” She says, trying to be intimidating, but she’s too small to be intimidating. Nate nods and takes a seat in the back near the jocks and the Barbie wannabe crew. Dang, I’m starting to think the boy has a death wish.

    Just as he starts his prompt I finish so, I quietly grab out my book from under my desk. I hear footsteps behind me and look over my shoulder to see Nate walking up the aisle between the desks. As he walks past me he bends down to my eye level and leans over slightly. “That’s a great book” He whispers in my ear so quietly I start to think I’m imagining it. Nate looks at me, smiles, and then walks away toward the pencil sharpener leaving me sitting there befuddled and mildly stunned. It takes me a few seconds to compose myself.

   I watch him walk back to his desk and I have to say, for a big guy he’s kind of graceful. Maybe he’s secretly a ballerina. He sits down and I turn my attention back to my book. 

   50 minutes pass and the bell rings, Finally, class is over. I made it through first period alive. I quickly grab my stuff and rush to the door. I think I’m home free before, “Hey!! Nerd!!” Crap. Amanda comes up behind me and steps on the backs of my shoes causing me to trip over my feet and tumble to the floor with a loud crash.
Amanda, her Barbie crew, and all of the jocks kneel over laughing, some of them even have tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. Amanda struts her way over to me and stands over me, looking down. “I want to talk to you.” She says in that voice that says semi-nice things in a mean way. “Screw... you” I snarl up at her. “Now, now, that’s no way to talk to a friend.” She say in a condescending tone. “And I said screw you.” I snarl once again.

    She backs away a couple of steps and looks a little scared. I try to keep my excitement at bay, but it slips out and a small smile forms on my lips. “What are you smiling at?!” Amanda roars at me, the anger evident in her eyes. Her cool, composed mask is falling off and anger is getting the best of her now. The hallway grows uncomfortably silent and I can hear the slight rushing sound of the wind coming in through the window of the nearby classroom.

    While Amanda stands there with steam basically shooting from her ears, I push myself up and reach for my stuff scattered on the floor. I grab my books and stand up thinking its all over and I can leave now. All of a sudden I’m slammed back into a locker with such force it knocks the air out of my lungs and makes my ears ring.

   There are people all around me now. They’re shouting at me, every profanity in the book along with the occasional “Nerd.” I hear Amanda over the roar of the crowd, scream, “Books can’t save you now!!” That hits hard and I can no longer hear people. I still see them yelling at me, but I can’t hear them. My brain has zoned everything out except that comment.

    It hurts to say that she’s right. Books have gotten me through a lot of things, a sense of distraction. A way to get away from reality. Still, books won’t and can’t get me through this. Suddenly, a strong arm grabs me by my forearm and yanks me out of the crowd. Towering inches above me is Nate, dragging me down the hallway, away from the hoard of people.

    I look back and Amanda has a bewildered look on her face for only seconds before she shouts, “Bring the nerd back!!I’m not done with her!!” Nate abruptly stops making me slam my face into his right shoulder blade. Ow. He slowly turns around to face Amanda and I’m not sure what he’s going to do. I glance up at him as he glares at Amanda. I finally notice his eyes, they’re gray. They fury flares in them and the smile from earlier is now gone.

    Amanda looks terrified and I chuckle lightly. Nate shoots me a warning look and I shut up. “Would you like to repeat that?” He asks as if daring her to do it. “No, I’m good” She mumbles and spins on her heels running in the other direction. “I doubt it” Nate mutters once we start walking away again.

    I suddenly wonder why I’m letting this strange boy, whom I don’t even know, drag me down the hall. “Wait, wait, wait” He stops and turns to me, “Why did you just save me from…whatever that was?” I question. He runs and hand through his hair, making it even messier than before and lets out an exasperated sigh. “Because.” He finally says. “Not good enough.” I say putting my hands on my hips and forcing a stern look on my face. Nate smiles a little bit at my effort to be intimidating. “No, no, no, you’re supposed to be cowering in fear.” I say dropping my hands from my hips. He laughs lightly and smiles showing dimples I hadn’t seen before. His smile is contagious and I can’t help but smile back. We stand there smiling at each other before he says, “Maybe another time,” and walks away, leaving me standing there smiling like an idiot.