Letting Go and Living... Or Not - That Works Too 1

Hey everyone! This is my first story out of hundreds that I've decided to actually post on Buzzle. I haven't finished this story yet, and will probably end up changing it a hundred times, but I'm hoping that putting it on here and getting comments will help me to actually finish a story for once. Please, pretty, pretty, please with a cherry on top comment so I will know what to do. Thank you! enjoy!

I walked up the path to Melrose Academy for the Multi-Gifted. The path was wide and brick, the fresh green lawn around it neatly clipped. My black high heels made a really fun noise as they touched the smooth walk way. I giggled as I thought of how much I would've gotten scolded for that in my former life. The thought of the trouble the sound involuntarily escaping my lips as I enjoyed the beautiful May-day would have caused me made my giggle stop and I satisfied myself with a quiet grin. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

The path had a bend in it as it became a bridge with high walls on either side to keep people from falling over. As went on my tiptoes and looked over the side at the swirling blue water, I heard a bunch of voices coming from behind me. I also heard the faint sound of scooters- motor scooters. Fast motor scooters. Motor scooters that wouldn't see me as they turned the bend. Motor scooters that would probably break my legs. Motor scooters that I couldn't avoid due to the solid brick walls on either side of me. And I couldn't outrun due the high heels on my feet. Damn high heels. Whose idea was it anyway to make shoes that make fun sounds and break your legs?! I mean, come on!

I sighed. So much for being normal. But there's absolutely no way I'm going to break my legs.
... Although it might not be so bad to sue one of the millions of rich kids that made up the population of this school... hmm...
I was still seriously debating this when the scooters came up right behind me. I turned around to face them and tried to decide if there was a gap I could squeeze through. There was none. I hoped one of them would see me in time. They didn't. The idiots were all looking at each other and the cell phones and mini laptops in their laps.

And by the way, by motor scooters I meant Vespas. I just really hate that name so I call them motor scooters. Don't ask me why I hate it, it just kills me every time I hear it.
So back to the subject- motor scooters that were about to break my legs. Right.

I sighed and then reached up and put my book bag up on the wall that was about level with my head. They were still a good fifteen feet away from me. I quickly did a round off and then pushed myself high in the air with my legs as soon as they touched the ground. I knew that if I landed on top of the wall on my feet I would either a) lose my balance b) break my heels or c) both. And since I had to walk around all day in them neither a, b, nor c was going to happen. So I improvised and choose 2a) land on hands.

It would have been much more preferable to land of my feet than on my hands. First, the brick of the wall is scratchy and cuts your hands. Second, absorbing the impact with locked arms hurts! ( When you land on your feet, you can bend your knees and ankles to help absorb the impact and keep your balance. When you land on your hands, your wrists can't bend more than they already are or they'll break, and if you bend your elbows you'll lose your balance.) And thirdly, because when you land in a stick straight handstand, your new white mini skirt -that two seconds ago you loved and is now your worst enemy- falls down around your stomach. Revealing to all your new light blue panties that match the light blue bra that is now partially exposed due to the black tank top that slid down your flat stomach to about halfway up your chest.
None of this happened to me, of course. I said you.
Ha. I wish.

So as I stayed in this beautifully awkward position, I watched the Vespa (cringe) murderers go past. They all freaked out. And as I expected, it took them too long from the time they realized they had to stop to the time they actually stopped. I would have been a squashed bug by then.

When the last stragglers passed by, I cartwheeled out of my handstand. I was about five feet up in the air. Enough space, I think. Just because I don't need to anymore doesn't mean I can't practice when I feel like it. No need to get rusty.
I took my heels off and put them on the wall. I focused then I jumped off the wall, doing four twists and three somersaults. I landed lightly on the balls of my feet, stood up straight with my hands in the air like I was taught ( it's really more of an involuntary action now) and allowed myself a brief grin that I didn't let anyone else see.

I quickly pulled out of my pose and looked around. I found my shoes on the wall closest to me and my book bag on the wall opposite and slung it over my shoulder. I walked past the people crowded at the end of the bridge like I didn't notice them. I barely did. I looked down at my clothes and started straightening them. I adjusted my skirt so it wasn't hitched so high on my hips and my shirt so my bra wasn't showing at the top. I straightened my hair and felt a little bit more decent. Then I kept on walking toward the school with my head held high.

I realized something and came to an abrupt halt. I turned around to the group with the gaping boys and the pissed off girls and sighed. I stepped aside to clear the path for them and waited for forty-nine seconds. It was quite obvious that I wanted them to go first so they wouldn't almost run me over again, but they didn't seem to comprehend that fact. The guys were still ogling and the girls had formed a circle by now and were whispering to each other, occasionally glancing over with mean stares at either the boys or me. Hmm.. I wonder who they were talking about? I was really frustrated now, and I made sure it showed in my voice.

"Will you please go first?" I narrowed my eyes then crossed my arms and tapped my foot waiting. I stepped out of their way and rolled my eyes as the girls eagerly left and the boys followed along still staring at me. "Oh give me a break." I mumbled under my breath. They all got really excited. They must have thought that I was saying something to them. I gave them a hard look then motioned with my hand for them to keep on moving.
They finally seemed to get the message and left depressed without another word.

I started to leave after them and then remembered something. I spun around and faced the forest, crossing my arms and tapping my foot. I didn't really realize it before now, but this seemed to be my impatient move. I always did it. So here I was, glaring at the bushes with a mean scowl- and once I started talking to the bush, anyone who was looking at me would probably consider me mad. Not in the angry type of mad, the crazy type of mad.

"Jonah VonHendricks, will you please shut off that video recorder!" I didn't yell, but my low and threatening tone made the exclamation point loud and clear. I saw the bush shake a little bit and a small, thin boy with a pointed face and crazy brown hair emerged.

Jonah pushed his glasses up his now slightly dirty nose and looked up at me with that same squinted expression he always had when he was trying to figure something out. Right now, my guess is that he was trying to figure out how to get out of trouble.
"Why do you always assume my video camera is on?"
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Because it is"
"Touche big sister, touche."
He always knew how to break me. I grinned and ruffled his hair. Then I tucked him under my arm and continued to walk forward. "Come on bro, time for hell."

Melrose Academy is both a middle and a high school. The campus is split into two, with the cafeteria in the middle separating the different schools. The High School on the left consisted of 20 different buildings, all different in everything except for the fact that they were all brick. They ranged in size from an eight-frickin-story skyscraper to something the size of a garage. Each building had a sign on it with the name of the building. All of the names were in Latin. Weird.

The cafeteria in the middle was a triple story brick building with lots of windows, outdoor patios, and a small area of grass and plants on the roof. To the right was the middle school. It was rather smaller, with 15 brick buildings which, like the high school, ranged widely in size and shape. These signs, however, were in English. Hmm.. they teach Latin in High School. Darn it.

I took my arm off of Jonah and looked at my cell phone, it was 8:15 in the morning. We had 15 minutes until final bell. (That was the only reason I had agreed to come to this school- it started an hour and a half later than my last public one.

I nudged Jonah with my elbow and showed him the time.
"Dammit!" Jonah always hated being late. But that's still no excuse to swear. Especially at twelve years old.
I gave him "the look" until he finally got it and apologized.
I smiled at him, then crouched down to talk to him. I know that this is what you do with a five-year-old, and Jonah is five feet tall, but still. He is pretty short for his age and he's always my baby brother.

"Okay bro, you ready for this?"
"Definitely! Just promise it's not going to be like the last school?"
"I promise. This will be completely different. Just do your best and be yourself no matter what- and everything will turn out fine." I smiled encouragingly at him and he brightened in response. I gave him a hug then straightened up.
I held out my hand. "Camera"
Jonah groaned. "Seriously Ellie?!"
I gave him a smug smile. "Seriously Jonie. I can't have you kicked out for trying to blackmail your teacher again."

"But I promise I learned my lesson and I'll never do it again."
"Uh-huh. I believe you. Now give me that camera Jo."
Jonah sighed then gave up and handed it over. "Smart boy" I whispered.
He grinned. I gave him a high-five then spun him around in the direction of the middle school and gave him a little push. He ran off then turned around to wave at me without breaking step. He may look awkward and uncoordinated but that boy is as agile and balanced as they come.

I waved back then yelled out, "See you after school Jo! Kick some butt okay?"
He laughed, nodded then turned back around toward his new school.
I watched him till he went inside the main office then the smile dripped off my face. I turned towards the high school and grumbled under my breath, "Try not to kick some butt, okay El?"

I made my way to the main office for my schedule and a map; though I'd only need it once, it would be good for appearances.
The main office was a small round building in front of the rest, to the immediate left of the cafeteria. The sign on the front said Pelagus Muneris. I passed the open glass door and walked up to the front desk.

The small gray-haired woman lowered her round gold wire glasses and looked me up and down. I realized that my short skirt might have been offensive to her and so I gave her a small smile and got to business.
"Hi my name is-"

"I know who you are," she interrupted. "I know everything that happens at this school. Give me a moment." She spun around in her chair and rolled over to a tall filing cabinet. She crouched down to the last drawer and started muttering to herself. "VonHendricks...VonHendricks... Ah. Here we go." She grabbed an empty folder and then came to face me. She took three things out. A map, a schedule, and my new student I.D.. The folder was now empty.

I said thank you and was about to leave but then turned back and asked the question that had been bugging me since she opened the drawer. "Um.. Miss...?"
"Landers"
"Miss Landers, I was just wondering why my folder had so little in it while other students had folders that were overflowing with papers."

"Well, Miss VonHendricks, I've been wondering that myself. All I can think is that your files and transcripts haven't arrived yet."
"Oh.. Well that makes sense. Thank you Miss Landers."
"No problem dearie."
That last 'dearie' surprised me. Miss Landers seemed to be a tough kind of woman and I was surprised that I had won her affection.

I left the office and then blinked in the bright sunlight. I turned to the right so that I was facing the rest of the high school buildings and blinked some more. In the few minutes that I had been in the office the entire school population seemed to have arrived. The previously deserted campus was now crawling with over-caffeinated teenagers.

Seriously. I saw one kid behind a wall chugging four cups of Starbucks. Gross.
I scanned the area quickly, taking in my peers. I sorted them into the already established cliques and then sorted them again into what kind of people they were and what kind of people they pretended to be.

I took the five groups that interested me the most. They didn't interest me as potential friends or boyfriends- I don't want either of those- but as people I'd have to look out for.
To my left, sitting on the marble picnic table that was raised above all of the other ones, was what was obviously the Populars that ruled the school. I counted eight all together. Four girls and four boys. They all had perfectly even, white smiles, no body fat, and ...blond hair. All of them. That's strange.

Directly in front of me was a group of kids who seemed to be average. Average eyes, average body weight, average blond hair.. again. Blondes. Hmm. Well anyway they seemed to be admiring Group 1 from afar. They were all faced slightly away from them, but you could tell that they were staring at them. You could tell from their look that they were Group 1 wannabe's. They had the same clothes, the same haircuts, the same shoes and bags. Yet they couldn't quite pull it off the way the other group could. They didn't have the same air of confidence

Group 3 was consisted of about seven of the hottest geeks known to man. You could tell that if they were anywhere else they would have been the sweater vest and thick glasses type of dorks. The kind that never got braces and talked about 15 digit math equations all day long. But of course, they were in an elite rich-kid private genius school. So they had the same look as everyone else, but you could tell by their large, overstuffed backpacks, and yes, their non-understandable conversations that they were definitely the geeks of the school.

Group 4 was sitting next to the wall that bordered the school grounds. There were five girls and seven boys. They seemed to be the troublemakers of the school. Each of the girls was on one of the guys laps making out with them. That by itself would have been gross, but three of the girls were straddling their boys, and all six of them seemed to be getting seriously excited. The other two guys were sitting slightly apart from the others. They were having a staring contest or silently communicating. Either that or they were stoned. I'd much prefer to believe the former.

Group 5 seemed to be the nicest group. Four girls and seven guys were sitting relaxed underneath a large tree. They were all laughing and joking around. Two of them were holding hands, and three guys stood up and tossed a football around. They were all laid back and didn't seem to be as stereotype as the rest of them. I decided that if plan A didn't work out by me drawing too much suspicion, plan B would be to hang out with these guys.

I looked around the campus again, squinting against the sparkling sun, and noticed with a start that every single person's hair was blond. Not even light brown. Pure, almost white blond. I mean I know we're in California, but it is an All-American School. There are people here from all over the country. Yet everyone here has white blond hair.
I took a strand of my hair between my fingers then looked down.
Long, wavy, jet black hair. Of course. Just leave it to me.