September 22, 2011 7:45 A.M.

There was no one in the hallway but I and it made my life a little easier. I wasn't here to make friends and I definitely wasn't happy. Knowing that my parents don't want me anymore and sent me all the way across the country to Massachusetts to live with my uncle, aunt and cousin didn't exactly leave me in the best of moods.

Anyway, as I walked through the halls of my new high school, I glared at everything. I didn't want to be here, but I really have no say in the matter, apparently. Stopping in front of room 273, which was English Literature and Composition, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Every head turned to look at me and it only made me angrier.

I wish they would stop looking at me like I'm some freak of nature or something.

I walked into the room and ignored the ignorant whispers of these Neanderthals and jealous bitches. I knew that I was attractive, but that didn't mean that I wanted the attention. The teacher was an old, white woman who looked as though she was a hippy back in her good days. She smiled at me and I was more than a little creeped out.

"Hello, are you lost?" "I'm a new student," I said bluntly.

Who does she think she is? Clearly I'm new, right?

"Oh! I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Soleil Dubois, didn't they send you an email or something of the like?" "If they did, I didn't receive it. May I see your schedule?" I handed her the peach colored piece of paper and waited while she looked it over. "Alright Miss Dubois, welcome to English Lit and Composition. I'm Mrs. McClellan if you didn't already know. There's a seat in the back next to Huey. Huey, raise your hand please." A hand slowly rose into the air and I turned to make my way back to the empty seat.

The boy next to me, Huey, was staring out the window and it gave me the chance to study him. He had a big, cocoa colored afro, sharp facial features, a nice shade of brown skin, and I couldn't tell if it was the sun or not, but his eyes were the color of red wine. Overall, he was very attractive and seemed like the quiet type. I watched his eyebrows furrow before he turned to face me.

"Can I help you?" His voice was deep and calm, it had a soothing effect.

"No, I was just trying to see who my neighbor will be for the rest of the year." "Huey Freeman, afro-centric revolutionist, at your service." I smirked at his description and put my chin in my hand. "Soleil Dubois, queen of sarcasm and former Californian, at yours." "Dubois, huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Jazmine Dubois would you?"

"Does she have the same skin tone as me, green eyes, and honey blonde hair?" "Yes, that sounds pretty accurate."

"She's my younger cousin, but I haven't seen her yet. Do you see her during the day?" "I sit with her at lunch and she lives across the street from me." "Oh really? Hm, well, I guess we'll be seeing more of each other then, Mr. Huey Freeman, Afro-centric revolutionist. And just in case you were wondering, I'm completely natural, I just hot combed my hair last night."

With that, I turned away from him and paid attention to what ever it was Mrs. McClellan was talking about. Fifteen agonizing minutes later, the bell rang and there was a loud commotion as everyone hurried to collect their things and leave. "Do you need any help finding the rest of your classes?" "I don't want to be a burden to you, Huey. Besides, I can always get by with the 'I'm new' line."

"If you say so," he said with a shrug. He held the door open for me and I nodded at him before we went our separate ways. Art 2D-3D, room 146 was my next destination. After a good 10 minutes of searching, I found the art class. The atmosphere was lively and open, with the blinds open and music playing. It was a little too happy for my taste. I walked over to the small office and peered in to see a Puerto Rican woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail writing something down. Knocking on the already open door, I poked my head in.

"Hi, are you the new student…um, Soleil Dubois?" "I am and you are?" "My name is Ms. Vasquez and welcome to the enriching world of Art 2D-3D!"She said beaming. Nodding, I handed her my schedule to verify that I was indeed apart of her class and she stood up. "Very good, now this is obviously the classroom, but we're hardly ever in here." Walking over to a black door, she opened the door and I found the students in what seemed to be an art studio. There were only ten students, counting me, and that was perfect.

"Actually Ms. Vasquez, I'm here for photography, not art 2D-3D." "Well, there isn't a class for photography, but there is an after school club. I'm in charge of that as well." "That's even better, ma'am. What time does that meet?" "We meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 5, but if you ever want to develop any prints while in class, the black room is behind that door." I nodded and went to an empty table and took out of portfolio.

Not bothering to socialize with everyone else, I ignored their looks and studied my portraits.