She gave him another look, and after they all finished, her mother drove her to her new yet familiar school.
Lakeview Academy was definitely cleaner than her old school...but was also familiar to her. Being it was the first day of the school year, the schedule was different. There was a homeroom at the beginning of the day, followed by shortened classes, and an assembly. But since the auditorium couldn't fit the entire school at once, each grade would have their assembly separately. There was also a fair in the cafeteria, also staggered, after all the lunch periods, for after school clubs and sports.
Julia had her schedule on paper, and was studying it to see where to go. Even if she didn't know the school layout...there were signs. All the freshmen were new, after all, and she was probably not the only older new student. Some of the more mundane details of Jon's life were harder for her to access...her own memories being much more real to her. She'd gotten there early, so not al of the students had arrived. When she entered her homeroom, only a few students were there. She slid into an empty seat in the middle and pulled out a notebook and a pencil, and was working on memorizing her schedule.
"Don't you have a phone?" A voice said, looking down at her.
Julia looked up. It was Amber Levine. Jon hadn't known much about Amber...other than she was one of Sarah's crew. But she didn't expect any of the cheerleaders to speak to a new student. "At my old school, they didn't like us to have our phones out in class."
"Where was your school...like Amish country?" Amber asked.
"New York," Julia said. "Do I look Amish to you?" She asked.
"Really?" Amber said. "I just love New York...it's so...gritty and real..."
Julia wondered if Amber had watched too many TV shows. "I'm Julia...just moved here," she tried, changing the subject. If this was the sort of social interactions she could look forward to...she wasn't going to be a fan favorite character. Not that she cared, except she'd like her world to continue running.
"Amber..."
"What's the deal around here? What do I need to do to avoid being...typecast as Amish?" She said, with a joking smile.
Amber seemed to think about that for a second...then looked Julia over. "Well..." She paused, and looked toward the door.
Julia turned to see Sarah McMillan walk in the door, escorted by Biff, who left her at the door...must not be in this homeroom. He'd been in the same homeroom as Jon, but they said something about changing all the class schedules to shake things up, so who knew? She fully expected anything she remembered happening wouldn't happen the same way for that reason. "Who's that?"
"Sarah McMillan...she's the head cheerleader."
"How do you get to be head cheerleader on the first day?" Julia said.
"Oh, we elected her at the end of last year..." Amber said. "I mean...we're supposed to do it at the beginning of the year..."
"What about the Seniors? How'd she beat them out?" Julia said...something Jon hadn't known.
"Sarah doesn't like to lose," Amber said, distractedly as Sarah spotted her. She was the only member of Sarah's inner circle in the class. "Sarah...over here," she called.
Sarah sauntered over. Jon hadn't thought much about how Sarah moved, but Julia saw it as aggressive. She rose to her feet, noticing she was about an inch taller than Sarah.
Sarah studied the newcomer, sizing her up. For Sarah, she either had an interest in you, or she ignored you completely, as if you were merely an extra in her universe...not knowing how true that actually was. She would have to decide which this girl was.
Julia didn't like being studied, but shrugged it off. "So, you're Sarah. I'm Julia...Serrano. I just moved here." Jon had just accepted how the cheerleader types dressed...but Julia was thinking how much she looked like Malibu Barbie. But, like Amber...she hadn't actually spent any amount of time with Sarah to know if there was more to her than the look.
