The door opened once more. An obese bubbly woman stepped into the apartment, and behind her were a boy and a girl, who seemed her age. They both shared their mother's auburn hair and brown eyes.
"I've never seen your apartment this tidy Rachel! How did you..."
She stopped talking once she noticed Julianne's presence. "Is this your niece, Rachel?"
"No, she's staying with me for a while. I told you about this."
"Oh sorry about that, I forgot about it. Hi dear! I'm Jemima Holland, I live next door."
She nodded her head, refusing to talk for some reason. The lady didn't seem to notice and continued blabbing, "These are my kids, Micah and Mandy!"
"I told you I saw a girl come in here," Mandy asserted.
After a while, the Hollands left. Soon, dinner was ready and after that, she went to her bedroom. Tossing herself on the bed, she tried to fall asleep but she couldn't. After a while of tossing and turning, she finally fell asleep, experiencing her first night in her new home.
****
"Here you are, your new school!"
She peered through the window of the washed-down VW Beetle, admiring the majestic buildings and grandeur of the environment. She realized that if she hadn't won the scholarship, there was no way she would attend the school. Not because her family was poor, but because of her grandparents' beliefs. She stepped out of the car, still looking at the tall trees.
This place is beautiful, she thought.
"Have a lovely day!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Everton."
She watched her drive out of the school gates. Pulling her bag closer to herself, she walked into the administrative building. She walked to the lady at the desk, who was reading a fashion magazine. She tapped her desk lightly, making the woman aware of her presence.
"Can I help you with anything dear?" The woman said, turning her attention away from the computer.
"I just got admitted and I don't…"
"Do you have your slip?"
She nodded and opened her bag. After a vigorous search, she found the slip in between her books. She straightened it and handed it to the woman.
"You're the girl on scholarship right?"
"I didn't realize that you would know…"
"Welcome to Notre Dame Julianne! I hope you have a splendid day," She said.
She nodded and picked the slip back. She headed towards the account office to pick up her uniforms. After picking them up, she walked to her classroom. To her surprise, the students in it were surprisingly noisy. She could hear them from the end of the hall. The teacher was trying to control the class, but her efforts didn't change the rate of the noise, instead, it increased it. Taking judicious use of the noise, she tried to walk quietly to the end of the class but the teacher spotted her.
"It seems like we have a new intake…" She said.
The class suddenly became quiet as all the students turned their attention towards her. They were all in blue three-piece suits, their uniforms. She gulped and walked towards the teacher.
"Why don't you tell us about yourself dear?" The teacher said softly.
"I'm um…Julianne H…Heath…row," She stuttered, "I won the girl power initiative in my…um…country so I'm here…"
As soon as they heard her surname, the people began to murmur. She wished the earth would swallow her and save her from the embarrassment. A blond girl in the last row clapped vigorously, turning the class's attention from Julianne to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Julianne. There's an empty seat at the last row, you can sit there…"
She nodded and walked quickly to the last row. The available seat was next to the blond girl. She didn't feel nervous sitting next to her, her lapping encouraged her. The girl looked at Julianne, smiling. Noticing her stare, Julianne looked sideways and said, "Hi,'
"You have a pretty name," The girl complimented.
"Thank you," She said softly.
"I'm Kyrielle!" She said in her bubbly tone, reminding her of the way Doreen used to talk.
"You have a lovely name too," She commented.
Kyrielle giggled and said, "How old are you?"
"Fourteen…" She casually replied.
"I'm fourteen too, what month?"
"April…" She mumbled, getting tired of the conversation.
"I'm older, I was born in February," She replied.
"Of course…" She said in a tone of boredom.
"Is your surname Heathrow?"
"Yes is it, what about it?"
"Mine is Heathrow too!"
Her eyes widened in shock. "Seriously?" She said in wonder.
"It is, and my dad funded the Girl Power initiative,"
"That's wonderful!"
"He'd love to see you, he doesn't even know who won it," She scoffed.
They ended the conversation when the next teacher came. Lessons went on without any further interruptions.
She sighed in relief once she heard the closing bell. She saw Kyrielle talking with her friends from the other class, one having jet-black hair and pale blue eyes, while the other had chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. She was packing her books when Kyrielle called her.
"These are my friends Julie, Courtney Willard, and Tracy Alvarez," She said, referring to the girls with jet-black and chestnut brown hair respectively.
Kyrielle said introducing them. She extended her hand for a handshake but Courtney simply looked at her hand in disgust. "That's cool," She thought. However. Tracy shook her hand and pulled her into a hug.
"You're Julianne, right? Kyrie has told us so much about you…" Tracy said warmly.
"I didn't expect to be this popular on my first day," She smiled. Her grin widened and suddenly she screamed, "I can't believe I'm talking to Candace Alvarez's daughter! I love your mom so much!"
Tracy laughed and said, "It's fine, I get that a lot, Kyrielle says you both have the same surname, is it true?"
"Her surname's Heathrow?" Courtney said in surprise.
"Why does everyone keep asking that question?" She said in annoyance before walking away. Tracy watched her leave the classroom and walk down the hall.
She walked down the street, trying to find her way back home. She sighted Micah and Mandy and waved at them. Mandy walked towards her and pulled her into a big hug. Micah followed shortly, straightening his shirt. Noticing his clothes, she said, "You guys attend Notre Dame too?"
"Only Micah does…" Mandy said, who was dressed in a pink crop top and black jeans. She scanned Mandy's clothing once more, and couldn't help but think about her grandmother. She knew her grandmother would kill her if she saw her wear the crop top. She shook the thought away and walked home with Micah and Mandy.
She inserted her key into the keyhole and pushed the door open. She saw Rachel and Jake having their daily dose of arguments. She walked past them, but they were so engrossed in their quarrel that they didn't notice when she came in. She walked up the stairs and into her room. Dropping her bag on the chair, she pulled the band that held her hair into a short ponytail, making it fall neatly on her shoulders. She went into the bathroom and changed into a loose black shirt and white shorts. She sat quietly on the bed, listening to see if they were still arguing. When she heard no sound, she jolted out of the bed and went downstairs. She walked into the kitchen where she saw Rachel making dinner. She helped her with the cooking and in twenty minutes, dinner was ready. They served the food on the dusty brown table in the dining. Julianne pushed the peas out of her plate. She was never a fan of vegetables. Lifting her head, she noticed Jake's stare at her. She suddenly lost her appetite and pretended not to notice. Her gaze went from Jake to Rachel, who was munching on a piece of broccoli. She downed a glass of water and hurriedly ate her food. She went back to her room and changed out of her shorts and into white cargo pants. She wore her sneakers, and grabbed her jacket and MP3 player. She rushed downstairs and bolted out of the apartment to get some fresh air.