Olivia's first class was with the great Mrs. Walsh, AKA the best art teacher to ever walk this Earth! All according to the advanced art class.
"Good morning to all! I assume every single one of you had an amazing summer vacation?" Mrs. Walsh questioned. Almost every single student nodded in agreement, their expressions stating otherwise. "You sure all look like you're glad to be back!" She said sarcastically, "Well then, you will all draw me a brief picture of your summer, okay?"
Papers were passed out and Olivia sat there blinking at hers. A brief picture of her summer? That consisted of her father's death anniversary, helping out at the animal shelter, and a lot of art. She honestly didn't know how she could draw that on a piece of paper without any emotions pouring out.
Isaac, who was sitting in front of her desk, looked her way and could see the blank look on her face. "Hey… you okay?" He whispered at her.
She broke contact with her paper and nodded.
"Yeah, just fine." She gave him a quick smile and lie. He turned forward and continued to scribble away. Olivia looked up at the clock, noticing that almost fifteen minutes had gone by and her paper was still blank. Sighing, she picked up her pencil and drew.
Noah grew closer to his usual lunch table, with most of his friends already sitting down.
"No way, dude, the Saints are totally gonna take the Super Bowl this year and everyone knows it!" Austin Hayes, Noah's best friend since pre-k, continued his conversation with some guy wearing a New York Giants jersey. The guy walked off and Austin turned to face Noah, shaking his head with laughter. "Can you believe that? The guy lives in Louisiana and doesn't root for the Saints. The nerve!" Austin continued to laugh.
"Who was that anyway?" Noah questioned.
Austin sat on the tabletop, shrugging. "Man, I don't even know." He raised an eyebrow, looking in the direction of the Giants fan.
Noah chuckled as he sat down at the table. The seniors of the football team filled up the table, and that was usually the setup for the rest of the school year.
"Hey man, look." Dylan Reed, another one of Noah's friends, pointed over towards the cafeteria line. "There's Black Sheep and that one guy who's always around her." Noah picked his head up, his attention focusing on the brunette and the guy who seemed to be her only friend. Last year, Isaac was just some scrawny looking kid, and now he's got some muscle in him.
"Can't believe Isaac Smith is hanging around Black Sheep. He looks like one of us, and he shouldn't be seen around with Black Sheep, especially." Noah said, causing all of them to stifle a laugh. "Who in their right mind would want to be around her? She doesn't have the looks, the style, and all she does is draw and stuff." He picked off each detail with his fingers.
"Exactly bro, at this rate, I don't think she'll ever have a boyfriend." They all began laughing.
"She probably reads Star Wars on her free time." Austin added in.
"And has a bed time!" Dylan snorted, causing all of them to chuckle.
Olivia and Isaac could hear the obnoxious snickers coming from the jock table. They sounded like squealing pigs over at their popular table.
"They probably learned that two plus two equals four and are really excited about it." Olivia shrugged, looking over at Isaac who chuckled. The two began to make their way towards a table, passing by Noah and his followers.
"I like that red shirt of yours, Black Sheep. You should wear different colors more often." Austin leaned over towards Olivia, trying to stop himself from bursting out laughing.
She raised her eyebrows, clutching onto her tray of food, "And maybe you should use your brain more often, it'll make you seem a lot less dumb than you sound." Finishing her insult with a playful and satisfied smirk, she began to walk away. Isaac followed behind, shrugging at Austin who looked offended.
Noah shook his head in disapproving way, "Who does she think she is, being a smart ass?" He stood up, "Maybe she should get a wardrobe change! Also, it wouldn't hurt to change your hair style once in a while!" He yelled aloud, making sure everyone in the cafeteria heard. All eyes were on her and the laughter of everyone in the room made her tense up. Austin Hayes and Dylan Reed were practically on the floor, laughing their asses off.
Today was not going very well so far.
Usually Olivia was able to dodge their stupid remarks, not letting them bother her, but this time, it felt different. She quickly set her tray down and ran out of the lunch room as fast as she could.
"Wait, Olivia!" Isaac tried to call out to her, but she was already at the cafeteria entrance. He learned that when she felt defeated, that he should give her some space.
She pushed open the restroom door and started to pace back and forth. Why did they have to pick on her? Because of her clothes? Her appearance? She really didn't see anything wrong with the way she dressed, and she wished they didn't care what kind of clothes she wore.
"I don't want to go to school." Olivia spat out as she looked out of the passenger seat window. Her mother, Emily Anderson, turned towards her and could sense the sadness in her tone and her eyes.
"Olivia, I know you don't want to, but you have to. It's what your da-" She inhaled and ran a hand through her brown hair. "Dad would have wanted you to go to school and finish, right?" Emily pulled into the parking lot of Benjamin Franklin High School.
"I know." Olivia whispered this time. She lifted her bag off the car floor and threw it over her shoulder.
Olivia opened the door and got out. Emily watched her walk into the hall of a new school. High School. She noticed the change of clothing that she was wearing today and took out her wallet. Inside sat a picture of Olivia, herself, and Olivia's father, Isaiah Anderson. The three of them stood in front of an easel, Olivia holding up a blue first place ribbon at her eighth grade art festival. They looked so happy, and something about Olivia in this picture had caught her eye. Her clothing, her moods, almost everything about her had changed. Her bright and vibrant clothing was what made Emily realize that Isaiah's death really took a toll on her. Why? Because her father wasn't around anymore. He had such a huge effect on her, and now that he's gone, Olivia feels that is the best way to express her mourning for him. She may not realize it, but Emily could tell.
Emily placed her hand over her mouth, trying to hold her composure together and stop the tears from rolling. Not only had Olivia lost her father, but she had lost her husband.
Olivia wandered the halls of a brand new school looking for her locker, and after countless times of walking through the same corridor, she finally found it. She placed all of her new books inside, and the thought that she would be here for a while made her sigh. The bell for homeroom rang, and she made her way over to her first official class as a freshman.
As she entered the room, she had a rude welcoming. Before she could even set her eyes on her desk, Olivia and her belongings came falling to the floor. All eyes were on her at this point, and she could feel the heat in her ears. Standing over her was a brown haired boy, green eyes, and an annoyed look coming over his face. He looked down at her and she could sense that he was more than annoyed; more like angry.
"Watch where you're going! You look like a black sheep with all of those dark clothes on." The boy's voice was so loud, and everyone seemed to agree with what he said. He snickered, walking away to his desk. They all laughed as Olivia gathered her things as fast as she could.
The nickname stuck with her ever since that day and that was the first time Olivia had met the one and only Noah Sanders.
Her father had a huge impact on her life. He was there for every dance recital. He sat front row at every school play. He cheered her on during little league softball. He supported her during her art shows. He was there for her for everything. Even doctors' appointments for monthly checkups.
Olivia wasn't what people liked to call her, 'EMO', and that's for sure. She just couldn't and still can't handle the loss of her own father. And the others made fun of her for it. They don't really know the reason why she wears the clothes she wears, or does her hair this way or that. Olivia didn't even notice she was dressing this way, and they didn't understand.
They would never understand.
After cleaning herself up in the girl's room, Olivia waited until the bell for fifth period rand. She needed them to forget about what just took place, and considering most of the people here forget where the school even is, she knew they'd be talking about something else once the next class started.
Boy, was she right.
Walking out of the restroom, Olivia looked around the halls and no one even seemed to notice her. Maybe it was the perks of being a "nobody" around here? Yep, definitely.
On her schedule, her next class was English with Ms. Derringer. She was exceptionally young for a high school teacher, but she was a good one at that.
She entered the classroom and noticed she didn't have anyone she was comfortable talking with in the room and that made her quite nervous. Olivia made her way towards the back of the room, and once she was settled, the other students began to pile in. She noticed that the seat next to her was the only unoccupied desk. It could've been because people didn't really know her, or it might also be because they thought she was weird.
"How has everyone's day been so far?" Ms. Derringer looked over the class. A few mumbles were said here and there.
"Alright, let's go over this year's curriculum!" She began to pass out papers as the door swung open.
Everyone's attention pivoted towards Noah Sanders, late as usual. He clutched onto his backpack strap and nodded at Ms. Derringer, who gave him a disappointed look.
"You're late, Noah. Take a seat." Ms. Derringer said.
Noah sighed, completely ignoring the fact that Ms. Derringer was there.
So arrogant... Olivia thought. What was he even doing in this English class anyway?
"Alright, let's continue." As Ms. Derringer began with the curriculum, Noah scanned the class for an empty chair. Once he noticed the only available desk was next to Black Sheep, his facial expression changed.
"You've gotta be kidding me." He trudged his way over and tossed his backpack onto the floor. He looked at Olivia, who was lost in her art journal.
"This is English, not Art." He scoffed, not even turning her way.
She took her eyes off her notebook and glared at Noah.
"Why do you even talk to me if you don't like me? It's simple. Look away and don't say a thing. I don't have time for your constant nagging about my clothes or my looks or anything else. Just please? Don't talk to me." She smiled at him, although Noah could tell it was a half-assed smile that. Or a get-out-of-my-face look.
"Fine by me." He leaned back into his chair and relaxed his shoulders.
"Alright everyone, I want you all to take note of today's assignment." Everyone began to take out their notebooks and pencils, and as Noah rummaged through his backpack trying to find a pencil, he realized he didn't have any.
This entire time, he had been asking others for a pencil. Sighing, he looked over at Olivia. He had to ask her for a pencil. "Hey, Black Sheep…" He whispered, "Can I borrow a pencil?"
Olivia slowly turned his way and shook her head along with rolling her eyes. Clearly words go in one ear and out the other.
She handed him the pencil and ignored his 'Thanks'. Olivia faced towards the board and was in disbelief that Noah Sanders was in the same class and sat right next to her.
'Only 179 school days to go…' Olivia said to herself as she grabbed herself another pencil.