A New Life

Kiara woke feeling the heat of the sun on her skin as the rays shine through the pink polka-dot curtains. The harsh sounds of her alarm reverberated in her room, forcing her awake. She groaned and attempted to hide beneath the covers, not wanting to leave the warmth of her bed, but her efforts failed when the screeching sound of her mother’s voice erupted in her usual rushed-angered tone.

She outstretched her arms and legs, slowly getting her body moving and releasing her aches from sleep. She placed her bare feet on the cold, wooded flooring, sending goosebumps through her. She observed her closet and grabbed an oversized blue pastel shirt that hung at her waist and had a black seamline with her rose gold-black tennies. She minimally brushed through her light blond hair, not caring how it turned out, then went downstairs to greet her magnificent mother.

When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she saw her mom waiting, frustrated with a tap in her foot. When she noticed Kiara standing there, she looked at her daughter’s clothes and non-styled hair with disapproval.

“My god, Kiara, can you ever put on something nice for once or at least brush your hair?” She complained, displeased. Kiara faked a thankful smile to her mother, not wanting to get into another fight so early in the morning, then she turned her back to her mother as she made her way to the front door.

“Sorry, mom, I gotta go. I don’t have the time to have this conversation with you again,” as she replied to her mother’s comment, she walked out without looking back.

Her mother was a cheerleader back in high school, and that was the kind of daughter she wished Kiara to be, not a girl who doesn’t care about her looks or is a mischievous nobody. Every day her mother made an attempt to change how Kiara acted but failed immensely.

Thirty-minutes later of walking, Kiara arrived at her school, and when she entered the courtyard, she heard the voices of her two best friends, Sabrina and Jason, calling out to her. She rotated her head to the side and saw her friends eagerly running up to her.

“Whoa, calm down. Why are you guys running?” Kiara asked her friends, noticing the joyous expressions on their faces.

“Have you not heard? We got a new English teacher!” Jason shouted with a huge smile, knowing that his best friend, Kiara, would be overjoyed at his news, and he was right. Kiara was beyond relieved.

Their past English teacher would watch Kiara and her friends closely, eagerly trying to find a reason to send them away. Unlike the rest of the school, the innocent act they played didn’t fool him. He knew that they had tricks up their sleeve, so he targeted her friends, especially Kiara. He even was biased towards her grades, and he would downgrade her results from the ones she deserved. The bell soon rang, causing the halls to fill with students as they entered the building, laughing and talking.

As the day went by, their classes carried on as usual, until the moment before last period. When Kiara was walking to her new English class, she felt the sudden pain of her head smashed against the neighboring lockers. Unprepared from the sudden impact, Kiara lost her balance and her vision blurred. In a matter of seconds, though, her vision cleared, and when she saw the person responsible, the only emotion she felt was rage.

“What the hell, Kaily?!” Kiara shouted, regaining her balance and standing straight. The smirk on Kaily’s caked up face was like looking at a doll, fake and forced.

“Oops, didn’t see you there,” Kaily said, and her idiot friends started laughing at her obscure and cliched comment.

“Yeah, sure you didn’t,” Kiara answered with a roll of her eyes and her sarcastic tone as she stepped up in front of her, making them eye to eye.

“Maybe you should get your eyes checked before you put your mouth where it doesn’t belong, you slut. Oh, wait, I forgot you do that on a daily basis,” Kiara’s comment turned Kaily red. The whole school was now watching the showdown between the group of girls and Kiara.

“What did you just call me?” Kaily screeched as she stood taller, attempting to appear more intimidating.

“A slut cause that is, exactly, who you are,” Kiara responded calmly and eyeing Kaily, showing her intimidation skills were failing. Kaily was trying to hide her embarrassment from the crowd of people. Kaily knew she had to make a point. A point that no one disrespects her. She raised her hand and went for a slap, but before her hand could make contact with Kiara’s cheek, Kiara swiftly moved and punched Kaily in the nose, which made Kaily fall back and reach to cover her nose that dripped with blood. The teachers soon came rushing over to Kiara and gripped hold of her, preventing her from pouncing on Kaily. The teachers then took both girls away and dragged them to the principal’s office.

The principal sat Kaily outside so she could talk to the nurse and brought Kiara into his office. He extended his arm, motioning for Kiara to sit in the chair across from his. He then sat in his seat, folding his hands above his desk, and kept a solemn expression as he observed Kiara.

“Mrs. Stone, why would you punch one of your fellow students?” He asked Kiara, watching her movements.

“Because Kaily pushed me against the lockers and was about to slap me. It was merely self-defense.” Kiara explained as the principal looked at her with a doubtful look. He was trying to decide whether or not to believe Kiara’s story. Taking in her past record, he concluded to believe her story.

“Well, miss stone, since you have never acted out before, I will give you a pass, but you still have to have consequences for punching another student and breaking her nose. You will have after school detention until five, and the next time it will be suspension. Understand?” Kiara’s heart quickened at the thought of her coming home late, knowing that when she got home, her mother would be non-forgiving.

“Yes, sir,” Kiara responded politely and with respect because she knew if she had fought back, her punishment would be worse. Kiara only hoped her mom would understand why she was home late.