Claire Carter | Before

My  hands slowly ran across the white ceramic walls of the upstairs  bathroom until they identified the cold metal of the outlet. Yawning, I  tried to plug in my straightener, but managed to miss.

"Really?" I muttered. I  kept my voice quiet for everyone else in the house. It wasn't even 6 in  the morning, and I was the only person awake. I set the  straightener down and splashed cold water on my face.

As much as I hated it,  the adrenaline from the water was exactly what I needed. I plugged the  straightener into the outlet and gave it a minute to heat up. I  placed my hand near the metal and waited until I could feel a gentle  warmth on my palm. Satisfied, I gathered a lock of my hair and placed it  in between the straightener, letting the contraption travel through it.

This was a process that I  was completely used to. It happened every morning, like a ritual. As I  gathered another lock of hair, my brown eyes locked with my reflection  in the mirror. I looked irritated, which was a general side effect from  waking up early.

I had dyed my hair blonde for the summer, but all that remained now were stray highlights. I was too lazy to dye it  again, and Mom was still mad from the first time. Sometimes I  contemplated just shaving my head and moving to the moon instead of  dealing with my hair every year day.

After hair was makeup.  Foundation, gentle blush, eye shadow, mascara, pink lipstick. Enough to  smooth the flaws beneath the surface, but not enough to outshine Sophie  Kim. Perfect.

"Claire! Time's up!" Brianna announced.

I didn't answer my sister and calmly adjusted my hair in the mirror. Taking my time, I  cleaned up the beauty products that I had littered across the  bathroom counter. Smiling sweetly, I opened the door to greet a very  disgruntled Brianna. She was still in her pajamas and thick-rimmed black  glasses, and her arms were firmly crossed.

"Do you want a ride to school or not?" Brianna asked me.

"Mom said you have to  take me, so I'm doing you a favor by letting you give me a ride." I  reasoned, not dropping my smile. Brianna playfully shoved me out of the  bathroom and slammed the door behind her. "Enjoy  driving while it lasts! When I get my license, I'll be driving you!" I  called to the closed door.

"You think you're a better driver than me?" Brianna asked, cracking open the door.

"I know I am," I responded smugly. Brianna rolled her eyes in response and shut the door again.

After spending a bit too  much time selecting an outfit and packing my bag, I passed the time on  my phone. Brianna joined me in the kitchen, and picked the seat that was furthest from me. The two of us ate breakfast in complete  silence. Correction: Brianna ate breakfast, and I tried to  avoid eye contact. I wasn't sure what I did, but I felt blocked off from my sister.

Brianna stood up  abruptly to put her dishes in the sink. She caught me staring at her,  and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" she asked. "You're looking at me weird."

"No," My eyes darted to the floor.

I decided to put my bag in the car and avoid any more interaction with  Brianna. The Nissan was already unlocked, so I tossed it inside  nonchalantly. The bag landed with an unexpectedly loud thump. I winced at the sound, but everything seemed fine. While I  waited for Brianna to finish getting ready, I made myself comfortable  in the driver's seat.

It wasn't long before  Brianna threw her own bag in the back of the  Nissan. She then opened the car door and stared at me until I surrendered  the driver's seat.

When Brianna was behind the wheel, there were always questionable moments.  Brianna accelerated the car a little faster than I expected, and it lurched  backwards. She noticed how hard I gripped my seat belt and laughed.

"Did you miss my driving?"

"If you crash this car before I get to senior year I will kill you," I vowed.

Brianna laughed again. "Senior year is not as great as everyone says it is," she warned me.

"Well, that's your fault." I countered. "You're the one who decided to sign up for so many AP classes."

"You got me there."

Outside, my tiny world  sped by. Our town was a strange mosaic of places strung together and had its own off-kilter charm. Cow farms were bordered by  endless churches and chain restaurants. One turn from that equestrian  bed and breakfast was a bustling intersection with a mall and a movie theater, or a farmer's market set up next to a film crew.

"What are they filming?" I asked, pointing.

"It's probably just Spellbound again," said Brianna, her eyes fixated on the road.

"I don't think Spellbound  is filming right now," I argued.

"Maybe I'm wrong," said  Brianna, retracting her earlier guess. "Ask Sophie. I bet that  know-it-all has the answers to everything."

Brianna never liked  Sophie, but she hid that fact whenever I brought her over. Without  Sophie here to defend herself, Brianna didn't bother making her feelings  a secret. The car passed by the abandoned soccer field, a sign that we  were close to Eastwood High. The field has been empty for decades, only used for the annual bonfire now. I sank a bit in my seat and  tried to put the bonfire in the back of my mind.

Today was the first day of sophomore year. It was time for a new start.

Brianna made a very  sharp turn into the school lot, which looked virtually empty. Everyone  tended to show up to school about ten minutes before the first class. We usually came early for the best parking spot, right by the  courtyard. Only the seniors were allowed to eat out  there during lunch, but that rule has been ignored for as long as  anyone can remember. Brianna stayed inside the car to study for her first-period class, AP Chemistry. Studying for a class that hasn't  even started yet seemed a bit redundant, but I didn't comment on it.

I grabbed my bag from Brianna's car and walked to the cafeteria, where students were beginning to gather.

"Hey!" said a girl,  jumping in front of me. She nearly gave me a heart attack, but I still waved. The girl smiled back at me  enthusiastically, her bright blonde hair in a high ponytail. She was  proudly wearing her cheerleading shirt, which explained the peppy  attitude. 

Everyone on the  cheerleading squad blended together for me. The identical uniforms and  hairstyles made them impossible to differentiate, and I floundered for this girl's name. When I couldn't think of anything, I decided  to do away with names altogether. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice.  "Hi," I replied. "How was cheerleading camp?"

"Oh, it was so much  fun!" the cheerleader exclaimed with more energy than anyone should have  at 8 a.m. "You know, Mae told me you're planning on running for  sophomore homecoming court. You totally have my nomination."

"Thanks!" I said, genuinely smiling now. "Have you seen Mae?"

I had to admit that I missed Mae more than I expected. Cheerleading camp had kept her away from Sophie and me all summer.

"Sure." the cheerleader  answered brightly. "She's actually sitting with us. Come on." She guided me to a table full of high ponytails, athletic shorts,  and cheerleading shirts.

I spotted Mae rather  quickly. She was dressed like all of the others, but didn't have  the same precision the others did. Her ponytail had all but fallen out  already, and she missed the memo to tuck in her shirt. But Mae didn't  care in the slightest. She was talking to a very captivated audience  about having to teach some bratty little girl at camp.

"Claire!" yelled Mae loudly, stopping her story. She nearly suffocated me in a hug.

"Hi." I laughed. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"It's been ages, hasn't  it?" Mae agreed. She tugged out her sloppy ponytail and let her dirty  blonde hair spill onto her shoulders. "Where's Sophie?" she asked  eagerly. "We need to reunite the trio!"

As if on cue, the  cafeteria doors opened dramatically. Sophie Kim strutted out in  full-fledged heels and lip-gloss. Even the seniors stared for a moment, a  monumental compliment for a sophomore. Sophie smiled back before  walking in our direction.

"It feels good to be back." Sophie sounded as if she had returned from a dramatic journey, not just summer vacation.

"Hey Sophie," said Mae.

"Hey, traitor," Sophie replied. "Can't believe that cheerleading is more interesting than your friends nowadays."

Mae rolled her eyes.  "Alright, everyone. Time to get down to business. Schedules." The  three of us pulled out our phones and searched for  the screenshot of our first-semester classes. I clutched my phone  nervously, guarding it from the other two.

"On the count of three," said Sophie.

"One." I began.

"Two," Mae added.

"Three," Sophie concluded.

The three of us flipped our phones in the center of the group.

"We have second period together!" Mae announced cheerfully. "European History with Mr. Burns."

"Why on Earth are you  taking AP Stats as a sophomore?" I asked, staring at Sophie's schedule. "I think my sister has that class."

"And your sister is a complete nerd," Sophie commented. It looked like Brianna's distaste of Sophie was mutual.

"You're the one with an AP on your schedule." Mae retorted.

"What about Claire's schedule?" Sophie asked, dragging the conversation to a new subject. "Why are you on Yearbook?"

"Well, that's what it  says on the schedule. I'm actually going to be an anchor for Eastwood High  News."

Mae jumped up and down excitedly. "Does that mean that you're going to be on TV every morning?"

"Yep," I confirmed  proudly. "And with Darren, one of the most popular guys in school. I'm  surprised Sophie didn't try to go out with him this summer. He was a  lifeguard at Sierra Ridge."

I didn't bother to  mention that Darren pretended I didn't exist the entire summer. Not  that I cared, considering that he was the same guy who abandoned me at  the bonfire after everything went wrong.

"Well," said Sophie matter-of-factly, "I didn't want to."

"Oh come on, Sophie, you always fancy someone," Mae commented.

"The guy's just bad news, I can tell," Sophie responded, shrugging.

"Sounds like you got rejected," Mae teased, raising her eyebrows.

"Shut up." Sophie tried to glare the silly grin off Mae's face.

"This should be a great year," I commented, watching Mae and Sophie fall into their familiar rhythm of bickering.

As the day progressed, I  started to regret my earlier optimism. I had forgotten how boring  classes could be, and the only thing keeping me motivated was my last  class of the day: Eastwood High News. I confidently walked into Room  405, relieved that something was finally going my way.

"Claire?"

"Brianna?" I stared at my sister, absolutely shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to film Eastwood High news," Brianna explained.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You never asked," said Brianna, shrugging.

"How was I supposed to know to ask?" I protested.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." I rolled my eyes at Darren, the newest arrival.

Before I could say  anything, Brianna interrupted. "We weren't doing anything. You can pick  up your scripts over here." She pointed to a desk in the corner of the  room with two neatly stacked packets.

Darren eagerly grabbed  the first script of the year, passing the other one to me. After a  muttered "thanks", I scanned through the paper. It was mostly welcome  sentiments and announcements for clubs that I would never bother to be a  part of. Everything  seemed pretty standard except for the last page.

Someone had written a message in pencil.

Hi Claire! It read. Everything is about to change. - H.G

A/N: And there is chapter 2. I think there are parts of high school that I miss, but none of it was in this chapter. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed meeting some characters, and are at least a little curious about how they ended up on a death bus together. One of the biggest hurdles of rewriting this after so long is that I forgot what the characters are like, but hopefully I'll find their personalities along the way? I don't know, that's what happened with Lena. Speaking of The Gate, I'm sure you may have spotted reference #1.

QOTD: What were some of you favorite/least favorite parts of high school?