They call me Belle
They call me Stacey
They call me her
They call me Jane
That's not my name
That's not my name.

I groaned and rolled over, searching for my phone. Stupid alarm! I fumed as I turned it off.

"Yo! Camille, you up?" Carter knocked on the door.

"Unfortunately," I muttered, and padded across the room. "Good morning," I mumbled when I opened the door.

"Good morning!" Caitlyn chirped as she passed by.

I pursed my lips. "What's she up to?"

"No idea," Carter shrugged. "Anyway, we have to leave in an hour so get dressed," he called over his shoulder as he walked back to his room.

"Where are we goi—" I almost finished the question before it hit me. I stifled a groan, school.

After taking a shower, I stood in front of the mirror and studied my reflection. I held up a grey cardigan in one hand and a plain white tank top in the other and sighed, I had changed my outfit four times already. I wanted to do things differently at this school, instead of being the plain Jane that I normally was. I placed so much effort into finding the perfect outfit since I figured that if I felt great about the way I looked, chances were that my confidence level might actually rise.

I had never worried about the way that I looked at my old school but that was mainly because my classmates usually ignored me, so no one cared if I showed up wearing sweats everyday— except April, of course.

"Fifteen more minutes!" Carter yelled.

I sighed and put the top and the cardigan on. "I guess it's settled then," I said as I struggled into my favorite pair of black jeans, regretting all the junk I'd been eating lately.

I raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, hoping to put something in my stomach before leaving. Couldn't throw up on an empty stomach, right?

"You look great kiddo," Tori assured me as I wolfed down my waffles, almost choking because of how fast I was eating.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Alright, time to go!" Carter called from the doorway.

I groaned as I put my plate in the sink and tried to slip past Tori. "Good luck sweetheart," she pulled me in for a quick hug. "Have a great day."

I pulled away, confusion rippling through me. Part of me wanted to embrace her but my gut was telling me to just walk away. I'd been hurt enough as it was.

She called Caitlyn into the kitchen as I made my way out the door. I followed Carter to the car and slipped into the backseat. "Why are you all the way in the back?" he asked while strapping himself in.

"I'm trying to avoid having an argument with your sister, and I'm guessing that calling shotgun is only gonna piss her off."

He contemplated my answer then nodded in agreement. "Fair enough."

Caitlyn stormed out of the house less than a minute later. My head snapped to the front when I heard the door slam. "Take it easy there," Carter chided at her.

She ignored him and stuck her earphones in.

I leaned back in my seat and gazed out the window, mentally sighing at the skyscrapers that graced the cloudless blue. It really was a beautiful city, and under better circumstances I would have been jumping with joy at the prospect of calling it home, but I couldn't make myself like it here without feeling like I was somehow betraying my dad. I felt the sting of tears and quickly composed myself. I wasn't about to have a meltdown today, my tear stained face was not a pretty sight.

"It's going to be okay," Carter tried to reassure me. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

My eyes met his in the rearview mirror and I nodded. It took too much effort to force a smile.

I was lost in my thoughts for most of the drive to school. I didn't even notice that we were parked until Caitlyn slammed the door shut, which earned her a glare from Carter.

"Did I do something to her?" I asked him as we exited the car.

He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Not intentionally."

I nodded, deciding to drop it for now. My chest tightened as we neared the entrance. "This is it," I whispered.

"Relax, it'll be fine," Carter flashed me a reassuring smile.

I swallowed and took in my surroundings. The school was enormous; it was at least twice the size of my previous one. I felt my panic rising— a bigger school meant way more kids than I was accustomed to. Students were scattered on the lawns and a few were milling about by a fountain that was a little way off from the stairs, where the rest of them were either standing or sitting. A group of kids called out to Carter as we passed by and my stomach churned. I was once again stepping into their territory. "Everyone's pretty laid back," Carter was saying to me. I glanced at him and he pulled me to his side. "They won't bite."

We arrived at the office and he took my hand, leading me in. "Good morning," the secretary smiled at us. "How may I help you?"

Carter did most of the talking since my nerves were pretty much shot. He collected our schedules and gave me mine. I thanked him as we stepped into the hall where we found Logan waiting for us. I smiled when I saw him. It was a relief not having to navigate the school alone.

Why can't Caitlyn be as nice as her brother and his friend? "Are you ready for this?" Logan asked, gripping my shoulder.

"Do I have a choice?"

He gave me a small smile. "Come on, cupcake, we'll walk you to your class. What do you have first?"

I checked my schedule. "English with Ms. Lancaster."

Carter draped his arm over my shoulder as Logan led the way. They showed me to a classroom that was empty except for one boy sitting in the back. "We have to get to class," Carter said to me. "We'll see you at lunch, just ask someone to show you to your next class and you'll be fine," he assured me.

I nodded and forced a smile. With one last glance in my direction, they walked down the corridor that was now filled with students.

As I was about to enter the classroom, someone grabbed me and pulled me aside. "What the—" I said looking up. I was cut off by Caitlyn's angry stare.

"What do you think you're doing?" she growled.

"Um, I go to this school now?"

"I mean, here," she said tersely.

"I have English with Ms. Lancaster," I informed her with a bored sigh.

"You know, it's bad enough that I have to see you at home, but you just had to ruin this for me," she hissed and stormed into class.

How am I ruining it? I hadn't even taken my seat and already she was pissed. I turned around and saw Sophie coming my way. "Hey," she waved. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little nervous," I lied, just as the bell rang. "Shall we?" I asked, gesturing to the open door.

She gave me a look that suggested that she didn't believe me but nodded. I followed her in and took the seat behind hers. I looked around the classroom and sought out Caitlyn, she was sitting on the other side of the room glaring at me. I flashed her a smile and she scowled. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the front.

"Good morning class, sorry I'm late," someone said from the doorway. I looked up and saw a woman I assumed was our teacher walk in. She smiled at us as she put her purse on the desk and walked to the center of the class. She was blonde and looked like she was in her mid thirties. Her hair was pinned up and she was dressed slightly casual, not at all like I expected. I instantly relaxed when she met my gaze and smiled.

"I'm Ms. Lancaster and I'll be your English teacher this year. Also, welcome to homeroom," she stated. "We'll be doing quite a lot of poetry this semester, so what you guys will do for me is take one copy of the handouts that are being passed around and summarize the sonnet of your choice."

There was a collective groan from the class. She smiled and continued, "I know, I'm just awful."

She chuckled when a few kids agreed. "You have thirty minutes, but first please listen for your names." She took a seat and did the roll call.

I waited a few minutes before getting started on my summary. I chose a pretty simple one, Sonnet 18.

"Camille Michaels?"

"Here," I said, raising my hand.

"Justin Milligan?" She continued.

I stared at the paper in front of me and sighed. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? I read to myself.

The class was quiet as everyone worked on their summaries. I was a little surprised at that given all the groans earlier.

"Okay, time's up!" Ms Lancaster announced at the half hour mark, and ordered that the papers be passed to the front of the class. I handed mine to Sophie and relaxed in my seat.

"Now the real work begins," she said with a grin.

***

"What do you have next?" Sophie asked as we were leaving the classroom.

"Um...history with Mr. Archer," I mumbled, scanning my schedule.

"Oh good, I'll walk you," she said gleefully, linking our arms.

Mr. Archer was a balding man with a surly attitude. He grumbled his good morning and wasted no time getting on with the lesson. History was my favorite subject but with Grumpy Mc Grump for a teacher I had a feeling that it would soon be demoted to the bottom of the list.

As he droned on, I wondered how April's day was going. School hadn't started as yet for her so she still had a few days of freedom left. Now that I was gone she would probably make some new friends, and for some reason the thought depressed me. I sighed.

"Am I boring you, young lady?" Mr. Archer's harsh tone startled me out of my thoughts. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was talking to me.

"N-no sir," I stammered, my face flaming.

"I see," he said with a tight smile. "Then try to look alive, would you!"

A few kids snickered and I slinked down in my seat, wishing that the ground would somehow open up and swallow me. I pretended to pay attention for the rest of the class while simultaneously avoiding eye contact with Mr. Archer.

"I'm Aiden," a boy with the bluest eyes that I'd ever seen introduced himself to me at the end of the class. "We have English together as well."

"Camille," I said smiling slightly as I stuffed my history book into my bag.

"Archer's a grouch," he said. "You shouldn't take it to heart." I nodded. He waited a few moments before saying, "Maybe I'll see you around."

I smiled but said nothing. I probably mentioned before that I hated small talk but now you know that the reason I hate it is because I suck at it. I envy people who find it easy to charm the pants off of everyone they meet, instead of boring them to death like I do.

I found Madison and Sophie waiting for me outside the classroom. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, how'd it go?" Sophie asked, linking her arm in mine.

"Did you fall asleep?" Madison asked, walking beside us.

I laughed and shook my head no. "It wasn't that bad, but Mr. Archer's a bit of a downer."

"My sister had him last year," Sophie supplied. "She said that he could suck the fun out of your day with just one look."

"Yeah, I'm familiar with that." I cringed as I remembered our encounter. "You could've warned me though," I accused.

"I know," she smirked. "But where's the fun in that?"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"I know what can cheer you up," Madison said.

"What?"

"Food!" Sophie squealed and pushed open the cafeteria doors. "C'mon kids."

I chuckled as they led the way.

"I'll order for you guys," Sophie offered. "Are you allergic to anything, Camille?"

"Not that I know of."

"Oh, goodie," she laughed and went to join the line.

I followed Madison to their table. "Where's Casey?" I asked her.

"She usually sits with the cheerleaders."

"So, she's a cheerleader." She didn't fit the stereotype of a cheerleader though.

"Yeah, she's really good too." Madison beamed. "They won spirit nationals three times."

"You sound like a proud mom," I joked.

"It's a big deal to her, so it's a big deal to us," she shrugged.

"And you guys don't mind that you don't eat lunch together?" I asked. I would've hated eating lunch without April and Jason.

She shrugged. "Not really."

I nodded and scanned the room, hoping to find Carter or Logan.

"I got you French fries," Sophie announced, coming towards us. She set her tray down and took a seat. Two boys placed our trays next to hers. I raised my brow in question and she winked. "Thank you boys," she smiled. "That'll be all."

Madison rolled her eyes and Sophie smiled innocently. "What?" she asked.

"You know what," Madison accused.

"In my defense, they offered."

I felt my phone vibrate. I checked it and saw a text message from April. Hey, how's your first day going? I'm terribly bored and missing you like crazy.

I smiled when I read April's text and my eyes stung a little. I was about to reply when I was interrupted by Sophie. "Camille, can you please tell Madison that there is nothing wrong with me accepting the help of someone who clearly offered?"

"Um...I uh," I began and she pinched me. "Ouch!" I yelped. "What was that for?"

"That's for hesitating."

"You're mean," I grumbled.

"Tell me about it," Madison scoffed.

I rolled my eyes, I was pretty sure I'd be playing referee to those two all day. I popped a chip in my mouth and scanned the cafeteria again. "Where are they?" I muttered.

"Who?" Sophie asked.

"Oh, no one" I said, picking up a few fries.

"Uh huh," they said in unison.

I ignored them and sipped my coke. "What do you guys have next?"

"Bio," Sophie snorted.

"Literature," Madison said with a grin.

"I have Math," I sighed.

"Can I see your schedule?" Sophie asked.

"Sure," I said, digging into my bag. She thanked me when I gave it her and compared mine to theirs.

"Oh my gosh you guys, guess what?" Sophie grinned.

"What?" I asked.

"We all have gym together!" she beamed.

I laughed. "That's awesome."

"Right?" she asked, sipping her drink.

***

After school I sat on the stairs and dialed Carter's number for the third time. I had no idea how I was going to get home since he wasn't picking up. He'll call you back, I tried to calm myself. It's not like you can walk home, right?

"Hey," someone said, plopping down next to me.

I turned and saw Casey. "Hey," I smiled.

"You look worried."

"I don't have a ride home," I confessed. "Carter isn't returning my calls."

"He has practice," she said, "I can drop you off. C'mon."

"He should've told me," I sighed, getting up.

"It probably slipped his mind. Coach has been on their asses all day, I'm sure he just forgot."

I didn't reply. I followed her to her car and got in the front seat. "Don't you have practice too?" I asked.

"Not for another hour," she replied as she buckled up.

I nodded and strapped myself in too.

"Don't be upset," she said, as she backed out of the parking lot.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are," she said with a faint smile. "He's not used to it yet."

"Used to what?"

"Caitlyn's friends usually take her home, so he's not used to being depended on for stuff like that," she shrugged. "It might take him some time to get it right."

"You know, don't you?" I asked softly after about ten minutes had passed in silence.

"Of course I do," she laughed. "How else would I know where you live?" she asked pulling into the driveway.

"Oh," was all that I said.

"It's not a big deal," she promised, looking at me. "I'd love if my parents told me that I had a sister I've never met." I didn't reply so she continued. "I have four brothers, I'd kill to be in his position."

I laughed a little at that. "Thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it," she said as I exited the car. "Hey!" she called as I was about to shut the door.

"Hmm?"

"I'm never more than a phone call away."

I nodded and smiled. "Thanks again for the ride," I said before going in the house.

I quietly climbed the stairs and went into my room. The house was silent and I shrugged off my bag and crawled into bed.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it and closed my eyes, letting my tears fall. I angrily brushed them away. I didn't even know why I was crying, just that it felt good to cry. My phone vibrated again, I slid it out of my pocket and checked it.

Carter.

"Hey," I answered as cheerily as I could.

"I'm so sorry I forgot you," he belted out.

"That's alright," I assured him. And I meant it, I couldn't be mad at him.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised.

"If you bring me pizza I'll forget that it ever happened."

I heard laughter on the other line. "Deal," he said and hung up.

I saw a new text and opened it. You didn't reply.

I squeezed my eyes shut. How could I have forgotten to reply to April? I typed my apology and hit send. Less than a minute later it vibrated again, April was calling. "Hello?" I answered timidly.

......

I skipped dinner that night and hid in my room, ignoring Tori when she came to check on me. I could never stay mad at anyone but with her my anger kept resurfacing after I'd convinced myself that I wasn't angry anymore.

I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she'd actually abandoned me and I doubted that I ever would.

"You okay?" Carter asked, holding out a bowl of ice cream to me.

"This isn't pizza," I said taking it from him.

"It's the next best thing."

I rolled my eyes and took a mouthful. He took the spoon from me and joined me on the bed. "How was school?" he asked, giving the spoon back to me.

"It was fine," I shrugged.

"Just fine?"

"Yes, Mom, just fine," I repeated. "How come I didn't see you or Logan at lunch?"

"We had a team meeting," he explained.

"Oh, great," I muttered. He laughed and hugged me. I pulled away. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a spoon of ice cream.

"It's just that you don't even know me that well but you're treating me like you've known me all my life."

It was still really weird for me to accept that these strangers had just let me into their lives and treated me as one of their own in such a short period of time.

"You're my family, it doesn't matter that I've only just met you," he said.

"Fair enough," I replied after a few moments. "This morning when I asked if I had done something to Caitlyn and you said not intentionally, what did you mean?" I asked, retrieving the spoon from him.

"That's a conversation that you should have with her," he answered.

"Oh come on, you can tell me," I pleaded.

"No, I can't," he insisted. "Just give her a little more time, she takes a little longer to warm up to people."

"Okay," I said, letting it drop for now. "I'm not asking her anything though."

"I didn't think you would," he said, putting his arm around me.

I lay in bed long after Carter had left and thought about the day that I'd had. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. It wasn't perfect but it could've been a lot worse. For starters, I could have had more classes with Caitlyn. I cringed at the thought.

I smiled as I recalled what Carter had said, you're my family. That made me feel better, I had someone on my side, even if Caitlyn hated me. For a long time, the only family I'd had was my dad and then April came along, but I guess things aren't so bad after all. I still missed my dad but I was going to be okay... I hope.

Photo on the side: Skyler Samuels as Sophie.