I woke up the next morning to less than pleasant shouts from outside my door. The burst in, fists clenched, his face flushed. "Wake up, you're going to be late!"

"S -sorry," I stuttered, unsure of what he meant by being late, "Where are we going?"

"A tour around your new school Grace." He quickly walked out, pulling the door close violently, shaking the surrounding frame.

I pulled off the covers, shivering slightly as a September chill traveled down my spine, reminding me of summer's disappearance. I shuffled over to where my suitcase lay closed, tucked in the corner of my undecorated room. I knelt down beside it, opening it up, revealing the many clothes neatly folded inside.

I pulled out some black leggings not really knowing what the appropriate attire for a tour was. I didn't really think it really mattered, seeing as it was a Sunday, so no one would be there to see me if I did disgrace the school's uniform code.

I hastily pulled on the clothes, not wanting to upset my demanding brother any further by being late.

"Are you almost done?" he yelled through the door as I finished tying my shoelaces together. I'd hope he'd calm down before the tour because the last thing I want is to be known as the girl with the grouchy brother who can't hold in his temper.
I jumped off the bed, almost excited by the prospect of going to a new school. I knew it wouldn't be anything fancy, my last school was anything but. It had old tea stains up the walls and cobwebs in the unkempt classrooms.

Thomas simply greeted me with his famous eye roll, shaking his head at the thought of me wanting to make myself presentable for school. He was never like this before, he used to be studious and caring, but one day something changed. He no longer saw the purpose for such pleasantries and decided to act only in self-interest. It was like the days that dad would come home jobless, his ego changed at the famous words that were common for his boss to shout at him. Thomas just came home one day, but it wasn't my brother. Just an empty shell that changed into some monster that I now have to live with.

We exited the apartment, descending down the stairs we climbed yesterday, only this time not struggling with suitcases. He didn't even bother locking the door, we had nothing of value for anyone to steal so it didn't matter.

It was warmer outside than in the apartment which slightly confused me, and unlike Britain, there were no clouds in the sky. Just an endless expansion of blue, curling over to form an orb that we know all too well.

I was used to Thomas not talking to me as he led me places, so the silence was not uncomfortable. I spent the time in my own thoughts, imagining the people I would meet when I got there, and the type of buildings they would have there.

We took a left, continuing on down the street, busy with people journeying to their various jobs, or leading children by their hands towards the large parks that were scattered across the city.

I found myself running after Thomas, seeing as he was considerably taller than me, and not in the greatest of moods. He didn't make any effort to dodge past people, making room for old ladies, he just plowed through the crowd, whereas I was trailing after him apologizing like usual on his behalf.

I wasn't expecting much of my new school, but as we turned right I soon realized that my once feeble expectations were nothing compared to the reality.

The main school building was as white as the crest of a wave, with glistening windows that spanned across the whole wall from floor to ceiling revealing the clean classrooms inside. A lush green moat of grass surrounded the building with pristine benches that probably had never seen a stick of gum before.

"Grandma told me to send you here, sent over some money."

I turned around, knocked out of my mesmerized gaze to meet Thomas, who looked as much in awe as I was. "And you actually listened to her?"

He shrugged, "I'd like to keep my head."

I almost laughed at him, he was still acting in self-interest of course, but it did make me wonder if he wasn't as narcissistic as he once made himself out to be.

He broke his observation of the school, marching forward towards the entrance. It was marked by ivory columns, with curled metal towering over the top of them to form a gateway to pass through. Thomas somewhat slowed his walking pace, either to make a less agitated attitude towards whoever would meet us or because the wholesome white building had assuaged him.

We found ourselves at the bottom of some silvery stairs, accented with potted plants, greener than you would expect for a September. Standing at the top, however, was a woman with golden hair neatly pulled into a bun and an amiable smile. Next to her stood a smaller boy, with gingery hair wearing what I assumed was the school uniform.

Thomas gladly walked over to her, shaking her hand and began introducing us. "Hello Mrs. Kelly, I'm Thomas and this is my sister Grace, I believe we spoke on the phone."

Her lips curled up into an ever-wider smile, as she accepted my brother's handshake. "Yes, indeed, welcome to Heritage Prep." She released Thomas's hand, the eyes finding me from where I was stood behind my brother. "And you must be Miss Knight." She didn't have a questioning tone in her voice, she knew exactly who I was and had no incentive to change that.

"Yes, I am." I came out as a strangely quiet squeak. I was never in the habit of being shy around people, but Mrs. Kelly somehow changed all of that, making me rethink who I was rather more quickly than I had anticipated. I just assumed that I would be the same person that I was back in England, but Mrs. Kelly had other ideas for that.

She continued on her welcome, introducing the boy stood next to her. "And this is Aaron, he'll be your tour guide, and your first friend here at Heritage Prep."

He smiled at me, to which I returned one. "Good morning, I'm Aaron, I'm guessing your Grace."

I nodded my head, weary about whether he was just putting on an act to please the two adults standing next to us. I was never really into the clichés of school cliques but that was back in England. I am in completely unknown territory, with my only sources about what American high school is like being unrealistic films.

"Well, Aaron why don't you give Miss Knight the tour while I go over paperwork with Mister Knight. Once you're done come back to my office and we can get Miss Knight's uniform sorted." Suggested Mrs. Kelly.

He nodded in agreement, "Follow me."

I did as told, following after him as he entered the building behind him through a wide glass door. Mrs. Kelly and my brother followed after but where Aaron and I took a right, they took a right.

Aaron guided me down a corridor, pointing out different rooms, most of which looked identical except for the posters on the walls indicating which subject they taught. The hallway was lined with lockers, each different colours to give pops of colour to the white corridor.

"So, what are your favorite subjects?" he asked as we passed the lunch hall.

"I guess I'm a bit of a musical theatre nerd." I felt my cheeks flush slightly. Back in England, not many people elected to do drama or musical theatre, claiming it was weird. And I lived in the middle of the country, there weren't many chances to act except for the low budget school plays that were always generic and tiresome.

"Cool, don't tell anyone but I'm a theatre nerd too."

I laughed slightly at him, to which he returned the laugh. "Grace, I think we're going to be good friends." He stopped in the hallway, sticking his hand out. "Friends?"

"Friends," I repeated, gasping at anything to hold onto. I'd never had many friends before, I was alienated by my love of singing, and no one even dared come near after the rumors spread about my family.

"Well, if you like Drama, I'll have to show you the drama auditorium." I nodded, eagerly walking beside him to see If what he called the 'drama auditorium' was anything compared to what I had my old school – which was a feeble looking space that had peeling paint on the walls and no space for props.

He came to a halt at two wooden doors, that seemed nowhere near where the rest of the classrooms were situated. He pushed them open, revealing the secret as to why they were so distant from the other rooms.

It was a massive room, filled with seats that descended down in rows, stairs separating sections of the seating. They all faced towards the stage, that was at least twice the size of my drama room in England. It had all sorts of lighting rigs above it, each light facing different ways to illuminate the whole stage.

I looked over in astonishment, traveling down a few steps to see the sheer scale of the room. Aaron came and stood next to me, looking around too. "You should audition for Mr. Morris's theatre troop with me. He was a professional in the Broadway field and is well known for training Broadway stars. There are only like 5 spots but there are never many people who audition."

"Why not?" I scoffed, surprised that people would pass up the opportunity to train with him. I had even heard of him back in England, but I assumed he just trained adults, I had no idea he taught here.

"Well it's either you do the theatre troop, or you do the school plays. You can't do both because the rehearsals clash, and most people prefer to do plays." Aaron explained.

"Well I am definitely auditioning for the troop, it sounds far better." I could almost laugh at myself for that one, sounding far cheesier than I ever thought possible. Never in a million years would I have thought I would end up here, and all at my brother's hand.

"I'll see you their partner," he grinned, taking my hand to lead me backstage.

He showed me all the dressing rooms backstage, each with lit up mirrors and racks for the various costumes they had in there. According to Aaron, they had an extensive costume collection that they had accumulated over the years of performances held here.

My time with Aaron came to a close soon after, but I knew I would see him the next day when school started back up again. He led me back down the same corridor we had passed through earlier and back to where Mrs. Kelly's office lay.

Aaron reached forward, knocking on the door. Mrs. Kelly greeted us again, leading us back in. My brother was sat in a chair, bent over what seems like a pile of paperwork he had to fill out. Mrs. Kelly, however, did not return to her chair on the other side of her desk, she strode over a cupboard pressed against a wall adjacent to her desk.

She pulled out a plastic-wrapped parcel, which I guessed contained my uniform, as the red underlayer matched the colour Aaron was wearing.

"Why don't you go to the bathroom and try it on for size. Mister Kelly told me your measurements..." she leaned down closer to me, lowering the volume of her voice, "but it might be inaccurate." She stood up straight once more and handed me the uniform.

I had expected it to be scratchy when I put it on, but the cotton was surprisingly soft, the burgundy fabric making me feel quite a lot smarter than I have ever felt. The plaid dress felt unfamiliar when I put it on, I had never worn a dress to school back in England. But I quite enjoyed the change, the necktie added something different to it which made me feel more important than I used to feel.

I pulled it off carefully, not wanting to get it dirty before my first day. I slipped the plastic cover back on before reappearing out of the bathroom, confirming that it did indeed fit me.

My brother and Mrs. Kelly soon finished, allowing Aaron and I a bit of time to talk to each other, which was mostly about theatre. He listed off his resume, which was far more impressive than mine, but he kept reminding me that would soon change under the tutoring of Mr. Morris.

Thomas and Mrs. Kelly soon emerged from the office and soon enough she was waving all three of us off. Aaron had spilled to me that he lived in the same building as me, so he decided to tag along.

My brother was slightly agitated by that, he had been acting too well behaved for too long and needed to yell at something but now he would have to wait even longer to do so. It seems he has his priorities in order.

We reached the door of our apartment block and began to ascend the stairs again. Thomas rapidly unlocked the door, not wanting to stay in Aaron's company any longer. Just like the myriads of times before, I stuck my foot in the door as to not get locked out as I didn't own a key yet.

"Hey, we should walk to school together tomorrow," I suggested as he began to climb the first half of the flight of stairs that would take him to the next floor.

"Yeah, I'll come to get you up at 8," he smiled and ran up the rest of the stairs, disappearing out of view.

I didn't do much over the course of the rest of the day, not having anything to prevent my boredom. I debated going to see Aaron, but I didn't want to come off as clingy after just meeting so I quenched my lust for activity by exploring the city.

New York was an oddball, filled with people of all quirks and talents, a place you were never the weirdest. I'd spent lots of time in England as the weird girl that no one should go near for fear of being dragged into her frigid life filled with violence and abuse.

I despised the rumors, I hated how half of them were made up to fill up a lust for gossip around the town, one small action would end up being twisted and gnarled into a bigger beget as so appease the hungry town.

I did stumble across a peaceful spot in Central Park, a place with a small bench overlooking a pond. I spent a while sitting there, thinking of what I was to become, and how I was going to get there. I came up with nothing, just a small spark to be on Broadway. I had no idea if I was even talented enough to be there, but I will sure try. Even if a fail and end up falling. I'll try – just watch me.