Erin's POV - 07:30

I stand by the gate, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my cousin, Circe.  She just moved here a couple weeks ago, and is tranferring to my school.  Today is her first day.  It'll be nice having my best friend with me.  As much as I love my friends, they all have their own stuff to do, and as the youngest, I'm often left alone.

"Erin!" I hear someone shout.  I turn around and see a girl wearing a white top, a denim overall skirt and black sneakers jogging towards me.  Her wavy amber hair is adorned in a low ponytail.  I've always been jealous of her hair.

But nonetheless, I'm glad to see her.

"Circe!" I run to meet her.  I'd only seen her once since she moved in.  We hug quickly before Circe tells me she has to pick up some stuff at Student Services.  I lead her to the Student Services office and wait by the door.  Whilst I'm waiting, I hear a familiar voice.

-------Rewind Time - 07:15-------

Circe's POV - 07:15

I have to say, I'm really excited to start school.  I loved my old friends, but that school had some problems.  I'm nervous to start again.  I'll have to make new friends, join new clubs... I'm going to be the odd one out, because everyone already knows each other.  That's why I'm glad I have Erin.  I made sure I enrolled in most of the same classes as her so I could be with her.  I'm hoping I won't be too much of a burden on her.  We've always been so close, and I don't want that to change.

A bunch of thoughts flutter through my mind as I stuff Cyerra's lunch in her bag, as well as my own.  I call Cyerra in from the living room and rush her out the door.  I want to make sure I'm early, especially since I'm walking instead of driving.  With our old schools, they were farther away so I had to drive, but now I can take the scenic route and walk.  I say goodbye to my mom and dad and grab a toaster strudel.

As I'm walking Cyerra to school, I get a Discord ping on my phone.  It's from my old school group chat.  My friend Amelia is wishing me well on my first day.  I smile and start to reply when Cyerra chimes in.

"Who're you texting?" she asks curiously while trying to peer over my arm.

"None of your business, Squirt," I laugh jokingly, ruffling her hair.

She starts making a fixing over her slightly mussed hair and sticks her tounge out at me.  I stick out my tounge at her back.  We both pause a second before laughing at the looks on out faces.

We approach her school and she grips my hand.  She's shy meeting new people.  I approach the lady by the gate and introduce myself. 

"Hi, Ms. I'm Circe Aurelia, and this is Cyerra.  Today's her first day and I don't know where to drop her off."

"Hello, dear. I'm Mrs. Augusta.  You can leave her with me and I can call down out teacher's aide for her class... what class is she in?"

"Fourth."

"Wonderful, I'll call Miss Burke right now.  You can leave Cyerra with me, dear.  I'm sure you have things to do."

"Thank you, Mrs. Augusta. I'll be back after school, okay Cyerra? Have a great first day."  I hug my sister before standing up and walking my way down the sidewalk.  Behind me, I hear Mrs. Augusta on a walkie talkie calling for Miss Burke.

The high school isn't far, but I'm still worried that I'm going to be late, so I pick up the pace.  It takes a couple minutes, but I arrive with time to spare.  I can see other students walking towards a large building about 100 feet away.  I slow down again as I approach the crowd, looking for the one person I know.  Suddenly, I see a girl with mid-length brown hair and a star headband, wearing a Steven Universe shirt, dark jeans, and brown boots.

"Erin!" I shout, jogging again to reach her.  

She turns around and I see recognition fill her face. She smiles brightly before heading towards me.

"Circe!" She comes up to me and hugs me.  As we walk in the gate, I tell Erin that I have to go to Student Services, and she leads me to the office.  She waits outside as I walk in.  I grab my schedule, locker number, lock, and Student ID along with a hand-drawn map of the school and directions on how to get to my first period.  I walk out of the office to find Erin talking to a guy she's obviously not interested in.  I know my cousin, and her body language reveals to me that this guy is bothering her.  I quickly interrupt their one-sided chat as politely as I can.

"Erin?" They both look at me, and Erin sighs with relief. "I need to find my locker, can you help me?"

She starts walking immediately, and pulls me along behind her. "Sure, I'll help."

The guy huffs and leaves.  Erin drops my arm and slows down as we approach my locker.  She leans against the lockers next to me as I open the locker.

"Thanks, Circe."

"I have noooo idea what you're talking about," I respond, feigning innocence.

"Sure, Circe." She pauses for a couple moments. "Thanks anyway,"

"You're welcome," I reply, setting up my locker.  I look down at my schedule. "What's your first period, Erin?"

"French 2... what about you?" She stands up to look over my shoulder, examining my schedule.

"AP Psych... with Carter?"

"Ah, good ol' Mr. Carter," she sighs. "Good luck with that... HA."

The bell rings and Erin directs me where to go before leaving to go to Spanish.

"Ohhhh boy," I mutter, "This'll be a fun day..."