It has been a couple of weeks. It is Megan's first day at her new school. She wakes up at 6am and has a quick wash. She brushes her hair and does her make-up before getting dressed into a pink sweater, blue jeans and some white canvas shoes.

She packs her backpack with her notebooks, her diary, her pencil case, her reading book and earphones. She walks out of her room and to the kitchen where Cruz and Sylvie are sat drinking some coffee.

'Good morning.' Sylvie smiles.

'Morning.' Megan smiles back. She places her bag down before making herself a bowl of cereal. 

'Are you ready for your first day back at school?' Cruz asks her. 

'Yes and no.' Megan sighs as she sits down with her cereal. 'I've never had good experiences with school.'

''You'll be fine.' Sylvie reassures her. 'The school already knows about your situation. If you're ever feeling overwhelmed, you can walk out of your lesson and go to the guidance counsellor. Or you can call me.' 

'Or me.' Cruz adds.

'Don't feel like you need to endure it.' Sylvie tells her. 'Your mental health should always be your priority. Okay?' 

'Okay.' Megan nods.

.

An hour later, Sylvie is pulling up in front of Monfort High School. She puts the brake on and turns to Megan. 

'Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?' Sylvie asks Megan. 

'I'm sure.' Megan nods. 'All I have to do is go to the front office and meet the guidance counsellor.'

'I just want you to feel safe.' Sylvie states. 'I mean, with your experiences-'

'Sylvie.' Megan cuts her off. 'I'll be fine.' She takes her seatbelt off and hugs Sylvie. 'Like you said, if I get too overwhelmed, I'll call you, I promise.' She adds as they part. 

'Since I'm on shift, will you be okay to come to the firehouse after school?' Sylvie queries.

'Yeah.' Megan smiles. 'I'll see you later.' She gets out of the car and walks up into the school. Once she's in the building, she navigates her way to the front office. She pushes the door open and walks in. A woman in her late twenties walks up to her. She's holding some paper in her hands.

'You must be Megan Levine.' She smiles.

'Yeah.' Megan nods.

'I'm Grace Davidson. The guidance counsellor.' The woman introduces herself. 'Your cousin, I think it was-' Megan nods, 'your cousin mentioned that you've had problems with public school in the past?'

'Yeah.' Megan nods. 'I was bullied which lead to my eating disorders and my mental health just went downhill from there.' 

'Well, we're here to support you.' Grace reassures her. 'My office door is always open and if you don't feel comfortable eating in front of everyone in the cafeteria, you can come and sit in my office.'

'Thanks.' Megan smiles slightly. 

'Now, you are already enrolled so there is no need to fill out any paperwork.' Grace says. 'Here is a map of the school grounds and your schedule.' She hands the papers to Megan. 'I'll be with you all day just to help you get orientated. Obviously, I won't be coming into classes with you, I'll take you to your classes and come at the end to take you your next one.' She explains. 'We do it with every new student.;

'Okay.' Megan agrees.

'Your first lesson is English.' Grace says. 'It doesn't start for another ten minutes but I'll take you now so you can get settled. Your teacher is new himself. Not to teaching, new to the school. He's only been here for a week.' Just then, another young girl walks into the office.

'Hey, Grace.' They beam.

'Sadie.' Grace nods at the young girl. 'Megan, this is Sadie Woodley. She's in all of the same classes as you.'

'She's my peer mentor, or whatever you call it here.' Megan guesses. 'I've been transferred to plenty of high schools and been given plenty of peer mentors.'

'Yeah.' Grace laughs and nods. 'Let's get you to your first class.' Grace and Sadie lead Megan to her English class. 

'So, what school were you at before here?' Sadie asks Megan.

'Bishop's College Boarding School in Quebec.' Megan responds. 

'Did you like it there?' Sadie questions.

'Not really.' Megan sighs. 'It's a long story. A very long story.' They reach the classroom and stop.

'This is your classroom.' Grace tells Megan. 'Since Sadie is here, I will let her introduce you to your teacher.' 

'Thank you.' Megan smiles slightly before Graces walks away. Sadie turns to face Megan.

'Okay, so I couldn't say this in front of Grace but you are going to love our teacher!' Sadie smiles. 'He is just mouthwatering.' She adds with a smirk. 'Come on.' They both walk into the classroom. 'Sir?' The teacher, who is sat at his desk, looks up at them. Megan freezes when she sees who it is - Adrian Hunter.

'Miss Woodley.' The teacher nods.

'Sir, this is Megan Levine, she's new.' Sadie introduces Megan to the teacher. 'Megan, this is Mr Hunter.' Megan stays silent. 'Megan?' 

'It's nice to meet you, Miss Levine.' The teacher acts as if they've never met.

'You too, Mr Hunter.' Megan forces a smile.

.

It's the end of the school day, Megan is walking to Firehouse 51 when she feels someone catching up to her. She looks to her right and sees that it's Adrian. 

'Did I surprise you this morning?' He smirks. 

'How did you even know that Sylvie was sending me to that school?' Megan asks him.

'I have my ways.' Adrian responds. 'Our little arrangement we had in Canada applies here.' He goes to put his arm around her. 'Meg, I am doing this because I love you.'

'I know.' Megan says quickly. 'You-you just can't risk getting caught doing that in public. Rumours spread fast in Chicago.' She sees Firehouse 51 in the distance.

'I'll let you get to your cousin before she worries. We'll talk more tomorrow.' Adrian says before walking off.

.

Walking into the Firehouse, Megan sees that Ambulance 61, Truck 81 and Engine 51 are all out on a call but Squad 3 aren't. She walks further into the firehouse and puts on a fake smile.

'Hey!' Cruz grins when he sees her. 'How was your first day?' 

'Meh.' Megan shrugs her shoulders.

'Uh-oh. What happened?' Kelly asks as he sits up in his chair.

'Nothing.' Megan shakes her head. 'It's just-it's weird being back at public school. I'm not behind or anything - in fact, I'm ahead which is hard. Pretty much everything that I was taught today, I was taught in Canada. Before I went to Canada, I was known as the whale girl because people thought I was fat and then the stick lady because people thought I was too skinny. I couldn't compete. In Canada, I could be myself. No-one would judge me. Now that I'm back, I don't want to be known as the mysterious nerdy girl.' There a few moments of silence. 'I'm going to get a drink.' She turns around and walks off to the kitchen.

'How is she settling in?' Kelly asks Cruz.

'From what I've seen, good.' Cruz nods. 'She spends a lot of time in her room but she's a teenage girl.' He continues with a laugh. 'From what Brett has told me, her therapy sessions have been going okay.' 

'Something was definitely bothering her.' Kelly points out. 'I could see it in her eyes, her voice, her body language.'

'You noticed too, huh?' Cruz asks his lieutenant and Kelly nods. 'I'll go speak to her.' He gets up and also walks to the kitchen. When he does, he sees Megan staring at the counter. Tears are streaming down her cheeks and she's shaking. 'Meg?'

'I need you to drag me out of this kitchen before I pick that knife up and ram it into my chest.' Megan says quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After multiple attempts of writing this, it is finally done to a point where I like it! Haha!

Let me know what you think!

Much love