Presently...

The alarm clock break danced on my nightstand. Groaning in frustration, I pushed it off the table and heard it shatter on the floor. 

"Niya! Rudy! Time to get up!" my mom called from downstairs. My eyes flashed open, and the anxiety that had been building in my chest since last week reached its peak. Today was my first day of high school. What's worse was the fact that it my first day at a new school in a new town. We just moved into town from New York which meant that I had to make new friends. Making friends the first time was already tough, doing it a second time wasn't something I was looking forward to. 

"Breathe Niya, just breathe," I whispered to myself. Rolling out of bed, I walked over to where my little sister lay. She was bundled up peacefully, her pixie like face shinning in the sun that streamed through the window. Her long, coily, dark hair peaked out of her hair bonnet which threatened to come loose any minute now. In her arms laid her beloved stuffed toy rabbit. Gently I shook her awake.

"Hey Rudy, it's the first day of school we can't be late," She smiled up at me. Her two front teeth were missing which some how made her look cuter. 

"I get to make new friends today Nini," she responded. That's easy for her to say, she's only six. Making friends came naturally at that age.

I got her out of bed and sent her downstairs to eat. Heading to the bathroom, I showered and brushed my teeth. Then standing in front of the mirror, I stared at the coily mess that was my hair. My grandmother was born in the Caribbean on the island of Grenada which meant that she was black. My father was born here in the States, but was only half black since his father was white. This intermingling of races has left me with a thick mop of curly hair that fell to my shoulders. I loved my hair don't get me wrong, it just required so much time and energy to care for. Quickly I moisturized it, and separated it in two, letting one side have more hair than the other. With a few puffs I was done. Looking in the mirror I smiled loving the look of my curls.

I glanced at the make-up set my mother had gotten me for my sixteenth birthday last month, and decided to just add a little color to my lips. I gazed at my reflection in the mirror as I applied my lip stick. I had dark, brown skin, true to my ancestral roots with big, caramel brown eyes. I was teased a lot because of my skin color. People would always assume that I was adopted when I went out in public with my mother. Rudy wasn't as dark as me and her curls weren't as tightly knitted. My mother would always reassure me that people were just jealous of my 'sun-kissed complexion' (she would never call me black). Stepping back, I looked at the mirror again, and with a satisfied nod, I rushed from the bathroom into the bedroom, got dressed, grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs. 

My mother had made bacon and eggs for breakfast, but I decided to have cereal instead. Rudy was already dressed and ready to go. She rambled on and on to our mother about what her first day would be like. I rolled my eyes. Kids always had it easy.

"Niya honey hurry up before the bus gets here," mom said to me.

"Good morning ladies" My dad said as he walked into the kitchen and kissed all of us on the forehead. 

"Loving the hair sweetie," he complimented. 

"Dad come on you've seen this hairstyle before," I laughed.

"Mom can I style my hair like Niya's?" Rudy asked.

"Maybe tomorrow honey, right now you guys need to get outside"

I slurped down the rest of my milk and grabbed my backpack.

My mom came round the table and looked us both over. She couldn't help but touch my hair and kiss our cheeks. She reached down and raised my left hand.

"I don't think you can wear this to school Nini, it's a little too flashy don't you think?" she asked referring to The Amarii. Its gems glowed softly and for a minute I was transported to the past, back to that bookstore. I've never taken The Amarii off. Couldn't even if I wanted to, and trust me I've wanted to. It was like it was attached to me or something. I didn't even know how to use it, and it wasn't like I could ask my grandmother either... 

"Nah mom it's fine," I reassured her, "Come on Rudy, let's go. Bye mom," I opened the front door just as the school bus rolled up. Rudy and I entered and walked towards a seat in the fifth row. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, boring holes in my back. I sighed as I took my seat. 

"Let this miserable day end quickly," I whispered to myself.

"Same here," came a voice, "I'm not ready for another term of this boring routine." I turned to the speaker, who I hadn't noticed, sitting next to me. He was removing his earphones from his ears as he turned to return my gaze with striking blue eyes.

"Hey I'm Camrin," he said smiling, revealing a set of perfectly lined teeth, "you're new aren't you?"

"Niya and yes, my parents just moved here from New York," He had a baseball in his hand.

"Well welcome to hell!" he grinned at me, "Nah i'm just joking, you'll survive-probably. What's your first class?"

I shuffled through my bag and pulled out my purple binder, "Umm physics with Mr. Rowle."

"Ah good ole Mr. Rowle, had him last term. Word of advice, don't comment on his growing bald spot. He thinks it's getting smaller, but we all know that's never going to happen."

We both cracked up.

He looked down at his cellphone to pause his music.

"What you listening to?"

"Umm.. Splash by Tedashii ft. 1k Phew, it's his newest single."

"Teda- who?"

Here just listen. Hope you like hip-hop. He handed over his ear buds and I put them on. The beat started and I found myself nodding to it. I'm not a hip-hop fan, but I must admit, this one sounded really good.

The song ended and I returned his earphones.

"So is it battery operated?" He asked, pointing at my bracelet.

I looked down at it and saw that the all the gemstones were dim except the red one, which pulsed on and off. It never  did that before.

Uh yeah," I replied.

"Cool. Where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift from my grandmother. It uh means a lot to me,"

He nodded and gathered his backpack off the floor and stood up. That's when I realized that the bus had stopped and everyone was getting off.

"So you're just going to sit there huh?" he asked staring down at me, "Come on, the people here don't bite." I smiled and walked out with him.

On to the next chapter sorry this one is so short. I promise it will be much more eventful. Comment and vote thanks