In this book the boys are 16, not 15. So is my OC Rachel. I don't own the above picture but that's what Rachel looks like! I hope y'all enjoy!

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    I readjusted my bookbag's strap as I walked down the busy streets of New York City. People bumped into me every other second and the pollution in the air gave me a nonstop headache. Sighing, I rub my forehead and carelessly J-Walk to get over to the big school that laid ahead of me.

    Being a Highschool student in NY isn't as bad as it sounds. It's just like any other school, though to me; it's a lot more complex. New Yorker's seem to lack manners, empathy, or any emotion other than anger, stress, and high self-worth.

    As I stepped on campus whispers erupted and fingers were pointed. It was a common thing among any school in any state when there was a new kid on campus. The rumors they come up with are rather amusing and nobody seems to be afraid to walk up and be blunt with me.

    "Rachel!" I glance over to see an acquaintance of mine waving me over. "Over here! Hurry!" I sigh and walk over, no point in being rude. Just because I live in New York now doesn't mean I gotta act like 'em.

"What's up Madlin?" My heels scuff the ground, kicking up a little dust.

    "I wanted to introduce you to my friends!" She chirped. I boredly glanced to her friends, all people that I most likely won't get along with. "This is Christian, Alex, Brittney, and Samantha!" She pointed to each one enthusiastically before giving me a wide grin. "They all really wanted to meet you!"

    I dipped my head in their direction. "Nice ta meet ch'yall. I'm Rachel." They all exchanged glances with each other making me mentally roll my eyes. "Was there somethin' y'all wanted to ask or did ya just feel like bein' friendly?"

"What's with your voice?" Samantha, I believe, asked.

"And why do you dress like that?" Alex, again I'm not sure, gestured to my attire.

    I held back a scowl, knowing it'd be a waste of energy to get upset over what they had said. I already knew New Yorkers were blunt. "I's called an accent. And ain't nothin' wrong with my clothes." I had on a nice, dressy top that was really flowy with cute designs on it. It was purple, black, and brown and had a country feel to it. I had on boot cut, blue jeans and some really... loved tan cowgirl boots on.

    The warning bell sounded and we all wordlessly dispersed, heading to our respective classes. My first class of the day was French, Madam C was a little off, but in a good way. I didn't take many notes or pay too close attention because A – it's too early for this kind of thing, and B – I already knew French.

    An hour and a half passed by and it was time for ELA (English Language Arts), or 10th grade Lit. as the school likes to call it. This was by far my favorite class, no matter what school I go to. Reading and writing have always been a passion of mine and I see no sign of me ever not loving it. While I definitely miss Mr. Jacobs, Miss. Stiklyn is a sweet enough woman. She was reading a book me and my old class already read so I got to pull out my own book and read while listening to some music. To say the least, the class period was pretty enjoyable.

    The two hours passed and I now had study hall. Which is basically a 30-minute free period to do whatever you want. It being so close to the end of the year, I had no homework I could be doing so instead I dropped my stuff off at my 3rd period class and roamed the halls.

    I passed by different halls for different academics and grades, sometimes venturing down the halls purely to walk down them. I had no set destination or desire to be anywhere. I already knew the school relatively well as I'm impressively good at adapting (according to my assigned school counselor). However, ten minutes into my directionless walk I noticed I had some admirers. They either sucked at stealth or weren't trying to be sneaky. I'm going with option two.

I stopped and turned to face my peers, "Can I help you?"

    They went wide eyed, clearly not expecting me to confront them. "Oh, uh well..." A small blonde desperately tried to find the right words to say as her friends squealed behind her. These kids were obviously freshmen. "We were uh- we were just wondering if it's true." She said.

"If what was true?"

"The- the rumor."

"There are a lot of rumors hun. Yer gonna have ta be more specific than that."

    Her friends whispers became more pronounced and quick as they seemed unable to take their eyes off me. "Oh, well- um.." She played with her hair and looked down at her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing ever. "Is it, uh, true that you're from Texas?"

    I cocked an eyebrow at that, Texas? Really? I laughed, finding the whole situation entirely amusing. "Sorry ta disappoint ch'ya, but I'm not from Texas." I placed a hand on my hip, "I'm a Georgia Peach." I winked down at her and her face flared up. "Born 'n raised."

"Oh! Oh, uh... I'm sorry!"

"'S fine, You didn't offend no one." The bell rung and I ruffled the kid's hair, "See ya around squirt."

    Chorus went by relatively fast and it was time for lunch. Again, despite popular belief, school food ain't that bad. Sure, there are some things that you just, you just can't. However, most of it tastes fine. Luckily, today is pizza day. I went through the line, got a peperoni pizza, the necessary fruit, and a chocolate milk. I sat over on a high chair at one of the square tables and ate. Occasionally an acquaintance would appear, have a brief chat with me, then disappear once more. It was pleasing, I read some books online, listened to music, and just got to lounge around for roughly 45-minutes before I had to head to my last class of the day.

    My last class was History. The teacher was super sweet and really chill just as long as you were respectful. She gushed over my manners whenever I called her 'mam' and always seemed to like my fashion sense whenever I put forth the effort to dress up. Her class was easy solely because all we did is take notes or have vocab quizzes. The class was over in two hours and I was on my way home.

    I admit, it is really weird being able to walk home and not have to wait on a bus. Mom and Dad, of course, were hell bent against letting me walk but ended up having to accept there was no other way. (The concept of subways being even more terrifying to them.) So, I walked home. My track home was a long one, but it was well appreciated. I have made many friends thanks to my long walks to and from home. The pizza delivery boy, Justin, is adorable and really sweet. Miss. Lyn, the youthful, and recently engaged, store owner was beautiful inside and out. Then Mindy, a girl I ran into on a late walk home, is really a sweet girl; she's just going through a rough patch in life.

"Rachel, shin'aina, is that you?"

    I stop mid step and grin, "Miss. Lyn!" I turn to the 25 year old store owner. Today she was wearing a red sun dress with white floral patterns on it. She had on cute tan sandals and had her straight black hair pinned back with a decretive hair pin that matched her dress. "You look beautiful! How'v ya been?"

    "I've been well. Daniel and I have been stressing over the wedding preparations and such but we know where our honey moon is going to be!" She was bubbling with excitement and drew her hands up to her heart. "We'll have to wait till spring rolls back around but he wants to take me back to Japan!!" She grinned and twirled, "We're going to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom!" She gives a dreamy sigh and looks towards the sky.

    "I'm glad to hear that!" I gush inwardly at the absolutely adorable puppy love look she got as she thought of her fiancé. "You have ta take pictures for me! I've always wanted to go see Cherry Blossoms in full bloom." I sigh dreamily and give her a playful glare. "You're a big meanie for not taking me with you." I cross my arms in a pout causing her to laugh.

    She draws me into a hug that I full heartedly return. "I promise to take bunches of pictures for you! I'll even buy you a souvenir!" She pulled away slightly and looked down at me with a warm smile. "Ok?"

I give a mocking thoughtful look before nodding, "Alright, I can make do with that."

    She laughed, "That's good to hear shin'aina." She pulled out of the hug and ruffled my curly hair. "I have to get back to work now. Stay out of trouble! I'll see you tomorrow."

    "See you later Miss. Lyn!" I waved and continued my walk back home. Being in a far better mood than before I pop my earbuds in and listen to some Country Music.

    I arrived home 20-minutes later, as usual my parents aren't home. Now that's something I'd never thought I'd think. We've only been living in New York for five months and things quickly changed. I was so used to coming home to my mom and older brother Aaron that not seeing them anymore made me feel alone. Aaron was back home home, with Cory going to college. They bought an apartment together before dad was offered the promotion that moved us here. Mom was upset that we lived in the city, as her family lived far away from the city; over in Rochester.

    My dad works at Caterpillar, a manufacturing company. I don't know what promotion he got but when given the option of where to move to it was obvious we were moving to New York. As my mom's side of the family lives here. At first, I hung out with my cousins, Aunt, Uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa all the time. Now, I only see them once every two weeks at most. My parents became too busy to drive me and the gas expense became too great.

    My mom was lucky enough to land a job at a hospital nearby while she finishes up Nursing school. She will graduate when I finish my junior year. (So next year.) My dad already graduated and got his Masters Degree in business two months ago. (Hence the promotion.) They both have relatively well paying jobs which is why we got an apartment close to the top. The apartments up top were bigger and despite it being only us three, we really needed the extra space. I got dibbs on the room with the fire escape, which took me a good two hours to convince my parents that it would be fine having a window near the fire escape.

    I brought my cat Khaleesi with me and dad brought his cat Mika with him. The apartment manager doesn't care so long as they don't cause any trouble. I sighed and tossed my bookbag into a corner, hanging my purse on my closet door handle. Khaleesi was sitting by the window and spared me a distracted meow as a greeting. "Hey baby." I flopped onto my bed face first, turning so I could look out the window.

    It was only 4 o'clock, the sun is still shining rather brightly. With a huff I get up and change; I grab my blue Nike shorts and a pink/black/white swim suit top. Slipping on my black and white flip flops I grab a towel, sunscreen, and a book before moving to the window. "Sorry baby, but you can't go outside." I move her onto my bed and quickly exit through the window, shutting it with an 'I love you' to my cat.

    I climb the rest of the way up the fire escape and begin the nerve wracking process of rooftop jumping. It wasn't the height I had a problem with, it was my fear of falling to my death. Pushing the dark thoughts aside I made it to an abandoned rooftop I found in my second week of being here. Setting up my stuff, I lay down and close my eyes, enjoying the warmth only the sun can offer.

~~~

    I was at the dinner table, mom sitting across from me and dad sitting to the right. "So, how has school been going? Everything transition smoothly? You keepin' your grades up?" I look to my dad and nod, swallowing the bite of chicken I had in my mouth.

    "Ya, 's been per'dy good. Though, people think I'm from Texas." Mom and dad laughed at that and shake their heads. "My grades are good, the teachers are pretty chill too." I shrug, "Not bad, better than OC." Mom grunts, as she never liked their school system.

    "Well, that's good to hear sweetie-poo." Dad smiled at me and the table went back into a peaceful silence. The rare requests of passing things is the only thing to break the silence.

    Once the meal was finished we exchanged 'I love you's, hugs, and kisses before my parents went to bed. I cleaned the dishes and turned off the lights before retiring to my own room. Khaleesi meowed, knowing it was bed time and hopped up on the bed. I hummed in tired acknowledgement of the meow and stripped my clothing on my way to bed. "Mnm, night Khaleesi." She meowed and I fell asleep, only having enough energy left to clumsily plug my phone in.