long way from home [katie]

[Kailyn Harvelle]

First day.

Kailyn wasn't positive of how she felt about the school yet; she missed her old school, absolutely. The adjustment wasn't an easy one and she tried to look at it optimistically, but admittedly, that wasn't that simple. Here she was, across the country, new people, new timezone, new classes and teachers. She was well established in her old school; she had popularity, cheerleading and was on her way to being one of the heads of school. She was even positive that next year's football captain (one the current senior graduated, he was a shoe-in) was close to asking her out. Dating wasn't something that she had gotten into heavily; in fact, she had one boyfriend and had broken up with him when he decided to be a complete douchebag with no respect for her choices in abstaining. David wouldn't have been like that. Key past tense there. She wasn't in Vancouver anymore and whatever she established disappeared when they moved to Toronto. All day, she had kept her socialization to a minimum as she tried to get a feel for the school. It had a reputation, of course, given the recent massacre that really didn't have her completely settled about living in Toronto.

As lunch came around, she found herself at a table not accompanied by anyone else. Having brought food with her, she dug around for the container in her bag and set it down. She didn't think that it would be too difficult to fit in. After all, she wasn't a freak. It was just different being the new kid and she wasn't sure how she really felt about it. She didn't like people looking at her as if she was new, but at least she wasn't doing it alone; not really. Her dad was working at the same school although she would insist that it was different being a student than being new among the staff. She always had the impression that once you got out in the real world, people were a little less harsh than high school. With a look around again, she finally opened up the container, stabbing the salad with a fork.

[Deleted]

It had been a busy day for the few cheerleaders that were left. Natasha refused to let the spirit squad die, and they only had a week to get five new members before it did. She and Mike both spent the morning away from their classes, going to each classroom and practically begging for sign-ups. Which is why they hadn't noticed the new girl. When it came time for lunch, however, the duo had decided to take a break long enough to eat, and when they went in the cafeteria, Natasha immediately noticed her. She could smell out a new person like a dog could sniff out meat. "Mike, look! Let's go say hi!" she had said, and without waiting for a response, the blond cheerleader had jogged over and practically pounced into a seat beside her.

"Hi! I'm Natasha! Welcome to Degrassi! What's your name? I love that shirt!" she spoke rapidly, as she always did when she was excited, and a nice, warm smile was on her face. The girl looked perfect to join their ranks. Then again, any person in the school seemed perfect. Natasha was pretty desperate to get new cheerleaders. Though, it wasn't out of desperation that the girl was pretty, and she really did love her shirt. And that, by itself was enough.

Mike wasn't far behind, of course. He had learned pretty quickly that being Natasha was definitely an adventure. He had no idea who the new girl was, and for all he knew she didn't even want to be approached. But that never deterred his captain. He admired the girl for it, really. He grabbed some lunch before following Natasha, giving the girl a friendly smile. "I'm Mike," he added when he came to the table, sitting down. He was wearing his cheer uniform today. He thought it was only appropriate, since they were trying to recruit. And sure, wearing hot pink with glitter didn't make him look very manly. But, you gotta love Natasha for the uniform change. It definitely made things more spirited.