Chapter 4- Lauren Adams

Just as the bus 52 was about to pull out of the bus stop and begin making it's way to West Bridge, an ear-splitting screech bellowed out from the streets. Alice turned her head so sharply, she was almost certain that she had broken her neck. 

She saw a schoolgirl, wearing the exact uniform as Alice was, sprinting alongside the city's pavements to catch the bus. 

"Wait! Wait! Wait!!! I'm coming!" She was yelling, her ponytail flying wildly behind her. The bus driver let out a weak chuckle and halted the bus. 

The girl had eventually caught up to the bus, panting heavily. She hopped on board and handed the driver the money. He took it gratefully and exchanged it for a ticket. 

"Late again, Lauren?" He laughed, tucking the change into a box, "Like always?"

"It was my cat this time," She grinned cheekily, "he wouldn't let me leave the house without putting up a big fight." 

"Oh alright," The driver replied, "Now go on, shoo." 

Lauren smiled and threw herself into the first seat that she could see, which just happened to be the seat beside Alice. Alice gave her a faint smile and retreated to her phone. The bus lurched forwards into life and began making its' way to the designated location. 

Lauren didn't speak to Alice for about five minutes but instead, she watched her through narrowed eyes. Alice felt extremely uncomfortable and proceeded to stare at her phone screen as if her life depended on it. 

"You do realize," Lauren blurted out after some time, "You've been staring at your tabs and scrolling through nothing for about five minutes." 

Alice looked at Lauren and her first reaction was to laugh. 

"I'm not a very good actress then," She chuckled, stuffing her phone back into her pocket, "Do they do drama classes at West Bridge?" 

"Yes..." Lauren responded, sizing Alice up and down. After five or so seconds, she suddenly snapped her fingers and almost leapt out of her seat. "You're the new girl, aren't you?" 

"That's me," Alice replied in a friendly tone, giving Lauren a mischievous smile, "The one from America." 

"Wait you're American?!" Lauren squealed, raising her voice to a shout. "That is so awesome!"

"Yeah..." Alice responded, uncertainly. She didn't expect Lauren to react like that. She was expecting her to mock or taunt her. 

Lauren seemed to realize that Alice wasn't quite as outspoken as she was and not a great lover of attention. She took a deep breath and decided to calm herself down slightly. At least just enough to be classed as normal instead of an over maniac child.

"That is so awesome," Lauren whispered, grinning, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Alice whispered back in a low voice, "And is there a reason why we are both talking really quietly?" 

"Nope," Lauren enthusiastically cried, patting Alice on the arm. "I like your hair by the way." 

Alice murmured a faint thanks and that's when she first noticed Lauren's appearance. 

At first glance, her looks reflected her personality. Her hair had been roughly scraped back into a low ponytail and she had messy wisps of hair flying here and there. Her school uniform was quite scruffy and untidy; her shirt creased and her skirt wrinkled. Alice's eyes skated over her clothes before they settled on Lauren's facial features. 

She had a round face with a little snubbed nose. Freckles were assembled across her face, making her look youthful and actually quite pretty. Her eyes were dark brown and were almond-shaped.  

"Are you attending Year 11?" Lauren asked, trying to keep a casual stem of conversation flowing between her and the new girl, "You look around my age." 

"Yeah, I'm 16," She said softly, "Is it good at West Bridge?" 

"Hah, no," Lauren scoffed back in response, "It sucks." 

"Right, okay..." Alice replied. Her voice was uncertain again. "That's...good to hear..." 

"New girl, what's your name?" Lauren yakked onwards, "I can't keep calling you just 'New Girl.'" 

"Oh me?" She faltered, "I'm Alice. Alice Smith." 

Lauren grabbed her hand and shook it. 

"Lauren Adams." 

Alice didn't know what to do. She shook Lauren's hand back, looking puzzled. She didn't know if this was just a British cultural thing to do or if it was just Lauren's peculiar way of manoeuvring through life. 

"You have a cute accent by the way," chattered Lauren, "I've never heard a pure accent before. Just some strange forced ones on TV..." 

"Oh uh, thanks?" Alice stammered back in response, "I'm a bit worried that I would struggle to find and make friends because of it..." 

"No, your accent is adorable. I think people would be dying to befriend you," She went on, nonchalantly, "First of all, you're really cool and quirky. Second of all, you're interesting. Standing out at this school is a good thing, even if they don't agree." She nodded to the group of girls who were all glued to their phones, just a few seats behind her. 

"Thanks, that's a pretty big compliment," Alice admitted, "I never thought of myself as 'cool' or 'quirky.'

"Well you should, because you are."

They both sat in a short silence. Alice's head was spinning. 

She was mostly surprised. She was surprised that Lauren found her interesting and had instantly put her at ease. As the bus ride passed onwards, both of them found themselves amicably chatting to each other. By the end of the ride, Alice knew all about Lauren's family, her hobbies, her interests, what life was like at West Bridge and much much more. And Lauren knew an awfully huge deal about her in return. 

"We're here, come on!" Lauren exclaimed, grabbing her backpack. Alice followed her casually, feeling much more confident knowing that she was no longer alone. As Lauren passed the driver, she gave him a merry wave before springing off the bus grinning. 

"Welcome to West Bridge!" She said to Alice, pointing towards the huge building that was in front of her. 

The building resembled a very large and lengthy rectangle. There were lots of flower beds scattered across the school site, each of them containing a rainbow assertion of multicoloured flowers. Students were walking across the school grounds in an orderly fashion, looking as if they all had an important purpose. 

"So uh, where do I go?" She asked Lauren timidly, gazing up at the school. Her eyes were absorbing small details of the building, so she could get used to her surroundings.

"Stick with me," Lauren boldly reassured her. "I'm going to take you to my form room. There's only one year 11 form, so we'll definitely be together." 

She grabbed onto Alice's hand and began leading her into the building. As they approached the entrance, Alice's nerves failed her. She wrenched her hand from Lauren's grasp and eyed the school with pure terror. She started taking hesitant steps backwards, feeling beads of sweat trickle down her forehead. 

"I can't do this Lauren..." She whispered. 

"Yes, you can," Lauren said quietly, taking slow steps towards Alice, "It's not going to be as bad as you think. The school isn't too bad. Your peers will love you!" 

Alice shook her head.