REALITY CHECK

"Ughhhh weekdays do come by pretty fast," I groan as I get up from my bed.

Finally, it's Monday and I get to go to a real school, yay. I roll my eyes as I do a few stretches. So, all my activities for the day and the rest of the week are cancelled because of school. I make a mental note to redo my schedule so that I can fit in all my regular activities with my school activities. 

I got up earlier than usual because my house is an hour away from school and being late on my first day doesn't sound too good. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not excited or maybe I am, well, just a little bit. 

I shorten my exercise time and instead of going outside, I stay indoors for it. I quickly rush into my bathroom and do the needful. Strolling out of the bathroom I go to my closet and take out my uniform from one of the wardrobes. 

Painstakingly putting it on, I turn to look at myself in the mirror. 

"Oh nooooo," I cry out as I look at the horrendous outfit. I should have chosen a bigger size. 

Everything fitted me perfectly it was almost body-hugging and that alone almost made me suffocate. The high waisted plaid skirt was a bit short for me. Well, that was my only problem though. Slipping on my very long pair of socks (thankfully) I grabbed a white trainer and walked out of the closet. 

"So, what next?" I ask myself as I look around my room. 

"A bag, yesss". I needed to carry one even though I wasn't carrying any books. At least I can put my tablet and a water bottle in there. 

I rummage my room in the hope of finding something similar. I hadn't used one in ages so I don't know. I hear a knock on the door and I quickly run to open it. It was my mum. She hesitates a little bit before she enters my room. 

"Good morning sweetie," she says cheerily. I don't respond instead I go back to searching for a bag. 

"You know you don't always have to be so hard..."

"Shut up," I say angrily as I interrupt her. I turn to face her with my face in a frown and say,

"Next time you tell me that I won't think twice before I smash something on your face". 

Frightened, she drops what she was holding on my bed and scurries out of the room slamming the door. Already thrown off by what she said to me a few minutes ago, I angrily punch the wall.

"Arggghhhh," I scream upon the sudden impact and look at my knuckle. The bruise wasn't too bad, I could easily cover it up. 

Looking at my smartwatch, I walk over to the bed to see what my mother dropped on it. It was a black backpack. Lucky me. I quickly grab my things as I head over to my parents' wing of the mansion. 

I walk over to the dining area where they're having a quiet breakfast and slip into one of the seats. I've never been at the dining table before so this was weird. I clear my throat to alert them of my presence.

"So where's the chauffeur?" I asked no one in particular. 

"It's 5:55 am and I need to be out of here in less than five minutes because school starts by 8:00 am and I don't want to be tardy". 

My dad finally looks up from his newspaper and smiles at my mum who's seating across him on the dining table. 

"Amazing," my dad says as he gets up from his seat and walks to where I'm seated. Watching his movements, I frown at him and then at my mum and then at him again. 

My dad stands behind my seat putting his hands on my shoulders and says

"It means you're excited," he smiles ruffling my hair and walks away. I don't even bother arguing with him because I know it's true. 

............

I'm in the car with my dad at the passenger's seat and me at the back. Apparently, he goes to work!!. I always thought he worked from home, hmmm. We've been driving for over thirty minutes now and I'm starting to get bored. 

"Why couldn't my parents just pick a school that's closer?" I think to myself. 

I try to busy myself with something. I open my bag and takeout my tablet. 

So, this tablet was delivered to my house yesterday. Apparently, it has all the materials I could possibly need to begin my learning in school. 

Curious as to what could be in it I switch it on. I start laughing. What the hell. 

"Is this a joke?" I ask my dad. 

"Is what a joke?" My dad asks confused.

"You guys are sending me to a school to learn what I've already learnt years ago", I ask already getting furious. 

"Alexa please calm down. We are very much aware that you know these things. We just want you to know what it's like to learn and be around people your age. I know you're not going to this school to learn anything new, you already know so much but we just want to see how you'll cope being around people," he says in a calm voice. 

"So I'm basically going to this school so that my social skills can be tested," I say to myself but loud enough for my dad to hear me. 

"Yes," he says.

"What the hell," I scream at him.

"My social skills don't need to be tested, I'm fine the way I am. I don't need to interact with some ridiculous teenagers," I finally say as I glare daggers at the side of his face. I know he can't see me but who cares. 

"With time I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience," he says in a calm tone. I don't say anything afterwards. 

Not long after I can see the view of my school in the distance. Sigh

I can't believe this is going to be my new reality. I've always loved being alone. It gives me a lot of time to think. Being homeschooled was the best thing that happened to me in my entire life. I am who I am today because of that. I've been able to work on myself and discover a lot of things.

I've been shielded from the real world for such a long time and I don't think I'm ready to face it. God, I feel like crying but I won't. I can't afford to be weak, not now. 

I hear a tap on my side of the window. 

"Alexa come out, we're already here," I hear my dad say. 

I come out of the car feeling really anxious. 

"Aren't you going to work?" I ask my dad as I stare at the tall buildings in front of me. This place will never cease to amaze me. 

"Yes I am but first we need to get your schedule," he smiles softly at me. 

We walk in silence as we make our way to the principal's office. My dad knocks softly on the door of the office. 

"Come in," we hear a voice say. 

My dad and the principal exchange greetings as we get seated. Turning his attention to me he smiles and says

"I'm so happy you decided to resume with us, Alexa". I give him a half-smile as I shift in my seat. 

"So, your schedule, yes," he hands me a white laminated sheet of paper. 

"You'll be having seven periods in a day every day, four in the morning and three later in the day. Like I've told you before, you're in the advanced / very advanced category and you'll be having some classes with students in the other categories but mostly with the gifted students since you also happen to be gifted. All your courses are AP courses except Art. AP courses are one of the hardest sets of courses one can offer in high school but I'm sure it'll be a breeze for you," he pauses as he smiles at me. 

"I also said that there are five advanced students in this school and you'll be the sixth one. Now, no two advanced students can be in the same class but you'll be having some extra lessons with them," he finally says. 

My dad and I leave the office some minutes after. Noticing my nervousness he stops in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders.

"You'll be fine," he says in his usual calm tone. 

Sigh, "I will," I reply quietly.

He hugs me for a little longer than I expected but I didn't push him aside. Instead, I let myself relax in his embrace. I really needed it. 

...........

"Have a good day darling, you'll do great trust me," he smiles at me as he turns to leave. I watch him as he walks towards the car, enters and leaves. 

I turn around and face the large building meant for the senior students. Reading the banner that says 

'Welcome back to Wheaton S.T.E.M Academy,' I take a deep long breath bracing myself for the now inevitable I sigh and say to myself 

"Let's begin this chapter shall we?".