Seattle Slides South

"This is total bullshit!" I sighed, frustrated and upset. "Liv! Language!" My mom was quick to chastise. We sat in the counselor's office at Washington Memorial High School, and before stepping out of the office to answer a phone call, we had just been informed that due to a "credit transfer issue" I would be held back a semester. This meant that I would be starting senior year from scratch when school started in a few weeks, rather than having those extra classes I'd taken get me out a semester early.

I was furious, and I felt like I was going to cry. I hadn't wanted to move. I hadn't wanted to totally uproot my life and move to the south, and I sure as hell didn't want my work over the summer to count for nothing. But...there I was. After my parent's divorce was complete she whisked us from our home in Seattle to a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The home I had grown up in, the home that I loved had been packed into boxes and loaded onto a truck, and as the doors locked shut my fate was sealed.

Her work was opening a new regional office in downtown Atlanta, and she volunteered to go, sight unseen. Rented a townhouse, sight unseen. Completely tumbled our lives, sight unseen.

Zoning back in to the loud squeak of the counselor sitting back down in an aging desk chair, I said the first thing that came to mind, grasping for some kind of threat in my fluster. "I'm 18, I should just drop out."

"Olivia, I process drop out paperwork all the time, and if that's really what you wa—" The counselor began to say before being cut off.

"She'll be doing no such thing!" My mom retorted.

I sighed. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. "I did classes all summer, and now its wasted!" I choked out as the tears began to fall.

"Ms. Ross, I know you're very frustrated, but my hands are tied. That being said, your paperwork is complete, welcome to Washington Memorial. Now, I hate to rush you out but I have another appointment." The counselor said flatly.

The next three days were sort of a haze, me crying, my mom telling me not to cry and "look on the bright side." As if there was one. My friends from Seattle promised to keep in touch, but I knew that with the passing weeks they would drop off, out of sight, out of mind.

At least my boyfriend Zach had the guts to actually dump me before I left, claiming "I just don't want to hold you back."

And so, Monday morning at 8:15, I slumped down in a chair in my new home room class, only to find out at roll call that I was in the wrong room. In a rush I ran to the other side of the building and now, 12 minutes late, sat in the only desk remaining in the room. The old crone at the front of the room sneered, "Ms. Ross I presume?" and after turning a dark shade of red I nodded. "Wrong room, yes, sure, whatever. You better not be late again." I sighed and put my head in my hands, embarrassed and vulnerable. I felt totally out of my element.

My anxious blur was interrupted by a finger tap on my shoulder and the corner of a post-it note brushing my arm. The note read "Don't worry, she's always a bitch! 😊" And when I quickly turned around I saw that it was from a short haired brunette who smiled wide.

I wrote back "I'm Olivia, I just moved here." And slipped it behind me when the teacher turned her back again, careful not to let the teacher see.

"Somehow I guessed from your generally disheveled look. I'm Erin lol" She slid back. I had to cover my mouth not to laugh.

"I picked the first clean things in the top of the boxes. I actually put my shorts on backwards. #fail." And slipped it back. We switched to lined paper and continued our note passing until the crone was cut off by the bell, releasing us from her evil grasp.

When we all stood up and grabbed our bags I turned around and grinned wide at my new friend, who upon standing was, well, very goth, and very petite. If she stood on a book she might be all of 5'0", and she had to weigh less than 100 pounds. She sported black mid-thigh shorts with wallet chains that I don't even think attached to anything, a Misfits shirt, and winged eyeliner in the darkest black available.

"Okay, we've got a few minutes, let me see the ensemble." She laughed, gesturing to my outfit. Somehow in my haste I had ended up with:

A) Magenta tank top with a coffee shop's logo on it

B) Jean shorts cut at a relatively conservative length, sporting a monkey patch on the hip that my mom had sewed on freshman year (why do I still have these?)

C) A loose black cardigan that was far too wrinkled for me to normally wear

D) Converse hi-tops, and finally-

E) Mismatched socks.

"Oh god." I laughed, slightly mortified. "I'd maybe bag the cardigan, but otherwise you look fine." She laughed. "Let me see your schedule 'Ms. Ross'" Giggling as she mimicked the teachers tone. I lucked out and we had 3 of 5 periods together, including lunch. "Looks like I'll be your shepherd today." Something about her was totally disarming, even with her attempted goth look.

"I'll drop you off at Chemistry and meet you in the trailers for English." And off we went. I found a chair in the back of Chemistry and fought to keep my eyes open. I had covered all of this during my now-defunct summer courses. A few people shot me looks, and one or two were even polite enough to say hi, but no one extended the welcome like Erin did.

I managed to only get lost once on the way to English, but I finally managed to find it with a whole minute before the bell rang. Erin caught sight of me and pounced me in a hug, and even though I was caught off guard, I hugged her back tightly. I was a little ashamed to admit that I really needed it.

"What are you, the energizer bunny in goth format?" I laughed as she spun me around.

"Something like that." A voice laughed from behind us.

"Oh! How rude of me! Olivia, meet Damien, three-time geography bee winner, general nerd, and stalwart friend." Damien laughed and smiled wide, showing what may have been the whitest teeth I have ever seen. He stood something like 5'10", had milk chocolate skin, and had a lanky build. Damien was on the track and basketball team and dressed the part, mesh shorts and all. He was cute, and definitely cute in the way only someone who has no idea their cute is.

"Of all the shit, you still introduce me like that?" He grinned, extending his giant hand to shake mine. It definitely dwarfed my fingers and he gave me another flash of his smile. "How are you liking Washington so far?" He said earnestly.

I thought for a minute to take stock. It was huge, close to 2700 students, and had a giant campus. Football was big, the classes were over-crowded and stuffy, and it was far more diverse than the Seattle private school I was coming from. It was roughly 65% black, 25% white, and 10 percent Latino and Asian. My school had previously been almost entirely white, with a few other races scattered in as part of a diversity program.

In the intro to Sociology class I had taken over the summer I had learned that we all bore distinct unconscious biases: Everyone is in fact, a little racist. I found myself a little intimidated by the faces around me, but not out of any kind of stereotypical way. These people were beautiful, and so far from what I had experienced. The girls were gorgeous and stylish, and the boys were both taller and bigger than the white ones at my private school, and I felt like I owed them something.

My thoughts kept drifting to a white girl at my old school, who had for some reason in an act of rebellion tried to "act black." She quickly wore out her welcome with the few black students we had, and the black guy she had started dating quickly called her out for trying to upset her dad by dating a black boy, but not before she had told all the girls "Once you go black, you never go back." Saying it each time with a cheesy wink.

I had no idea if that was true, but didn't get the couple vibe from Erin and Damien. "Er..To..be...determined?" I laughed awkwardly in response.

"That's totally fair, you haven't even made it through half of day one." Erin said warmly.

The final bell rang and the teacher stumbled in, a little disheveled himself. Definitely the hipster type and he looked a little like he had been nursing a hangover. "I'm Mr. Green and um..take your seats?" We followed his lead and suffered through an extremely boring and winding overview of the syllabus, passing out of our textbooks, and as it got close to the end, he led us in an incredibly awkward run through of "What did everyone do this summer?"

I wanted to say so much. I wanted to just let out all of my hatred and frustration about being pulled from my life. My friends were gone, my credits were gone, my boyfriend was gone, and my Dad hadn't even raised an argument when my Mom petitioned for full custody. Instead when it got around to me I meekly replied "I'm Olivia, and I..I'm new here. I just moved here from Seattle."

I'm pretty sure at this point he actually said "Right on." In a hippy sort of voice. As the last few people went I got to hear a fantastical and probably bullshit story from Erin about visiting family in "Le grand bayou" of Louisiana, and spending her time hunting alligators and grilling rattlesnakes, and Damien's quick account of working the front desk at his dad's Dental office. "I guess that explains the pearly whites." I thought.

"I think it's almost time to go, and before I forget, grab an off-campus lunch permission slip before you go if you want one." Mr. green said sheepishly as the lunch bell rang. Erin led us to a set of bleachers near the softball field.

My mom knew how upset I was, and in a bit of an olive branch she had packed me a lunch. The differences between this school and the one I left behind became more and more apparent as the day went on, including that we had an hour for lunch.

We were joined by the remainder of the friends group I had somehow been looped into. Javier, a shy Latino guy a little on the chubbier side, Alicia, a beautiful curvaceous black girl in apple bottom jeans, and Ashley, a slim white girl with long brown hair in a braid to the side, and a huge ass. Ashley wore hoop earrings and high-rise shorts, barely long enough to meet the dress code. I had felt some bi-curiosity back in Seattle, and they both definitely set it off again.

As lunch moved forward everybody got caught up on what had happened since they had last seen each other, and they all made an effort to feel welcome. There was something about Alicia and Ashley though, I just couldn't take my eyes off them. We swapped schedules and although I didn't have any more classes with Damien, I had history with Ashley and Javier, and I had gym at the end of the day with Erin, Ashley, and Alicia.

We took our time finishing lunch and Ashley and Javier showed me the back ways through campus. She had a warm personality, but definitely put off a cold 'resting bitch face' that melted away whenever she smiled. Just outside the door to our history class Ashley turned and called out "Reese!" to a huge black boy. He was easily 6'2 and 225, dwarfing her in comparison. He walked up with a smile and put his hands on her waist, pulling her in for a kiss.

Something about the contrast between their lips and skin made me shiver, and when he ran his huge black hand through her hair it stirred something in me, although if I didn't know what it was at the time. They were beautiful together, and they looked so happy. When the warning bell called off their display of affection, she waved goodbye to him and he entered another classroom. She turned and met my eyes, and must have seen how wide they were. "Oh, that's Reese, my boyfriend." She laughed. "He's the fullback on the football team."

We went into the classroom but I found myself flustered. I took a seat next to them and class began, but I couldn't shake the thoughts of his dark chocolate hands on her lily-white skin. My mind drifted to seeing those hands run up her naked back before I was interrupted by Javier giving me a little push on the shoulder. "You okay there? Did we lose you?" He and Ashley laughed. "Too much Ritalin, or too little?" He joked.

"I guess it's just been a long day so far" I grinned, rubbing my eyes to shake it off. History passed quickly because I had already taken it over the summer, and we spent most of the time in the back goofing off. Ms. Kohler the teacher didn't seem to care about anything at all. Most of the class had their phones out or were talking, but she just kept right on going.

"She's close to retirement" Javier told me. "She just doesn't fight it so the day gets by easier. She'll only stop you if you're doing something crazy."

Ashley spent the last half of the class texting Reese, and when I noticed her start to blush I did my best to sneak a peek at the screen. He was telling her all about the "studying" they would be doing after school and when she typed "lmao stop!" he replied: "That's funny because you usually ask me to never to stop when I'm stretching that white pussy". She turned beet red and hid the screen to her phone.

Fortunately, she hadn't noticed me looking and I soon found myself getting wet, the thoughts from before returning. I quickly excused myself to the bathroom and as soon as I got to the stall I noticed I had pretty much soaked through my panties. Thank god I had another pair for gym. "Oh shit!" I thought. I had forgotten about having to change in from of the other girls. Particularly in front of Ashley and Alicia. I really hoped they wouldn't notice that I had been wet.

After cleaning myself up and exiting the stall, I looked at myself for really the first time today in the full-length mirror on the wall. Sure enough, I looked like shit. On Erin's advice I had put away the wrinkled cardigan but my outfit still didn't make any real sense.

I was slim, 5'4", with long auburn hair that I braided most of the time. I had played field hockey both in school and on a club team for the past three years, and I was in pretty good shape. I didn't exactly rock a 6-pack, but my stomach was toned, and I had very strong thighs and an ass I was actually pretty proud of. My ex would make disparaging comments about it. Maybe I could finally find someone to appreciate it. I had freckled cheeks and a few scattered around my body, but overall had pretty good skin. I had always been very pale, which worked better in the rainy forest of the northwest. "I guess I'll either tan or burn." I said out loud, pressing my fingers to the skin on my neck.

"You'll probably burn." A smooth voice chuckled behind me. Alicia stepped out of a stall and walked up behind me, resting her head on my shoulder and placing her soft ebony hand on my collar bones. The contrast was stark and beautiful and I gasped at her touch. "Is this okay? I saw the way you were looking at Ash and I at lunch, so either you've got vision problems or you've got a little bi in you." She laughed.

I managed to stutter out what vaguely resembled "Of course." As she ran her fingers gently up and down my neck. Whelp, wet again. My eyes closed for a moment and rolled back slightly as she placed her hand on my stomach, feeling around my waistline.

"Oooh, you've got abs to match those legs. I think we'll be great friends." She said seductively, finishing the sentence in my ear, her hot breath making the hairs on my neck stand. "Whelp, back to class." She laughed, quickly pulling away, leaving me very red, and bracing myself against the wall with a shaky hand. I recomposed myself as best as I could and moved back to class in nearly a trance.

Once I sat down Javier whispered to me. "Did you fall in? We thought you died." His grin was infectious.

I blushed again. "Something like that."

I was pretty much fucked at this point. My panties were soaked and my mind was a mess. This day had been so incredibly over-stimulating. I was beginning to think though, that if I survived till the end of the day this year might actually go a little better than I thought.

As history wrapped I was still completely in a fog, and Ashley had to guide me out of the room toward the gym. "Did you take something in the bathroom?" She laughed at my stupor.

"No, I just. It's all a lot." I couldn't believe how good it felt to have Alicia's fingers trace my skin. I was so nervous about having to change in gym, but it occurred to me on the way that they would have to change too, which made me a deep red again. Both Ashley and Alicia were so beautiful, and the thought of them changing made it hard to stand.

The gym was the oldest building on campus, big and imposing. The halls to the locker rooms were decked with what had to be at least 100 trophies from basically every sport, especially football. Sadly there was no field hockey team, but something was beginning to tell me the year would be pretty busy without it.

I became more and more anxious as we got closer to the locker room, and Ashley could tell. "Are you okay girl? You look a little bit like you're going to get sick. Did you not have to change in front of the girls at your old school?" She asked softly.

"No we did, we had to shower too. Its just...new..I guess." I managed to squeak out.

"Well I promise to avert my eyes." She grinned. "Although I have to say, your outfit really doesn't do your curves justice. You're in the south now hun, Ass is more important down here." I blushed at her flattery and held the door open for her. She led the way down the hall to a set of double doors that opened to the locker room. We were a little early, although we had been beaten there by Erin, who was as perky as ever.

"Well bless my stars you actually lived." Erin shouted in a silly fake country accent. "Welcome to Washington Memorials most self-conscious room. If you feel like you're absolutely going to die of embarrassment you can change in the stalls in the corner. Showers aren't mandatory, but are well...encouraged." She said as she waved her hand in front of her nose.

I got my clothes out of my bag and made a bee-line for the stalls, quickly locking the door and changing my soaked panties to the only other pair readily available, which happened to be black boyshorts that really accentuated my ass. I usually only wore these when I went out with friends, but it looked like they were my only option.

"Bok bok bok bok, bok bok bok bok." Clucked Erin outside the stall. "Come on, don't act like you're not the hottest new girl in town."

"Erin stop!" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Chicky-chicky-chicken" she teased. I quickly switched to my sports bra and I stepped out.

"Happy n--" I started to say, before noticing Alicia standing directly in front of me, with Erin and Ashley to the side. "My my my, what have we got here." Erin cooed.

My chest was hot and flushed pink. "Fuck off!" I said, trying to sound serious. "Language language Ms. Seattle." Alicia laughed, her eyes scanning my body.

I slipped on my shorts and the oversized t-shirt the school provided, just as the warning bell rang. We moved slowly from the locker room out to the main floor of the gym, and I heard a collective groan from the rest of the girls as they looked before us. "What's going on?" I whispered to Erin, who looked like she couldn't be less excited.

"Fitness test." She grunted.

Coach Monaco stood before us, and at 6'6" he was probably the tallest man I had ever seen. He was built like a tank, and evidently was still actively competing in power-lifting championships. He called the roll with the voice of a seasoned coach, not unlike that of a Sergeant commanding his troops. His words, even calling the roll, made me stand up straighter, and the feeling I had felt in English returned. A timid feeling, as though I owed the huge black man booming our names something, though I couldn't place it yet.