Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

My eyes were finally fully focused and I saw that Sam had led me to the school clinic.

“Yeah, this is her first day, and I think nerves are making her sick,” Sam replied.

“Oh! You poor dear. Follow me. I know how tough it is in a new school. Come lay down on a cot in the back.”

“Can I come with her?” Sam asked. “I thought I could walk her to class when she’s feeling better.”

“That sounds fine dear. Just let me know if you need anything,” she said as she patted me on the back on her way out.

I sat on the edge of the cot in the room which resembled a daybed more than a cot. In my old school, the cots were made of canvas and metal and smelled like the outdoors, and not in a good way.

Glancing around the room, I could see more benefits of going to a private school. Instead of the industrial steel gray color walls that made up the clinic of my old school, the walls in this room were painted a warm honey yellow. The color had an instant soothing feeling that started to ease my frazzled nerves. The yellow walls were broken up by white chair rails that ran the length of the walls. Above the chair rails were a series of appealing paintings. Each painting had the same exotic looking tree. At first glance they all looked the same, but when you studied them more closely, you could pick out subtle differences to distinguish between each one.

Sam sat in the easy chair next to the daybed where I was perched.

No folding chairs for private school, I thought as I studied the rich hardwood planks that made up the floors throughout the room. I shook my head slightly, thinking that even the flooring in this school was a far cry from the cracked linoleum floors that covered every square foot of flooring in my old high school.

“I’m sorry I walked away from you,” I finally blurted, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“That’s okay. I could tell that those guys embarrassed you. I could see it affecting you, trust me, I can relate. My nerves sometimes become frazzled in embarrassing situations, too.”

“Um yeah, but mine seem to be worse than most people,” I said understated. I knew for a fact that no one had emotions like mine.

“Well, you might be surprised,” Sam said.

I shrugged it off not wanting to alienate myself with my new friend. There was no reason to show what a freak I was.

“Believe me; I’ve felt that way many times over the years.” Sam said so empathetically, that for a brief moment I had the crazy notion that maybe she did know what I was going through.

I shook my head at my stupidity. I had once tried to look it up on the Internet, and many diseases showed similar symptoms to mine, but none of them were a perfect match. The doctors my parents took me to ran countless tests, but everything turned out inconclusive. They had planned on taking me to the Mayo clinic, but I pleaded with them to just give it a rest. I was sick of being poked and probed. After that, my parents tried to make light of my sensitivity issues and told me I was one of a kind. I had come to terms with the fact that I would always be a freak, and as long as I didn’t humiliate myself by throwing-up in front of others I could live with it.

I thought about confiding in her just how out of control my emotions could get, but figured I would wait before I showed my true freakish emotions around her.

Sensing my mixed feelings, Sam changed the subject.

“So have you lived in Santa Cruz your whole life?” She asked.

“Um, no. We moved here a few weeks ago. I like it a lot and the weather is unreal.”

“Yeah it’s definitely easy to get used to. I’ve been here for awhile and have become quite spoiled wearing shorts most of the year. Of course I don’t get much of chance to wear them here at this prep party,” she said with a slight edge.

“You don’t like it here?”

“Well, it’s definitely not my ideal school choice, but my foster mom went here, and she was so excited when I got in, I didn’t want to bust her bubble.”

“Foster mom?’ I asked, not wanting to intrude.

“Yeah, it’s no big deal. I’ve been in foster care pretty much my whole life. This new set is pretty cool though, and it looks like they’re going to keep me until I’m legal, which is sweet because it’s a drag to constantly pack up your crap to move to a new location.”

I could tell it wasn’t quite as blasé as she was making it, but I didn’t push the subject.

Briiiiing.

I jumped as the bell above my cot rang.

I glanced at my watch, shocked; we had spent all of our homeroom period talking. I was never one to skip class, so I was surprised that I didn’t feel guilty about skipping. Maybe it was the fact that this seemed to be so much more important than some class. After all, I had just met a girl who I could finally relate to. The mere idea of it was too cool.

We scrambled to our feet, grabbing our book bags off the wood floors. With wide smiles on our faces, we both raced out the door together.