Self-Doubt

“Enjoy the first day of middle school, girls,” my mom cheerfully said as she escorted us to the front steps of our new school.

We moved to New York two days ago from a small town in California. I was really nervous today. Not only did we move across the United States, but we were also starting a new middle school! The thing is, I wasn’t popular in my old school. If anyone reached out to me, it was because they wanted me to do their homework or copy my notes. Hailey, my twin sister, was the complete opposite of me. She was one of the popular kids that everyone admired.

I knew Hailey was going to nail her new start at school, while I would be known just as Hailey’s sister. We walked into our first class, science. I sat down next to a girl with emerald glasses and curly brown hair pulled into a bun.

The science teacher cleared his throat. “Good morning, students. Welcome to Midnight Middle School!”

As a welcoming reply, all the students groaned. I could already tell the class had similarities to my old school.

At the end of class, our teacher assigned us partners for a project. The girl I sat next to turned out to be my partner.

To my surprise, right when I was about to leave, she asked, “Hey, Bailey, do you want to come over to my house and work on the project today?”

Considering the fact that I haven’t been invited over to someone’s house for about an eternity, I almost yelled, “Yes!” I was super excited to hang out with this girl, even if it was just working on a project.

Later at lunch, I sat next to my new friend from class. Turned out her name was Amy, and she moved to New York all the way from France. We were talking when, from the corner of my eye, I caught Hailey sitting all alone. I motioned Hailey to come sit with us. After lunch, we became the three musketeers, and together we survived middle school.