With my head down and my things clutched to my chest as I walk the crowded halls, tapping a steady beat on my binders to keep the anxiety steadily washing over me at bay. I feel out of place and awkward and under the scrutinizing glances of my new peers I feel any self-confidence I have crumble beneath me. I know that it is a normal reaction to being in an unfamiliar environment and anyone else would also feel this way, but the thought doesn't help as I try to get to my class without tripping or making awkward eye contact or getting lost.

After a few agonizing minutes of navigation I duck into my first class. I find a spot along the back so I could observe my surroundings with ease without being worried I was being stared at. Checking the clock it reads that I have a few minutes before the bell so I take out my book to pass the time and to distract myself from my own thoughts.

As much as I didn't want to be the cliché bitter daughter insecure about a move forcing me to leave my life behind, I was. I feel as if I'm entitled to feel annoyed for a 2 week buffer period to be pissed before I had to deal with life.

The bell rings and the people around me settle down. An older man at the head of the room introduces me briefly before starting class. Had I been jumping into this new world in the beginning of the year my first day of classes would be boring introductory stuff, but since my life is never easy it's the middle of the first semester and I actually have to pay attention and catch up. I naturally excel at school but that doesn't make it any easier to keep up with the different structure of the class. I don't raise my hand and just try to focus on the Trig in front of me. I lose myself in the flurry of numbers and equations and I breeze through the first part of my day without embarrassing myself. A feat. I collect my things and I receive important papers from my teacher as I leave the room. The rest of my classes go similarly and I feel a sense of pride as I walk into my last class, AP Bio.

Familiar ground. I sigh with content as I see the beautiful lab set up and become excited. The school's web site promised state of the art lab materials and as advertised here they were. I itched to use them but instead sat in my usual spot in the back. I prepared for the class when I realized someone had sat next to me. I glanced over at the girl quickly then back to my notebook, then back at her again quickly to confirm what I had originally seen. She was tall and had amazing blonde hair and was absolutely gorgeous. Everything else went quiet and she was all I could focus on. I forgot my nerves and just looked at her. I could feel my jaw dropping and I quickly shut it. Then she spoke to me and I thought I would melt.

"Hello, I'm Delphine. You're new here, yes?" Oh my god she was French.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Cosima." Jesus Cos, get it together say something a little more intelligent.

"Oh, well welcome. Where are you from?" Her voice was like silk and I found myself getting lost in it.

"I'm from San Francisco. Where are you from? You're not American I take it."

"I'm French I came here a few years ago."

"Oh, rad." At this point I'm trying not to gawk. She's flawless.

"Yes, this is a very different place, but I like it."

"France seems like a hard place to leave. So much culture"

"Oh of course I miss it lots. But uh, we do what we have to, yes?" Her accent is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard.

A woman at the front starts the class and I turn my head to her. I can feel Delphine still looking at me and so when I look at her I can see her smiling at me. She extends her hand, so I take it and she murmurs to me "enchantee" and I say it back. We don't speak for the remainder of the class but occasionally I steal a glance her way or she will look back at me. I'm not one to blush, but I feel a heat on my face which makes me want to turn and hide. The class seems to drag on forever and I'm startled when the final bell rings. I slowly pack up my things. As I'm doing do I look up I see Delphine standing in front of my desk.

"So I will see you tomorrow?" she says to me with a smile.

"Yes of course" I reply and after I say so she turns and I watch her leave the room.

I exhale only realizing now that I hadn't been breathing. Throwing my backpack over my shoulder I leave the building as fast as I can and into the parking lot. Locating my beaten up Saab I throw my things into the passenger side seat and peel out of the lot heading for my adoptive parent's nearby home. I drive with my left elbow in the window holding my head and the other on the wheel trying to figure out how this girl was real. She was the one thing that stuck out from my day and I couldn't shake her from my mind. Everyone else blended in and I took little notice of. But her … she was different. I had never seen anything like her and even though I was new to the city I was on auto pilot as I drove home. I blindly put on the radio to the local college station to help me focus on the ten minute drive.

Shortly I arrive to my new home and I bring all my shit into the house. Realizing no one is home I walk straight up to my room and drop my bag at the foot of my bed. I lay down with my feet dangling off the side and my arms above my head and huff out a deep breath. Before today I was struggling to find a reason why I would want to be here and meet new people when I had a support group on the other side of the country. Meeting Delphine … it changes things. I want to know everything about her. I want to know her quirks and her little things. I hadn't felt this way in a long time and it terrified me.