Kelly Alicia Carter, known as Alicia to everyone else because she hated the name Kelly, was very happy that this day had come. She was a girl of 16, with a nice figure, friendly blue eyes and very dark blonde hair. Though she didn�t think it much, she was very pretty. And she had brains to go with those looks. She had gotten a scholarship to go to this elite art high school, Cincinnati School of Arts, and she got to move miles away from where she lived at the present time, Ackensburg, Pennsylvania, a nice suburb a little outside Pittsburgh.
Why was she so happy to go? Mainly it was because of her strict parents. They were very no-nonsense and they thought of anything artistic was a waste of time. Their philosophy was �Do something productive, something that actually will help you make a difference in the world�. But Alicia begged to differ, and had on so many occasions. You could make a difference in the world with music or anything artsy. What if someone really liked one song and your rendition of that song really touched them? What if an old person saw a painting that someone did and it brought them back to their youth? But they wouldn�t understand. She was trying to be a good girl and something they would be proud of, but they overlooked it.
So now, she was going to Cincinnati to live with her favorite relatives, her uncle Jeremy, aunt Katie, and young cousins, Tyler, 10, Stacy, 8, and Bryan, 7. They were just a lively and energetic family to be around. She definitely wondered how her father, Frank, and Jeremy could be brothers, because they were as different as night and day. Frank was a late 40s very stiff, uptight and strict, didn�t seem to want to have fun with anything, lawyer. Jeremy was 10 years younger, very energetic, loved life and to laugh.
However there definitely would be things she would miss about Ackensburg. Her younger sister, Chloe Loren, 14, was one of her best friends, and she hated to leave her to live with her parents alone. And she did have some friends that she talked to at school, but she wasn�t really attached to any of them. This was mostly because she was a very shy person and didn�t attach to anyone easily.
�Leesh, the cab is here� Chloe was standing in her doorway, snapping her out of her thoughts.
�Thanks Chloe� Alicia zipped up her suitcase and turned to face her sister. �I�m gonna miss you so much�
�I know, I�ll miss you too. Try to behave, don�t make Mom and Dad too mad�
Chloe grinned. �I�ll try not to. � Chloe was generally a good girl, but there was a little bad steak as well. �And met some hot boys for me, ok?�
Alicia laughed. �I�ll try, but they probably won�t want to talk to me.�
That was the department Alicia was especially shy in. She had a couple guy friends. But if she had a crush on someone, she NEVER did anything with it because of her fear of rejection. Because of this, she had never been on a �real� date or been kissed, and she kind of felt like a geek because of it.
�They will too, you just gotta let them get to know you!�
�Ok!� The sisters hugged and then Chloe helped her get her suitcases in the cab. Then they hugged again for a few minutes. �Love you, Chloe�
�Love you, too, sis� They let go, Alicia got in the cab and it began to take her to the airport. �A new beginning is about to begin� She thought as Chloe�s figure became smaller and smaller.
On the plane, Alicia examined her course schedule. It didn�t look too hard. First period was Honors History. 2nd was French. 3rd was Trigonometry. 4th was Biology. Then it was lunch. 5th period was Chorus, 6th was Honors English, and the final period of the day was Theatre. �Whew, got a course load here� Alicia thought. �Nothing I can�t handle though�. Alicia was very smart and loved to challenge herself with hard classes.
Before she knew it, the plane landed. �Wow, that was quick� she thought, grabbing her purse and backpack.
Getting off, she looked around her for her uncle Jeremy. He was a man in his early 40s, with a kindly face and great smile. He could it up a room anywhere.
�Leesha!�
Jeremy always loved to call her that.
�Hey Jeremy� She ran over to him and they hugged �How�s my girl doing?�
�Great, how about yourself?�
�Awesome, actually. You hungry?� He asked.
�A bit, actually. Is Katie cooking?�
�Nope, we ordered two pizzas. Hopefully there will be some when we get home, if my kids haven�t wolfed it down already�
Alicia laughed �I�m sure not, Jeremy. Well let�s go�
It was a mild late August night as they walked out of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport. And the sky was so beautifully lit, with a million stars lighting it up. They drove home making small talk, but it was fun.
Once they arrived at the big house, Alicia felt warmth in her heart, knowing this was a place she knew she could feel she could belong.
�Welcome home, Leesha�
�Feels good to be here!� She said, walking to the trunk to get her suitcases.
�No, I�ll get these, go on in the house� Jeremy told her.
�Ok� Alicia said, going on in the house.
She could here lively voices coming from the kitchen. �I�m here everyone!� She said.
�Come on in the kitchen, hun� came Katie�s voice.
She walked in the huge and warm looking kitchen, seeing all the kids and Katie sitting at the table. �You made it, welcome� Katie gave her a big hug.
�Thank you, I�m happy to be here. Hi kids�
�Hi Leesh� said Tyler. He was an almost splitting image of his dad and the oldest and quietest of the bunch.
�Glad you�re here� said Bryan, the youngest and most hyper.
�Now, the girls and boys are even, we aren�t outnumbered anymore� said Stacy, the middle and only girl. Her smile was as beautiful as her mom�s.
Alicia and Katie laughed, and Jeremy came in and asked �What you two girls laughing about?�
�Stace just made a remark that now Alicia is here we have an even number of guys and girls here.�
�True�
�Dig in, Ali. There�s plenty of pizza� Tyler said.
�Thank you, I will� She got herself a piece and sat down between him and Stacy.
�Well, are you ready to pout up the madness that always goes on in our house?� asked Katie.
Alicia nodded �Yep. I think so. It�ll be better than my house though because Dad and Mom go absolutely NUTS even if our music is higher than a certain level�
�Geez, I wouldn�t want to live at your house. Things get pretty loud around here� said Bryan.
�And you�re usually the cause of it� Tyler said.
Bryan rolled his eyes �Not always�
�Come on kids, no arguments� Jeremy said, giving them a stern look.
�Ok dad�
�You�re the peacemaker in the house, aren�t you Jeremy?� Alicia asked him.
�Both Katie and I try to be, we don�t like fighting in out house, do we kids?�
Stacy shook her head. �Not at all. �
�And so, Leesha, it�s first day of art school for tomorrow. Are you nervous?� Katie asked her.
She nodded. �Very.�
�What about?� asked Tyler.
�Mommy, may I be excused?� Bryan asked.
�Sure� Bryan left the table and went to do something else.
�Well, it�s not so much course load, its just meeting people. I don�t know ANYONE, and I don�t make friends that easy�
�I�m sure you will. You just need to be confident. It�s also about body language. Try to present yourself as a friendly person. If a person sees that you are friendly, they�ll come up and talk to you�
�Easier said than done� Alicia said sadly.
�Just be yourself. I�m sure there�s people out there who would want to be friends with you� Tyler said.
Alicia smiled at the 10-year-old. �Thank you, Tyler�
~Later that night~
Alicia tossed and turned in her new bed. She couldn�t get comfortable for some reason. Maybe it was because it was new to her and hadn�t really settled in yet, or she was just nervous about starting school. Or maybe it was a combination of both. It was an art school she was going to, so there were bound to be a lot of people like her, but she was still nervous. What if she was unsuccessful in finding any friends? What if she didn�t like any of her classes? �Calm down, Leesh� She told herself. �I�m sure it�ll be ok.�
�Well, if I�m even gonna make it to school, I need to get some sleep� Then she drifted off, excitement and extreme nerves still in her system.