Chapter Text
"Have you ever just like tried to be normal and everything got completely out of hand?”
“Woah that is way too edgy, back up. I'm Junie Dubois, let’s start from the beginning."
A sterile hospital room, fluorescent lights humming overhead, a red-faced baby screaming like it’s auditioning for a horror film.
"Not that far." Junie yelps.
Snap to a quiet porch framed in golden morning light. Junie stood up slowly, brushing invisible dust off her jeans like it was part of a ritual. Her nerves were dressed cute but very much present.
Junie exhaled through her nose, giving him the look. The look that said we’ve been over this a hundred times.
"Daddy, we talked about this."
Her father Louis ran a hand through his graying hair, eyes full of worry. "Oui, I know, but you haven’t been in school since… Kindergarten. And this-this is high school. C’est beaucoup plus difficile. I just want you to live your best life."
“And also these Chicago kids seem like trouble, tried to go to the mall yesterday, saw a few girls your age getting arrested.” He voiced with a very concerned look on his face.
Before he could go full dramatic-european-father on her, the front door creaked open again.
"Louis, por favor, let her go already," her mother said, stepping out with grace. Her voice was firm, but her eyes were warm. "This is what she wants."
Junie grinned. The clouds of doubt cleared instantly. "Thank you, Mami."
“Of course baby don’t listen to your father, he’s being a total worry wart. You’ll do great.” She smiled sweetly “We love you so much.”
Junie pulled them both into a quick hug. "Love you too."
And just like that, she was off, walking toward her destiny with the confidence of a fawn taking its first steps.
She glanced back one last time. Her parents were still smiling, still waving until their expressions twisted into horror.
A school bus came out of nowhere, brakes shrieking as it thundered past her inches away. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes, but her obituary did. She jerked back with a gasp.
Across the street stood her brand new high school. Full of hope, dreams and (hopefully) friends.
The good news is, she managed to move into a house down the street from the school, so being late wouldn’t be a regular humiliation.
Junie closed her eyes and took a long, calming breath.
All of a sudden, someone slammed into her like it was her fault for existing in their line of vision.
"Watch it nerd!"
Oh. So maybe it won’t be as beautiful and magical as she previously thought.
Back at school for the first time since Kindergarten. Man, does she miss kindergarten right now.
After that one single year of coloring books and juice boxes, Junie’s life flipped when her parents decided to chase their save-the-Earth dreams and move to back to her mom’s hometown in Mexico.
Sweet, right? Very noble. Very granola. But that also meant Junie got pulled out of school and was homeschooled, which translated to no social life since she was five.
Her parents were extremely protective of her, so she hardly interacted with anyone but her close relatives. Making her a complete reject.
And to make it worse? Her parents had basically always been her best friends. Which, fine, was cute for a second, but most kids grow out of that by fifth grade. Junie never did.
So by the time Junie’s cousins had started going to high school and she heard all about what real interaction actually looked like, she had a crisis. A big one. Like, world hunger kind of crisis. Okay that’s dramatic, but you get the point.
sShe then made the most terrifying, adult-level decision of her life. She packed up herself and her parents and moved them back to the good ol’ U.S. of A. Specifically, Illinois.
Out of literally anywhere on the planet she could’ve chosen- Japan, London, the Bahamas, she picked Chicago. Well, Northside Chicago. Kinda homey. Kinda cold. But still.
She did all of this... just to make friends. Which, yeah, maybe she could’ve done that in Mexico, but it’s far too late for regret now.
So quit standing here like a weirdo Junie, and walk through those damn doors.
RIIIIING!
Of course. She lived literally across the street and somehow still managed to be late. Junior year was going swimmingly so far.
As she stepped into her first class, anxiety surged through her like cold electricity. No one told her how to open her locker, so now she was stuck dragging her entire bag around like a sad little turtle.
She looked up, eyes scanning for anything or anyone that didn’t scream stay away. A girl stood by a bookshelf, she was taller than her, with long black hair and a hardly readable vibe. But she looked… decent? Safe, maybe?
What was the harm?
Junie walked up, smile set on “approachable.”
"Hi I'm Junie Dubois I don't know if you heard of me or anything but I'm new here."
The girl turned around, full scowl locked and loaded.
"Talk to me again and I will beat you so bad your heart ends up in your ass."
She stormed off like she was in a villain origin story. Junie blinked, gulped. Too late, it already is.
A pair snickered across the room, very clearly laughing at her. Junie sighed and made her way toward the nearest desk.
Before she could sit, a girl with eyeliner sharp enough to commit a felony cut her off.
"You don't wanna sit there Elara Nighting's boyfriend is gonna sit there and you do not wanna get between that."
Cool. Cool cool cool.
Junie pivoted, about to sit in another chair behind some random guy when the same girl popped up again.
"Uh uh he farts a lot.." she grimaced.
Junie recoiled, her face twisted in slow-motion disgust. Before she could pivot again, someone else snatched the seat right out from under her.
Great.
She rushed to the front of the room, desperate, trying to find any empty chair, only to slam right into a woman walking through the door. Coffee. Everywhere.
"Oh my god, I am so so sorry."
The room exploded in giggles, all of them muffled by badly disguised coughs and notebooks.
The woman sighed with deadpan defeat.
"It's not you, it's my awful luck."
She pulled her sage green sweater above her
"Ms. Lynn?" a confused voice called out.
Ms. Lynn paused, eyes shut in eternal frustration.
"My top is stuck to my sweater isn't it."
Junie blinked, stunned. She originally nodded but realized she probably wouldn’t see, then whispered a quiet "Yeah.."
She scrambled forward to help tug the tank top back down.
"Is everything alright in here?"
A man stepped in, the one and only Mr. Wallace. Glasses, corduroy energy and the personality of a soggy napkin.
Ms. Lynn forced a tight smile. "Yes Mr. Wallace of course."
He stepped in like this was his big scene."So how was your summer?"
"I got divorced."
He flinched. “Ah. Well, I found my first grey hair.."
Ms. Lynn grinned with absolute sarcasm. "I win."
Mr. Wallace cleared his throat."Yes, you do."
He turned to the class.
"Well I just wanted to let everyone know we have a new student joining us all the way from Mexico."
He added a painfully awkward accent to the word "Mexico," like he was an extra in a telenovela.
Ms. Lynn turned to a girl in the middle row who definitely looked more Latina than Junie ever would. "Welcome."
The girl blinked, confused. “I’m from Queens."
Ms. Lynn, flustered, offered a tight smile. "Amazing!.."
Mr. Wallace looked down at his card. "Her name is.. Hoonie..? Hoonie Dubois?"
Junie winced like someone scratched a chalkboard with their soul. "It's Junie.. yknow with an actual J.."
"Ah my apologies." he muttered.
Ms. Lynn quickly tried to move things along redirecting the conversation from both her and Mr. Wallace’s major embarrassment. "Well thank you for stopping in Mr. Wallace."
He beamed like someone just nominated him for Principal of the Year. "Well thank you, and uh if you ever need anything or if you wanna talk-"
Ms. Lynn cut him off with the grace of a dull knife. "Thank you I'll let you know."
He turned to leave. "Alright have a lovely day everyone."
Ms. Lynn stood at the front of the room, her sage green sweater now draped over a chair, revealing a half-soaked tank top clinging to her with undeniable regret.
She clapped her hands together, trying—and failing—not to look like she'd already mentally quit the day. "Well, it’s been an eventful morning, hasn’t it?"
The class stayed quiet, all eyes glued to her damp shirt.
"I brought you guys donuts," she added, with the forced optimism of someone hanging by a thread, "but after that whole, y’know... thing, they’re covered in coffee.
So!" She clapped again, coffee-stained napkins still stuck to her fingers. "Let’s get things going."
She gave a half-smile, like she was about to unveil her one-woman TED Talk.
"Mr. Wallace called me Ms. Lynn, but that’s so traditional." She waved her hand dramatically, as if shaking off the title itself. "You guys don’t have to call me that. My name is Kassandreigh- you can call me that, or just Ms. Kass. Feel free."
Someone coughed awkwardly. Someone else blinked twice, hard.
Junie sat there trying to decide whether she liked this woman or was terrified of her. Possibly both.
After that? The rest of the class was a blur except for one thing, the relentless farts from the guy in front of her.
She really should’ve listened to that girl.
The bell rang. And with it, salvation. Junie grabbed her bag and moved on...
Everything after that went horridly wrong.
Junie sat there in class, her brain doing the absolute most anxiety falling over her like a ton of bricks. Her nerves were boiling under the surface, and before she could second-guess herself, she stood up.
She just needed a break. A breath. An escape.
But before she could even fully rise, the teacher’s voice sliced through the air.
"Where are you going."
His tone was sharp, serious, like she was halfway out the window with a stolen test or something.
Junie froze, her stomach twisting.
"I have to use the bathroom." she said, trying not to sound like she was about to cry.
He looked at her like she’d just asked to sacrifice a goat on his desk."You need the laboratory pass."
Junie blinked, already done with this day."Well then, can I have the laboratory pass."
He let out a slow, cold chuckle that made her skin crawl. “Nice try sit down." He pointed firmly at her chair.
What…
She just stood there, stunned. Like… what even was happening?
As if that was the weirdest thing to happen so far today. She'd never been treated like this, spoken to with such an aggressive tone. Every teacher felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode over something random and deeply unnecessary.
All these ridiculously specific rules she had no clue about.
"Don't read ahead!"
"Blue pens only!"
"No eating in the classroom!"
And that one terrifying moment she got yelled at in a language she didn’t even understand.
Her whole world felt flipped inside out, upside down, and set on fire. Everything was so confusing, strict, and suffocating. Regret hit her like a bus with no brakes. What was she thinking coming here?
Finally, finally, it was lunchtime. The one moment she thought she could maybe reset.
She clutched her tray like a lifeline and wandered through the cafeteria, bashfully searching for an open seat. People stared. Like she had a third arm or was walking around in a meat dress. Eyes burned into her with that who is she and why is she breathing near me look.
Too much. Way too much. She turned, fast, and slipped into the nearest bathroom stall. And, that’s where she ate.
Alone.
So much for having a social life, right?
After what felt like the longest, most aggressively humiliating day in the history of public education, Junie finally made it home. Her parents waiting on her porch like two golden retrievers, cheerful, smiling, innocent to the emotional massacre that had just taken place.
"Hey how was your first day mija?" her mother asked sweetly.
Junie didn’t answer. She didn’t have the energy for it.
She let out a soul-deep sigh, brushed past them, and made a beeline straight to her bed. This sucks.