Michelle, wake up! It's your first day of senior year!" My mother's voice booms through the house, and I roll out of bed with a groan. Delilah hops up on my bed and wags her tail at me with delight, so I pet her on the head before walking over to my closet. I look through it, trying to find the piece of clothing that stood out most for my first day of senior year. This was particularly hard considering I wasn't even in the right decade, let alone the right generation. I didn't know how to fit in with the girls of the fifties.

I finally decided on a teal pin up dress with white polka dots. I slid it on and looked in the mirror. The dress flowed right above my knees, and wrapped around my neck. It hugged my curves perfectly and showed off my long legs. I paired it with a pair of white lace wedges. After slipping those on, I walked to my vanity and curled my hair, parting it on the side. I pushed it up a little bit for volume, and then I applied blush, mascara, and light pink lipstick. When I was completely satisfied, I walked out of my room and into the kitchen.

Mom was standing by the toaster, watching for the toast to pop up, while dad was sitting at the table, reading the sports page. When mom heard the click of my heels, she turned to me and smiled.

"Oh honey, you look so beautiful in that dress!" She walks over to me and hugs me, and I hug her back.

"It's a little too revealing if you ask me." Dad mumbles, and mom turns to him, placing her hands on her hip, giving him a stern look.

"David, don't be such a warden. Let her live. It's her senior year!" He lays the newspaper on the table and sighs at my mom and I. He runs a hand over his face, looking between the two of us.

"I know I just- I worry. There are a lot of doll dizzy greasers out there. They are dangerous." Mom chuckles quietly, while I hold flex a muscle and smile at my dad.

"I'm tough, daddy. I can handle them." He chuckles, and I walk over and give him a hug. I then walk over to my mother and give her a hug. She kisses me on the cheek and whispers, "Have fun this year, honey. Live.", before we finally pull apart.

I walked out the front door, but stopped when I saw Mr. Mysterious on his motorcycle. I still couldn't see his face, which made him all the more mysterious. He slides on his helmet and places his foot on the pedal, kick-starting his motorcycle before he revvs it and speeds away.

As I watched him zoom out of my vision, I reminisced my mother's words.

Live.

That was definitely what I wanted to do.

***

"Michelle Hawley!" I turn around to see a woman walking towards me. She was in a professional looking suit, so I assumed she was the principal.

"Mrs. Henley!" I say, and she smiles. Weird. I somehow knew her name.

"Your mother said you never got your schedule, so I printed a copy for you." She hands me a piece of paper, and I take it from her. Sure enough, it was my class schedule. I glanced down at it to see my first class was Honors English. Weird. Usually, in my decade, you would be in an AP class. Guess those don't exist here.

"Thank you." She smiles at me before walking into the office. I make my way to my first class, which happened to be on the first floor, and walked in.

Nobody looked familiar, but as they all looked at me, I could tell they knew me. I sit at in the second row of seats, right in the middle. A girl with short brown hair pulled up into a ponytail stood in front of me with a genuine smile on her face.

"Hey Michelle! How have you been!" I smile back at her, and stare at her face. The name Stacy echoed in my mind.

Well hey, if my mind wanted to be helpful and tell me everyone's names, then by all means, go for it. I don't know any of these people, even though they all weirdly have an uncanny resemblance to people I actually go to shook with.

"I'm good, Stacy. How about you?" Her smile grows wider as she sits beside me and crosses her legs.

"I'm great! Are you trying out for cheer this year? I think you have a great shot at captain!"

Hold the phone.

I was a cheerleader?!

Huh, guess some things are different.

"Thanks! I'm definitely going to try!", were the words that rolled off my tongue. She smiled once more as the teacher walked in, gretting us a with a smile.

"Welcome back, students! I am your English teacher, Mr. Revley." He smiles at us once more before walking to the front of his desk and sitting. "This will be a vigorous class, and I hope some of you will take it seriously." His eyes lock on some people in the back, and I glance back.

They were all clad in leather jackets, and I immediately recognized them as the greasers. Some girls in pink jackets sat beside them, and they smirked at the teacher.

"I think ya got some smog in the noggin, eh teach?" One of the guy's speaks up. He had dark brown hairs, and shiny dark brown hair. He smirked at Mr. Revley as he wrapped his arm around one of the girls? "I was the best student you could possibly have last year."

Mr. Revley rolls his eyes before glancing at his attendance paper. "If you are so smart Mr. Andrews, then you should know where Mr. McCarthy is, correct?" He raises his eyebrows at the boy, and he shrugs his shoulders.

Wait.

McCarthy.

I know about the McCarthy's that live next door to me, but there was only one teenage McCarthy I knew back in my decade, and that was the same guy I called my boyfriend. The same guy that broke my heart.

Surely it was just a coincidence.

"Well teach, McCarthy should probably be somewhere going fast, if ya know what I mean." Low laughter fills the air, and Mr. Revley's eyes narrow into slits.

"It's not even the end of the first day back and you already earned yourself a detention, Mr. Andrews. Try to show up this year." The guy rolls his eyes, and Mr. Revley looks at the rest of the class.

"Alright! As I was saying, this class is very vigorous. We will start out with Hamlet and then transition to Tell-Tale Heart..."

"Don't forget that cheer leading tryouts are this Friday!" Stacy says as she walks around the picnic tables set up outside, handing every girl a piece of paper. I sat at one of the picnic tables, eating the peanut butter jelly sandwich I bought. Students ran around, talking, laughing, and eating. Most sat beneath the trees or in the stands by the football field.

"Michelle Hawley. Glad I could finally catch you." I look to my left to see a girl with silk black hair sitting next to me, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Her smirk grows wider, and I look down at her outfit. She had on a skin tight black dress with a pink jacket over it.

"Pamela McCarthy." She smiles at me, fixing the collar of her jacket. "Leader of The Pink Ladies."

//////////////////////////////

Hey guys!

So some phrases in here that are new:

Smog in the noggin: memory loss

Going fast: read the sentence and I'm sure you'll understand 😂 (;

Thanks for reading! Hope y'all are enjoying this story!

Much love,

-Abby