03 | New Girl

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
iii. NEW GIRL

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  BEING THE NEW GIRL should've sucked, but for Riley, it might've been one of the best things to ever happen to her

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  BEING THE NEW GIRL should've sucked, but for Riley, it might've been one of the best things to ever happen to her. A true blessing in disguise, Riley was relieved to have the opportunity to start fresh in a new place where no one knew her, her name, or the accident that haunted her for the past 13 years, even if it was temporary and under unusual circumstances.

  Growing up, her coworkers at S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't necessarily adore Riley because of her age and how quickly she moved up the ranks. As an adult, they found it insulting to work alongside a child, who should have been grouped with the other child agents instead. She was intrigued by this fresh start because maybe now, she'd get to learn what it's like to work with people her age; people who didn't hate her for stupid reasons. Sure, it would only be for a few months, but a taste of a different life she'd always pondered was better than nothing.

  Riley didn't know what to expect. She was thinking high school would be like Clueless or even Mean Girls—not Jurassic Park.

  Because, honestly, being the new girl just meant that everyone stared at you like you were a goddamn dinosaur: fascinated, but also a little uncomfortable and confused.

  Riley wondered what high school kids were like. She didn't have many friends growing up, never mind ones that were her age. The closest she ever got was the Maximoff twins, and they were in their twenties. Hell, Riley didn't know many people growing up that liked her enough to bother trying to be her friend.

  Maybe Riley was just an optimist, but it wasn't terrible. She liked being able to tell who liked her and who didn't. It made work relationships a lot simpler. Besides, she didn't care about her old colleagues. She really just cared about the Avengers now, give or take a few remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that survived after the HYDRA infiltration in 2014.

  Riley was a little worried because she wasn't sure how to get "in" with kids her age. She didn't know what real teens were like. She was pretty sure none of these kids had even been shot before or nearly killed by the Winter Soldier on numerous occasions, so what was she supposed to bond with them over?

  Riley had enrolled at Midtown High just a few months following the beginning of the fall semester, which meant that everyone knew everyone except for her. She felt like she had repeated the phrase, "Hi, I'm Riley. It's nice to meet you," so many times that her own name was starting to sound foreign in her mouth.

  Don't get her wrong, she enjoyed socializing and meeting new people. Part of her career was networking and befriending people for future reference, like Dr. Helen Cho, for example. But those people were typically well-distinguished adults: spies, doctors, lawyers, soldiers. Who would've thought that talking to teenagers would feel like such a chore?

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