As I’m about to reach the door, I get pushed aside and knocked down. I look up but the culprit is nowhere to be found, as he or she just kept on moving. I can tell by the way things are starting that I am going to hate it here. I start to gather the items that have fallen from my backpack. Just when I put the last item back where it belongs, a hand appears within my line of sight. I look up, and the absolute cutest boy I have ever seen is standing there, offering to help me up. I take his hand and stand up
“Hi, you must be new here,” he says. “I’ve never seen you before and I pretty much know everyone.”
He must be pretty popular if he knows everyone. I smile shyly. “I am.” I dust the dirt off my jeans. “Thank you for helping me.”
“I’m Jake,” he says, and his smile only accentuates how cute he is.
Okay, so maybe this school isn’t so bad after all.“I’m Jayden,” I reply.
“Do you know where your homeroom is?”
I shake my head. “No, I need to report to the admin office first thing. I guess I will get all the information about my classes then.”
“Come on, I’ll show you where the office is.” He motions for me to follow him.
“Thank you, that’s really nice of you,” I reply as I walk next to him.
When we get to the admin office door, he looks over to me and says, “Well, here we are. Hopefully I’ll see you around, new girl.” He smiles and turns to leave.It’s Jayden, my name is Jayden.I think as he walks away. I have no idea what grade he’s in, as this school is a junior high with grades seven through nine. He’s probably a ninth grader and wants nothing to do with a mere seventh grader. He was just being nice. And I’m sure I will never see him again and if I do, he won’t even remember me.
I walk up to the secretary’s desk and say, “Um, hi, my name is Jayden McKenzie. Today is my first day.”
She doesn’t look up or say anything, just continues to shuffle papers.
A minute or so later, she finally addresses me. She hands me my list of classes, including when and where they are and a map. She lays the map on the counter and says, “The school is divided into four quadrants.” She takes her pen to show them to me. “Here, here, here, and here. We call them A, B, C, and D.”
How creative.
“All homerooms are in the C quad. English, literature, social studies, etc. are in the A quad. Sciences and mathematics in B. The D quad is for electives, like home economics, shop, and such. Oh, and you will find the gym in the D quad as well.” She circles a spot on the map right at the entrance of the C quad. “This is where you are now, so your homeroom is right down that hall. It’s room number eight.” She moves her pen to the quad C section and circles room number eight. “Mr. Seymore is your homeroom teacher. You will report to your homeroom every morning by 8:15 and spend the first thirty minutes of your day there. You have five minutes between classes, and your lunch time is at eleven forty-five until twelve thirty.” She moves her pen to a spot on the map in the D quad and circles it. This is the cafeteria.” She looks at her watch. “Oh goodness, look at the time. You best run along. Mr. Seymore will find you a vacant locker.”
I nod. “Thank you,” I say as I grab my things and turn to leave.
She calls after me, “We’re glad to have you here, Jayden.”
I turn back, nod, and leave the office. I make my way down the hall toward room number eight. Most of the kids have cleared the hallway now, and I realize I am late.Great.Definitely not the first impression I want to give, but as my dad always says, “it is what it is.”
When I get to Mr. Seymore’s room, the door is open. I step in and see a rather handsome man standing next to the desk in the front of the room. I walk toward him and hand him the paper the secretary gave me. He reads it and says, “Okay, listen up, jokers. We have a new student.” He looks at me and then at the rest of the class. “This is Jayden McKenzie.”
The class simultaneously says, “Hi, Jayden,” and a warmth of embarrassment rushes to my cheeks. I wave meekly and am surprised at myself that I actually mutter a hi back.
He leans down and says, “You can take any empty seat.” Turning back toward the class, who is now hooting and hollering, he says, “Okay, calm down. We don’t want Jayden thinking you all are a bunch of hooligans.”
To my surprise, they quiet down immediately. I take the only empty seat toward the back of the room and get myself situated.
When I finally take a minute to take in my surroundings, the boy in front of me is turned completely around and is grinning at me from ear to ear. I smile and then realizeit’s him!I can’t help that my timid smile becomes bigger and brighter. I am happy to see him, and it appears he is happy to see me.
He leans in and says, “So, fancy meeting you again.”
Oh, I need to be careful with this one. Between that devilish smile of his and his carefree and charming nature, be warned. He will break my heart.
I tease back. “Yes, we must stop meeting like this. If this continues, people will talk.”
He laughs.
Just then, Mr. Seymore says, “Mr. Starr, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?”
I cringe. The last thing I wanted was to get him in trouble.
To my surprise, he turns back around and says, “Why yes, Mr. Seymore, I do.” He stands and says, “I would like to personally welcome Jayden to Ridgefield and to say that I, for one, am glad she is here.”
