Here it is. The day I have been waiting for, for so long. I stood in front of a small building. I heard many other people gasp at the size of this school. I wasn't really impressed, however. I had been to other schools bigger than this one before I came here.
I was excited none the less. I calmly walked through the door into a hall which was buzzing with many people. This pretty much represented the melting pot that is the United States. There were people of all nationalities, all corners of life. Many of them wanting to live the American dream. I would meet so many people here!
I looked at the schedule I printed out yesterday. Normally in first period I would have science class, but we were given the period off because it was the first school day. It granted us the opportunity to socialize with others. I swallowed slightly. I was nervous.
I have been thinking about this very moment for a long time. What would I do when I got here? Who could I talk to? When would I talk to them? How would I know which people to avoid?
I had no answers, so I wandered around, hoping that someone would take note of me and find me interesting enough to approach. Something that didn't seem very likely. I started walking. I didn't really have a real destination. Does action to quench my ever growing boredom count as a destination? I noticed that the amount of people was decreasing. I guess that most must be near the entrance of the school. That's pretty logical, now that I think about. They could be waiting to meet a friend they didn't see all summer. Plus, most people that aren't in first grade didn't need to explore the school either such as myself since they were already familiar with it.
I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks. I could hear people yelling nearby. There was an argument going on, one that could be threatening to turn into a physical fight. I know it's probably better for me to walk the other way. However, Curiosity got the better of me.
I walked a bit closer to the group of people to get a better look at the situation. It seemed that two kids were yelling at each other and some others formed a small crowd around them. The two kids were female and that was about the only thing they had in common. One was light skinned and had golden hair which was braided. At first sight you would think that the petite blonde was being intimidated by the bigger girl who was screaming in her face. However, if you listened to their conversation you could see that the bigger girl was, in fact, the one being cornered. She had a dark complexion. Her hair was black and tied up. She also had absolutely gorgeous brown eyes. She shook her fist at the smaller girl.
"I've had enough of you, get the fuck out of my face before I pummel it!" she yelled.
"Aw, how naïve. Let's teach this bitch some manners." replied the golden haired girl.
She and her gang circled the brown-eyed girl. She still didn't seem intimidated at all. This was really getting out of hand, so I decided to step in.
"Hey, why don't you guys pick on a group of your size? It's not fair to gang up on one person.." I said as I walked toward the girls. They turned to look at me and I instantly regretted getting involved. "Aw, how adorable! Your knight in shining armour came to save you." teased the blonde girl. Her gang laughed. The bigger girl glared harshly at me.
"Well, I, uh, I'm nothing like a knight in shining armour, b-but.." I was stumbling over my words and embarrassing myself so much. They ganged up on me as well. My legs turned shaky and my face was flushing.
"T-this still isn't fair..." I pathetically wept. They laughed at me once more.
"Do you really think we play fair? I guess you're just as naïve as your girlfriend." said the blonde girl.
"She's n-not my girlfriend.."
"That's strange. You guys seem like a perfect match... Both of you are pathetic, and I guess you're in first year just like her and..."
I was distracted by the girl next to me who was boiling now. Her eyes were practically on fire. Even I could feel their heat, the intensity of their fury. Was she going to hit her? I hope not. I don't want to be involved in any fight at all.
She sucker punched the blonde girl in the nose. The blonde almost fell, but was caught by her crew as she grabbed her now bleeding nose. She wept in pain. I thought the black-haired girl was done but apparently she was not, as she now grabbed the blonde by her shirt.
"I told you that if you kept at it I would pummel that stupid face of yours. Now take a good fucking look at me. I won't take none of your shit no more. Remember this face, bitch. Now get your ass outta here before I really beat the piss out of you." she sneered. Tamika now let go of the blonde girl, who stumbled backwards and then fled with her crew right behind her. I had the feeling that this was far from over.
"Hey, uh... that was pretty cool." I said. She didn't look at me. I thought she was about to leave as she turned around and glared at me.
"You didn't have to step in. I ain't no damsel in distress." hissed the girl. She balled her fist.
"Don't you ever try to fight my battles for me. Especially if you're going to turn into a coward. It's embarrassing."
I just nodded. This girl was like none I'd ever met before. Most girls I met were quiet, small, petite. She was tough, big and loud. Unafraid and brave. I blushed slightly.
"R-right.." I peeped,still very much intimidated by her stance.
"Humph. Who are you anyway?" she asked. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other uncomfortably. I started sweating intensely. This felt so weird.
"I'm Edward Phillip James Lawrence III.. but I guess you can call me Eddie." I said. I was turning shy again.
"The name's Tamika. Tamika Jones." she replied.
I nodded slightly, not sure of what I should say. I looked away from her piercing gaze.
She nodded back, turned around and left. I wanted to go after her, but I was practically paralysed. I watched her leave. I hope that I will meet her again. Her presence is electrifying, terrifying, but surprisingly pleasant as well.
I looked around the hallways. I didn't see anyone. I guess no one really saw anything. Or perhaps they ignored it? Maybe this was a normal thing at this school? I have to be more cautious from now on. I saw a clock on the wall. Great, I still had 15 minutes left of my free period. It hadn't been 50 minutes and I was already almost beaten up. Just great. I decided to wander around some more. My eyes were darting from left to right, absorbing all kinds of information, as I walked around the hallway. Most people were sitting around, alone or in groups. I couldn't help but think about Tamika again. I wanted to forget this whole ordeal and yet...
The bell finally rang. I looked at my schedule. Music class was next. I was glad. Finally, something that could distract me. I walked to my class and saw that I was one of the first to arrive.
There was someone else sitting at their desk. It was a boy of Asian descent. He seemed pretty young as well. He had his hands folded on his desk and seemed eager to learn. I sat down at the desk in the centre of the room. Soon, more students came into the classroom. A girl with blond and wavy hair, a short boy with a sailor cap and A girl that looked a lot like the Asian boy (they could be twins).
This class was a lot smaller than I imagined it would be. There were only four people here besides me (as far as I could tell).
Everyone started talking. I guess most of them already knew each other. I felt left out. The teacher had entered the room right before the bell rang.
The chattering was interrupted by a loud thump. The teacher dropped a book on his desk. We all looked at him. He got some chalk and wrote something on the board. 'MR. GAWN' was written in big letters. He put down the chalk and started to talk.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen. My name is Peter Gawn. You should just call me Mr. Gawn."
This teacher had an intimidatingly low voice. His hair was completely white. How old is this guy? He didn't seem very old otherwise. He looked like he was in his forties or fifties. He also had an obnoxious bow tie. It's wild colours clashed with his simple white shirt and black jacket.
"I want to establish some rules before I take attendance." he began. He went back to the board. Was he seriously going to write this down?
"Rule 1: No foods or drinks allowed. If I catch anyone eating, they will be punished. I do not want any food laying around for the cockroaches to come and get." I cocked my head to the side. Does this school not have any janitors? Don't they hire pest control once in a while? I get that this school doesn't have much funding from what I've seen, but come on! I didn't really listen to the lengthy speech. He wrote the rules down on the board anyway. Why listen to his commentary on them. After about 15 minutes he was finally done talking about the rules. He took the attendance.
"Alright, I don't know any of you, so if I mispronounce your name, please correct me." he said.
"Kam Chin?"
"Present." said the Asian boy as he raised his hand.
"Kim Chin?"
"Here." said the Asian girl. Seemingly more disinterested than her brother.
"Are you guys twins, or something?" asked Gawn.
"Yeah." they said in unison. They glared at each other. I guess they had some kind of Sibling rivalry going on.
"Alright, next person... Tamika Jones?"
Wait... Tamika was in this class? I didn't see her enter the room. I had a very bad feeling about this. Why wasn't she here? Maybe something happened to her...
"Is Tamika Jones here? Tamika Jones?"
There was no answer. The teacher shook his head. He scribbled something on a piece of paper. If I had to guess I'd say that he was putting her as absent.
"Edward Lawrence?"
"I'm present." I said as I held my hand above my head. The teacher nodded at me.
"Next person, Albert Dilbert Lohrasses?"
"Here..." said the short boy with the sailor cap.
"Can you please not call me that? It's an embarrassing name. Please cross it and just put Li'l D instead. It works much better for me." said Li'l D.
"Well, well. How pushy. I don't think it's that bad of a name. Li'l D on the other hand..." replied Gawn.
"Please Mr. Gawn!" begged Li'l D.
"Well, alright... Li'l D is still a pretty strange name." said Gawn.
He scribbled on his paper again and looked back at the class.
"Madison Spa... Spaghetti Papadoopoules? Jeez, what a mouthful..."
"I'm here!" said a cheerful voice. It was the girl with blond hair. She seemed extremely happy. It was kind of terrifying how cheerful she sounded.
"Also, it's Spaghettini Papadopoulus." she added.
"Right..." said Gawn, scratching his head. Now that we're done with this, we can do something.
He put some papers away and opened his book.
"Now, open your books to page 5. We're not going to do much today. I will only give an introduction to this chapter of music history."
The class groaned. It was the first day of school and they already had to work on new material!
Before Gawn could proceed, the door of the class opened. A Hispanic man walked into the classroom and by his side was Tamika! Was she in trouble? Maybe someone took note of the conflict anyway.
"Sorry for interrupting your class Mr. Gawn. I just came here to deliver one of your Students." said the man.
"Ah, Principal Luna. It's alright. This must be Tamika Jones. What happened?" asked Gawn.
"I was informed that Miss Jones injured another student. We do not know what exactly happened, but I was told that she started the conflict." said Luna.
"Oh, that sounds terrible." said Gawn.
"Yes, that is why I am going to suspend her. I just wanted to let you know." said Luna.
I gasped. Suspension? She was the one being cornered! That wouldn't be fair.
"Wait! Principal Luna!" I said. He looked at me.
"Yes, um... what's your name?" asked the man.
"Eddie, sir. Tamika didn't start the fight at all!" I continued.
"Hmm... really, Eddie? What did happen then?" he asked. Tamika glared at me again, but I wasn't going to let her get suspended, even if she didn't want me to help her.
"She was being corner by a bunch of girls. She defended herself against them." I said.
"T-they cornered me as well, but she protected me from them..." I shyly added. Principal Luna nodded. "Interesting..." he said.
"I will have to investigate this further and perhaps the suspension can wait." He looked at Tamika
"You're off the hook for now, but don't think we're done with this issue yet." he snapped, obviously irritated at that fact that he now has to investigate what happened further. She nodded and sat down as far away from me as possible. I felt bad, but I was involved in this as well. How could I just sit there and say nothing?
The rest of the period went smooth. When the bell rang Gawn put down his chalk down and waved at us to not leave the classroom yet. "Don't forget to bring your instruments with you for next time, 'cause we will be playing. You're all dismissed now."
I grabbed my stuff and got out of the class room. Next thing I had was English.
"Eddie." said a voice. It was Tamika. She was standing right behind me. I turned around. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at me. I started sweating. Was she going to hit me, or something?
"Didn't I tell you that I could fight my own battles?" she sneered. I nodded a little.
"Then why did you get in my business again?" she continued. I balled my fists. I wasn't going to be intimidated by her this time. I didn't do anything wrong.
"Because it's my business as well. I was involved in that argument. I was ganged up on too!" I said. She flinched a little, surprised by my harsh voice, but she recovered from it fairly quick.
"Well, I could've dealt with Principal Luna myself!" she said.
"I just wanted to help you! I didn't want to see you get suspended on your first day. Besides, the more people you have on your side, the bigger the chance that he'll believe your side." I said.
She looked away, not willing to admit that I won our little argument. I knew now that she wasn't going hit me, either. (Even though she looked pissed) I smirked a little.
"Fine, but I still ain't no damsel in distress." she concluded. My smile grew bigger.
"I know... y-you're more like a queen in my eyes." I said. She blushed a little and looked even angrier.
"What was that?!" she yelled.
"The bell if I don't hurry up to English. Bye Tamika." I quickly said as I sped away to my next class. I guess I loosened up a little as well. Tamika really doesn't seem like the type to beat up people for no reason. I think she has these walls around her, though. Maybe some day I can get around those.
I chuckled to myself. I could tell that this year was going to be interesting.