It was a hot summer day, a kind of day that made you want to swim all day long in the cold inviting water. Maggie longed to be in water; even if she couldn't swim it didn't matter if it was cold but she had no such luck. Today was her first day of high school; she was now 13 and was enjoying some what of a normal life.
"Aw, my baby is all grown up." Marge says combining Maggie's hair even though it was already the way Maggie liked it.
"High school, I'll tell you about high school. It sucks, one day you're the top dog and the next you're pushed into rubbish cans, mocked by nerds and bored to death by boring lessons about what forces act on air planes." Bart says, watching T.V while observing his excited sister.
"Bart, I told you not to tell her about high school." Lisa says, after finishing her breakfast of toast and a cup of tea, it tasted so good because it was her mother that made it. Lisa was returning to university, she wanted to become a doctor and had worked her ass off last year to pass.
"Don't listen to him dear, high school is the most fun school you can go to." Marge said deciding that she had enough of combining Maggie's hair.
"It's the most fun school? Dude they all suck." Bart says while stroking his beard.
"Bart, you failed high school, you're repeated the first year for 5 years and still didn't pass." Lisa says, her brother was a failure at everything he had done. He currently had no job and was causing his parents a lot of stress, they had wished he had done something with his life and there is still a chance but he doesn't look like he wants it.
"Maggie, when you come home you would have wished you never went." Bart says turning the T.V and returning to his room to grab his skateboard.
"Where are you going Bart?" Marge asks with her hands on her hips.
"I'm going to uhh… look for a job."
"I wish you wouldn't lie to me like that." Marge says as he quickly speeds out of the house.
"I don't know what to do with him sometimes," Marge says.
"Mum, I'm sure Bart will… get a steady job someday." Maggie says, hoping that her brother does.
"Maggie, your sometimes to optimistic to see reality." Lisa says as she gets her school bag, it was of cause only packed with a book and a pen so she could write down what the lecturer was saying.
"Good bye Lisa," Marge and Maggie say in unison as she prepares to go.
"See ya, have fun at school Maggie." She had always liked Maggie the most out of her siblings, mainly because she was pleasant to be around and doesn't play cruel pranks on her.
"I'll drive you honey," Marge says looking at the time; she had spent too much time enjoying the company of her daughter that she had forgotten about the time. Maggie was definitely the nicest child of Homer and Marge, her first words were daddy and she was the only one in the family that didn't call Homer by his name.
The school was a lot larger than Springfield elementary, students were already talking and hanging around the boundaries of the school. When Maggie stepped out she couldn't believe the feeling she got, she was so excited to get back to school and meet new friends. She didn't see any familiar faces except for one…
"Hey Maggie, how was your holidays?"
"Hey Gerald, it was fun I guess. I mean Bart attempted to ruin our trip to California but all in all it was good, how about yours?" Gerald didn't have the mono brow he had when he was an infant and slowly he and Maggie had become friends. They were one point bitter enemies, the peek of that was two years ago when Gerald attempted to sabotage Maggie's science fair project and win first place himself. He in fact succeed, he saw Maggie's tears afterwards and he couldn't help but apologise.
"Maggie… don't cry." She was holding her broken her perpetual motion device, it had been burnt in an "unfortunate" fire that she knew was set by Gerald.
"Why do you care? You won first place, I hope your conscious can rest with your god damn ribbon." Maggie barked at Gerald while in tears. He didn't know why he was feeling sorry for her, they had been bitter rivals since infants.
"I'm sorry, what I did was… wrong." Gerald said sitting down on the cold hard steps that Maggie was crying on.
"I'm sure you're sorry but tomorrow you'll try and kill my kitty."
"I'm for real, I don't know why I did it. I just did, here…" He smashed his own science fair project, it was a simple pendulum that he used to explain basic physics. It definitely wasn't worth first place but the students weren't too smart. He handed her the first place blue ribbon and she couldn't believe he had done that.
"My holidays weren't bad, I mean I didn't go on a trip or anything but it was nice and relaxing and I learnt to play guitar."
"Oh cool, my brother can play too maybe sometime you guys can have a jam."
"No way Magz," He said firmly not wanting anything to do with Bart. He was a troubled child that grew into an even more troubled adult.
"I don't know why people hate my brother…" Maggie said, she was possibly the only person that still showed any compassionate for him. Even Marge was slowly starting to get sick of him.
"Don't worry about it; we got to go to the hall to be placed into our classes." Maggie followed Gerald into the school, there was so many new faces in the class that she wanted to get to know.
"Hey punk, what are you looking at?" A slightly older boy than Gerald asked.
"I wasn't looking at you." It was true; Gerald wasn't looking at him at all.
"Smart ass eh?" He says shoving Gerald into a locker.
"Leave him alone," Maggie says, maybe Bart was right, he was once before.
"Oh, your girlfriend defending you?" The older boy's friends snicker away as Gerald feels like punching the guy but if he did that he knew he would get beaten up.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Oh really? You mind if I do this." He slaps Maggie's ass and puts his hand on her breasts.
"How dare you!!" Maggie says as she gives the guy a hard slap. Gerald grabs Maggie's hand and forces her to run to the hall.
"You okay?" Gerald asked, they were one of the first people in the hall, the bell hadn't rung yet and students were running into old friends and telling them about their holidays.
"I'm fine," Maggie says giving him a weak smile. She couldn't help but rest her head on his shoulder. They were close, they might not be dating but they were close. Last year they had become best friends.
"So how's Sharon?" Maggie asks as the bell rings.
"She's good I guess," Sharon was Gerald's girlfriend, she had been for about two years and she was continuing to grow annoyed by Maggie and Gerald's friendship.
"I wonder what drugs she has been experimenting with in the holidays."
"Maggie, I wish you wouldn't run her down like that. It's very hard on me with you two always fighting." Gerald says as students rush into the hall.
"Hello yr 9, I am your dean Mr Bolton, it's good to see so many new faces." The dean was a tall man, standing around 6ft 4 and was dressed in regular clothing instead of a suit. He looked like a normal, easy going person and not much of a dean.
"Instead of reading you the rules, which you all must have gotten sick with since you know what not to do we are going to have a little performance by the prefects." Maggie had wished that he had told them the rules instead; they did a lame introduction to the school and being a teenager. It was literally the weirdest thing that Maggie had seen.
"Ok, now I am going to read out the classes, form teachers please step forward." A line of teachers walk into the hall. Some looked strict while others looked a little more laid back.
"Mr Singh, the teacher for the academic academy, 9SJ, uhh… where is the J in your name?" The dean questioned the man who shrugged his shoulders. Maggie and Gerald were in the same class, which brought them both relief. They were taking to a room that was in the top floor of the A block.
"Hello class, I am Mr Singh your form teacher." The class was filled with nerds and emos. Maggie didn't think she could fit in with any of these people. There was also a small group of trouble makers in the back who were speaking while the teacher was talking. It was hard to hear Mr Singh, he was very quiet and Maggie has no idea how he got to be a teacher, he seems like a shy man.
"Anyways your all special, if you didn't know that before you know it now." Maggie rolled her eyes, being smarter than the school's average is special in the sense you get beaten up but the students didn't seem that smart in this school so it was hard not to get into the top class. The year was already looking dull, the day went by slowly and the bell rang after what felt like an eternity.
"Wow that sucked." Maggie said walking home with Gerald.
"Yeah, I'm going to go look for Sharon, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ok," She said, hiding her sadness at that. She returned home miserable, Bart was right. High School sucks!!