Didn't you just love the first day at a new school? Weren't you just a bouncing ray of sunshine, so freaking excited about today and all that it would bring? Didn't you just rattle on and on about the many friends you'd make, how popular you'd be, all the cute guys buzzing around you like bees to honey?

Yeah, riiight.

You see, I'm not much of a complainer, but when it came to a new state, a new home, and a new school, you can't exactly blame me for being a tad apprehensive about this whole situation. It was like being tossed down a giant pit. Maybe you'd find riches at the bottom or maybe you'd find a bunch of snakes and die. Either way, you'd still be stuck. (Yeah, yeah I know, bad analogy but whatever.)

I'm not like other teenagers, though, just with the exception of this. I didn't wail at my mom and scream that she was ruining my life when my curfew was set at 10:30 instead of 11:00. In fact, I was blessed with an epic mother and an awesome little sister who practically worshipped me.

-"Max, stop hogging the front! It's my turn, I called it!"-

See? The kid adored me!

Anyway. . . So it wasn't like I tromped around like a spoiled brat. Nu-uh. I was grateful, I was respectful, I was generous and caring and so forth, but today just seemed to have a depressing tint to it with a foreboding sense wriggling in my stomach and lettin' loose a bunch of bats-Yes, bats. I highly doubted that butterflies would cause such a ruckus.

Either way, I knew what the day had in store for me; people would stare, I'd glare at them, and it was highly probable that I'd get sent to the principle's office at least once in the next eight hours, you know, just because I was being respectfully outspoken, of course. But that didn't make me feel any better. Independant, was I? Yes. Esily intimidated? No. Liked being the center of attention? I thought I'd just covered my whole "not a spoiled brat" background, people!

But no matter how strong-willed I was, my palms were still slick with sweat and my stomach was still squawking with bats when our SUV pulled up against the curb of my new, unfriendly-looking school.

Go education!

"Okay, honey," my mom, aka Mrs. Martinez, said to me, turning her head and giving me an encouraging smile which I tried to return with unsuccessful results. "It'll be fine. You'll make a bunch of friends. Just be good, okay?"

Sure, I thought sourly, iwhat could possibly go wrong?

"Help Ella find her right class first, though, okay?"

I nodded.

"Alright, hurry! I can't have you being late! My mom said, unbuckling her seatbelt and giving us each a peck on the cheek as we exited the car. No it didnt embarress me, because I was just so secure that way.

I grabbed Ella's hand who was playing with her shirt nervously as mom sped off and away to the Animal Hospital.

Keeping my cool, I tugged Ella along, giving her a reassuring smile as we entered the school.

Maybe I half expected it to have cages inside that kept kids locked up and forced them to read geometry and understand it. But it looked normal; sickening cream colored walls, a row of in-use blue rusted lockers, doors that led into classrooms and jailed you up 'till the end of the day, and a desk that held a secretary.

Awesome.

Let my amazing first day begin.