Chapter 1 – New School, New People
"C'mon, Jimmy. You'll be late for school!" my Mum yelled.
"I'm not going!" I yelled back.
Mum entered my room where I was still dressed in my pajamas.
"Jimmy Moriarty, you will not be late for your first day at your new school. Now get dressed or you'll be in serious trouble."
I sighed and did as Mum said. But I was tired of moving around and always being the new kid at school. I never stayed in one place long enough to make any friends before I was uprooted and sent to another school. And any friends that I did have forgot me eventually. I guess they weren't my true friends to begin with. I always told myself that this would be the school where I would finally belong. The school where I stayed at more than a few months. The school where I would find my best friend. But deep down I knew that would never happen. No one would ever want to be friends with me and the sooner I accepted that, the sooner I could get on with my life. And stop being hurt by people.
Finally after a lot of useless pleading and begging, Mum got me into the car although I didn't talk to her the whole ride over.
"You're eleven years old now, Jimmy. It's time you learned how to make friends. You have to stop having this victim mentality and put yourself out there."
I refused to say anything. Mum gave me this speech every time I went to a new school and it never worked. If she really wanted me to make friends, she would stay in one place for more than a few months. But her drug addiction caused her to move on before the police caught her. I didn't see why I had to pay for her actions too: it wasn't my fault she couldn't keep an actual job. Why did I have to move around with her? It would much better if I could separate myself from her and live my own life. As soon as was able, I would leave her for good and never look back. I would make my own life and I would be happy.
All too soon, we arrived at my new school and I was forced to get out of the car.
"Have a good day," Mum said. "And remember what I said."
I halfheartedly nodded and stepped into the school. From the outside, it looked imposing and scary. And the inside was no better. The hallways were bare, colorless, and full of pushy people. Great, I thought, This will be another crappy school where I'll spend the next crappy few months. But I'll leave here and maybe the next school will be better.
I melted into the crowd of people and headed to my first class of the day. After getting lost a few times, I finally found the right room and walked in. Instantly, I felt every eye on me, judging me, figuring out what kind of person I was, if they wanted to be my friend or not.
"Ah, Jimmy," the teacher said. "I'm glad you're here. Class, this is our new student, Jimmy Moriarty. I want you to make him feel welcome."
But as I looked out into that sea of staring eyes, none of them were welcoming. I would never belong here. I would never belong anywhere. Although it was my heart's desire to fit in, to have friends, and to have a normal life, I knew that I never would and I was kidding myself if I thought I could.
I took a seat in the back of the class and barely listened as the teacher droned on about things that I didn't care about. It didn't matter if I listened to what she said because I would be moving on soon and none of this would matter.
To keep my mind occupied, I surveyed each of my classmates, trying to see what kind of people they were. I was still developing my observing skills, but I discovered that most of these kids came from rich families and never known a day of heartache in their life. Did they know how lucky they were to be so privileged? Did they know that there were kids out there like me who would give anything to have their life? Thankfully, class was over before I could think any more bad thoughts about them.
I struggled throughout the day until it was lunchtime. I quickly filled my tray with gross looking food and took a seat in the corner of the cafeteria. I was about half way through my meal when I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up and saw a kid around my age coming over. A quick read said that he was different from most of the kids here. His clothes were slightly rumpled and dirty, his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days, and he didn't get much food outside what he got here.
"H-Hi," he said when he arrived at my table. "Can I sit with you?"
I don't know why I did this, but I said yes. There was something about him that made me trust him, made me want to know more about him.
"I'm Richey Brooke, by the way."
"Jimmy Moriarty."
"I know. We have first period togehter."
"It's nice to meet you," I said. "How long have you gone to this school?"
"Just a couple months," he answered. "My dad and I moved here from the north."
"I take it you haven't made many friends if you're sitting with me."
"Not really. No one likes the new kid and I'm not very good at making friends."
"I understand. I move around a lot and never stay anywhere long enough to make any friends."
"Hey, maybe we can be friends," Richey suggested. "We're a lot alike, you and me. I think we could be great friends."
"Me too," I said. I couldn't believe it, but I had just made a friend and I hadn't even tried. Maybe this school wouldn't be as bad as I thought. But as happy as I was, it was dangerous for me to grow too close to anyone. I knew I wouldn't stay here very long and I didn't want Richey or me to get hurt.
"I don't know if this is a good idea," I said. I told him that I would probably be moving on soon and that it wasn't good for me to become too close friends with anybody.
"Maybe it will be different this time. There's always a first for everything. And even if you do move away, we can still keep in touch. I just found my first friend and I'm not going to lose you that quickly," Richey said.
Could Richey and I truly be friends? I was excited about having a friend, but I also didn't want to hurt him. Or me. I had never put myself out there like this before and I didn't want to get hurt. It was just easier to isolate myself and pretend like no one else in the world was there. That way I didn't hurt myself or others around me. But I had read Richey enough to know that he needed me as much as I needed him. Maybe it was finally time to open myself up to having a friend. I might get hurt but I might not. There was no way of knowing unless I tried.
"Okay," I said. "I'll be your friend."
"That's great!" he said. "I think we're going to be the best friends there ever was."
"I hope so," I said. "I sure hope so."