"Stand still, Busby." A woman with graying brunette hair reprimands a squirming six-year-old boy. He frowns at the name. "We want you to look immaculate for your first day, do we not?"
The boy looks around the room without much moving. Twelve pairs of shining eyes look back at him. The woman had figured a lot of cats would make up for the shoddy house and no husband. The boy has been moving around a lot since his dad died and his mom was taken away. That had been two-and-a-half years ago. He has been in seven foster families since then. This is the eighth and he isn't too keen on it. School has already started six weeks ago. He has been living with this woman - Donna, is her name - for the past twenty days. They just settled into this house over fall break.
"My name is Buzz." He answers softly with a nod. "I wanna look my best, Miss Donna."
"Busby." He grips his shoulder firmly while speaking in a warning tone. "I told you. I want you to call me Mama Donna."
"Sorry."
"Sorry, what?"
"Sorry, Mama Donna."
"That's better." She nods. "Let's have a look at you."
He steps away and turns carefully. He is wearing a bright cerulean sailor's outfit, along with iron-pressed black slacks and shiny pennyloafers. She hands him a soft chocolate spotless satchel and lightly touches his cheek by means of goodbye. She quickly stands and walks him to the front porch before turning back into the house. Buzz sighs and walks to the sidewalk. They've already timed it. He can walk to his new school in a record of twenty-three minutes if he doesn't stop for any reason.
After only five minutes of his trek, a rusty blue Grand Mercury speeds past him, nearly nicking the shoulder. Buzz jumps back in alarm, aware the car is racing off in the same direction he intends to journey. In the hustling vehicle, a man and woman are having a loud argument with their screeching kids. The woman - a Latina woman named Emilina - is driving while applying makeup and talking to an underling at her job via Bluetooth. The man is in the passenger seat, still getting dressed and trying to clean out his briefcase - which consists of his papers, some old homework and someone's gym socks, among other things.
The oldest kid in the car, fourteen-year-old Ariel, is trying to put on her makeup while on conference call with two of her friends. She is also searching for a missing high heel. Thirteen-year-olds Bryant and Douglas are arguing over duffel bags and lunchmeats. Eight-year-old Chelsea is rummaging in the floorboards, trying to collect the items that had fallen out of her backpack. Six-year-old Emilina Lucinda is down with her, trying to find the solo aple that had rolled out of her lunchbag. The car stops quickly, shocking the squabbling family - as Emilina pulls to the curb of the high school.
Ariel growls at her mom, since she now has a streak of lipstick running off her chin. She grabs her bag and leaves the car without another word directed for her family. Emilina then swerves out of the parking space and heads down the road, to the grade school. At a red light, they pass a not-equally-as-wild speeding car. A man with curly blond hair is driving at least ten miles past the speed limit. Two kids in the back - a boy and a younger girl - have their hands up, laughing. They are having a lot of fun with their dad, the getaway driver. The boy, Adrian, is thirteen and in eighth grade. The girl, Marlowe, is eight and in third grade.
They screech around a corner just as another car is pulling out of its driveway. Luckily, the woman in the passenger seat notices. She Safety-Locks the car and pulls the man from the wheel. Two kids sit in back. The boy is reading a board book and the younger girl is looking for the right crayon for her picture of a cat farmer. The car stills until the other vehicle is out of sight.
"Thank you, Winnie." The man smiles, and then looks back to his kids. "Burton, Josephine, ready for school?"
"Yup." The boy gives him a thumbs-up, not bothering to remind his dad of his nickname.
Josephine, on the other hand, gently jogs his memory. "Daddy, it's Josie now. Jo-sie."
"Sorry, baby." He answers. "Ready for school?"
She nods and they pull out of the driveway. He always obeys the speed limit and the rules of the road. His wife Winnie has eyes elsewhere. She watches for rowdy drivers and she always checks in on her kids. Gus, the boy, finishes his book pretty quickly. He starts looking out the window at the squirrels on the sidewalks and the other cars. At a red light, he recognizes a specific green pickup truck. More importantly, he recognizes a certain schoolmate of his in the back seat.
Abby is a grade older than Gus, but they are usually found together on the playground at recess and in the cafeteria during lunch. Her head is resting against the somewhat open window, bobbing in tune to the music her dad is playing on the radio. Her dad had been talking to her about a presentation he has been expected to give. Unfortunately, since she is only eight, she has no idea half of what he means and would rather pretend to be asleep. The only thing she likes about school is seeing her friends.
Two blocks away from the school, she passes a group of three students. They are two brothers and a little sister. She knows they go to her school. She has seen them around before and she's heard rumors about each of them. She doesn't talk to them, though, or know anything about them. The oldest, Flint (short for Flincher), is thirteen and in eighth grade. He is a bully and a self-proclaimed King of the Playground when he has recess. The middle child, Carly (short for Carlton), is nine and in fourth grade. He is athletic and energetic. The youngest, Lulu (short for Lauren), is seven and in second grade. She is smart for her age when it comes to math and such.
They, like Buzz, have been walking from their house. This morning, their mom was so deep in her hangover, she was attempting to drive the bathtub to Neptune for chocolate milk. Their dad was in the backyard, smoking Cannabis in the broken-down van on cinderblocks. He had gotten into Flint's face with his gold-painted limestone rings. Carly still has sharp marks from the night before, currently being hidden by some of his mom's old makeup. Lulu hadn't eaten anything in a while as her own form of punishment. Carly and Lulu break away to go for the younger side of the school. The first through fifth graders are on one side, connected to the kindergarteners by an annex. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders have another building on the other side of the playground, since there is only one teacher for them at the moment: parttime coroner Mr. Woodrow Strode.
Coming up on the other side of the street are a couple halfbrothers. Henry is thirteen and in eighth grade. He smacks his brother upside the head and runs to catch up to someone he recognizes. Seven-year-old second-grader Shawn crosses to the other side. There is an alley behind the dumpsters that makes for a good shortcut to the annex. He checks that no older kids are back there and he runs by. Flint had been hiding behind a rusted bin, waiting for a younger kid. When shawn nears the corner, Flint's arm stretches out. In one swift motion, the eighth grader is holding Shawn against the dumpster, a few inches above the ground.
"What do you want? I've got five dollars in my left Roo!" He shouts at him while flailing, unsuccessfully trying to keep his cool.
Flint glances to Shawn's lunchbag. "What's for lunch, pipsqueak?"
"Ham and cheese and a juice box and a Milky Way." He answers quickly, remembering when his stepdad Mary was fixing the lunches.
"What kind of juice?"
"Pineapple."
Flint lowers Shawn but keeps him pressed against the box with one hand. He grabs the bag with the other, removing the sandwich and the candy. He thrusts the juice box back and turns to leave. Once Shawn starts walking the other way, Flint returns and shoves Shawn to his back. Flint yanks Shawn's left shoe off his foot and struts to the annex. Once the older boy is out of view, Shawn picks himself up and smirks. He unvelcroes his right Roo, finding the five dollars there. He revelcroes it and walks back the way he came, confident on going the long way.
As shawn walks in, he notices a car he recognizes parked halfway on the curb near the buses loading dock. An angry-looking man is talking to a set of five kids. The oldest is either Ewan or Noah. They are cousins. Both are nine-year-old fourth graders. The third oldest is eight-year-old third grader Ryder. He is Noah's brother. Then there's seven-year-old second grader Juliet. She is Ewan's sister. The youngest is six-year-old first grader Steven - Ryder and Noah's brother. The man is an uncle to all of them since Juliet's parents are stationed overseas and Steven's parents are currently sitting in jail.
The warning bell sounds and the students start rushing. Shawn is very happy he doesn't have first grade anymore if all for the teacher. Ms. Goochberg, or "Gooch" to her one favorite kid (Gina), tells it like it is. She didn't care if the kids didn't get along, so long as they dealt with it on the playground or during bathroom break. She had once been a police officer but was pulled from duties and became a teacher.
Molly is wearing costume jewelry and a cape. She is sitting on the beanbag chairs by the bookcases, talking with Annie. Annie has dark hair and is wearing a black T-shirt with a skull and crossbones. Halloween is her favorite holiday and is always ready for anything pertaining to it. Sissy is running around with purple paint on her fingers, trying to touch everyone's foreheads. Billy is playing with a toy drum, marching around, laughing with the others. Josie is sitting by herself at a table in the corner. There is a new boy, Buzz, who has just walked in. He is very nervous about being here; he has been all week. Seeing that everyone has a place and he is a nobody here, he starts to cry.
Shawn's new teacher is younger, nicer and one of the most famous teachers in the school - known for bringing the lessons to name is Miss Bridgewell and she believes in the supernatural, as evident when you walk into her classroom. After coming in and placing his backpack in his cubby save a pencil, Shawn immediately recognizes his best friend Gus feeding the class hamster - apparently named Ben, as the plaque next to the cage reads - with self-centered blabbermouth Gina. He also notices Juliet sitting at the craft table. She is drawing with crayons, but Shawn sees her eat some of the dropped glue from the tabletop.
The third grade is taught by "Crazy Old Erwin", Erwin Maillard. He dresses in old-fashioned clothes and separates the kids by gender. He doesn't care for new technology and does everything by hand. He encourages students to do their best "or they may not survive". Marlowe is running around with scissors, chasing Ryder, since he ruined her picture. A blond girl named Mindy sits at her desk, showing another classmate - Clive - all the toys and junk she has. Clive is more interested in mixing a jar of glue with his hand. Another classmate, Dennis Gogolack, is dressed like a wizard and having a conversation with Chelsea - who wants to be anwhere but school. She's even making a list. Abigail is sitting where Marlowe originally was, attempting to correct her drawing.
Mr. Mendel teaches fourth grade. The students mostly call him 'Mr. Mendel' or Sheriff - since he plays sheriff at a wild west town during the summer. One of his students - Carlton - calls him Hank. Carlton has been going to the town, Old Senora, since he was four. Hank has become a positive (in some standards) father figure for the boy. The two are having an animated discussion about riding horses over winter break. Other students file in, indifferent to the duo. Ewan is sketching something at his desk and a classmate Peter Coulter is craning his neck to see. Peter's best friend is Ryan Bainsworth, aka Lyin' Ryan. Ryan thinks he is a detective, to which Carlton constantly rebuffs him by saying "nope, you're just defective."
Fifth graders are taught by Mr. Kessler, a professional attorney. He knows when people lie, because he does it a lot. He doesn't require his students to tell the truth, only that they are aware they will be pitted in a debate course if they happen to lie. It has become a favored pastime for three of his students in particular: Howie Tolkin. Eileen Mazwell, and Donny Lieberman. Howie is into sports, Eileen is into fashion, and Donny is into science. They always make for a fun class.
There are no sixth or seventh graders in the school at the moment, but they would be taught by current eighth grade teacher Mr. Woodrow Strode. He used to be a coroner and now he may be called in on the weekends. He is very informal, often removing his shoes and eating tuna salad while explaining Sex Ed to his students. He compels them to call him "Woody" or even "Toaster Strudel" - the latter of which is uttered by the Barry twins. Bryant and Douglas cause a lot of mischief in class, but they are never reported since Woody finds it makes the class more fun. Adrian and Henry are best friends and think Woody is their favorite teacher. Flint, on the other hand, is a constant bully to anyone and everyone. He hates school and everyone in it.