"Well, say something Joseph!" his mother asked.
"What can I say? You've been offered some high flying job in LA and you're leaving me behind? You want me to congratulate you? What will happen to me?" Joseph replied back angrily at his mother.
"Joseph, this is a brilliant opportunity for me. This could set us up for life permanently! And don't worry! I've already made care arrangements for you."
"Don't tell me I'm staying with batty old Grandma Thora! She smells like whisky and rotten fish. Those cats of hers are disgusting!"
"No you're not staying with Thora, there is no school near her house. I'm sending you to a boarding school in New England. Somewhere called Bullworth Academy. It looks really promising in the brochure!"
"What! You've gotta be kidding me! A boarding school! You're going to stay in swanky hotels and I have to go to some crummy old boarding school! What the hell's up with that?"
"Joseph, you're going and that's that! Come on, just think, eventually we'll be back together in about a year or two, with lots of cash, hopefully. Okay, I'll take you up there tomorrow and then I'll catch a flight to LA. Now go pack your things!"
Jo and his mother drove through the quaint town of Bullworth. It seemed a fairly peaceful town. Lots of little shops, friendly people and there were quite a lot of kids there too. At that point, Jo thought it wouldn't be so bad. He could have his lessons during the day and go out at night, in the meantime, making new friends. Friends, he thought. Something he had never really had in his life. Well, not long-term ones anyway. He and his mother were always moving from town to town. She was an out of work actress and this might be her big break. He sat in the back seat of the car and gazed into space.
Eventually, they pulled up outside the school gates. Jo got out the car and his mother helped him take his case out the cab. She told the cabbie to stay for two minutes. They stood at the arched gate and stared into the grounds of the academy. It seemed almost nice. Kids carrying their books and getting to class, chatting along the way.
"See Jo, I told you it'd work out all right! Look at this place. It's damn near perfect! Okay, that lady over there is Miss Danvers. She is the deputy head of the school. Talk to her and she'll get you settled. Well, have fun! I'll try to get in contact every once in a while!" said Joseph's mom.
"Okay, bye mom! Jeez, here we go then. Up and at them!" he walked over to the lady called Miss Danvers. She was a rather stern woman, with a plain black dress and strawberry blonde hair. She certainly looked the part. She strutted up to me. I came up to no more than her neck. It felt kinda awkward.
"You must be Joseph Paterson. I am Miss Danvers, and on behalf of the faculty of the school I'd like to say welcome to Bullworth Academy!" she stated. There was not much expression on her face or in her voice as she was saying that little speech, like she had done this so many times before.
"If you would follow me, the headmaster would like a quick word with you before you are taken to your dormitory, this way please." I did as I was told, not wanting to give a bad impression not even five minutes into my time here. Hopefully it wouldn't be a long one.
As I made my way to the main building, I realized the place didn't look so good any more. A group of kids in white polo shirts and ripped jeans were pushing around some little kid. No doubt the kid would report that to the staff. Kids in green sweaters stood around in a group, trading sheets of paper with drawings of monsters on them. I got a weird look off of one of them. He was a larger boy who wore glasses that had been mended with tape. His pants never seemed to fit him either, revealing a bit too much. It was obvious this school would be full of little cliques already. The guys in white would be just a group who like to bully other kids and the guys in the green sweaters would be nerds.
I bumped into a huge boy with a white polo like the others I had just passed. He didn't look as if he should still have been at school.
"S-s-s-sorry," I said, sounding like some sort of pathetic wimp. The boy grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and lifted me up.
"Stay out of Russell's way, or Russell get MAD!!" he bellowed. It was obvious this guy wasn't too good with his grammar, but I kept that thought in my head, wisely deciding not to blurt it out.
"Hey Russell, put the kid down, it was only an accident!" a boy with a skinhead haircut told the hulking brute. Saviour, I thought to myself. He looked around my age, about 15. He wore a plain blue Bullworth sweater but it seemed to work for him.
The boy Russell dropped me. I quickly picked myself up from a crumpled heap on the ground. A group of girls were glancing at m then looking at their friends and giggling, making me feel uncomfortable.
"Hey there, excuse Russell, he's not that bad when you get to know him. I'm Jimmy, Jimmy Hopkins." He raised his hand, looking for a handshake. I don't know why I hesitated, but I just did. This guy looked as if he'd seen some bad times.
"Joseph Paterson, Jo for short." I took his greeting and shaked him by the hand. He smiled as we did so.
"Well, Joseph Paterson, I think we're gonna get along just fine!"