16. First Day

I was mentally exhausted by the time I got home from my first day at school. It really wasn't

that bad, but I spent most of my day stressing out and worrying about the next thing to come.

I decided to read some Bible verses on not worrying before I started reflecting on the day that I

had.

I started my morning off in a rush. It wasn't that I was running late. I had plenty of time to get to

school, but I wanted to get there early, so I wouldn't have trouble finding a parking spot, and so I

could also check in with the office and get my schedule. I really should've gotten it over the

summer, but I was too preoccupied with Leah, who I haven't spoken to since our argument. I felt

guilty about blowing up on her, but I was just so frustrated that she could just drop me like it was

nothing. I've thought about her every day since then, although I'm sure she's not doing the same.

There were still plenty of parking spaces when I got to school. The lady at the office was very nice

and helpful. She gave me a schedule and a map with my classes marked on it. She must've saw the

worry on my face while looking at it, because she made me wait until her first period office aide

came in, so that she could show me around. The girl that showed me where my classes were was

very pretty. She had long blonde hair with deep blue eyes. She had a narrow face with thin lips that

seemed to be always turned up in a smile. She was about five foot two, which is eight inches

shorter than me. I'm really hoping that this growth spurt doesn't stop. It will really help me out in

basketball. She wore skinny jeans with a few intentional holes in them, along with a shirt that said

Nirvana. Her name was Carley and she is an eleventh grader like me. She was very chatty. She

informed me that she was a cheerleader. I was thankful that she provided most of the conversation,

although I had to answer a few questions about myself. She surprisingly liked my name and found it

to be unique. After showing me around, she led me back to my first period class, which was history.

She took the map from my hands and pulled out a pink highlighter. She highlighted her classes and

assured me that I could come find her if I had any issues. She was in advanced classes, so we didn't

have any classes together. It would've been nice to at least have met one person before I saw

them in class. It would've especially come in handy in math, since I was so terrible at it.

Once I arrived in history class, I headed towards an empty seat trying to avoid eye contact with

anyone. I could feel eyes staring at me. I could feel my cheeks burning as everyone started asking

me questions. I was really hoping to go unnoticed, but it didn't look like that was going to be a

possibility here. I was thankful that the history teacher had told us to be quiet when he walked into

the room. He was tall with balding black hair and wore a polo shirt with khakis and tennis shoes.

He introduced himself as Coach Taylor. He paused when he got to my name as he was taking

attendance. He obviously didn't recognize the name and knew that I was the new kid. He started

asking me questions, to which I embarrassingly answered. I hated all of the attention that I was

getting. He asked me if I played any sports and his eyes lit up when I told him that I would like to

play basketball. He told me to come find him at the gym after school and we'd talk more. The rest of

my classes were much of the same. My face stayed a bright shade of red as I answered a ton of

questions about myself. Everyone that I met was extremely friendly, although I met so many people

that I had a hard time remembering their names. I was extremely stressed as I entered the

lunchroom. I briefly looked around after I grabbed my tray. I saw a table where a couple of people

were spaced out at. I sat down beside a guy wearing a letterman jacket. He appeared to be about

six feet tall and very skinny. He gave me a nod as I placed my tray next to him. He had dark skin and

and brown eyes. His hair was braided into short twists.

"You must be Wilder." He said as he took a huge bite of pizza.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Everyone knows when we get a new kid around here. Plus, coach was just telling me that you are

planning on playing basketball."

"I would like to. I'm supposed to talk to him about it after school."

"Are you any good?"

"Not really, but I've been practicing."

"You've obviously been working out too." He said as he touched my shirt sleeve. I hadn't really noticed

how tight they were starting to fit around my arms.

"I try to do a little bit." I said trying to undersell how much I'd trained.

"Well, as long as you're not coming for my point guard spot, then we'll be okay. Who knows? Maybe you

can help me put some muscle on my bony self. My name is Marcus by the way. "

Suddenly our table became crowded by a bunch of other guys wearing letterman jackets. They

began joking around and didn't even seem to acknowledge my presence.

I left the lunchroom as soon as I could. My last class of the day was P.E. It was a free day, so we

got to do whatever we wanted. I decided to shoot basketball over to the side by myself. My practice

over the summer had really paid off. My dribbling had improved tremendously. I looked over to the

front of the gym as I was sinking shots. The P.E teacher was on his cellphone. He hung up and a few

minutes later, the history teacher walked in the gym. They were both talking and watching me

shoot. I shot another quick glimpse at them and they were nodding their heads in approval.

Once P.E was over I went to the locker room to change. When I came out the history teacher/

basketball coach was gone, but the cheerleaders were starting to walk in the gym. I looked for

Carley, but she was nowhere to be found. Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder and Carley

eagerly greeted me, accompanied by two of her friends. One had beautiful mocha colored skin and

brown eyes. Her black hair was twisted into a long braid. She was very good looking. She was a little

bit taller than Carley. Her white teeth shined as she introduced herself as Candace. Her other

friend was very good looking as well. I'm sure that these three had many guys chasing after them.

She had rare green eyes like I had never seen before. She had a rounded face with black hair that

stopped at her shoulders. She was short and a little plump compared to the other two girls, who

were very lean. She seemed to have a very bubbly personality and introduced herself as Hayley.

They all wore matching cheer shorts and tank tops with white shoes. I spent a few minutes of

uncomfortable conversation with them until they went to cheer practice.

"He's cute!" Hayley giggled as they walked away.

"I know!" The other girls said simultaneously. I was sure that I wasn't meant to hear any of that.

Coach Taylor appeared from a corner in the gym. I walked over and began talking with him.

"I'm sorry if you've been waiting long. I was waiting in my office, but then I realized that you wouldn't

know where it was. I saw you shooting earlier and I think you've got potential. If you're still interested, I

would like for you to start workouts with us tomorrow and when we start organized practice, I'll give

you a tryout." He said as he paced back and forth.

"Thank you, that sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow."

Overall, I really did have a pretty successful day. After I reflected on my day I decided to take a

glance out of my window. This was something that I hadn't done since my fight with Leah. I looked

out into the rainy forest, but there was no sign of her. My protector was gone and not coming back. I

knew she wouldn't be there, but a part of me hoped that she would come back at least one last

time.