The New Kid

It was October when it all happened. As usual, I was sitting in my second period class, listening to my calculus teacher drone on about numbers. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I slightly turned to see a note being passed to me. I casually grabbed it and opened it under my desk. Pulling it up into view, I saw that the writer was Xander. The note read,

Dodger, Meet me by my locker at the end of school. I need to tell you something. Xander.

Making sure that my teacher's back was to me, I quickly turned to where Xander was sitting and nodded. He smiled back and I turned my attention back to the front of the class.

Looking up at the clock, I saw that the class would be over in a few seconds. I gathered my books and quietly counted down.

"5..4..3..2..1." As soon as the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and bolted for the door. I walked down to the hallway to where I shared my locker with Holly on the second floor. I had planned that I would share a locker with Xander in the second part of the year since I had three out of four periods with him. Coming up to my locker, I saw that Holly was already there, making sure her make-up was in good condition. I said hello and put my books on my shelf. I was about to say something to Holly when Janice Throw, a popular by clothes girl walked by with her friends and said,

"Well. If it isn't the Dodger. So how many boys have you gone out with? One? Two? Oh ya, you DODGE from them." Though to me it was a lame way of trying to put me down, her friends laughed. Holly and I looked at each other with disgust and Holly said,

"Well at least she doesn't THROW herself at them like some people we know" giving Janice a smug look. Janice did the classic throw back of hair move and walked away with her friends trailing behind her. Holly and I laughed when they were far from ear shot. Once our laughter had seized, we grabbed our coats and headed for Holly's car. We were going to a quiet coffee shop for some lunch because like many cafeterias, the food consists of Mystery Meat and the Tuna Surprise. I wasn't willing to eat that stuff so once a week, Holly and I ate at the coffee spot.

Spending most of the lunch hour there, we talked about the up coming Halloween Dance and whether or not we would help with decorations like the previous years. Holly said I definitely should because I have a flare for making things look eerie. I sipped my coffee and said I'd think about it. Looking at my watch, I saw that we had about ten minutes before the bell would ring so we headed back to the school, got our books and went to English class.

For this class, I was more into it than my calculus class for this one sparked my interest of wanting to become an author. I sat near the front of the class along the side with all the windows. I would get some inspirations just from looking out the window and then would write them down on sheets of paper in my notebook. My grade eleven teacher encouraged my writing but wanted me to save my paper for class work. She suggested that I buy a separate notebook and write my ideas in there. I took her up on the idea.

My only problem with having the book now, is that I bring it to all my classes. All my teachers encourage my becoming a writer but sometimes I get wrapped up in writing that I don't pay attention to what the class is about. I've been sent down to the principal's office a couple of times for not paying attention. In that day's class, we were discussing our latest assignment when I got an idea for a story. I started to write and didn't really pay attention when the teacher introduced a new student in our class. He said that he was somewhere across the country but that was all I caught.

"Miss Holmes, please pay attention. Now that our new student is settled in, I'm going to tell you all all about your upcoming assignment." I bounced back to reality and blushed at my embarrassment. The class laughed as they usually did when I got in trouble for not paying attention. Paying attention, I focused on what my teacher was saying and not on the new kid who happened to be starring at me from where he sat.