Chapter 3:
The First Day and meeting Carrie
(April 4th, 2017, early morning)
Jack slept on quietly, deep in a dream world where visions constantly change, and emotions move at a fast pace. Suddenly, all that was interrupted by loud buzzing vibration and the main theme from the 1963 movie The Great Escape playing loudly. He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up; he reached for his phone and switched off the alarm. Looking at the time, he saw it was 6:30am precisely. Rubbing his eyes and yawning a little, he switched the bedside light on and looked round to see what was going on.
Getting out of bed, and after plugging in his smartphone in to charge it up fully, he stretched his arms and legs out before he stood up and went over to the window and pulled open the curtains; the sun was already rising into the sky and was just over the horizon line off to the east. On the street below him, Chamberlain's early risers were already out and about, and on their way to work. Some of the shops that lined the other side of the street were being readied by their owners for another long day of business ahead. The shutters over the fronts were being rolled up and the owners were going inside to start the first preparations for the day ahead. On the near-empty streets, a number of delivery trucks were already passing by and heading off to start their deliveries to different businesses in town, and the white vans of the U.S. Postal Service went by as well as the mail carriers started their morning rounds.
After taking a few long moments of watching what was going on along the street before and below him, Jack pulled himself away from the window and went straight into the bathroom to get himself ready for the day ahead.
Once finished in the bathroom, which included shaving so that he looked clean and presentable, Jack stepped back into the bedroom and dressed into a pair of light cream-coloured trousers, brown socks, white shoes, a crisp white polo shirt and a light blue jumper. After getting dressed, he paused for a moment and looked in the full-length bedroom mirror after dressing; for someone who was used to wearing a school uniform for every school day back at home, it felt more than a little bit strange to be wearing normal clothes like this for a school day. But then again, over on this side of the North Atlantic, the Americans were far more casual when it came to what students wore in a high school setting.
Then he went out into the kitchen and had some breakfast, a bowl of corn flakes in milk, a glass of orange juice and a bagel, which he cut in half and toasted in the toaster at the lowest setting so that when he bit into it, there would be a light but distinct crunch to it.
After finishing breakfast, he noticed the time on his watch as 7:01am, and he knew that time was of the essence. After putting the breakfast things away, including the milk and orange juice back into the fridge, he went into his bedroom and put on his crossbody chest bag before going over to check his phone; it was fully charged up. Putting it into its usual pocket at the top of his chest bag with the headphones, he made sure his wallet was in its usual pocket, which it was.
After putting his cardkeys into his wallet and then putting his wallet back into its usual pocket, he reached for his bag and double-checked if everything he needed was there; everything was. Finally, at 7:20am, with everything ready, he put his waist jacket over his safe travel bag, zipped it up and then put his backpack on his back. Once he was sure everything was in order, he left his apartment, heading down in the elevator to the main reception area, where there was only a single female receptionist on duty behind the desk, and out the main entrance doors into the parking lot to wait for Rita to arrive.
As Jack stood around and waited, he looked up into the morning sky; there wasn't a cloud to be seen at all and the sun shone brightly from the crisp blue sky and the morning air, though it still had that morning chill to it, was very calm, with not even a hint of a breeze to be felt. It was a perfect day to start in an American high school.
He wasn't kept waiting for very long, for at 7:30am, bang on time, Rita pulled into the parking lot in her minivan, stopped in front of the main entrance and Jack climbed into the passenger seat.
"Morning, Jack. Did you sleep well?" Rita asked cheerily.
"Morning Ms Desjardin, yes I slept very well last night. I was up at half past six so I could get myself ready and have breakfast in plenty of time before I left." Jack said, as the teacher started out of the parking lot.
"And it's a good thing that you did too, as there's gonna be a very long day ahead." Rita said, as she pulled out onto the main road and headed in the direction of Ewen High School.
"And at what time does the first class start this morning?" Jack asked, noticing Rita was dressed in her gym clothes including white trainers - which looked like they had already seen some good use on the sports field, light grey shorts that went down to her knees, and a dark navy-blue t-shirt with her dark blue sports jacket over that.
"At half past eight on the dot and goes right away through until three this afternoon. And breakfast is always served in the school's cafeteria on the morning of each school day if you want to have your breakfast there before class begins." Rita said.
"Fair enough." Jack said, and for the rest of the trip, after Rita asked him what he liked to do as hobbies, Jack told her how he like to read books and had a big interest in military history, particularly regarding the Second World War and Korean War, the Titanic and other famous ocean liners, and ships as well as the history of British steam locomotives and railways. He also mentioned that he liked building plastic model kits, including warships, tanks and military aircraft, writing and photography, and he said that he also brought along his camera and two lenses with him.
He also said he was on his school's wrestling team and had won a few trophies and medals in different competitions he'd taken part in within the last few years, as well as saying he liked to work-out as often as he could so he could stay in shape.
Rita was quite impressed and said that she had recently started working at Ewen High School the previous September and enjoyed the work very much. She mentioned that some of the students there could be a bit of a handful at times, but there were others were much more pleasant to be around while there were other students who were just misunderstood. Yet at the same time, Rita's mind couldn't help but wander to a certain strawberry blonde girl who was in her gym class with very low self-esteem and a crippling shyness that just seemed to be holding her back all the time. She thought about how decent and humble a person Jack was and how he didn't brag about his achievements, unlike how some of the other students in Ewen High did. She thought about introducing Jack to Carrie at some point soon in the very near future and thought about how he maybe could help her out of her shell.
"And here we are, Jack...Ewen High School." Rita said, as they pulled up to the school and drove towards the parking lot along one side of the building. Jack was impressed by the frontal architecture of the front of the school; it certainly looked a lot more old-fashioned that the more modern school he went to back in Dublin and appeared to be taller as well. What made it especially different was that it was a three-storey building, unlike the one he went to back home which was a two-storey building. In the middle of the front of the school building was a higher part with a smaller floor that was about level with the roof.
Along the street in front of the school, there were a number of cars along the sidewalk and students, with their bags on their backs, were clambering, either singly or in pairs, out of the backs of the passenger sides and walking up to the school. And at the same time, a number of bright yellow school-buses were pulling up and disgorging students. Jack was amazed; the school buses before him were exactly like the ones he'd seen in the movies and on TV.
Then Rita turned off the main road and into the parking lot, where she pulled into an area of the lot reserved for the teachers to park.
"Well, this is it…the moment of truth." Jack thought to himself as Rita parked her minivan and then switched off the ignition.
"First thing though; we'll go into the principal's office. Principal Morton would like to meet you before the day begins and give you a few of the things you'll need for your time here." Rita said, as she took off her seat belt and opened her door.
"Dear me…I haven't even started yet, and I already have to go to the principal's office." Jack said jokingly, and he chuckled for a few seconds. Rita did too; clearly, she had heard that joke more than a few times before, and she also knew that Jack was trying to keep calm, as he was no doubt feeling very nervous inside.
"Are you feeling nervous?" Rita asked, just before she opened the door.
"I am a little...but I suppose that's to be expected, and once I get into the routine of coming here day by day, I suppose then everything will be all right." Jack said. And to say he was nervous was no exaggeration; he had the feeling of butterflies churning within his stomach, though he looked quite calm on the outside.
"Don't worry about a thing, Jack...you'll be fine. And once you get into a routine...then it'll be quite a normal thing to come here day after day." Rita said. And giving her a nod, Jack reached for his bag.
Getting out of the minivan, Rita led Jack into the main administrative building. Jack could feel this strange feeling in the pit of his gut the closer and closer he got to the main entrance; after all the excitement, the planning, the waiting, the uncertainty of the last few months...this was it.
Going up the steps to the building's main entrance doors, and then entering inside, through the main entrance foyer, he could see there were few other students, including a mixture of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, as well as some cheerleaders in their distinctive outfits, standing at their lockers in small groups and getting ready for the school day ahead. Then a few of them turned their heads when they saw Jack come into the school with the gym teacher leading the way, and that caused almost all the others near them to turn their heads as well in curiosity to see what was going on. They began whispering to each other, wondering who this new guy was as he passed them by in the corridor with Rita leading the way.
"Well, well, well...it looks like we've got a new kid on the block today."
"Hey, I've never seen him before. Who is he? Does he live near here?"
"I saw him arrive with Ms Desjardin. Do you suppose they know each other?"
"Looks like quite a handsome guy. Do you think he'll feel confident here?"
"I think that it'll be nice to have a brand-new face around here."
Jack tuned these comments out as best as he could as he followed Rita towards the main office. After asking Jack to wait outside in the corridor for a few moments, Rita, after knocking on the door, went into the principal's office and so Jack stood outside and just waited.
As he did, he noticed a few of the early arriving students, including a few of those he'd already seen a few moments before, gathered close by and giving him a curious look over, curious as to who this unknown boy was. Jack glanced over at them and, unsure if he should say anything, merely gave a smile and a nod. And a few of them also smiled and nodded back in return.
"Okay Jack, in here please." Rita said, as she opened the door. Jack went inside and from there went past the assistant principal's office and the secretary's deck and into Principal Morton's office.
"Ah good morning there, Jack." Principal Morton said in a pleasant tone, as he stood up from his desk and walked round it while extending his hand.
"Good morning, sir." Jack said, as he shook Principal Morton's hand.
"Have a seat, please." Principal Morton said, as he sat down behind his desk.
"Thank you." Jack said, as he sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk and Rita sat on the other one. Jack didn't know it, but he had just sat down in the very same chair that Carrie White had sat in when she was brought to the principal's office after the period incident in the girl's locker room shower the previous Friday. Principal Morton took a sip of his coffee while it was still hot before he spoke again.
"Welcome to Ewen High School, Jack. We're very honoured to have you over here. You must be very proud to represent your school and country here." Morton said.
"Yes sir, I am. In fact, this is the very first time that I've been over to the United States. And I'm very pleased to be over here for the first time."
"Ah very good. And did you have a good flight over from Ireland?" Morton asked.
"Yes sir, I did. It was quite…uneventful." Jack said, as Morton opened a copy of his file on his desk before him.
"Excellent. Anyway, I've had a good long look at your record and I'm very impressed with it. Now let's see; in your Sixth Year in your secondary school over in Dublin, a very good attendance record...not a day of school missed, very high grades in all chosen subjects...A+ average, tested I.Q. of 250…average I.Q. of 245…and no detentions or suspensions on your record at all. And believe me Jack, that record you have is a lot better than quite a few of the other students in this school, may I say."
"Well sir, I've always avoided situations that could get me detention or into any sort of trouble; I don't intent to spoil that record now just because I'm going to school in a different country. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I was selected to come over here for the exchange programme. It's because my behaviour record, attendance record and academic record in my school were among some of the very best." Jack said, as Rita smiled; she was really very impressed with Jack's school record.
"That's good, Jack...very good indeed, and I really hope that your light will shine very brightly while you're over here. And if you need any help at all, don't be afraid to ask me or any of the other teachers." Morton said, as he closed the file.
"Thank you very much, sir." Jack said, as Morton reached down to one of the drawers under his desk, opened it and grabbed some papers.
"Here's a few things you'll need for the next few weeks; a journal, a map of the school so you can find your way round, a page with the school rules and, of course, your class schedule. The classes marked over with red marker pen are those you're exempt from, due to what I've read in your file, so for those classes you can go either into the cafeteria, the library or the student lounge upstairs. And of course, not forgetting a locker key." Morton said, passing the papers and journal, as well as a locker key, to Jack. Looking at the plastic tab attached to the key, Jack could see he was assigned to locker 95.
"Thanks, sir." Jack said, as he placed the papers and journal into his bag, and then placed his locker key into a separate pocket and attached it to a length of cord so he could find it easily.
"Well, now with those…formalities out of the way, all that's left to do now is getting you the necessary schoolbooks. Ms Desjardin, if you could take Jack over to the library, he'll be able to get the necessary books he needs there. Ms Watson should have them ready by now."
"Yes, sir." Rita said, as she and Jack stood up.
"And best of luck with your classes, Jack. And welcome to Chamberlain." Principal Morton said, as he shook Jack's hand again.
"Thank you very much, sir." Jack said, as he and Rita left the office.
(The library, a minute later)
They arrived at the library and entering it through the double doors, Jack took a good look round and was impressed. The library occupied two floor levels like the library in his school at home but was much larger with an even greater selection of books to choose from. In the middle of the space was an open well looking up to the first floor. A spiral staircase in the middle of the ground floor went up to the first floor and large windows, including skylights on the ceiling, allowed plenty of natural light into the room. Near the base of the spiral stairs were long desks on which sat over 30 of the latest computers and desktops for students to use. Jack was impressed, as this very modern library quite easily put the library at his school back home to shame.
Then, closely following Rita, Jack looked round for the woman whom Morton said was "Ms Watson" but couldn't see her anywhere. Then he noticed a middle-aged woman sitting at the librarian's desk at one end of the library and thought for a moment that maybe that could be her.
"Norma? Are you here?" Rita quietly called out.
"I'm here, Ms Desjardin." came the peppy voice of a younger female. And then, a few seconds later, Norma Watson stepped out from the room used for storing schoolbooks. Jack realised this was "Ms Watson" and was actually one of the students, and not a librarian who worked in the library. She had short and light brunette hair that stopped at about shoulder level and on her face was a very bright friendly smile that could easily light up a very dull day if given half a chance.
"Norma, this is Jack Sullivan, the foreign exchange student from Ireland who'll be joining the school for the rest of Senior Year. Jack, this is Norma Watson, Ewen High's Senior Class President." Rita said, as Norma and Jack shook hands.
"It's really nice to meet you, Jack. Welcome to Ewen High School and the United States, and I hope that you'll have a good time while you're over here." Norma said, as she spoke in her usual peppy, and a tad overly friendly, way before reaching down to a table beside her and handing Jack the schoolbooks he needed.
"It's nice to meet you too, Norma. And I hope I will, and thanks very much for these." Jack said, as he took the weight of his schoolbooks in his arms.
"What do you think of this library?" Norma asked.
"It's incredible. It quite easily makes the library at my secondary school back in Dublin look pathetically small by comparison." Jack said.
"Well, I hope we'll get to see more of each other during your time here." Norma said, with her friendly smile still on show.
"Maybe we will…anyway, I'd best get these books over to my locker before they pull my arms off. Thanks for your help, Norma." Jack said, as he and Rita started for the door.
"Happy to help, Jack." Norma said, as she reached for her own schoolbag and prepared to leave.
(Out in the corridor)
After reaching his locker out in the corridor and sorting out the books he needed for his first classes, as well as putting the unneeded books into his locker, Jack closed his locker door, locked it and turned to Rita.
"Well, I guess that's it for now. So…I'll see you later then?"
"Of course. According to your schedule you don't have gym class with me today, so I'll see you at my car after school." Rita said.
"I guess so. Well…I'd best not keep you here for much longer if you've got a class to get ready for."
"All right, I'll see you later Jack. Best of luck with your classes today." Rita said, as she turned and headed off down the corridor. Jack turned and headed the other way looking for the canteen, figuring he may as well get something quick to eat or drink before the first class began.
As he neared the end of the corridor, he noticed a teen boy coming in the other direction and cleaning the lens of his camera.
"Excuse me…ah, can you tell me if the cafeteria is down this way?" Jack asked, getting the other boy's attention. The other boy looked up suddenly and stopped.
"I'm Jack Sullivan and I'm the new foreign exchange student round here, so I don't know exactly where things are."
"Oh yes, it's close by just at the very end of the corridor and then turn left."
"Thanks very much for your help…ah…what's your name?"
"It's Freddy…Freddy Holt." said Freddy.
"Nice to meet you Freddy, I hope we can talk again soon." Jack said.
"I hope we can, but I best be off to my locker and get a few things." Freddy said.
"All right, I'll catch you later!" Jack said, as he headed to the cafeteria. Freddy turned away and headed down the corridor, feeling a little happy he was shown appreciation simply for giving directions. He was a nerd in the school, and because of that he didn't have very many friends. Now with a smile on his face, Freddy continued to his locker.
(School cafeteria)
Entering the cafeteria, Jack saw there were quite a few more students about now than there was earlier on, but there were still a few tables still available to sit at, so he went over to the hot drinks vending machine and got himself a cup of tea. Taking a look round, he could see the cafeteria was no different than the one back in his Dublin school, with the way the tables were set up and the students sitting on them.
As he stepped away from the vending machines and began sipping some of his tea, he looked for a place to sit down...but more students had come in and were at the tables either chatting with friends or having breakfast, so there were fewer places to sit at. Looking for a place to sit, he passed a table of jocks laughing loudly about something or even whistling at girls at one of the other tables, and at another table he passed was a clique of popular girls - about a dozen or so of them - who, as well as appearing to be wearing too much makeup and wearing the usual clothes that he expected high school girls to wear, were talking about events that had happened in the previous week and laughing about them.
"I'd better not sit there then." Jack thought to himself as he walked on by, while frowning to himself at what the girls at that table were laughing about.
Then his eyes settled on a vacant table near the back corner of the room with only person sitting there; it was a girl with strawberry blonde hair who seemed to be trying her best not to attract any unwanted attention from anyone else in the cafeteria.
Taking in a deep breath and making his way over to the table, Jack could see the girl did have strawberry blonde hair as he'd seen, except it was a little bit redder than he thought before. Her hair framed her face as the girl concentrated on finishing her breakfast, so she didn't notice him standing by her table.
"Um…excuse me…do you mind if I sit here?" Jack asked.
Carrie jumped very slightly at the sound of the unfamiliar Irish voice and looked up, seeing the unfamiliar boy, who she'd never seen before, standing by her table. Inside she was surprised; normally no-one wanted to ever sit with her, as many other students, especially those who did everything they could to make her life as miserable as they could, called her "Creepy Carrie". For her, it was supposed to be the usual routine she'd always followed; wake up, go over to the school, attend her classes and just hope that the bullies who tormented her would leave her alone for once and then go on home and hope that her momma didn't think she'd sinned and lock her in the "prayer closet" under the stairs again.
"Who's this man? Why does he want to sit with me? Is he gonna try and trick me or make fun of me like everyone else here does?" she thought deep inside, as she stared at the unknown boy with wide anxious eyes. Jack saw this girl's bright green eyes were filled with worry and noticed her breathing had picked up a bit. Fearing he may have scared her, Jack tried to give her some reassurance.
"Hey, it's all right, I'm sorry if I startled you. I'm just looking for a place to sit. You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Jack said, as he gave a kind and reassuring smile to the worried girl. At first Carrie was silent, unsure if this young man wanted to trick her, but the reassuring smile on his face helped to slowly realise that he wasn't going to play a trick on her and he really did want to sit with her. So, with a slow nod, she allowed him to sit with her.
Jack smiled as he sat down opposite from Carrie, noticing the painfully shy girl in front of him was still refusing to make eye contact with him.
"My name's Jack Sullivan; I'm the new foreign exchange student from Ireland. I flew in yesterday, and this is my very first day here. Thanks for letting me sit with you." he said, as he stuck out his hand toward Carrie.
Carrie glanced nervously at Jack's outstretched hand for a long moment, wondering as to whether or not she should take it or not, but seeing the expectant look on Jack's face, she shakily stuck out her hand and put it round Jack's hand.
"I'm Carrie White." she said in a low whisper.
"It's nice to meet you, Carrie. That's a nice name." Jack said, after shaking Carrie's hand. Letting go of her hand, Jack took in Carrie's appearance for a moment; she was a very beautiful girl, her skin was pale, yet not in an unhealthy way. Her strawberry blonde hair, which fell just past her shoulders, framed her beautiful face and bright green eyes. Her clothes were a tad on the old-fashioned side but seemed to suit her quite well.
Sensing that Carrie wasn't too keen on talking, as she turned back to eating her breakfast, Jack just picked up his cup of tea and sipped. As he did so, he could hear whispers from some of the other students at the tables a few feet behind him. One girl among the group of girls whispered to her friends as they watched the new kid sit with the school's outcast.
"What's he doing sitting with Creepy Carrie? Doesn't he know who she is?"
"Obviously not. If he did know who she was, he probably wouldn't be sitting with her right now, girl."
"What he doesn't know is he's just thrown his social life away."
"What the bloody hell are that lot on about?" Jack muttered, as he sipped his tea.
"They're…they're whispering about the fact you're sitting with me." Carrie whispered as Jack's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Well…I really don't see anything wrong sitting with a pretty girl like yourself." Jack said, as the words "pretty girl" came out his mouth without thinking. Carrie's eyes widened a little on hearing such a compliment. "Me pretty? He must have made a mistake." she thought to herself,
"You're lying. I…I'm not pretty." she said, casting her eyes back down on the table.
Jack was completely taken aback by this response; this girl didn't think she was pretty despite the compliment. He was surprised, and somewhat concerned, by this girl's low self-esteem. But before Jack could say anything more, the bell rang, signalling the start of class. Checking his watch, Jack saw it was 8:30am exactly.
Carrie collected her things, stood up and headed off to her first class of the day without another word. Jack watched her go with some concern on his face before he stood up himself, while making a note in his head to speak to Ms Desjardin later on, and headed off to his first class too, which was a double period of history.
(A few moments later)
Thanks to the map he had, he was able to find the classroom, which was up on the second floor, without too much difficulty where the teacher was waiting outside the door. After greeting Jack warmly and shaking his hand, he told Jack to wait outside, as he was going to announce him to the other students in the room and then welcome him in. Jack agreed as the teacher went into the room, where most of the other students were talking with friends before class began.
"Okay class…listen up…" he called out with a voice that had years of experience in dealing with students. Silence fell, and all heads in the room turned to him. "…now before we begin, I'd like to announce that we've got a brand-new student who'll be attending Ewen High for the rest of Senior Year. No doubt some of you may have seen him out in the corridors or sitting in the cafeteria a little earlier on this morning." said the history teacher. A lot of those in the class were genuinely curious of the new boy they'd seen walking in the corridors or sitting with the school's outcast in the cafeteria a short while before.
"Now everyone…this young man comes from Ireland and is taking part in the student exchange programme that this school is taking part in. As you all know, one of our own students went over to Ireland for two months earlier on in this school year and, in return, one of their students has come over here for two months. So, I want you all to make a good impression while he's here. Agreed?"
"Yes sir." the students said.
"Outstanding." the teacher said, and then he looked to the open door and nodded. A second later, a somewhat nervous Jack stepped into the room as all eyes fell upon him.
"So…please introduce yourself young man." the history teacher said with a smile, as Jack took a deep nervous breath.
"Hi everyone, I'm Jack Sullivan. I'm from Ireland and I live in its capital city, Dublin. I hope that I'll have a good time while I'm over here; it's the very first time that I've ever been over to the United States, and this is also the twentieth country that I've been to." Jack said in his distinctive Irish accent, as he glanced calmly, but at the same time very nervously, around the room at all the faces which were staring up at him from their seats.
"Very good, Jack. Now…do any of you any questions for him?" the history teacher asked turning to the class, as a few of the students raised their hands. Jack pointed to one.
"What other countries have you been to, and which continent are they on?" one boy asked.
"All the other countries that I've been to over the years are all located over in Europe. I've been to France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Croatia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Austria…all in that order and some of them I've been to more than once." Jack said, as he spread his hands out. All the other students before him looked impressed; most of them had never been outside the continental United States before. The furthest a few of them had travelled to was over to Hawaii on vacation or north into Canada. And most of those who had travelled far had never been over to Europe before.
"So, you're quite a well-travelled person then?" the history teacher said.
"Yes sir, you could say so." Jack said, as the history teacher chuckled. A few more students before him raised their hands and Jack pointed to one.
"Have you been to many places around Ireland?" a girl with light yellow-blonde hair sitting in the front row of desks, who happened to be Sue Snell, asked.
"Yes, I have; I've been all around the island of Ireland to many of the major cities, from Cork in the south to Belfast in the north, visiting many of the tourist places, including the Giant's Causeway, the Titanic Visitor Centre and Titanic's tender, the SS Nomadic, and the World War I cruiser HMS Caroline in Belfast, Blarney Castle outside of Cork City and the Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park in County Kerry...to name but a few of the places in Ireland that I've been to." Jack said.
"Do you have any major interests or do any sports?" another one of the boys asked, as the single girls eyed Jack in not so discreet ways.
"I'm on my school's wrestling team and I've won a few medals and trophies in various contests I've taken part in over the years. I previously was on my school's hurling team for about a year and a half, but I left that team just a few months back due to a few teammates who I felt were…disagreeable. I also have an interest in reading books, particularly ones about the Titanic and military history, especially the Second World War, the Korean War and military aviation. I also like photography, building plastic model kits, of which I've built loads over the years, and railways, including steam locomotives and model railways." Jack said. A lot of the other students before him looked quite impressed, as Jack brought his hands up to the sides of his mouth and mock-called "Next!".
"Do you have a girlfriend?" one of the girls sitting off to his left asked.
Jack froze; he hadn't been expecting this question, as he saw most of, what he presumed were, the single girls in the room lean forward expectantly, eagerly awaiting the answer. Although Jack did have plenty of female friends back at his school back in Dublin, and many good ones at that, he'd never had a serious girlfriend before.
"Ah, no I don't have a girlfriend." he said, much to the delight of the single females present.
Another hand went up "How many years of high school do you have in Ireland?" another of the boys asked.
"In Ireland, there's six years of high school, or secondary school as it's called back home, compared to four years over here. I'm nearing the end of Sixth Year, which means that when you all were starting on your first year, or Freshman Year, of high school over here, I was starting on my Third Year." Jack said. And almost all the other students before Jack murmured amongst each other in amazed awe; this Irish kid had more years of high school experience under his belt than they did.
"So, you've got a lot more experience of high school than any of the seniors here in this school?" the history teacher said.
"Yes, sir." Jack said.
A few more questions later, where Jack told them all a bit about his family, what his parents did for a living and about his three sisters, the teacher said it was time to begin the day's lessons and so Jack made his way to the back of the room and found an empty chair at an empty desk along the back row, a place where he usually preferred to be when at school back home.
He sat down and was taking the necessary books out from his bag when he noticed something off to his right. He saw a familiar head of strawberry blonde hair and saw it was Carrie and, just like when he first saw her in the cafeteria a little while earlier on, she had her head down and seemingly trying not to attract any unwanted attention from anyone else. Wondering as to whether Carrie was in any more of his classes, Jack opened his history textbook.
(End of Class)
"Well then, I think I can safely say that my first class here was an unqualified success." Jack thought to himself as he and all the other students left the room on hearing the bell. He headed down the hallway, lost in his own thoughts, to his next class which was English. Suddenly he heard what sounded like laughter from a lot of people coming from down the hallway and went to investigate what was going on.
Arriving at what was happening, Jack was shocked to see the words "CARRIE WHITE EATS SHIT" spray-painted in silver paint on some of the locker doors, one of which no doubt was Carrie's. He felt his blood boil on seeing the hurtful words that were aimed at the girl he had sat with earlier on. Then Carrie appeared and tried to walk on by, while trying to fight back tears as she headed to the girl's bathroom and trying to ignore the laughter directed at her.
Then one of a group of three jocks standing by the lockers along the other side of the corridor stuck his foot out and tripped Carrie. She was able to put her hands in front of her just in time to break her fall. However, the jocks didn't stop there and continued with their fun tormenting the outcast as others in the corridor laughed.
"Please…someone help me, please." Carrie thought deep down, wanting the ground to swallow her up.
"HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" And almost instantly, silence fell in the corridor as an angry Jack walked towards the three jocks, having never felt such anger in his life. His angry shout had shut everyone up as they watched him face the tormentors.
The jocks were a bit shaken from the unexpected shout and even more shaken when they saw the Irish foreign exchange student was a little taller than they were.
"WHAT were you doing?!" Jack asked, with venom in his voice.
"Hey man, look we were just having a little fun with Creepy Carrie. She deserves it, so don't get worked up." the jock leader said, as Jack felt his blood boil.
"And did she ever do to you? HUH?! The only people who should be yelled at is you three!" Jack angrily exclaimed at the jocks, who cowered back a little.
"And what about all of you?! You just record it on your mobile phones and laugh instead of giving help to someone who needs help?!" he exclaimed, glaring at all the other students gathered round. Most of the said students dropped their heads in shame as a few turned away and left, thinking the young Irish boy would turn his rage on them.
However, Norma Watson, who was watching from a distance having heard everything, was very impressed Jack was standing up for someone who needed help; not many people here did that when it happened.
Jack then turned his attention back to the three, now rather nervous, jocks.
"I assume you three ejeets are the ones who spray-painted that graffiti on those locker doors over there?" he said, glaring angrily at the three.
"Yeah, we did it, with cans of spray paint in our lockers and there's no way that you can prove we did it." the leader of the three said in a mocking tone. Then the smugness of the three jocks was suddenly interrupted by an "Ahem!" from a person with authority. The faces of the jocks turned white from shock when they heard that voice; they turned round and saw Principal Morton standing there, his arms on his hips and a frown on his face.
"Oh, so you three did that, huh?" he said, glancing at the vandalised locker doors while looking none too pleased. The jocks stood in shock for a moment, as the principal glared at them for what seemed like an eternity. Morton then looked into the open locker beside him; sure enough, inside were four spray paint cans of silver or white paint. He turned his glare back to the now worried jocks.
"You three…in my office…NOW!" Morton said in a sharp tone, as the three jocks headed off to the office, hanging their heads in shame. Morton watched them go as he took a calming breath, and then looked towards all the other students who were all milling about, including a few who just turned up to see what was going on.
"You lot, get to your next classes…now." he said, in a somewhat softer tone as he turned and walked back to his office, very eager to have a good tough talk with these jocks who had committed a clear act of vandalism on school property.
The students dispersed from the scene and headed off to their next classes of the morning, all still somewhat surprised and astonished by what they'd just witnessed a few moments before as Jack bent down to help Carrie up.
"Are you okay?" he asked, with some concern as he reached his hand out. Carrie, a bit distrustful of Jack's genuinely sincere concern, nodded a little and Jack took hold of her hand and gently helped her up. Carrie felt herself blush a little as she stood up, helped by Jack's strong but gentle grip.
"Thanks, I'm feeling all right." she said, as she brushed her uniform and arranged her books.
"I'm glad you're okay. Those three had no right to do what they did to you." Jack said. After a short silent moment, Carrie just about managed a small smile on her face.
"Thanks, but I'd best get to class. I really don't wanna be late for it." Carrie said with some concern and a hint of fear in her voice, as she headed down the corridor and Jack followed behind, as his next class was English. They both entered the room following behind the other students who had just entered and took their seats.
(After English Class)
"What the hell's wrong with this place?" Jack quietly thought, as he and the other students left English class for lunch. During class, the teacher, Mr Ullmann, had called Carrie up to read a poem of her choice. Although her choice seemed to be a bit of a morbid one, it was actually quite a well-written piece, even though Jack himself would freely admit he was no expert on poetry, but Mr Ullmann, for some stupid reason, thought it would be funny to call the poem disturbing and to ask her if she was done scaring everybody in class.
However, what Jack didn't know at that moment was that another girl in the classroom who was sitting just beside him to his left, Tina Blake, one of the Ultras, was making eyes with Mr Ullmann and trying to flirt with him as discreetly as she could which caused him to join in bullying Carrie over the choice of her poem, much to Tina's delight.
Jack, a bit shocked by this unexpected development, would've said something in support of Carrie, if Tommy Ross, one of the best athletes in the school, and a highly talented baseball player and the boyfriend of Sue Snell, hadn't muttered "asshole" under his breath. The remark got everyone's attention, but when the teacher called him out Tommy said he though Carrie's poem was "awesome".
"I'd best speak to Ms Desjardin when I can get the chance." Jack thought, as he headed off to the cafeteria to get lunch.
(After school: 3:00pm)
At last, the day was over, and all the students, after sorting out their things at their lockers, began leaving the school and heading on back home or where they wanted to go in town before they headed on home, though some stayed behind at school to take part in the after-school activities there. After sorting out the things he needed at his locker, Jack walked out the door when he suddenly noticed Carrie, who was walking by a few feet away from him.
"Hey, Carrie." he said, as Carrie suddenly stiffened on her name being called by an unknown accent. She turned and saw the familiar sight of Jack stepping towards her, and she sighed in relief when she saw who it was.
"Oh…hey Jack." she said, in some relief, as Jack stopped beside her.
"Are you feeling all right after earlier on?" Jack asked with some concern.
"Y-yes I'm…I'm fine. Thanks for helping me earlier. No one's ever done that for me before." Carrie said, as a small smile appeared on her shy face.
"It's no problem, I was more than happy to help you. After all, I hate bullies. Anyway…I was just wondering if we could sit together at lunch tomorrow." Jack said, as a smile came on his face. Carrie's shy eyes opened a little bit wider on hearing this; she obviously hadn't been expecting this student, one she'd never seen before to want to sit with her at the table she'd been sitting alone at for as long as she could remember. But after a few moments of thinking, she gave her answer.
"Yes, you can sit with me at lunch tomorrow." she said after a moment, much to Jack's relief.
"Thanks Carrie, I'll see you tomorrow. Take care." Jack said, as he turned and went into the parking lot while Carrie headed on home, her heart beating a mile a minute and a small smile on her face, but it was a smile mixed with strange emotions she'd never experienced before in her life up to now. As she headed on home, she couldn't help but think that things were going to start changing in school for the better; yet what she didn't know was just how accurate those thoughts were.
(In the school parking lot)
With another day finally completed, and feeling a little tired from all the different exercises she had guided her different classes through today, Rita Desjardin was walking towards her minivan where Jack would be waiting for her. As she came closer, she noticed Jack, leaning against the passenger side, had a somewhat serious look on his face. Thinking something may have happened during the day, she picked up her pace and arrived by the side of her vehicle as quickly as her feet would carry her.
"Hey Jack…is everything all right? You seem to be a bit concerned about something." she asked, as she stepped up.
"Yes Ms Desjardin, something did happen today, but not to me; do you happen to know a student named Carrie White?" asked Jack. And as soon as he said that name, Rita Desjardin's posture suddenly stiffened, and a hard look entered her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, as she spoke with a tone that felt, and certainly sounded, like it could cut through the densest of steels.
Jack rubbed the side of his face and paused before taking a deep breath as he began to explain; "Well, I was in the cafeteria earlier on this morning…" he began.