Chapter 2

Seth made it just in time to his homeroom. He sat down in his seat quickly and looked around the room to see who was there. He saw a few boys on the track and basketball team huddle in one corner of the room. Near the front were two girls talking about how great their trips to Europe were. In front of him were a couple kids falling asleep. He looked at the rest of his classmates and didn't see anyone he'd waste a minute talking to, so he sat there and waited to go to first period.

His first class was U.S. History, not his favorite subject, but he sat through it. He knew one person in that class, Reggie. Reggie had joined last year's drama production of Pippin that Seth was also in. Seth sat next to Reggie so he'd have someone to talk to throughout the year.

"Has Shane chosen what we're gonna do this year?" Reggie leaned over his desk to ask Seth.

Seth shook his head. "Nope, not yet. But he said he'll do it soon." Seth replied.

Seth's second class was Algebra II. Seth wasn't a big fan of math, so he knew this class would be a bore for the whole year. He knew a few people from some of his classes last year, but not well enough to sit by them, so he took a seat in the back row and hoped his teacher didn't have assigned seats.

"Man, this is gonna be a long day." Seth said to himself, putting his U.S. History and math textbooks into his locker. He walked over to his Physics class and took a seat in the third row near the window. Most of the students were already making their way to open seats, conveniently not taking a seat next to Seth. He put his head down on his table and waited for the bell to ring.

"Okay class, let's get settled." Mrs. Parker got everyone's attention. "We have a new student to C.H." She announced. "This is Maheya Akahnah. Did I say that correctly?" She turned to Mahea who was smiling.

"Um, it's Mahea Akana." She pronounced correctly. As Seth heard her voice, his head shot up from his table.

Mrs. Parker smiled. "Well Mahea I hope you enjoy Chesapeake Heights. You can take a seat right there." Mrs. Parker gestured to the only open seat in the classroom.

"Thank you." Mahea replied, and made her way to her seat. She took her bag off and saw Seth looking at her. "Hey stranger." She said to him, smiling.

"Uh, hey." He said nervously.

"Okay, I'd like to do attendance first." Mrs. Parker said and began calling out the students names. After she got up and began to pass out papers to the people in the front row.

"This is your course syllabus for Physics, and I'd like to go over a few things." The students started to pass back the papers to the people behind them. Mrs. Parker read through certain parts of the syllabus.

"Okay, I'm going to call each of you up to get your textbook." She got her roll-call list and started calling the students by last name up to her desk to get a textbook. "Write your names and the year on the inside cover." She said after she called Mahea up.

The rest of the period was used to go over class rules and safety. She explained about the different labs they'd be doing, due dates, where to look for your homework each day and other classroom things.

"Okay guys, have your textbook covered by Wednesday. And remember tomorrow sit in a seat you'll be sitting in for the whole semester, and we're also picking lab partners tomorrow. Have a great day." She said as the students filed out of her classroom.

"So, you wanna sit with me at lunch?" Seth asked Mahea as they walked out of the classroom.

Mahea smiled. "Sure, I'll look for you." She replied, Seth smiled. "I'll see you at lunch then. Bye." She waved goodbye and headed off to her next class.

"Bye." Seth said to Mahea and watched her walk down the hall.

Mahea sat through her French 3 class listening to her teacher go over classroom rules, hand out textbooks, and immediately crack open the book and get to work. Sam took out a notebook and started to take notes on the section, and other things the teacher was going over. When class was over she walked out the door and followed the herd of students going to lunch. She looked at all the other students. Common high school students, nothing strange about them.

Mahea walked into the cafeteria to see it filled with students at every table. She got in the lunch line and got a hamburger, pudding, and water. She looked around for Seth, but didn't see him, until she heard someone call her from behind.

"Oh, hey Seth." She smiled, as Seth walked up to her.

"Here, follow me." He said, motioning to a table at the other end of the cafeteria. "Hey guys." He and Mahea sat down at a table where two boys and a girl were already sitting at. "This is Mahea, she's new to C.H."

"Hi guys." Mahea smiled.

"This is Reggie, Dylan, and Clarissa." Seth introduced them. The three of them said hi to Mahea, welcoming her to Chesapeake Heights.

"So, you just moved here? From where?" Dylan asked her, opening his soda.

"Well, I used to live in Hawaii. But we moved when I was ten, and kept moving to other places after that." She told them.

Clarissa gasped. "Wow, Hawaii, that's awesome!"

Reggie smiled. "Yeah, I'd love to go to Hawaii."

"It's cool growing up in Hawaii. I loved it there, it's the best." Mahea exclaimed, taking a bite of her hamburger.

"How come you had to move?" Seth asked her.

Mahea shifted uneasily in her seat. "Um, well…" She stalled. "My dad's work, it moved him around a lot." She told them.

Reggie nodded. "My cousin's are like that. My uncle's in the army, so he's all over the place." He shared. "But living in Hawaii must've been great."

"Yeah," Seth commented, looking at Mahea. "I bet there were a lot of pretty eyes – I mean pretty beaches." He said, embarrassed, his cheeks getting red. Dylan and Reggie chuckled softly and Clarissa smiled.

Mahea smiled and nodded. "Yeah, the beaches are great." She looked at Seth who wasn't looking at her anymore.

Mahea answered all their questions about Hawaii and moving around with her family. After that comment Seth had made, he barely said anything else the whole lunch period. After lunch, they all hung out in the courtyard before the warning bell rang to start the next period rang. Dylan and Clarissa went off to their next class, and Reggie headed off on his own.

"So I'll see you later?" Seth asked, finally confidant that he won't say anything stupid to her.

Mahea nodded. "Definitely." They said goodbye and walked to their separate classes. There were only two more classes left until the day was done, and even though Seth had that run-in with Troy, his day wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be. Meeting Mahea made it a whole lot better.