It was a clear-skied September morning, with the warm sun creeping up from beyond the horizon. Marguerite was woken up by Yves chattering from his room. He was excited to start Grade 1. She got up, put on her "first day of the first year of middle school" outfit (a dress with a purple top and rainbow striped skirt), and went downstairs, with Yves trailing not far behind her.
In the kitchen, her parents were making toast and sharing coffee. "Viens, manger," said Maman, "on va partir en quelques minutes." (Come on, eat, we're leaving in a few minutes.) Marguerite and Yves gobbled up their breakfast, got all their school things together, and went out to get into the car; Maman and Papa always drove them to school on the first day.
When they got to school, Marguerite spotted Katrina in the crowd of students. She ran up to her. "Je te dis que je vais être ici cette année!" (Told you I'd be here this year!)
"Hi," said Katrina, turning around. "Welcome to Blossomfall Middle School." She walked up the stairs into the school, with Marguerite tailing behind her.
"There's the cafeteria," said Katrina, "and there's the office, and…"
Her voice trailed off when she passed by a trio of girls. The three girls gave Katrina a snide look, and turned back to each other and whispered.
"Mean girls," said Katrina quietly. "That girl in the gray sweater is Claire Gwan. We used to be friends, until she changed. I stopped talking to her, and she started talking about me behind my back." She turned back for a second, then moved in closer to Marguerite. "The blonde is Veronica Pensworthy. She's the one Claire replaced me with. And the other girl is Sasha Cloverway. Steer clear."
Marguerite broke free from Katrina and checked each door in the Grade 6 wing until she found her homeroom. She went inside and picked a desk to sit at.
When the bell rang, the teacher came to the front of the room. "Mirmëngjes Klasë," she said. "Unë quhem zonja Shehu." (Good morning, class. My name is Mrs. Shehu.)
Before she could continue, the loudspeaker crackled to life and read off that morning's announcements. Marguerite didn't pay attention to any of them; they didn't really mean much to her.
After a few hours, it was lunchtime. Marguerite was liking middle school so far. She liked all of her teachers, and the work wasn't too hard. When she got to the cafeteria, she saw Katrina sitting with her friend and talking into her phone. She decided to go sit with her.
When she got to the seat, she found that Katrina was video-chatting with her dads. She poked her head into the camera field. "Ah, bonjour, Marguerite," said M. Beaufort when he saw her. "Comment ça va?" (How are you?)
"Ça va bien," said Marguerite. "J'aime l'école intermédiaire." (I'm good. I like middle school.)
"Haben Sie Herrn Forman?" M. Kaiser asked. "Katrina hatte ihn letztes Jahr." (Do you have Mr. Forman? Katrina had him last year?)
"Je ne sais pas," said Marguerite, "mais peut-être que je vais en avoir pour une de mes classes d'après-midi." (I don't know, but maybe I'll have him for one of my afternoon classes.) She then opened her lunch box to eat her ham sandwich.
It was now time for the last period of the day. For Marguerite, that was math. In the middle of class, the girl next to her tapped her shoulder. "Uyawuzwisisa umbuzo wesi-5?" (Do you understand question 5?)
"Tu as besoin de multiplier en premier, après ça soustraite." (You need to multiply first, then subtract.) Marguerite quickly showed her.
"Ngiyabonga," said the girl. "Mina nginguNora Madiba." (Thanks. I'm Nora Madiba.)
"Et je m'appelle Marguerite Vernier," said Marguerite. (And I am called Marguerite Vernier.)
At the end of the day, Marguerite found her bus and returned home. "Salut, miel," said Maman when she got inside. "Comment était l'école?" (Hi, honey. How was school?)
"Bon," said Marguerite, putting her bag down. "J'ai une nouvelle amie. Elle s'appelle Nora." (Good. I have a new friend. Her name is Nora.)
"Ca c'est bon," said Maman. "Veux-tu m'aider à cuire le dîner?" (That's good. Would you like to help me cook dinner?)
"Oui," said Marguerite. She went to the counter, and Maman handed her a cucumber to chop up.
