They entered a two story building which had glass double doors and the inside walls were a nice beige color. There were paintings lining the walls, some were animals and others were objects.
"Art class, the teacher is so enthusiastic; she offered to do a mural for the newly renovated building." Kenny said, noticing Andre's awestruck look. "Though that was seven years ago, you can see where it's faded a little."
Andre nodded, and then he remembered something, "You seem really eager to go to math class, do you like math?"
"Eh, not really," Kenny said, "But the teacher is so fun, he has these crazy stories that he tells us and he makes the lessons fun. Did you know there's a song about a formula? My brother told me there is."
"Your brother rides here on a bicycle, right?" Andre asked.
Kenny nodded, "Do you ride bikes?"
Andre shook his head sadly.
"What?!" Kenny exclaimed, "They don't have bikes in England?"
"Oh, we do." Andre assured him, "And skateboards, roller skates, scooters and things of that nature, but…my mum is…er…protective."
"I think I caught some of that." Kenny said. "So how did she let you come to school all the way across the Atlantic ocean? Did you bribe her or something?"
"No, it took so much begging, pleading, and crying on my part." Andre said. "My dad kept trying to convince her that there were great opportunities, and my family and friends helped me talk her into it. She wants Dad's friend to keep an eye on me, but I think I can do this. I want to have an adventure. Mum wouldn't even let me play on the playground without someone supervising me."
"Did you fall off the monkey bars?" Kenny asked.
"Once. Only once, and all I had was a slightly scraped knee. I only cried for a minute, but my mum worried for years. I told her that I was six and I still had wet hands from washing up after lunch."
"Six years and she hasn't let go yet?"
"Nope. On the plane, she gave me an extensive list of things to avoid. I threw it away when she wasn't looking. Is your mum like that?"
Kenny turned pink and his head snapped to the light turquoise tiles.
Andre looked nervous, "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to offend you."
Kenny slapped on a grin, "Hey, it's okay buddy, you didn't know…my mother died when I was a baby and my father was left with us." He said the last words bitterly, but tossed it aside as they reached a green door. "We're here!"
"Thanks." Andre said, giving Kenny a consoling pat on the back. Kenny gave him a warm smile and entered the classroom.
"Hey-o!" Kenny said.
"Kenny." The teacher said sternly, his brown hair parted neatly. "I was talking. You know the penalty for interrupting, right?" he stared dangerously.
Kenny looked nervous, "N-no, wh-when was there one?"
The teacher walked over to them slowly, "The penalty is…"
He stared Kenny in the eyes; Andre gave a squeak of fright.
"NOTHING!" He shouted with a grin plastered over his face. Andre yelped and Kenny sighed heavily.
"Then what'd you do that for?" Andre said, his face turning red. The whole class roared with laughter and Kenny fought to keep a straight face.
"I was just seeing if I could scare the living daylights out of the new kid!" He said, turning to a very confused Andre. "So, what do you think?"
"…What do I think?" Andre said, "I think…you're insane."
The teacher's expression turned to an offended and hurt look. "I think I might cry…"
"What?" Andre said, startled, "No wait, I-I didn't m-mean…hang on, are you pulling my leg again?" he said, noticing the smile on the man's face.
"Alright, you did great." He said, "The name's Randy Campbell, and no I am not related to the soup guy. Now, let's learn math or Lauren will chew me out again…and Jeannie. But first, everyone introduce yourselves to Andre please."
The students stood up one by one and smiled at Andre.
"Steve" "Ramona" "Jackie" "Marvin" "Terrence" "Jackson" "Lin" "Lee" "Bailey" "Zoe" "Allie" "Alan" "Barry" "Danielle" "Nicole" "Sophia" "Raj" "Xavier" "Nathan" "Kenny" "Harvey" "Megan" "Rose" "Calvin" "Emily" "Frank" "Gabrielle"
Andre sat next to a girl with blond hair that reminded him of eggnog. Her eyes were pale green and she wore a blue skirt with a matching sweater. He took notes and glanced at Kenny who was staring at the board with a confused look.
Mr. Campbell finished his lecture and set the class to do homework; Kenny approached him with a notebook and they began chatting.
"He has dyslexia." The girl said in a shy voice, noticing that Andre was concerned.
Andre nodded but when he looked at the girl, she was busy in her math book.
"I like your jumper." Andre commented while doing homework.
She looked up at him, "Thanks, I'm Allie."
"Andre."
They smiled at each other, and then Andre was called to the teacher's desk. Kenny walked by him with a smile and a filled notebook.
"I'm glad to see you're socializing." Mr. Campbell said calmly. "How are you doing in math?"
"Reasonably well, sir." Andre said.
"Okay, I'm not going to give you the test tomorrow, but you can definitely start next chapter."
Andre nodded, "Thanks." He said warily.
"Don't worry; when I'm in the professional zone, it's all good." Mr. Campbell said, "Don't worry; I want to be silly because I teach sixth graders all morning and fourth graders after lunch. There is one fourth grader who is way sillier than me."
"Really?" Andre said, "I'd like to meet this child."
"Well, if you're living in the apartments, you will."
"He lives there? But he's only ten years old."
"Well, his guardian goes to school here, so he has to stay."
"Oh, why does he have a teenage guardian?"
"I don't know, but Maurice is pretty good."
"Alright then, I will meet Maurice and the other boy later."
"And another boy."
Andre wanted to ask who, but the bell rang and Kenny pulled him along. "How'd math go?"
"Good, er…Allie told me you had dyslexia." Andre said.
"Ah, yeah, one of the reasons my dad can't stand me." Kenny sighed, "Anyway, do you have questions before we head off to History?" he asked as they gathered their things.
"Mmhm, who's Jeannie? And do I have to remember everyone's names?" Andre asked walking with Kenny out of the classroom and down the hall; Allie and Ramona trailed behind them, chatting.
"Oh, Mr. Campbell's rival, she teaches history. Her classroom is across the hall from him. Everyone thinks the two are secretly in love with each other and the neither one knows if the other feels the same." Kenny grinned, "According to rumor swapping girls. And no, you don't have to remember people's names."
"Do I have her for history?" Andre wondered as they turned the corner.
"No, Jeannie Sullivan teaches eighth grade history, we have Mrs. Chang." Kenny pointed to a door on the right end of the hallway, "And here we are."
The boys entered the classroom to find it shrouded in darkness.
"Take a candle." A voice said quietly, the boys jumped.
There were glowing sticks on the front desk and many students already had one. Kenny shrugged to Andre, but remembered that it was too dark to see much except for daylight from the partially blinded windows.
Andre squinted, trying to see where Kenny was when someone grabbed his wrist and gently pulled.
"This way." A female voice said. Andre followed her and was given a glowing candle. The girl held the light to her face, it was Allie.
Andre smiled and a lamp clicked on. He saw Mrs. Chang sitting at her desk, waiting for the class to be seated.
Allie disappeared for a moment, and then came back with a big object which turned out to be a chair. Andre sat in the chair while Allie sat at her desk.
"Since we are studying ancient history, I thought it would be interesting to stimulate a classroom environment." Mrs. Chang said. "They would have candles and daylight. This lamp symbolizes an oil lamp which I do not have. Now, before we turn the lights on, can anyone tell me what they would use for writing?"
Many students raised their hands, including Allie.
"Okay, my flashlight will pick who goes." Mrs. Chang said. She shone the light and it fell across Andre's chest.
"Me? Um, well they used to have quills and parchment. But in ancient times, maybe chalks or clay on wood or they carved into stone." He answered.
"That is correct, great job!" The teacher said, moving away from her desk to turn on the lights. A flood of light surrounded them and Allie was smiling at Andre. Kenny was in the seat not too far from them. "Take your usual seats."
The class moved around and Andre was left standing with the chair. He spotted another chair and placed his next to it. Then he faced the class.
"Er, I'm Andre…" he said shyly, "And I'm from England…I suppose you haven't studied it yet...um…hi…"
He searched the class and saw fourteen familiar faces from his math class including Allie.
"You seem nice and normal," A smaller girl piped up, "my brothers could learn a thing or two from you."
The class laughed.
"I'm Ramona." She added.
"Andre."
Mrs. Chang found a seat for Andre next to a boy wearing an orange shirt and purple pants.
"Hey new British boy, or is it England?" The boy asked scratched his head.
Andre gave him a puzzled look, "Er, they're the same thing and it's Britain, British are the people who inhabit the country."
"And bugs inhabit Barry's brain." A boy whispered from behind Andre.
"Shut it, Quincy." Barry growled. "If I was a poison dart frog, you would be frozen stunned and I would eat your brain which is made of dead flies."
Mrs. Chang cleared her throat loudly and the boys focused their attention on her. The lesson was, in Andre's opinion, very interesting. He noticed that Barry doodled on his notebook, hardly paying attention. Kenny tried to pay attention, but he wasn't writing what was on the board because of his dyslexia. Allie, however, was taking everything seriously and copying what seemed like every word that came out of Mrs. Chang's mouth. She reminded Andre of a girl he'd seen in a movie, but he couldn't quite remember.
The end of the period came much to Barry's delight. He jumped up and sped out of the room.
"Don't forget the homework!" She called after the class. "Nathan, would you inform Barry please?" The addressed boy nodded his head.
Ramona waited at the door for Allie to finish the last of her highlighting. Andre decided to wait for Kenny.
"Ten minute break." Ramona said, "Then third period."
Andre nodded, watching Allie smooth her papers carefully before tucking them away in her binder. Kenny was still talking to Mrs. Chang and writing in his History notebook.
"How many brothers do you have?" Andre asked.
"Three." Ramona answered. "Samuel and Bradley, they're in fifth grade. And Egbert, everyone calls him Eggy and he's in fourth grade."
"Like that boy who's being supervised by Maurice?" Andre said, much to Ramona's surprise. "Mr. Campbell told me."
Ramona nodded, "The ten year old is Mort and the other boy is Julien. Julien's father owns the apartments and he donated money to the school." she sighed, "The downside is that Julien thinks this makes him royalty and he orders us around."
Andre frowned; he didn't like the sound of that. He wondered if he would get along with Julien but very much doubted it.
"Alright buddy, let's go!" Kenny said.
Andre watched Allie and Ramona leave together. He made to follow them but was stopped by Kenny.
"Sorry Andre, they have PE, we have Science." Kenny said, grinning.
Science class today turned out to be a lab. They were mixing different chemicals for reactions, but Andre had to sit out on this one with the promise that he could join next time. He made himself useful by reading the questions out loud to Kenny who didn't have a partner.
"No one wants to sit with the dyslexic kid." Kenny said sadly.
Andre smiled, "I'm your friend now, right?"
Kenny nodded and proceeded with the experiment.
Later, the boys headed off to PE class.
"Ah, physical education, will you ever cease to exhaust me?" Kenny sighed.
Andre laughed. Since he hadn't purchased gym clothes yet, he simply put his jacket in his backpack and shoved it into Kenny's locker.
"It's your first day; I don't think they'll be harsh on you." Kenny assured Andre. "Here, wear my shorts." He shoved the gym shorts into Andre's hand.
Andre made a face. "Er…You've been wearing them all week, right?" He asked.
"It's Monday." Kenny said, "I washed them yesterday, besides, I have these shorts."
Andre shrugged and changed from his pants into Kenny's gym shorts.
"They fit well." He remarked. "Alright, it'll do until I get my own."
"Hey, when are you moving into the apartments?"
"My parents are moving my things there; I'll be on my own to find my room."
"Hey, I'll help."
"Thanks." Andre smiled and followed Kenny to the football field.
They saw some high school kids playing basketball on the courts near them and other kids were walking the track.
"Skip, I'm open!" Kenny's brother shouted, waving to his friend who was now in gym clothes.
"They have PE in the same period as us."
"Well, we meet again." A voice said.
The boy zipped up to them and put his arms around their shoulders. "Nice to see you again, Britain."
Andre laughed. "Barry, please call me Andre."
"Alright, sorry." Barry said. "I wonder if you're my new roomie, mine are weird."
"Hurtful." Kenny said grumpily.
"STUDENTS!" A deep voice called from their right, it was a man with a buzz cut. "First, we have a new kid in our class, Andre. Andre, my name is Coach Forrest."
Andre waved shyly.
"Now, it's the day we've been waiting for, the first game of the year."
"And it's not Quidditch." Barry whispered.
Kenny and Andre tried not to burst out laughing.
The teacher eyed them. "As I was saying," he continued, "Coach Wilton has agreed to have his ninth grade class play a basketball game against you sixth graders. Everyone, get warmed up on the courts." He signaled for them to follow him.
"I'm from Tiverton, Devon. I went to Two Moors Primary School, not Hogwarts." Andre added to Barry as they followed the class.
"Two doors? Gee, fire hazard much?" Barry said. Kenny snickered.
"It didn't literally have two doors and I said Moors."
"That's pretty cool." Kenny said.
Andre was too busy shaking his head to see where he was going. He smacked into someone and nearly fell down. Luckily, Barry and Kenny were right behind him.
"Watch where you're going! You almost made de meat of my crown." The boy said.
"I'm sorry." Andre said. "And did you say that's a crown?"
"Yeah, you going to be insulting it?" The boy asked, peering at Andre.
"Julien, leave him alone." Kenny said, rolling his eyes.
"Is this the guy who thinks he's a king?" Andre asked.
"Hey bub, I am de king!" Julien said. "And you tiny sixth graders are being on my turf."
Barry rolled his eyes. "I have no respect for you, honest, I don't."
Julien huffed and walked to the benches.
"Andre." Coach Forrest said. "Have you ever played basketball before?"
"Er, not really." Andre said.
"Don't worry, watch the first team, then I'll put you in."
"Seriously?" Andre said, his mouth dropped in shock. "B-but I just got here."
"Bet you're still a bit jet lagged." The teacher winked. "No worries, you'll be fine."
Andre smiled nervously as the game started. Barry was terrible; he kept losing the ball and getting fouled. Kowalski was slightly better, he had the agility to zip around everyone, but he couldn't make a shot. Julien barely participated.
"Lemur for brains, GET MOVING!" One of his classmates shouted. It was the boy who was on the skateboard earlier.
"Who's that?" Andre asked.
"Skipper, he's pretty tough." Kenny said. "But I guess he's a good roommate, not that my brother says anything."
"Your brother's roommates with him?" Andre asked.
"For about a year. The first year he came, he couldn't change rooms and got stuck with Julien. He managed to switch to a temporary room until they were ready for him."
"And he doesn't tell you about Skipper?"
Kenny shook his head.
"Davis, Taro, get in there." Coach Forrest said.
Kenny bounded onto the basketball court while Andre trailed behind.
"Haven't you played basketball before?" Kenny whispered.
"My mum wouldn't even let me ride a tricycle." Andre said pointedly. "And I asked her when I was six."
"Wow. You've been watching, right?"
"A bit."
"You'll be fine. Just don't throw it to anyone who looks bigger than you or is blocked by someone bigger than you. And dribble so you don't get fouled. Though, that happens more in a real game, we're just playing for fun."
"What if I get tackled?"
"That's football; I'm guessing your mom wouldn't let you join any sport."
"You'd be right."
Kenny shook his head as a whistle blew.
Andre tried to avoid the ninth graders, but somehow he ended up with the ball. He stood there, staring at everyone until Kenny shouted something.
He dribbled the ball and looked for anyone who was open.
"Over here!"
Andre threw the ball absentmindedly in the direction of the voice.
"Thank you." Julien said with a mocking laugh. He threw the ball to a teammate and continued laughing. "I got you, you were so stupidfied." A few of the ninth graders laughed. Skipper pretended not to notice and Kowalski frowned at Julien.
"Leave him alone, butt munch!" Barry shouted. Kenny stuck his tongue out at Julien.
Andre turned red with embarrassment and ran to the top of the benches, refusing to play the rest of the game.
The final whistle came a while later and everyone was exhausted. The kids trooped back to the locker rooms. Andre heard one girl chattering away to her sweaty friend, but he opted to remain where he was.
"Come on, Andre." Kenny said. "Julien's a big doofus, don't listen to him."
"Kenny." Kowalski called. "Hurry up or all the good food will be taken."
"Yeah, get a move on, soldier!" Skipper said.
Andre sighed and followed Kenny to the locker room.
"Come on, Julien's stupid. I think you did well."
"Yeah, until you messed up." Julien's voice rang out.
Barry growled at him.
"Down boy, down." Kenny joked.
Barry whipped around angrily. "Well EXCUSE ME for trying to stick up for a friend." He hissed.
"Gee, don't get your gym shorts in a twist." Kenny said. "I was only trying to keep you from killing Julien."
"Barry, it's alright. I'm fine." Andre said.
"Yeah, well I'm not." Barry said. "I hate losing to HIM and we could have won if it wasn't for YOU."
"Barry, calm-"
"Shut it Kenny, I'm not talking to either of you!" He slammed his locker shut and stomped out of the room.
Andre was on the verge of tears.
"Dude, no one's blaming you." Kenny said. "Not even Barry, trust me. He gets hot headed and forgets that it's only a game."
"Yeah, I'm not pointing de finger of blame. I am offering congratulations." Julien said.
"I want to point a finger at you so badly." Kenny said, gritting his teeth.
"Oh come on, your friend is just jealous that we are the best."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"You want to go, pal?!"
"Okay, where are we going?"
"To the land of bloody NOSE!" He lunged at Julien, only to be caught by Kowalski and Skipper. Andre also had a hand on Kenny's shirt and was dragging him back.
"Ehe, BYE!" Julien zoomed out as fast as his legs could carry him.
Kenny showed every sign of wanting to destroy Julien.
"Kenny, stop!" Kowalski said. "Oh, I'm getting too old for this."
"You're the same age as me!" Skipper said.
"Kenny, listen to your brother. I can wait for Barry to calm down; I just want you to stay my friend, okay? Please." Andre said, feeling more tired than he was a few minutes ago.
Kenny sighed and stopped fighting. He turned to his locker and finished putting his clothes in the locker, and then he grabbed his backpack and left the room.
"Uhh…" Andre looked at the two ninth graders. "See you in PE!" he ran out after Kenny.
"He's a bit odd."
"Yeah, but I like to keep an open mind. Keep an eye on the kid, will you?"
"Not looking for recruits, are we?"
"Maybe."
Andre looked back at the closing door and shook his head.
"Hey." He said as he found Kenny behind the stairs.
"Sorry, I just got upset." Kenny said.
"It's alright, but violence is never the answer." Andre said. "But thanks for sticking up for me."
"No problem, pal." Kenny said with a smile. "Now it's lunch time!"
"My mum made me lunch. I bet it's a healthy salad." Andre rolled his eyes as they walked to the cafeteria. "And some water."
"Wow, don't they have hamburgers or pizza in-"
"Yes, there's a lot of things in both countries, but my mum worries about me so she never lets me eat candy or pizza or-"
"WHAT?!" Kenny shouted, attracting stares of their fellow students. "No pizza?! That's a crime against humanity!"
"I've tasted it before, but my mum got upset and started telling me that I need to watch my weight…I was three."
Kenny gave him a deadpan stare. "A three year old can't know the joys of eating pizza? TELL me she let you eat cake on your birthday."
"Sugar free."
"Sugar- SUGAR FREE?! WHERE IS SHE?! I'll MARCH RIGHT UP TO HER AND TELL HER-"
"Kenny." Andre squeaked as every eye turned on them.
Kenny froze and looked around nervously, "Hehe…cranky stomach?"
Andre pulled Kenny to the lunch line. "Please calm down."
"Sorry." Kenny muttered, turning red.
"Shall I find a seat?"
"Yeah, there's some outside." Kenny whispered.
"Okay, I'll find some." Andre said.
He exited the cafeteria and found an empty table near a shaded tree. He happily sat down and pulled out his lunch.
"Hi there." An older girl said, approaching him. "You must be new." She said with a forced smile.
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"Because that's our table." She snapped coldly. Five more girls came from behind and looked at Andre oddly.
Andre looked taken aback. "Really? There wasn't anybody here when I-"
"I don't care." She said. "Either you get off or we'll force you to get off." She indicated two burly looking boys approaching.
"Now, I hardly think that's necessary-"
"Hey, this guy bothering you?" one of the guys asked, glaring at Andre.
"He's not leaving." The girl huffed.
"Listen pipsqueak, this is the cool kids table." The boy said. "The baby table is anywhere you can find a nerd or another baby middle school kid."
"But isn't the rule of firsties that whoever gets here first gets it?" Andre said. "That's what I learned in kindergarten."
"Are you saying we're stupid?" The older boy asked, flaring up immediately.
"N-No, not at all." Andre said nervously. "I just-"
The boy took Andre's salad and flung it into some bushes. It burst open and salad fell to the ground and stuck in the bush.
"That was my lunch…" Andre grumbled. "That wasn't very nice."
"What, you going to put us in timeout?" The boy asked, pulling Andre up by the front of his shirt.
"Hey, let go!" Andre said. "Kenny!"
Kenny had just looked out the window with his pizza and gasped. He ran out and crashed into one of the girls, his pizza splattering her shirt.
"OH MY GOSH, YOU SHRIMP! YOU JUST RUINED MY FAVORITE OUTFIT!"
"I guess we'll be roasting two shrimps." Another boy growled grabbing Kenny's shirt from behind.
"BACK." A rough voice said loudly. The voice belonged to a boy with messy black hair and blue eyes which were filled with fury. The boy also had a scar on the side of his face. He looked intimidating in his dark jeans and black t-shirt with a picture of a stick of dynamite on it.
"Look, it's Freako!" One of the girls squealed.
"That's not nice." Andre said.
"Shut it, what do you want?" The larger boy said, still holding Andre.
"Rico, help!" Kenny said, trying to wiggle free.
"Aww, the crybaby wants help. Don't you two know anything? Rico's a deadly weapon. He's psycho and could turn on us at any moment." His captor said.
The girls squealed and ran away as Rico stomped up to the boys. He was almost as tall as them, but he was keeping his stance as he stared furiously at them.
"What are you going to do about it, punk?" The first boy said. "I'm a tough senior and you're the freak stain of the freshman year."
"He's a sophomore!" Kenny shouted.
"Do I care? No."
"Down." Rico growled, pointing to Andre.
"Oh, I'm sorry." The boy dropped Andre to the ground. Andre scooted backwards. "I guess I'll just have to-"
BAM!
His fist collided into Rico's head, sending the younger boy stumbling. Rico shook his head and jumped on the bigger boy.
The other boy dropped Kenny and went to assist his friend. A crowd started to gather.
Rico was tripped from behind and fell to the ground.
The crowd started yelling in favor of the two seniors.
"Come on, let's go." Kenny said. "We don't want to be part of-"
"No, it's my fault." Andre said, pushing through the crowd. "STOP IT! STOP IT!"
"THIS FIGHT WILL CEASE IMMEDIATELY." A deep voice came across a bullhorn.
Fearing that this might be a school official, the students fled the scene. Finally, the two boys were standing over Rico who was semiconscious.
Andre and Kenny had retreated next to the vending machine.
"How was that?"
"Perfect, thanks Maurice." Skipper said, taking the bullhorn from the older boy. Kowalski and Julien were behind them.
Maurice glared at the other seniors. "You do realize that I'm captain of the football team, right?" He said. "Therefore I have the power to kick you off the team."
"You can't do that!" One of the boys said.
"Oh yes I can." Maurice said. "And I'm reporting you to the principal."
The boys muttered darkly and walked away.
Skipper and Kowalski helped Rico up.
"Hey, take him to the nurse, will you?" Skipper said to Maurice.
"No, he is to do my bidding." Julien said.
Maurice rolled his eyes, "Your father told me to make sure you studied, not to be your servant."
"Blah blah, what is the difference, really?" Julien said, "Oh fine, if we must." He sighed, giving in to the glares. "But I am not touching him. He has weirdo germs."
Maurice scowled and helped Rico to the nurse with Julien following behind.
"Kenny, get back here." Kowalski said, eyeing the two boys who were trying to sneak away.
"You too, young Private." Skipper said, peering at Andre.
"B-but my name's Andre." Andre said softly.
"Sure, kid." Skipper said. "Nothing like a fight to start your first day of school. Not that you did much, you'd need lessons."
"No, I hate violence." Andre said.
"Never say never, Private." Skipper said. "Anyway, you two better get your story straight, here comes the head of discipline." He pointed to an unhappy looking man in a suit.
"It's Andre."
"Right."
"Andre Davis and Kenneth Taro, follow me." The man said.
A/N: Let me know your thoughts…
