September 2, 2014- Rhode Island Avenue (NW Washington, DC)

I can't believe my father would send me here. Sure, it's "in his best interests" for me, but why do I have to enroll in a new school? I'd rather be in a class with Professor Stein than transferring to a new school.

"Think of it like a mission," he said. Easier said than done. Father clearly needs to rethink his interests.

"Why do I have to go here again?" I asked Sid and Naigus as we rode in my father's limo to my new school.

"Lord Death enrolled you in this school to help you blend in with the crowd on your mission," Naigus explained.

"But why as an eighth-grader?" I asked. "I'm much older than a 13-year-old."

"You're only one year older, Kid," Naigus retorted. "Half the students in the eighth-grade class will be fourteen by December, so you'll fit in perfectly." I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Liz filled out your paperwork last week," Sid added. "We're lucky this school was willing to open its eighth-grade class to you. You should be grateful!"

"Alright, alright, geez," I said, conceding. "And besides, Kid," Naigus added, "this school might be a nice change of pace for you." Sid nodded in agreement. I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes again before turning to look out the window at the passing buildings. Not a minute had passed before another conversation started. "Let's change the subject," Naigus said, grabbing my attention. "I heard you had an interview and a photoshoot with a magazine a few days ago."

"Oh, yeah, they were asking me questions about being a student at the DWMA and about having a fan club," I answered. "They also took a few pictures of me wearing something from a collection." I really didn't want to talk about anything right now. I looked over at Naigus, who was looking at me expectantly, with Sid following suit. "Would it be too much to show me the photos they took?" she asked. I sighed and pulled out my phone. After a couple of minutes of scrolling through my inbox, I pulled up the message with the pictures and handed my phone to Naigus, who began gushing over them immediately.

"They let me keep the clothes I wore for the shoot, too," I added as Naigus continued to scroll through the photos with Sid peering over her shoulder.

Not that I would wear them or anything...

"I like these two!" Naigus said, pointing out a couple of the pictures.

"Were Liz and Patti there, or did they have you use props?" Sid asked.

"They were props, but honestly, I would rather have had them there," I replied. "The number of photos they had to take of me in that one pose..." I muttered, trying not to relive that day.

"Can you send these two to me when you get the chance?" Naigus asked, looking at me with what I could only describe as puppy dog eyes. I nodded.

"Thank you, Kid," she said, handing me my phone back.

"No problem," I said, returning to my original position against the car door with my head resting on my arm.

The minutes leading up to my arrival at school were filled with unbearable silence. I desperately wanted to get out of the car. When we finally pulled up to the school, I was about to jump out when Sid stopped me.

"We have to take you to the main office first. You don't have your uniform yet," he told me.

I sat back down in my seat and watched a group of kids flock into the building. At one entrance, younger kids, probably between the ages of 4 and 10, went up the stairs into a big blue door. Some wore blue and gray plaid jumpers, others wore skirts, and a few of the younger boys wore ties. At another entrance, a group of girls got out of a gray SUV. They all wore tan pants, blue blouses, gray sweaters, and black shoes. One girl had red highlights at the ends of her hair, another wore a headband, one had a high ponytail, and another had her dark-brown hair in a long braid. But one girl caught my eye. She had blue eyes and long, curly pink hair tied into two low pigtails. Now, don't get me wrong, this girl was beautiful. However, there was one thing REALLY bothering me about her...

The top of her head wasn't symmetrical. Those few strands of hair would be enough to bother anyone.

In fact, it bothered me so much that my eye began to twitch. Sid and Naigus must have noticed because they tried to distract me. "Hey, Kid, why don't we go in and meet the principal?" Naigus asked.

"Sure," I sighed, trying to clear my thoughts.

Maybe this school won't be too bad. Let's try and make it work.

I grabbed my backpack and got out of the car. The building before us was definitely no DWMA, but it was still something. The school was BLUE! It had two conjoined buildings with a canopy over a side entrance near an alley. There was a pair of glass doors we initially couldn't find because they were identical to a row of glass windows, along with a beige and blue door likely for custodians. The second building had an entrance covered by a metal shutter with another door next to it, marked by a sign that said "I.M.P.A.C.T."

Hmm, I wonder what that stands for?

We walked up to a pair of glass doors. They were locked from the inside, so we had to ring the bell to get in. Once inside, I looked around. The school's interior was just as blue as on the outside. We had to go through another set of glass doors leading into a lobby with blue carpeting and yellow and pink walls. We walked to the front desk, conveniently located to our right. There must have been a daycare on this floor because I heard many young voices, possibly infants or toddlers. I continued to observe my surroundings as Sid explained who we were to the lady at the front desk.

"Oh, we've been expecting you!" the lady said excitedly. "Wait one moment, please. I'll let Mr. Parry know you're here." The lady walked around from behind her desk and into another room. She popped her head out quickly. "If you have your health forms, feel free to give them to the nurse. She's in that office right there," she said, pointing to a brown-colored wooden door.

"Thank you," Sid replied before the lady disappeared again. Naigus reached into the folder she was carrying and took out a packet of forms. "Here, Kid. Why don't you give these to the school nurse? Maybe you can introduce yourself to some of the people here while you're at it," Naigus told me.

"Okay," I sighed before taking the packet from her.

I walked towards the door the lady had pointed to earlier and knocked. A few seconds later, a voice answered. "It's open."

I slowly opened the door and poked my head in. Behind the desk, a woman with beige skin and medium-length black hair was sitting.

"Are you the new eighth-grader?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, walking in and closing the door behind me.

"I'm Nurse Boyd. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, getting up from her desk and walking over to me. "What's your name?"

"I'm Death the Kid, but people prefer to call me Kid," I told her. She stood there and stared at me for a moment, scanning me from top to bottom. "Are you starting school today?" she asked.

"Yes, but I haven't gotten my uniform yet," I replied.

"Mhmm," she said as she continued to eye me up and down. "Was there a reason for you coming here?"

"Yes, I'm here to give you my health forms," I replied, handing her the packet. She took it from me and looked through it. "Thank you, but that's not what I meant."

"Huh?" I asked.

"I'm asking why you came to our school instead of a school like St. Anselm's or Paddington?" she asked.

"My father told me that your school was the only one with an opening," I replied.

"The eighth-grade class is already over maximum capacity by three students. Your dad must have some incredible power to get you into an already crowded class," Nurse Boyd replied. I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. I had no idea what she was talking about. "Well anyway, you better get off to class. I'm sure your classmates would love to meet you," she said with a smile.

"Alright, it was nice meeting you, Nurse Boyd," I replied before leaving her office.

I walked back to where Sid and Naigus were sitting just as the lady from the front desk returned. "Mr. Parry can see you now," she said. "Take the elevator up to the third floor. There will be a staircase directly in front of you. Go up those stairs and turn right. Head to the very end of the hall and go into the office on your left. The lady in that office will let Mr. Parry know you're here."

"Okay, thank you, ma'am," Naigus said before taking me and Sid to the elevator. We got on and headed to the third floor. Following the lady's instructions, we went to the principal's office. The walls and floors were blue, with a checkered pattern of different shades of blue and a royal blue carpet lining parts of the floor. Naigus knocked on the door frame of the office before entering. Sid and I followed her.

When we walked in, I noticed a medium-toned lady sitting at a desk covered in green and white polka-dots. It really clashed with the blue checkered floors and white walls of the office. Trying to examine each dot made my eyes sore, and the polka-dot drape around her desk being asymmetrical bothered me too. I looked back at the lady. She appeared to be typing something on her computer. The lady looked up at us.

"Can I help you all?" she asked. Naigus and Sid walked over and introduced themselves.

"Oh, we've been expecting you. I'm Mrs. Smith, the office assistant," she said. She then looked over at me. "Is this Kid?" she asked.

"Yes," Naigus replied.

Mrs. Smith then pointed to a chair. "Kid can sit right there. We will take everything from here."

"Alright, then," Naigus replied before turning around and giving me a hug.

...

Well...

I wasn't expecting that.

"You have a great day at school, okay?" she told me.

"I will," I assured her. She and Sid then waved goodbye and left me in the principal's office.

After a few moments, an extremely tall man with medium-toned brown skin and short, gray hair came out. "Hello, Kid. My name is Mr. Parry, and I am the principal of this school," he said, extending his hand.

"It's nice to meet you," I replied, shaking his hand.

"I understand that this is your first day here," he said.

"Yeah," I replied, feeling a little scared... which was weird, considering the fact that I've had experiences scarier than this with no fear whatsoever.

"Well, we will make sure that you feel at home here," he said, trying to make me feel comfortable. "Now, let's see if we can get you a uniform." Mr. Parry then turned to Mrs. Smith. "Can you take Kid to the uniform bank to get a school uniform?"

"Of course, Mr. Parry," she responded. "Would you like for me to get him a gym uniform, too?"

Mr. Parry thought for a moment. "Why not?" he said.

Mrs. Smith then led me to a room across the hall from the office with a bunch of bins that I guessed held uniforms. She turned around and looked me up and down.

This again.

She went to one of the bins and pulled out a white, short-sleeved button-down shirt, which she tossed to me. Then she pulled out a pair of navy blue slacks, which she also tossed at me. She retrieved a blue necktie and a black sweater vest from another bin, tossing them to me as well. "Go to the men's bathroom down the hall and try these on," she told me. I obeyed and went down the hall to the bathroom to put the uniform on. I looked at myself in the reflection of one of the mirrors and sighed in disappointment.

If only these uniforms were symmetrical. I continued to look at myself in the mirror, and a smile slowly grew on my face. I can make this work... It's only for a year.

I raked my fingers through my hair in an attempt to look presentable before going back to the principal's office. Mrs. Smith was already there. She beamed with pride when she saw how well my uniform fit me. Mr. Perry walked out and nodded in approval at my appearance. However, he quickly frowned when he saw my hair.

"Does your hair naturally do that?" Mr. Parry asked, pointing to the Lines of Sanzu.

I nodded. He sighed and went back into his office. He emerged seconds later with a handwritten note and a black beanie. He quickly put the beanie on my head, arranging it to look like part of my uniform. He then placed the note in my hands. "Give this to Dean Owain. He'll excuse you for wearing that hat for the remainder of the school year," he told me. I simply nodded and put the note in my pocket. He then walked back into his office and came back with a plastic bag that contained a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a T-shirt, and some mesh shorts, all navy blue with the school's logo on them.

"That's your gym uniform," Mr. Parry said. "We have P.E. every Friday, but we don't start the actual class until next week. Don't worry about wearing anything specific regarding footwear; you can wear sneakers."

"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Parry," I said. He nodded in approval before closing his office door. For the next few minutes, I sat there in nearly complete silence, the only sound being Mrs. Smith typing on her computer.

Then, a new lady walked into the office. She was definitely older than Mrs. Smith, with a slightly darker complexion and black hair slicked down into a low bun. She was sporting a bright pink suit with yellow floral accents all over her blazer and pearl accessories. "Why, hello there," she said in the most energetic and high-pitched voice ever. "You must be our new eighth-grader. My name is Mrs. Beller, and I am the vice principal of this school. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I said back. I felt like she was screaming at me. "Why don't I show you to your classroom?" she offered. "Dean Owain already dismissed the other students to their classes." Before I could say a word, she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the office, my backpack in her other hand.

I take back what I said earlier...

This school is a nightmare.