Learn to Fly

New Friend, New Adjustments

I wasn't quite sure what to after my mother left, so I fell onto my bed and looked up at the ceiling. I didn't start classes until tomorrow, so I'd have to wait until then to go anywhere.

There was something sharp stabbing at my back. Felt like paper. I lazily turned over and pulled the envelope out from underneath. Sighing, I sat up and rubbed my back. I had been laying there for what had seemed like an hour, so I was pretty worn out already. I wasn't sure if I was up to reading, but at least it was something to do.

I peeled the seal off of the front and set it off to the side. Inside was a one page, neatly handwritten letter that was addressed to me, from the dean. It read:

Dear Richard,

Welcome to Walden. I am so grateful that you came

to stay with us. I am certain that you will have a great

time. You probably are very uncertain of what to do

now. As you may already know, your classes do not

start until tomorrow. For now, just settle in. Dinner

begins at late-afternoon, so don't be late. Thank you

for your attendance.

The Dean

He sounded so formal. That gave me an idea of what kind of school this was; straightforward and formal. Everything was organized and in order, which would be what the ideal boarding school looked like.

Suddenly, I could hear girls' laughter from outside. Looking out of the open window above my bed, I could see a group of about six girls outside, playing hopscotch. Most of them were brunettes, but there were a couple blondes as well as one ginger. They all were in Walden uniform, so I knew they were from the school across the lake. Seems that they were already out of class. I wonder if I'll ever meet the girls over there.........

The door opened behind me, and I turned around to look at who was entering. It was a skinny, blonde haired boy whose face told me he didn't see the sun a lot. Maybe he was a chess player, like me. Seemed to be. He set down his books on the bed on the other side of the room, consisting of chess books on strategies and such. He then walked over to me and held out his hand for me to shake.

"Welcome. My name is Ralf. I am your roommate, as you might have guessed." I took his hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you," I said, raising my eyebrows to look more intelligent. "My name is Richard." I half smiled, then glanced over at the books on his bed. "I'm guessing that you're a chess player as well?" I asked, letting go of his hand and gesturing over at them.

He followed my gesture. "Oh yes, I love the game. I thought you might be a gamer, by the looks of you." He smiled and turned around, sitting on his bed. "Where'd you come from?"

"I came from nearby Lake Spring, near Big Haven." A look of recognition appeared on his face, and he smiled again. "I actually have a friend that comes from Big Haven. Maybe you know him. Come with me; let's go introduce you to some of my friends." He stood up, and I followed suit. This was good! I already had a good friend with lots of other friends to introduce me to. This first day was turning out better than I expected.

Ralf knocked on a door down the hall and said, "It's me, guys. Oh, and I brought a friend to accompany me, if you don't mind." The door opened and a kid with brown hair and a long, slightly chubby face poked his head out. He looked me up and down, then said to Ralf, "Is this the new kid?" When Ralf nodded, the other kid opened the door all the way and held out his hand.

"Hello. My name is Arthur. Welcome to Walden." Smiling, he led the way into the dorm room. Inside, there were three other boys and two chess boards sitting in between the blonde and the light ginger. The dark blonde was probably playing chess with Arthur.

They looked over when I came inside, waved to Ralf and I, and stood up to shake my hand. As they did so, they introduced themselves. It was all so organized and formal.

"My name is Easton," said the light ginger, with a fanciful air about him. All of these boys seemed to be into dramatic things, which was about all they had in common. That and chess.

The next kid, the first blonde who was playing chess with Easton when I had arrived, didn't shake my hand. He majestically bowed before me and introduced himself as Keaton. No further assumptions had to be made. These boys were definitely drama junkies.

The last one, who had dark blonde hair and long, lanky arms and legs, shook my hand and introduced himself as Judson. He seemed a little.... how can I put it nicely..... off? It was all in good time that I'd come to understand these boys. All in good time.

I sat down by my new roommate Ralf and watched the intense game of chess take place. It seemed that Arthur and Easton were winning, but I could tell that Keaton wasn't going to allow that. Judson, on the other hand, was hard to read. He seemed to be into the game, but not quite competitively.

"So...... Keaton," Ralf said in his direction. Keaton, who was looking intently at the board and stroking his chin, waved Ralf's way to indicate that he was listening. "Richard says that he lives near you." Keaton made his move and looked in my direction. "You do, huh? And where may that be, Richie?" I hated being called that, but I let it slide for now.

"I live by Lake Spring, near Big Haven," repeating just as I had said to Ralf. Everyone stopped mid-game after hearing the word "Spring." They started whispering to each other. All that I could pick up was "He's one of those lake-folk," and "You know how they can be over by Lake Spring." What was that supposed to mean?

Arthur looked at Ralf. "Get him out of here. We don't need any lake-people around here, reminding us that we aren't as rich as them." Ralf raised his eyebrows, but nodding to me sadly, we both stood up. Everyone silently watched as we left the room.

"I am so sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with them. Sometimes they judge too much by where you're from before they judge by your personality." Ralf gave me a reassuring smile and waved to me. "I'll see you at dinner."

Great; just great. I gain five friends, but lose four within the hour. Now, that's just sad. At least Ralf's still okay with me. First thing to do when I get to dinner: find out what's wrong with "lake-people" and change my hometown.

I hope that it gets better soon.