Diary of a Jersey Misfit (Frerard)

One- Welcome to Brimstone

Frank narrowed his eyes as the shuttle pulled up at his new school- Brimstone Academy, it was called. Frank hated it already. The main building seemed to be made out of brown brick and had white trim. There were students walking around in uniforms. Frank could practically hear their stupid accents from here.

All the kids on the shuttle had come from the airport. They were foreign students, so they had to be flown in. Frank was sitting next to a pretty black girl, who either didn't know English or was pretending not to.

Frank couldn't blame her.

He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be back home in his house in New Jersey, playing with his dog outside or playing video games curled up on the couch. But after he'd been expelled for the third time in less than a year, his mom made the decision to send him here, where they promised to correct his behavior.

He wondered if his mom would be eating for a while.

The shuttle stopped in front of the school, where a woman in a green dress was standing. All the kids got off the bus, and the woman waved them towards her. Frank rolled his eyes.

"Hello, everyone, I hope you're all ready for a great year. And to our new students, welcome! You're in for a great treat. Dorms have been mixed up as usual, so please head to the table to the right to get your room key. Don't lose it! Look for first initial and last name!"

The students migrated over to the table. It was fairly small, so it must have been just for them. Frank found his quickly. It was F. Iero, and the key was attached to a little chain. Wonderful.

"Once you have your room keys, new students, I'd like you to stay with me, and those who have been here before may head to their dorms."

Frank stayed with the small group who was new. It was him, that French girl who he'd sat next to, and two German boys who looked like twins.

"First, let's get to know each other!" The woman smiled. "I'm Mrs. Rowell, and I'm the assistant headmaster. Let's hear all of your names, hm?"

The French girl started. "I'm Clotilde, but please call me Clo."

Next were the German twins. "Axel."

"Ayden."

All eyes went to Frank. "Uh. Frank. That's my name."

"Not Franklin?" Clo tilted her head.

"Just Frank," he assured. His palms felt slightly sweaty.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Rowell smiled. "You'll get a tour of the school tomorrow with the rest of the new students, but for now, I'll show you where the dorms are. This way."

They followed her through an archway in the school building. There were doors on either side which Frank could only assume led inside, maybe to classrooms.

There was a green square filled with trees and benches and little paths, and a building on each side. They walked straight across the green to the biggest one, which had two doors leading inside.

Mrs. Rowell put her hand on Clo's shoulder, who quickly ducked away. "There's a side for girls and a side for boys. The boys are on the left, and the girls on the right."

"What if someone isn't a boy or a girl?" Frank challenged.

"They would live in the side with their biological gender. We only call it a boy's side and a girl's side for simplicity's sake," she said dodging a hard conversation neatly. "Our transgender students live in the side with their correct gender. Correct as in, trans girls are on the girl's side and trans boys are on the boy's side."