I look out the window of my billet family's station wagon. They had made attempts to start conversation, but now everything is quiet. I know that I wanted to do this; I wanted to leave my hometown and play Hockey. But as I'm sitting in this dead silence, I begin to wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable living with these people. What if their serial killers? What if they have torture chambers in their basement? No, I'm thinking too hard. They look like very nice people. Why would my mom let bad people take me in for eight months? She wouldn't do that. I already miss her. I know that she misses me too. Before she left the airport, she told me to call her right when I got off the plane. And then when I got to my billet family's house. She can be a little over-protective. But I don't mind too much. I guess I am a little excited to get a little freedom; unless George and Lisa are strict like my mom. We finally get to their house after what feels like an hour. George helps me with my luggage and they both lead me inside. It's a big house; full of glass animals and portraits. It's overwhelming. "I know it's a lot to take in," I hear Lisa's airy voice. "We'll try to make you feel as comfortable as possible." She smiles and I smile weakly back. "Thanks. I appreciate you guys taking me in." I tell them, playing with the zipper on my sweatshirt. "Well, lets not keep him standing in the hall! I'll show you to your room Campbell." I nod as I pick up my suitcase, following close behind Mr. Holmes. We climb the stairs and he leads me to a green door. He opens it and steps aside to let me in. I look around the room and take everything in. It's a much bigger room than the one I have at home. The bed is huge. It's placed by a wide dresser. There's another thing that catches my eye; a poster of my favorite hockey player is hung right above a fish tank, three goldfish swimming happily inside. I had a couple goldfish back home. I put my suitcase down and walk over to the tank, kneeling down to watch them. "Your mother told me that you have pets back home. We can't have dogs or anything with hair, because I'm allergic. But we wanted to get you something..." I looked up. "Thanks, this is great." I say getting back up. "All right, well I'll let you get settled in." He heads to the door, but stops, turning toward me. "Dinner will be ready in an hour." He smiles before he walks out the door, closing it softly. I sigh, sitting down on the bed. It's going to take a while to start feeling comfortable here. I just hope school will treat me okay.
It's been about a month since I first moved to Toronto. But nothing is getting any easier. For starters, my new hockey team are complete jerks. They make fun of me, and everyone around them. It's making me start to dread going to practice. I wish I could just stand up for myself. I just feel like I have no friends here. I feel like people are always judging me. I don't want people to think that I'm like my teammates. School work is getting stressful too. I have to take ninth grade French, because I didn't get enough credits to pass last year. And Chemistry is driving me crazy. Math is even harder. I think I might need special education. It's pretty embarrassing to be completely honest. I don't want to tell anyone that I need help. But every time I have a test, my chest gets tight and I can't breathe. If I want to keep playing hockey, I'm going to have to get a tutor. There's a girl in my French class; Maya. She seems smart. I could ask her right? No, she wouldn't want to help me. Why would she? The only time we ever talk is when I ask her for notebook paper. But she's very pretty. She doesn't seem to be into her appearance like everyone else here. I find myself wanting to kiss her sometimes. Which is kind of weird because I hardly even know her. My hormones are too crazy right now. I need to be able to talk to someone; get advice. I just need a friend.
Okay Campbell, just go up and ask her. She's a freshman. How intimidating can she possibly be? I get up from my desk and inch my way over to Maya. She's talking to her friend, looking kind of upset. Maybe I should ask her later. I'm about to go back to my desk when I hear a soft voice call my name. I turn around to see Maya and her friend staring straight at me. I smile weakly. "Do you need some more notebook paper?" She jokes. I chuckle shaking my head. "No, ah, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute." She smiles and her friend pokes her arm. Maya gets up and follows me over to my desk. I lean against it and sigh as Maya waits patiently for me to begin. "I don't really do well in school, and need good grades to keep playing hockey," She nods her head, pursing her lips. I decide to just get to the point. "So I was wondering if maybe you could tutor me? I mean you don't have to of course." She stays silent. "You know what, never mind I'm sorry,"- "I'll do it." She stops me from rambling. "You will?" She nods, rubbing her arm. I sigh, relieved. "Okay, how about tomorrow? After school." I ask her. "Sounds great." She smiles before walking back to her desk. I hope she's good at Geometry.
