1000 phone calls. -Karlnap

4

(Karl POV)

I open my eyes slowly and wince at the sight of the bright light above my head, making my headache slightly worse. It smells of cleaner and a nauseatingly sweet scent. I hoist myself up into a sitting position onto a flat white pillow and see a brown-haired boy in a blue hoodie with clout goggles talking to what seems to be a nurse. It's hard to see anything due to the light and everything in a 20-foot radius being white too.

I couldn't hear half of what the boy was saying to the nurse due to his thick British accent and, most likely, the fact that my head was still spinning. I lift my hand to my nose as I feel a sharp pain. I feel a line of bandage across the bridge of my nose. "You could have broken his nose, George." "You know you're not supposed to play catch in the corridors, especially if you're hurling it at each other." I hear a loud sigh come from the brown-haired boy. "I'm sorry he walked directly in the way of the ball." "That's not an excuse, George," she says, sighing.

He turns his head towards me, and I see his eyes light up with relief. "You're awake!" "I'm so sorry for hitting you with my ball; it was an accident." I put my hand over my face and squint my eyes. I let out a sigh of relief after seeing his soft facial expression. "It's fine," I say slightly awkwardly. "I haven't seen you around; are you new here?" I look at my hands feeling out of place. "Yeah, I just moved here from Canada." I look back up at him and notice he has moved his glasses to the top of his head. "Cool! "George, what class do you have next?" I reach in my hoodie pocket for my schedule and pull it out. I begin studying it as George watches me intently. "Science," I say quietly. "Really? same here. "I can show you where it is if you'd like." I look at him, studying his face. He has thin lips and different-colored eyes—one blue and one green. "Sure," I say, smiling slightly. I hoist myself off the side of the cot and begin walking out of the infirmary.

"So what brings you to Florida?" I look at my shoes and feel myself start to sweat. "My mom got transferred here, so we needed to move," I say, waiting for a response. I mean, it wasn't a complete lie; my mom did get transferred here, but that's only because I moved schools and her company couldn't let her go. My hands start to fidget. I don't know why I'm so nervous. "Oh cool." I drop my hands back down to my sides as a wave of relief washes over me. "were here," I say, looking up at the brown wood door, which has a small window in the middle and a sign that says science above it."Were a bit late, so everyone is probably already in there."

He walks in the door of the classroom, and I follow him. He comes to a halt as the teacher scowls at him: "George, you know what I said about being late again. "You can talk to me after class."I can see his face fall as he drops his hands to the side. "Sir, I was helping the new kid get to class." He steps to the side so the teacher can look at me. "Oh, hello, I wasn't told I was getting a new student. Sorry for the confusion. "Go take a seat, please, George."

 He looks at me and smiles. He is nearly bald, with a few grey hairs here and there, and has the same fashion as an elderly man. a bowler hat, suspender pants that reach above his torso, and striped socks. "My name is Mr. Miller. "And you are?" He speaks to me like I'm a baby. "Karl," I state flatly. "Why don't you introduce yourself, Ka-rl?" He pronounces my name as two separate words, failing to roll his r. I don't know why he is trying to roll an "r" anyway. "Okay," I say as I step to the front of my class. I hate introductions with a burning passion. "My name is Karl Jacobs, and I moved here from Canada." I look at all the students. Most of them were fiddling with papers or talking to their friends. I signal to Mr. Miller that I'm finished. "That's it! That was lousy!" he says to me. I stood there feeling awkward. "I'm just kidding you." Great job, Ka-rl! "Now go take a seat." I speed walk to the back of the classroom and sit at the desk next to George. I hate the teacher already

.

Once I am seated, Mr. Miller begins to speak. "We will be doing a group project, and I will let you pick your partner for it just once. I'll let you pick your partner for it just once." Once you pick your partner, do not expect me to change who you are with if you are having problems. "Pick wisely." A cheer rings through the classroom as Mr. Miller shushingly says, "Now kids, don't make me change my mind." "Hey, Ka-rl, wanna be partners?" George says as he smiles at me. I laugh at his attempt to mock the teacher. "Sure," I say as I return the smile. We sit in silence as the teacher explains the project. We were supposed to do a presentation on protons and neutrons.

After class, George grabs his bag and stands up, asking, "Wanna come eat lunch with me and my friends?" He asks with a grin on his face. I looked at him a bit stunned. I thought he just wanted to be my partner to be nice. "Wait, actually?" He looks at me with a puzzled expression. "Well, no shit, I just asked you!" he exclaims, laughing. I feel my cheeks go red, and I bang my head on my desk. George looks at me, still laughing. He leans down and grabs my wrist, pulling me up. I grab my bag as he lifts me to my feet and starts dragging me into the hallway, towards the cafeteria.

I think I just made my first friend.

WORDS: 1049