The End of The Beginning

two

two

Wednesday, September 1st

 This can't be happening. I check my phone. 8:15. It's probably not a good look to be late on the first day right? Placing down my backpack, I kneel on the floor and search through it. Found it! The school map can look confusing, but at orientation, they taught us how to read it. I go through the steps of how I got here. I took a wrong turn and headed toward the A Wing instead of the C Wing. I accidentally tear my map as I stuff it into my backpack and speed across the hall.

I arrive at another big brown door labeled "CLASSROOM 1B, ADVISORY, MRS. ABDALLAH". I walk in and almost all of the seats are empty except a couple of seats in the back.

"Hello, welcome!" said Mrs. Abdallah. She had a thick Arabic accent and her thick, black hair was pinned back into a bun. "I feel like I'm forgetting something...oh! You sit right there, honey." said the teacher in a comforting voice.

"We have assigned seats?" I said.

"Yes we do, honey, so it's easier to take attendance."

"Oh, okay."

I make my way to a seat in the very front and center of the classroom. Seems like another kid got stuck in the front, too. The cold, blue seat sends goosebumps down my leg on the inside of my jeans. The kid next to me turns. "Hey, um, I think I follow you on Instagram," he says.

"Huh? Oh, maybe."

"Uh, Well you're Sophia, right?"

"Yeah... I am." His cloudy blue eyes were piercing into my soul. "W-wu-what about you?"

He chuckles and tries to hide it with a cough. It didn't work.

"You can laugh, y'know," I say with a smile on my face. A few more students trickle in and Mrs. Abdullah tells them where to sit.

"I wasn't laughing, I swear to God!" He says while laughing. "My name is-"

BEEEEEEEEP! He's interrupted by the sound of the second bell. I laugh a bit too hard. "Damn, bad timing. It's Nathaniel, or just Nathan."

"Oh, nat_wits on Insta!"

"Yeah, haha." he lets out a weak chuckle.

"Sorry I didn't recognize you, I assumed you were a girl because you had no profile picture."

"Wait, lemme get this straight, you assumed I was a girl just because I had no profile picture?" He joked.

"Well, Nat can be Natalie, Nathan, it can be a lot of things you know?"

"Oh, sure."

We chatted more until a weird silence filled the room. I turned around to see a full classroom staring at me and Nathaniel.

"When did you guys get here?" I awkwardly joke. No one laughed. Not even Nathaniel. That's so embarrassing.

"Hello class!" said Mrs. Abdullah, standing up from her desk. "As you can see on the board, here is my name and some facts about me."

Her voice faded out as I replayed what just happened in my head. Maybe no one heard me and that's why they didn't laugh? Why were they staring? I might just be thinking too much like I always am. I was probably being too loud or something like that. I hear two girls giggling in the back.

"Yeah, and I was like, 'What the hell? You said you were only talking to Sierra?'" said an Asian girl with a dyed brown balayage. It was the same girl I saw on the bus.

"I just don't know why you haven't blocked him yet, really," said the black girl next to her. Kay, I think. She rolls her dark brown eyes and waves Gigi off.