STRIS Bits

Straight A's (II)

Author's Note: Teacher's pet? Who? No way! Read to find out what happened with the new student on campus. For those who may be lost, go back to Stris Bits and locate part one, titled Straight A's!

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Yawn.

He was exhausted and bored. Already. He hadn't even arrived and he wanted to run back home! He thought of turning around and joining his girl, cuddling under the bed sheets and enjoying the blissful Saturday morning, but... oh, well!

Sigh.

As he made his way into the main highway, he could hear the sounds of music. At a distance, he could make out a long line of cars heading to some kind of amusement park, just off the highway. He went by the line of cars, watching as eager happy kids and their families awaited impatiently at the gates. They couldn't wait to enjoy their Saturday, which made him think of all the cool stuff he could've been doing instead of this. Sigh. He tried to stay positive. He really tried.

He continued his way, taking an exit towards a very crowded street. He noticed the early pedestrian movement, noting that most were families, joggers and tourists. He followed their lead, as many were heading down the road, exactly where he was going. Traffic stopped by the light, as the drivers continued watching the walkers take the left exit towards the institution.

Street took a peek and noticed the short line outside of the main entrance gate, both of vehicles and pedestrians.The golden gate was surrounded by two beautiful arrays of red and white flowers separated by two majestic columns. People and cars lined up calmly, as one guard stood by the small entrance shed and another stood just inside of the small gate.

Wow, this place is packed! I thought students took classes during the week, he thought surprised. The two guards in charge of receiving the guest quickly took notes, then allowed access. To his delight, the line was moving rather quickly.

He frowned even more surprised when he noticed some of the students were actually children and families. Most of the joggers were elderly people and the cars were mostly families and young couples.

"Good morning, sir" the young guard greeted. She held on to a clipboard as she took a step towards his bike and glanced at his waist. "Oh!" She lowered her head momentarily, took a deep breath, embarrassed. "Sorry. Good morning, officer."

"It's ok." Jim responded with a shy smile. "Good morning. I'm going to intensive training for law enforcement. Not sure where it is."

The lady froze momentarily, frowning hard. She was lost, as she stared at him. "Law enforcement?"

"Yeah. Um..." he said, wondering off while searching for something in his backpack. He located a thin ring notebook, surveying through the pages very quickly. "I only got here..." he swiped his eyes over the content, "General Sherman North, GSN120, Group 1A"

"Oh, ok. That's Community School."

"Community School?" Street asked surprised, and disappointed at the same time.

"Yes, officer." She replied while turning to her clipboard. "Courses and trainings are offered mostly at nights and weekends for the community. That's why we have the senior walkers, pool for kids, home safety for parents, languages, technical training and others."

"Oh, ok. Thank you."

"No problem. Let me get name and plate or license. I will give you an ID marker for your vehicle, which you will place up front for our guard to note and hand it back once you leave the premises. Your course is taken place in G-Sher, which is the square made up by the four buildings that surround the big tree in the south side of campus. It's a one hundred and something year old tree, about half the size of a football field, so there's no way you miss it." She spoke so quickly, between his tiredness and his boredom, it was easy for Street to wonder off.