MIKA

New

It was two weeks after school started when the new kid came. He stood awkwardly at the front of the class, waiting for Mrs. Smith to give him the chance to introduce himself. He had short hair, shorts, a t- shirt and a jacket. The bell rang for class to start, and our class settled into our groups. I joined the rest of the guys on the left side.

"Hello, my name's Mika! I like basketball and video games. I switched schools 'cuz my old one sucked. Well, I guess that's all. Any questions?" Mika paused. "Ok then!"
"Are you done?" Mrs. Smith asked. I could tell she didn't like Mika. He was bound to be a clown like me. "So it seems!" Mika replied.
Mrs. Smith smiled. "Good, then you can go sit with the other girls, Mikaela."

'Mikaela'? I was just as surprised as the rest of the class. The new boy was not a boy. The whispers started as soon as Mrs. Smith said the name.

"Ew, I don't want it in our group." Savannah whispered. "Is she a lesbian?" Caitlyn asked. "She better not hit on me." Rebecca replied.
Mika made her way to the back of the right of the class. The other girls gave her plenty of room. When we started working on our group projects, she moved forward a desk so she could hear what the group was saying, but she didn't talk.

I felt bad. Not only did the girls now have two more than us, but Mika seemed pretty funny. But our class was split up, boys with boys and girls with girls.

*****

When I came into the cafeteria at lunch, I saw Jared and Alex sitting at our regular table. I started toward them, before noticing Mika. She was walking around, trying to find a seat. When she passed the girls in our class, they shifted so the open seat was occupied. She looked so sad. And she didn't seem to belong anywhere. I joined Jared and Alex at our table, and soon forgot about the new kid.

Chapter Two: Basketball will be up soon!