What Mandy Busyman Did

First Day

Jenna

I gulped at the sight of the new building. It's not just that Mandy went here, it's that everyone went here. Its intimidating dark, dull red tone on the brick made me shudder, the very thought of going in there nerve wracking. Even though I had lived around the area for years, I had never gone to this district. And I wouldn't have, if it wasn't for my mom who persuaded me to join it since it doesn't cost any money and Mandy went there. I used to go to a private school just a little outside of town. But its expensive costs drove my mom to the brink of cracking into stress. I hadn't wanted to go, but my mom's brown eyes told me a different story. I had agreed, but only because I had to. I knew she'd make me go anyway, whether I liked it or not. And now here I was, at the school where Mandy went. Where Mandy controlled. Where Mandy was the queen. Even the 7th graders would ask her to dances. Which sounds pathetic. I hope the best for those kids.

 I mustered up all of my strength and prepared to go in. My feet seemed glued to the ground when I tried to make myself go inside. I couldn't. Knowing Mandy and her posse were there made me crack. I couldn't quite handle Mandy right now. I had to go in at some point. Now all I could see were the kids who are tardy to every class because they like to smoke cigarettes and throw them on the ground and then stomp it with their combat boots. I knew I was pretty close to being tardy. I marched inside with mock confidence. I had to got to the principal's office first. I had to find that actually first. I went inside a little ways when I knew this was a big mistake. The dirty brown carpet and the puke colored paint on the walls  radically told me to "go home, this is a big mistake!". I agreed. I thought about taking my marching and marching it out the door when a young woman, about in her late 20's, stopped me in my tracks. 

"Are you lost? You seem so," she warmly said.

I wanted to tell her I was lost. Maybe tell her to ask the other teachers here if they could maybe change the paint on the walls and clean the carpet. Maybe tell her I was sore and still could only take shallow breaths from Mandy's party. Maybe tell her I didn't even want to be here, put on some thug glasses, and walk away. But I couldn't. My mouth was at a loss for words, my lips couldn't form a sentence.  

"Honey, I'll help you. I'm Ms.  Garcia and I'm a math teacher here. Do you have me for math?" She asked, trying to warm me up and welcome me by asking questions like a kindergarten teacher to their students. 

"Um, eh, I don't know?" I finally replied. 

She laughed and snorted, then covered her mouth and gulped as if she was deeply embarrassed. She cleared her throat and patted her hand on my back. 

"That's okay. I'll help you. Do you need to go to the office?" She asked kindly, her soft gaze never leaving. 

"Um, yeah, actually," I said awkwardly as I stepped up to her speed. 

She was walking quite quickly, I had to keep taking big steps to match her speed. She really knew where she was going. She cleared her throat again and put her chin up to look professional as a teacher-like adult walked by.

"Good morning Helen," the other teacher said. He had a bad smile, his teeth were worn and an orangish-yellow. I smiled weakly back when he smiled at me. I didn't make a lot of eye contact, just to make sure he wouldn't stop and walk with us.

"Morning to you too, James," Ms. Garcia replied boredly. 

'James' kept walking but walked slower and I was afraid he was going to stop and rudely interrupt us. But he picked up his pace at the end of the seemingly never ending hallway of puke walls and puke carpet and went down another forever hallway of puke. 

"Here we are," Ms. Garcia introduced as we took a sharp turn into a shorter hallway next to two offices. This time the walls were green. The carpet was still the same ugly color.