"So do you know anything about me?"
"You were born on April 10, 1992 in Westminster, London"
"You looked me up on Wikipedia, didn't you?"
"You know me so well already"
June knew the rotation of the first day of school. Every teacher did the same. Get to know me. She had been doing them ever since preschool. June knew every answer they asked. Favorite movie? Star Wars. Favorite book? Harry Potter. Favorite TV Show? Lost.
But this was different. Ashely, her best friend was nowhere to be found. She knew all the answers and could answer them in a snap. They didn't need to interview each other. Ashley could easily stand up and vaguely talk about June. Now, Ashley was all the way in London. June needed to actually talk to people.
Thankfully, there was no "get to know you" interview for the past five periods. June was hoping, praying that for her last period would continue that streak. She sat in the front, far away from the loud, annoying kids in the back. It was English class, her favorite. She hoped it would stay that way. June glanced quickly at her phone to check if any notifications popped up. Mark Hamill tweeted. That's all she saw but it bubbled her up, remembering that he knows who she is, June Lahey, fourteen year old nerd stuck in hell that was called high school. The bell rang, warning that the student in the halls that they were late. Ms. Clarkson stepped out from her desk. June estimated that her age was around early thirties. She heard from other students that she was tough.
"Welcome English 9," her teacher introduced herself, "I'm your teacher, Ms. Clarkson."
No dip Sherlock, June rolled her eyes as she thought in her head.
"Today, you will doing the usual get to know you paper," she explained.
June pleaded quietly, "Not interview. To the love of God, no interview."
"You will interview the person to the right of you and they will interview you. They will introduce you to the class."
June banged her head against the table in a sigh. Of course, she would choose this. The torture. June was so close. She looked to her right. There, sat a girl, styling a dark afro. She held a smile on her face. June felt safer and her anxiety went down. There was no replacement of Ashley but there was room for another friend. June needed one. She already made three more. Daisy, John and Oscar, but they were ten and twenty years older than her. She needed someone her age.
Ms. Clarkson handed out the papers and instructed for June and the girl together. The girl leaned in between the aisle to get closer to June, "Hi, I'm Claire."
"June."
"It's nice to meet you, June," Claire leaned back in her seat.
June said, "You too."
"I see you don't say much," Claire laughed as she wrote her name on the paper.
June nodded quietly and did the same on her paper. Claire asked the first question, "Favorite subject?"
"This class," June answered, "Yours?"
"Science."
The girls continued through the questions and soon ended up with the last question left which was June's favorite one.
"What is your favorite movie?" June asked.
Claire responded, "I don't watch much movies."
"You don't?" June questioned.
She shook her head, "I don't have time to sit down for two hours. What about you?"
"Star Wars," June stated.
"Never seen it," Claire replied as she wrote June's answer on the paper.
June gasped, "You have never seen Star Wars?"
June guessed that she said it too loud because people turned their heads to stare at her and Claire.
She whispered, repeating her shout, "So you have never seen Star Wars?"
"Nope."
June asked, "Do you know about one of the biggest plot twists in history?"
Claire shook her head back and forth. June smiled, "Dude! You need to see it! The original trilogy and Force Awakens I mean. I'll explain the prequels."
Claire laughed, "Got it!"
June was going to say something else but Ms. Clarkson shouted, "Okay, time to present!"
"Want me to go first?" June asked while Ms. Clarkson explained how to do the interview, feeling more comfortable to say more than two words to Claire.
Claire declined with a gleam, "No, I can go."
Ms. Clarkson looked down at the two girls. Her hand slammed onto June's desk and her glasses was on the tip of her nose. The eyebrows above her eyes arched, annoyed, "I see you girls know how to do this since you were talking during my directions. How about you go first?"
Claire stood up, turning her back to the front of the classroom, holding her paper, staring at it. June stayed in her seat. Claire started to speak, "This is June Lahey, she is fourteen years old-"
"Ms. Lahey would you stand up?" Ms. Clarkson complained, interrupting Claire. June, reluctantly stood up as Claire continued introducing June. She told everyone about her interests which included reading and watching movies. Claire was about to tell that June's favorite subject until the door opened. Who walked in was a dark haired boy, wearing a shirt with the Batman symbol on it. He held his blue backpack strap.
Ms. Clarkson rolled her eyes as she told Tom to sit in the back. He took a seat while Claire continued to speak, "Her favorite movie is Star Wars."
"Which one?" Ms. Clarkson leaned over her desk.
June turned her head, "I can't just choose one. I love original trilogy and The Force Awakens."
That was it for Claire's interview of June. Now, June had to talk about Claire. For some reason, she felt more comfortable since she wasn't talking about herself. She didn't look up from her paper. June didn't want to see the people staring at her but once she finished, she looked up. Tom stared at her and gave her a smile. She sat down in her seat. Claire patted June on the back. June gave thumbs up back. There was a vibration in her backpack. She opened it up to find a text with a picture from Daisy.
DAISY QUEEN:
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HOW IS YOUR FIRST DAY GOING? WE BELIEVE IN YOU!
June smiled down at her phone before stuffing it back in her backpack before she could get caught.
