The Boy(s) Next Door

Chapter 4

DONT FORGET TO VOTE

Today is Tuesday, September 4th. Labor Day. Tomorrow I start school and I couldn't be more nervous. Me and Joey didn't see each other much over the last couple of weeks. He said 'hi' once more but that's it. Also, my mom started work and she's enjoying herself.

I ran up to my room and laid out the perfect outfit for tomorrow. It took me an hour to decide because every time I looked at it I began to hate it. I even picked out the jewelry I was going to wear and planned how to do my hair. I was so anxious and not the least bit happy. Last year I was excited to go back to school because I wasn't alone. I had all my friends with me to help get me through the day. But not this time.

It was already seven o' clock PM and I went over my checklist of things to do in the morning. I had to make the bus, I had to. I set my alarm like a billion times by hitting the reset button over and over. I wanted to make sure it would go off. Also, I told my mom to wake me up as well.

That night I turned on the TV in my room and hopped into bed. I fell asleep at 11:30.

I woke up. I was so tired I felt sick. My eyes were puffy and I was in the worst mood. I looked at the time, five AM. Half an hour before my alarm goes off. Wonderful.

I decided to get up anyways and start getting ready. I walked to the other side of my room and turned my alarm off. I opened my bedroom door and walked across the hall to where the bathroom was. I turned on the light to see the absolute mess on the counter. I sighed I looked at the list I had made myself. All of a sudden I felt like I didn't need it any more. It didn't feel like the first day of school. It felt like any old day.

I followed my usual routine from last year. I was done by 6:30 and my bus came at seven. I made sure I wasn't forgetting anything and I sat down at the kitchen counter. I stared at the clock. It felt like I was waiting to die.

I searched through my phone for twenty minutes until it was 6:55. I decided to head out. I opened the door and felt the chilly air blow through my hair. It was much nicer than all the heat lately. I looked both ways and remembered to go right. I checked the time again, 6:58. Two more minutes. I better not be late.

As I approached the road there were 5 people waiting for the same bus. Joey, Trevor, and three girls. I walked up to the sidewalk and everything got really quiet. No one said a word. I turned the other way watching the road.

"The bus comes from this way." The oldest girl said.

They all let out quiet laughter. I looked at her and smiled. I wasn't looking for the bus you idiot. I hate this.

I looked at the ground and played with my feet. I heard continuous whispers coming from all of them.

Finally, I saw the yellow lights shine from the front of the bus. I felt so relieved yet still nervous. It slowly stopped with a screech and the doors whistled open. We all stepped up into the bus and I immediately searched for somewhere to sit. I saw an open seat. The two girls in front of me sat down in it. I felt panicked. The guys found spots in the very back and I was still left standing in front of everyone.

"Here you can sit with me." Said a girls voice.

I turned around and quickly sat in her seat.

Thank god. My heart was beating so fast.

"Hi." The girl greeted me. "Your new, right?"

I swallowed and said, "Yeah."

"No wonder, I've never seen you."

I awkwardly nodded. She seemed friendly. But I really wasn't in the mood to talk. I needed to relax or something.

I could sense people were talking about me. The girl next to me pulled out her headphones from her bag and plugged them in. I stared out the front window of the bus and sat silently the rest of the way.

When we got there, the bus emptied and everyone rushed into the school. I was just about to walk in when someone was thrown at me and I was pushed half way down the entrance hall. I turned around to see who it was. Some random senior fooling around with his ass of a friend. And, he didn't even notice that he chucked me across the room. How nice.

I looked around the school to see where I was and I pulled out my planner. It had a map in the front. It was confusing. There was a D hallway and an A hallway and a C hallway and just about a billion classrooms. The high school that I came from was grades 10-12 and we had a separate school for freshmen. So it was a bit smaller than this one.

I figured out how to get halfway to my locker but the rest was just confusing. I reached a staircase pretty close to my locker but I can't figure it out. My heart started beating fast, I was definitely gonna be late for first period. That's the worst.

I looked around for someone. I saw a teacher outside of her classroom watching students walk into her classroom. I fixed my backpack by pulling it further over my shoulder and I walked over to her.

"Excuse me?" I sounded like a little girl, my voice was so high.

"Yes, dear?" She sounded kinda raspy.

"Do you know how to get to the J hallway?"

"Why yes I do. Oh, and you're real close. You go up this staircase right behind you, there, and walk straight. Turn right and your locker should be somewhere on the left side."

"Ok, thanks so much." I smiled quickly and turned around. I think that went well.

I walked up the staircase. It was so crowded. Couples were slowly walking up the stairs and I tried to swerve around them but there wasn't enough room. I tried to get around the two standing in front of me but they both turned and gave me a dirty look. I couldn't help but roll my eyes which made them more annoyed. I figured now it wouldn't matter if I just pushed them out of way and stormed off to my locker. So I did.

I was worried I'd be late. I started to jog to the J hallway and there it was. My locker. Number 2266. That should be easy to remember. I pulled out the piece of paper from my bag with my locker combination messily written on it. It clicked open on the first try and smiled a bit to myself. I flung the door open causing it to hit the one next to me. Luckily no one was there. I pulled the door back and looked inside. It was all set up with my shelves and everything which I had done over the summer during 'open house' week. I knelt down and carefully slid a folder out from the bottom that said 'Spanish' on the front. That was my first period class. I placed it into my bag and threw it over my shoulder once again. I stood up and looked around before closing my locker.

A lot of people started to crowd in the hallway. It was like they were bleeding out from the stairway. It started to get really loud and one of the teachers poked their head out from a classroom.

"Hey guys! keep it down!" A male voice shouted over the crowd. "I know it's your first day back but remember, there are still rules to follow."

The noise died down for about a minute but then it got crazy again. I shut my locker and looked at the map again. Spanish was pretty close. Which would be a good thing if I had friends to talk to while we waited for class to start. But, all I could do is sit down and stare at the clock for another...let's see...20 minutes.

Great.

I walked down the staircase and into the Spanish classroom. There were no sticky notes or name tags showing anyone where to sit so I figured we could pick our seats. But when you don't know anyone, it's hard to find a seat. I actually wanted assigned seats so that if I was next to some loser, people would know I was there cause I haaad to be there. I know I know. I'm being a little mean. But people are fast to judge. And that much I know.