Girl meets growing up

Chapter 2: first hour

Riley's perspective

I walk into the high school with Maya by my side. We are instantly scared. There are reaaalllyyyy tall people here. We push our way through the hallways and find our lockers. Thankfully, they are right next to each other.

 I unpack my backpack and put all of my books, pencils, folders, and notebooks nearly into my locker. I am prepared for anything and everything. I have band-aids just in case I fall down the stairs, hand sanitizer in case I touch some gum on the bottom of a desk, a hairbrush just in case my hair gets messy after pe, and basically anything else you could imagine.

I watch as Maya unpacks, as she throws a few scattered pencils, books, and some gum into her locker.

"You better not put that gum under any desks, Maya Hart."

"And who's gonna stop me?" She says with a joking smile.

We laugh for a while, until the first bell rings. Then we are instantly saddened, because we know we won't see each other until lunch. That's 4 hours from now! We sadly part ways, wishing each other the best of luck.

I find my biology class and I don't see anybody I know. I slowly scan the room and decide to sit near the front. All of the kids in the room are talking with theirs friends, and I instantly feel like I'm going to cry. I miss Maya. "I wonder what she is doing right now?" I think to myself. I hope she doesn't feel scared and alone like I do. I quickly wipe a tear before it falls out of my eye. Just then, I see my friend Farkle walk into the room.

"Hello fellow Biology students! I am Farkle!"

I laugh and wave to him, relieved I found someone I knew.

"Hi Farkle!" 

"Hey Riley. Lookin good!" He says with a wink. 

I laugh. Farkle has always had a crush on me, but he never really took it that seriously. A lot of the time, we just  joke around.

"Right back at ya Farkle!" I say as the tardy bell rings. Our teacher walks into the room and gives us a warm welcome to high school. He explains all of the rules and regulations, what to do, what not to do. It got pretty boring.

I try to write everything down quickly as he talks, when all of a sudden I get this queasy felling in my stomach. I stiffen up. Could it be nerves? Maybe I didn't eat breakfast. I try to shake it off and concentrate. My efforts must have been weak, because Farkle looks over and whispers

"Riles, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a little hot in here, that's all." I reply, managing to smile.

I told myself that I'd wait until this class was over, then I'd go to the bathroom and take some medicine to ease the pain.