Deal With It

Cameron Anderson Vs. the First Day at Sonoma High

The first half of the school day went better than I had expected it to.  As soon as we walk through the large double doors of the front entrance, Eli leads me directly to the front office where I can pick up all the stuff I will need for my first day.

“You can pick up your schedule and school map here.” Eli smiles.  “I actually have to talk with a teacher about something, so I have to go, but I will see you later and we will eat lunch together.  I mean, if you don’t have any other lunch plans by then that you would rather have.” He begins to walk away, but I find myself calling out to him before I realize what I am even doing.

“Wait.” I say.  He spins on his heel and looks at me patiently, waiting to hear what I have to say.   

Thank you.”

His expression then turns to confusion. “For what?”

“For taking the time to actually help me get to school and stuff.  That is really nice of you and you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t have to do that.”  He smiles genuinely “I wanted to.  Like I said earlier, I do what I want.  I like doing nice things for other people.  Builds up the good Karma.  But, anyway you are welcome, Cameron.  Now go!”  He pushed me toward the office gently.  “Get situated,.  You don’t want to be late on your first day!”  And with that, he is half way down the hall before I can even come up with a response.

The main office looks like any school office would.  There is a woman sitting at the front desk, and I assume she is the attendance clerk.  Her brown hair that is beginning to gray is worn in a tight bun at the top of her head, and she is wearing thick framed glasses that are attached to a chain that hangs around her neck.  The lipstick that colors her lips is as pink as Pepto-Bismol, and I can’t help but think that it actually suits her.  The name plaque on her desk reads ‘Mrs. Jenkins,’ and I clear my throat slightly to gain her attention.

“Why hello!” She smiles warmly at me.  “You must be the new student.  I haven’t seen you around campus before.”  This must be a smaller school than I thought.

“Yeah,” I return the smile “That would be me.  Cameron Anderson.”

“Well Cameron Anderson, I have your school map and your schedule all ready to go right here.  You can get your books from each of your teachers before or after class, though I am sure they will get you situated once you arrive.”  She hands me the papers, and then gets up and walks over to a filing cabinet that is a couple of feet away from her desk.  “Also, here is a handbook, which contains all of the school rules, as well as the dress code and emergency contact forms that you would need to take home and fill out.  Your guardian will need to read over the handbook as well and sign the last few pages.  You can bring it back sometime this week.” 

Mrs. Jenkins sits back down at her desk and clasps her hands under her chin.  “Your locker number and combination are on your class schedule, and the lockers are right down the hall.  Do you have any questions, sweetie?”

I shake my head and look up from the papers to respond “No, I think I got it from here.  Thank you.”

“No problem, sweetie.  You have yourself a wonderful day, and feel free to pop in if you have any questions or concerns throughout the day”

“I will.”  I wave goodbye and exit the office, ready to begin my very first day at Sonoma High School.

Of course, I had to go through the typical “new student” routine for almost every period of the day.  The minute I would walk into a classroom, all eyes would be on me.  The teacher would then introduce me to the awaiting audience, and then I would have to give a little information about myself.  However, within the last five classes that I have sat through, I have only seen a few new faces in each.  Other than that, I was introducing myself to the same twenty people over and over.  These people probably know me better than anyone at my old school by now.  Yet, I could not bring myself to be bothered by this.  In fact, I even found comfort in exposing myself to these people.  They know what I want them to know, not what they assume to know.   My earlier fear of rejection completely vanished the minute I stepped in to my first period English class where the people were actually interested in what I had to say about myself.  What should have been a two minute introduction turned in to a full on interview.  I never even had to look at my school map.  In each class, a student would volunteer to show me where it was, seeing as they were most likely in that class as well, and I could not have been more grateful.  It also helped that I saw Eli in three out of the five classes I have had so far.  It is nice to know that I at least have one friend.