Who I've Become

Chapter 5

My stomach churned more and more as I got closer to campus. The old brick buildings lined the huge land that became my new school, giving the school a historic feel. I had no classes with Kris or Shay for the first half of the day, which only made me feel sicker. Sadly, I knew those two were my support and the reason I was able to overcome a lot of my shyness. Without them, I was afraid I would shrink back to my old self.

         Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth; I had to remind myself as I followed several other students my age into a smaller house with white siding. My schedule and map said I was supposed to be going to English, my least favorite subject. As I felt the wide wooden floor creak below all of the kids, I saw a familiar man turn around to face his new class.

         “Hello, my freshmen! One of my youngest grades, yet maybe one of the best to teach.” The plain, balding man exclaimed. He clapped his hands together, executing much more confidence than before. “Some of you may remember me from the orientation; I am Harry Burmonte. Please call me anything along the lines of Burmonte, Mr. Burmonte, or Mr. B— whichever pleases you.” I already liked this guy, although he looked lonely and smelled like mothballs. Then again, you can’t judge a book by its cover, right? Even though this teacher seemed alright, I could not stand this first period of the day and happened to zone out.  

“Miss Jay? Miss Jay, is she here?” Lucky for me, no one knew who I was yet, but it still didn’t help that I was sitting in the middle of the class. I saw smart enough to know I wouldn’t be sitting in the front seat anymore unless I wanted the same reputation, but it was also obvious that I wasn’t paying attention when Mr. Burmonte called for attendance. “Caroline Jay? Is she even here?” A girl I recognized slightly tapped me from behind, saving me from further humiliation. 

“Oh, I’m here!” I blurted out, mentally slapping myself for being so foolish already.

“Ah, so you’re a daydreamer, are you? Zoning out? But it’s the first day miss Jay and I hope that this won’t become a habit of yours.” His face still seemed friendly, but I could tell I wasn’t off to a good start. Sighing, I heard someone failing to suppress his or her laughter. My cheeks felt red hot as I slowly turned around to see who was embarrassing me further. Little did I know, my eyes met with the bold green of Sam’s eyes. Of course, of course it’s him. My head buried into the polished desk, reminding me this was anything but an ordinary school. First of all, no one even acknowledged me back home, and I’d never gotten in any trouble with a teacher before. Plus, a guy had never even sent a second look at me in my old school. I just wished it were for a good reason instead of laughing at me. Once I glanced at him though, I realized he got quiet. Was he being polite or just making it worse? A couple minutes later, I made sure to be alert when our English teacher called his name.

“Sam Rawlings!”

“Here” the amazingly attractive guy responded right away. Smugly, I turned around and without thinking I murmured, “Over achiever…” Immediately, I covered my mouth in embarrassment.People turned towards me, as taken aback as I was with myself. What a great way to make an impression Caroline, great job.

“Caroline, you’re a smart alec as well as a daydreamer now?” An amused look was on Burmonte’s face as I started making an excuse.

“No, I’m not! I’m sorry, I—” Harry Burmonte only shook his head while clucking his tongue. I knew I wasn’t going to win, so I just waited to see what else he had to say, but instead he just started off the first lesson of the day.

After what seemed like hours, Mr. Burmonte finally dismissed us as all of us ran out to see where we had to go next. Gathering up all my confidence, I ran up to Sam’s tall, lean figure trying to formulate what I would say to him.

“Sam! Um, it’s Carry, remember?” He looked down at me, chuckling once he realized whom it was.

“How could I forget? So, I’m an over achiever huh?” I couldn’t help but look down at my boots as I felt a red tinge creep up to my cheeks.

“About that, um well I’m sorry I just wasn’t thinking about it,” he waved his hand dismissively, cutting me off. Sam took his other hand out of his jacket, and brushed it through his beautiful hair.

“Don’t worry, you made me laugh, even after you said that.” He winked, making butterflies return once again. Come on, think of something, I forced myself to say what Shay would be proud of.

“Well, I’m glad I could make you laugh. Where are you going next?” Finally, I could look at Sam in the eyes.

“Uh, I think I’m headed for Computer Technology. You?” I felt my emotions sink as I realized we wouldn’t be able to keep talking.

“Darn it, well I guess I’ll see you later.” I half smiled, hoping it would come across as flirty. But wait, what did I know about flirting? I’ve never even talked to a guy before without being told to! What did I think I was doing?

“Yeah, see you soon.” He smiled a perfectly white smile, only making my heart melt even more. Maybe I was doing something right.

~~~ 

“Okays kids, this is not your average P.E. class. We will not be playing dodge ball, nor kickball or whatever else you’ve previously had to endure in physical education.” The short woman waited for some sheers to die down once we heard that we wouldn’t be playing games that mainly demoted many of us before. “I am Ms. Hockerman and I will be teaching the main part of this year’s unit: self defense.”

At first it didn’t cross my mind to think about what she’d just said, but then I looked around to see people’s faces as confused as mine. “Don’t just stand there; pick a partner near you and stand with them!” the stout woman ordered us. I looked around to see Kris and Shay shooting me apologetic looks as they paired up.

That only left me with two options: Jasmine or Sam. Naturally, I wanted to be partnered with Sam, but I thought that may seem to obvious so I lightly walked over to Jasmine who just seemed displeased at my choice. Once again, the gym teacher barked at us to shake hands and make introductions.

“Carry” I followed Ms. Hockerman’s instructions, trying to be pleasant. I only received an eye roll from Jasmine as she said, “Really? I had no idea.” Her words dripped with sarcasm, yet she still shook my hand, barely, but still!

 ~~~

         “So now that you two are friendly with each other, I suggest you make it your job to get along because this person will be your partner for the rest of the year. This class is about learning how to deal with the dangerous people who may know what school you are training at. Not only will this class protect you from daily challenges, but it may save your life as well as someone else’s. All I expect is all of your effort is put into this and be ready for whatever is in store. Now get ready for the most important class of your high school life.” Both of our eyes widened at what she said, realizing this was a permanent choice. Jasmine and I were stuck together, for the year! Let the fun begin, I dared, not too excited for what could come next.