Synge

|§| Chapter 1 |§|

(Italics= Danish words and/or emphasis)

The warm air trickled through my window, giving my new room a fresh scent. Spring was finally here. With a heavy sigh I flopped onto my bare mattress, the box with the sheets hadn't arrived yet. I glanced at the sky blue ukulele that leaned against my dark brown nightstand. Temptation gnawed at my fingers, but I quickly pushed it away as I knew there wasn't enough time to play.

"First day of school Caroline, don't screw it up." I whispered to myself, moving my lips slowly with the odd language.

Running a dainty hand through my long, brown hair I pushed myself to my feet and faced my closet. A gentle finger tapped my chin. Dull teeth chewed at my chapped lips, and a pair of big green eyes scanned the aura of of colourful clothing. After what seemed like hours, I was able to decide on something. Baggy black jeans, some black high tops and an orange tie-dye shirt with a white skull. I smiled, posing in the mirror like a model.

"Perfektionere." I said, giggling to myself.

My stomach churned with nerves and excitement as I slid down the handle by the stairs.

"Morgen!" My dad said from the kitchen.

I tossed him a bright smile, grabbing a freshly cut apple from the counter. Noah, my older brother of three years, and the twins Oliver an Oscar all came down the steps, slumping in their chair tiredly. Noah had big bags under his eyes while the other two leaned on each other half asleep.

"A little much gaming?" I asked, the sentence sounding odd on my tongue.

"A little too much gaming, and yeah..." Oliver corrected.

I rolled my eyes. He was the youngest, two years from me and a few minutes from his other half Oscar. He was the know-it-all. He learned English the quickest, could speak it fast and clearly with no mess ups. Had hundreds in every class and was a school favorite. Oscar and Noah weren't far behind him, mostly sticking in the high 80s and low 90s in all their classes. I on the other hand, was the runt. Low grades, terrible English, let's just say I'm not a prodigy like my brothers.

"Whatever." I muttered, tossing my apple in the garbage.

"Caroline, don't forget you having an aid with you for the day. Meet him in the lobby and he'll help you around the school." Dad explained, handing me a brown paper bag.

A honk blared through the house and I turned to the screen door. A big yellow bus awaited me outside.

"Are you not taking the bus Noah?" I asked slowly, carefully picking my words.

"No, I'm driving myself." He stated.

I placed a kiss on my dad's cheek and ran out the door, climbing on. The bus driver tipped his hat and jabbed his thumb behind me.

"Find a seat." He said gruffly.

I gulped, my brain processing the words slowly.

'Okay, find.... a seat.' I thought to myself.

Eyes of all colours glared at me, some held confusion, others held judgement. My brothers might be able to speak well, but I can read people well. I scurried into the back of the bus, dropping myself on the single seat. The bus wheezed forward, dragging itself along the street.

"So who the hell are you?" A voice spoke from the left.

I snapped my head in that direction, locking eyes with an older boy. His brown hair was pushed up with gel, exposing a pair of stormy grey eyes and a button nose.

"R-repeat again?" I stumbled over my words, already knowing it was wrong but not knowing why.

The boy raised an eyebrow. Taking a moment to glance at his friend, he smiled a little.

"I said, 'So who the hell are you?'" He repeated.

I nodded in understanding, the jumbled letters forming the sentence in my head.

"Caroline." I said, my accent ringing clear through my voice.

"What kind of accent do you have?" He asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Danish." I answered, a red tint finding its way to my freckled cheeks.

He nodded making an 'oh' face, turning back to his friends. With a sigh of relief, I hugged my bag close to my chest. The bus took a sharp turn, screeching to a halt in front of a big brick building. The door swung open and everyone was on their feet. I followed more slowly, dipping my head low to hide my face. We all hurried off the bus, some running to catch their friends, others lazily entering the school. I quickly found myself lost in a sea of teenagers, fighting through the current over to the left wall. A few minutes past and a young man came up to me. He gave me a friendly smile.

"Hi, my name's Joe!" He chirped.

"Hvad?" I asked, completely lost in what he said.

"Oh! Sorry, I mean; Hej, jeg hedder Joe." He corrected himself.

I smiled, nodding.

"Jeg er Caroline." I introduced myself.

He nodded and placed a hand on my upper back, leading me into a long hallway. Signs and posters were everywhere. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but the pictures made it seem like a lot of anti-bullying and suicide prevention. They sent chills down my spine as I wondered why a school would need so many reminders of these things. Back in my hometown in Denmark things like bullying and suicide never happened. Joe was talking about what the school was like, but part of me found his words hard to believe considering how many kind words were thrown in there.

"This here, is the kantine. This is where you'll eat your lunch everyday and where you'll probably do most of your homework." He joked, speaking slowly so I could follow along.

I nodded, peaking through the windows in the doors. The room was much bigger then I expected, at least fifty small tables strewn about the area. It's brick walls were painted over with white and yellow paint and the tiles were a dirty white and red. Glancing up I could see the markings of old food that was flung up into the ceiling. My nose scrunched with disgust.

"I know, it's a bit messy but you'll get use to it." Joe encouraged.

I nodded curtly, turning away from the doors. He patted my shoulder gently and started down the hallway.

~End of Chapter 1~

Key:
Perfektionere = Perfect
Morgen = Morning
Hvad = What
Hej, jeg hedder Joe = Hi, my name is Joe
Jeg er Caroline = I am Caroline
Kantine = Canteen/ Lunchroom