It's My Life

Chapter 2 - School and revelations

The walk to school took twenty minutes, but I still arrived early, so I headed to my new locker, spun the combination dial, and opened it, depositing my school books in it, storing my bag underneath. I got my books out for my first two classes, closed the locker door, then headed across the corridor to my homeroom. I drank it all in, looking at the vastness of the room, then sat down in the third row, not so close to the front, but not at the back either. I pulled my diary to me and started memorising my class schedule, then moved on to memorising the school map. It looked a lot easier to maneuver than I thought it would, so I didn't feel as nervous.
As time passed, girls and boys started trickling in, some glancing at me, some smiling and saying hello, all looking like I did, dressed the same. I lowered my head to keep studying the map of the school when I heard my name. I looked up, but the teacher hadn't entered the classroom yet.
"Cassi!" I heard again, and looked at the door to see Tabby standing in the doorway, staring directly at me. I gasped in surprise as she came over, and I stood up quickly, hugging her as tightly as she hugged me.
"I can't believe it! You're here! And in my homeroom too!" She squealed. I flushed as other students looked at us, and I pulled her down to sit beside me.
"I'm very surprised as well, but this is very fortuitous. You can help me learn about how to behave at school. This is all new to me, remember?" I said softly. Tabby nodded.
"Oh, I can totally help you. This is going to be the best ever!" She gushed. Other students kept trickling in, and I was surprised at the size of the class. Including myself, I counted twenty-four boys and girls. I looked at Tabby.
"Are all classes this big?" I asked in a near-whisper. She nodded.
"Yeah. My elementary class had thirty, so this is a little smaller." She replied. I was about to ask her what happened to the other kids from her class when the teacher entered, so I sat up straight and faced the front. He put his things down on the desk, then faced the class.
"Good morning class. My name is Mr. French and I will be your homeroom teacher for the coming year." He said.
"Good morning, Mr. French." Everyone but me intoned. I frowned slightly, but no one seemed to notice. Mr. French opened a folder and picked up a pen, then started calling out names. I had no idea what it meant, but paid as close attention as I could, hearing each child respond after their name was called.
"Cassandra Silver." I heard, and looked up at him.
"Present." I said, hopefully loud enough. He made a mark on the paper, then kept going. Once he had finished, he closed the folder and pulled an A4 size piece of green paper to him, and then looked at the class.
"I'd like to welcome you all to Dunham Secondary College. It's going to be different for you all the first few weeks, but there are plenty of teachers and students ready to help you all. We have a Head Boy and Girl, as well as House Captains, and Student Representatives. The SRC, or the Student Representative Council, represent each class in the school. Year 7 classes don't have an SRC rep, so the Year 12 classes help out the Year 7 classes as well. It means we will probably get the information a day late, but that won't hurt us too bad." Mr. French said, and several students laughed. I smiled, though I didn't quite understand the joke. Mr. French then cleared his throat and continued.
"Tomorrow morning we will be sorting all the students into their houses, which is a completely random outcome. We have three houses here at Dunham. First is Hyland House, who wear green on House days and to sporting events. Secondly there is Hatfield House, who wear blue, and Hampton House, who wear red. These houses have House Captains, they arrange sporting events here at school as well as with other schools for inter-school sports days. On those days students wear their house colours and either participate or cheer from the sidelines. We have a noticeboard in each homeroom, on which will be posted sports notices, tryouts, upcoming events for the school, and so on." Mr. French advised. I listened to him, feeling a little daunted by all the information he was giving us, but I also felt excited. The bell rang then, and I jumped at the shrill noise. I didn't think I would ever get used to such a harsh noise. The students all around me were standing up and grabbing their books and pencil cases, and I stood up quickly, gathering my things to me, and followed Tabby into the corridor. Remembering the map of the school I led the way to our first class, finding it almost identical to the room we'd left. We all sat down, Tabby placing herself beside me, and she looked at me with a face alight with excitement. I smiled back, admitting to myself that I was excited as well. This would be my first class ever with a new regime. 
As the teacher entered, I started to feel nervous again. What if I was behind everyone else? What if I made a fool of myself in front of everyone? Thankfully, as it turned out I had nothing to worry about. I knew the material the teachers were showing us, and within a few weeks I had established my spot as top of the class. I rarely put my hand up, though teachers sometimes called upon me, I think they realised I didn't want the spotlight. 
I established good friendships as well, though Tabby fast became my best friend, and her and I would vie for grades. It was all fun though, and I could never think of her badly. I admit I loved seeing my name at the top of the score sheets, but I also loved seeing others coming so close to me as well. Once or twice a few surpassed me, which made me, if possible, even happier. It all came easy to me, memorising everything that we were taught. Tabby and I had both been placed into Hampton House, so on sports days we flourished in our red outfits, sometimes participating in the sporting events, sometimes just supporting the boys and girls. 
Two aspects of school that became important to me were English classes, and the spelling bees that branched off into extra-curricular time, and Mathletes. The latter was purely based at school, whereas the spelling bees branched out into inter-school competitions, and I loved every second of it. I smile right now to think of my first year at Secondary College. If you had asked me then what I loved most about school, I wouldn't be able to pick one thing. I loved it all. Yes, I know. I'm a nerd.