One For The Road

Chapter One

"Let's have a great second semester at Ledgewood High School!"

The overly peppy voice of our headmaster was replaced by the crackling of the intercom, and the response to his announcement was a combination of snickering and muffled groans. I stayed quiet, as you would expect from the new kid sitting in the back of the classroom.

I began surveying my classmates to get a grip on just how much this year would suck for me. A clique of four girls was loud with chatter at a cluster of desks near the side of the chemistry classroom. They all wore a fair amount of makeup and seemed to be very close to each other. They seemed popular. I noted that it would most likely be best to avoid them. I couldn't underestimate girl power, especially from girls who had their own ways of getting information. Nearby, there was a girl shooting pointed glares to a group of rowdy boys. There was a group of three people talking to each other in the back corner, and I could see a blond boy up front scribbling in his notebook. Everyone else was waiting patiently as the chemistry teacher, Mr. Green, waited for silence. It took a while, but when everyone was finally quiet, he smiled a little.

"Welcome back to reality," he greeted in a clear voice, and I couldn't help but snort quietly at his comment. "Before we begin class, I'd like to point out the fact that we have a new student attending Ledgewood." He briefly locked eyes with me, and I sunk slightly lower into my seat as a few students turned to look at me. "His name is Chase. Please treat him with the same respect you would treat your friends or teachers. Now, while I catch him up on what we've previously learned, I want you all to work on a worksheet to show me what you remember." Several students groaned in annoyance, and I could feel myself relaxing. I wouldn't have to stand in front of a bunch of strangers who didn't want to know anything about me. I didn't want them knowing anything about me, either.

Mr. Green passed out the review papers and gestured for me to come up to his desk. When I arrived, he began explaining what he had gone over with his class before fall break, when I had moved here.

I could immediately tell Mr. Green would be a good teacher. He explained things thouroghly to get the entire point across, but not to the point where it seemed like he was talking to a kindergartner. He answered the questions I had to his best judgement.

The fact that he hadn't made me introduce myself also gave him about seven awesome points.

He told me I could do whatever I pleased for the rest of the hour, and as I returned to my seat, I found myself pulling my notebook out of my bag. I wanted to draw, and one of the girls sitting a few seats away had a strong jawline and very pretty hair. She was reading, too, so she probably wouldn't be moving any time soon.

I got about halfway through the sketch before people began shuffling to gather their belongings. Before the girl moved, I desperately added a few scribbles to get a basic idea of the shapes that were there, counting on my memory to keep a hold on the details of her face and hair.

The bell rang at that moment, and as everyone else stood to leave, I scrambled to gather my books and my backpack, desperately attempting to close my notebook so no one could see what I'd drawn. Finally, I was able to sling my bag onto my back and grab my notebook before heading out of the classroom.

I stifled an irritated groan as I stepped into the hallway, being met with a wave of loud chatting and slow people. I'd managed to get stuck behind the people who were in no hurry. Frustration bubbled inside of me, and I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist as I stepped out of Mr. Green's doorway to let the crowd pass.

It took a while, but at last, the great mass of people had flushed into a steady stream of people who were moving more quickly. I joined them before heading to my locker and, from there, my English class.

The teacher had left a message on the SMART board, instructing us to choose our seats for this semester. I plopped down at the side of the class next to the window, pulling out my notebook and continuing the sketch I had started.

"That's normally where I sit," someone said next to me.

I hurriedly covered the sketch and glanced up to see who had spoken. It was the blond boy who had been in my chemistry class. He was standing next to the desk directly next to mine.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, gesturing to the desk next to mine.

"I suppose I don't have a way to stop you," I replied, and he looked at me funny.

"It was a yes or no question. No need to make it complicated." He sat down anyway. "You're Chase. The new guy."

I physically cringed. The new guy. "I guess I am."

"I'm Just," he greeted. "Since we sit next to each other, we're probably going to be partnered together a lot, just so you know."

"Great," I mumbled. Socialization wasn't my forte. This guy, however, seemed to be full of energy.

A girl with shoulder-length black hair rushed into the classroom just before the bell rang, sighing in relief before crossing the room and sitting right in front of me. It took me a moment to realize that she'd been in my chemistry class, too, glaring daggers at the group of boys.

My attention was drawn from the girl to the teacher, Ms. Hemmingway. She had a pleasant smile, and her heels clicked against the tile floor as she made her way to the front of the class.

"Welcome back," she greeted, and a respectable silence filled the class. "I know some of you are sitting with different people, and we have a new student and a few people who have had their schedule changed. To get to know each other, I want you to gather up in rows of two and tell people your name and an interesting fact about you." To clarify, she split lines down every other row of desks.

Our two rows gathered reluctantly in the corner of the room. We went in a circle until, eventually, it was Just's turn to speak.

"I'm Just," he said, "and I have a little sister."

I was next. I told everyone my name, followed by, "I've got leopard DNA in my blood."

A few people gave me sideways glances, but we moved onto the next person, who happened to be the girl with black hair. "I'm Heidi," she said in a soft voice, "and I'm only a sophomore."

I raised my eyebrows. The fact that this girl was a year younger than us and still in advanced classes impressed me.

I could hear a few people snickering. One boy mumbled "nerd" under his breath.

I lifted my eyes to the boy who had chosen to make the extra comment. "What?" I asked, and the group's side chatter stopped as everyone turned to me. "What's wrong with being smart? The last time I checked, this is an advanced placement class for eleventh graders. Here, we have a tenth grader." I gestured to the girl, Heidi. "So what's wrong with her being smarter than you could probably ever be?"

His dumbfounded expression quickly morphed to fury, and the rest of the group watched in awe. Heidi was staring at me with wide eyes. What had I gotten myself into? I mentally cursed myself for lack of a mental filter.

"You think I'm stupid?" he demanded.

"I never said that. All I said is that she probably has ten times the amount of intelligence as you if she can get into such a high class. Sure, people will always be smarter, but she's clearly pretty good at this whole brain thing." I held my hands up in surrender. "I'm simply stating facts. Feel free to continue." I nodded toward the girl standing next to Heidi, and after her initial shock passed, the discussion continued.

I couldn't help but notice that the boy was still glaring at me. I couldn't make enemies with the wrong people.

Maybe it was too late for that.

~~~

Here it is; the long-awaited (maybe?) story featuring Chase, my chiLd.

If you're reading this, welcome! Thanks for stopping by. At the moment, I don't know how often I'll be publishing new updates for this. I have school and other important things to worry about. However, I hope I'll be able to update somewhat frequently,,

Ironically, this was published on Chase's birthday (November 3rd).