Different but Mostly the Same

Chapter One

~Noah~

My mother had always told me that she never understood the popularity of those cheesy, 80's high school romantic comedies. She said, they always seemed so shallow and the characters felt empty because, for them, high school was all about status and getting laid when in reality it's way more complicated than that.

   I myself had never really been one to be involved in the ridiculous saga that is high school. Hell, I'd never even had a girlfriend before, although I did kiss Sarah Ramison in the art cupboard when I was in sixth grade. It's not like I hadn't had the opportunity to get myself a girlfriend, three years ago when I was a basket boy, I was caught in the middle of a bidding war and ended up being sold for a fairly decent $35. The girl I got the date with was the perfect potential girlfriend, you know, long blond hair and icy blue eyes. But that really didn't lead to anything, I didn't want to be distracted. My father had always taught me to keep my head down and work. He said that in hindsight I will be glad I never dated in school because when I'm a successful young man I will be able to be with whoever I choose. He said that love is all about patience and timing.

   Nowadays, he doesn't really care for patience that much, not since my mum passed away last May. He's a different person now. I can't really pinpoint when I started seeing the change in him. Was it when he started dating his receptionist in the August of that year? Or was it when he packed up our life in Arizona to move across the country to a tiny town in Vermont? All I know is, the day my mum died was the day the connection between me and my father broke. Sometimes I feel like the only thing we had in common was her.

   I think about my dad and his opinions on high school on a regular basis, well I have been lately. I am starting at my new school today and I'm crapping myself. I've never been completely alone at school before, not even when I started first grade. Me and my best friend Jay started school together, we thought we were going to finish together as well. I miss home sometimes. I miss my mum every single day. She would know what to say, she always had good advice for every situation. I try to think of what she'd say to me today, maybe something along the lines of, 'it's going to be great sweetie, you just have to keep your heart and your mind open and you'll have the time of your life.' Hell, I have absolutely no idea what she'd say, she's dead.

   "Noah!" I hear Liz call from the bottom of the stairs, "Noah honey." There are a couple taps on my door before it creaks open and my dad's girlfriend pops her head into my bedroom. "Sweetheart, I've made some scrambled eggs for your breakfast, if you'd like to come down to the kitchen."

  I prop my head up, "Thanks," I say with a half-hearted smile, "but I'm not that hungry."

  "Oh, that's alright. I'll put it in a container and you can take it for lunch," she gently closes the door and heads back downstairs.

   "Great," I whisper to myself before rolling over.

   I don't really have a problem with Liz, I mean, I do but I also don't. She's a lovely woman who has a heart bigger than the sun, she really cares for both my dad and I and she's a great cook. I don't really like the fact that she's fifteen years younger than my father and has no issue with dropping everything to be with him when he moves to the other side of the country. But each to they're own right?

   I lie in bed staring at the cracks which run across the ceiling of my room before the harsh sound of my alarm clock reminds me that I have to get up and go to school. I drag myself over to my dresser to pick out some fresh, clean clothes but end up getting changed into some old clothes I have lying on the floor. I really just want to blend in today, standing out is overrated.

   The walk to school is uneventful, apart from when I lost my footing on the stairs down to the town's Main Street and ended up falling on my arse. Luckily, nobody was around to witness my embarrassment.

When I arrive at Sheridan Valley High School I am greeted with the hospitality of Julie from administration, if you can even call it hospitality.

"Name?" She asks whilst loudly chewing a piece of gum.                   

"Ah, it's Noah," Julie stares at me blankly, "Noah Breiley."     

Julie clicks a few buttons before getting up out of her seat and walking over to the printer. She shoots me a quick look from across the room to which I reply with an incredibly awkward smile.    

"Okay then Mr. Breiley, here is your class timetable, don't be late," she hands me the sheet of paper. I take a look at it only to realise that I have Math up first, fantastic. As I am contemplating my hatred for Mathematics Julie clears her throat, "Did you not just hear me tell you not to be late?" I give an awkward laugh to which she responds with a very harsh, "Go!"

Not wanting to be on Julie's bad side, I quickly fold up my timetable and shove it in my backpack before heading towards the door.

"Wait," Julie commands right before I enter the hallway, "Your locker number and temporary combination." She holds out another smaller piece of paper, "Take it and change the combination before you go to your first class."

"Sure, thank you."  
                         
I make my seconds attempt for the door as Julie bellows behind me, "and change it to something you'll remember. I don't want to see your face in here for that shit."

   The rest of the school day runs pretty smoothly. I didn't really talk to any of the other kids nor did I make any friends, but that's okay. I wasn't really expecting to be the irresistible new kid, I don't even think anybody noticed that there was a new person in the grade at all. I want friends in this town, it would be pretty dull if I had to spend all my time by myself, even worse if I had to spend all my time with dad and Liz. I've just never been so extroverted that I can make friends by simply snapping my fingers. I'm the type of person that has friends to make friends for me.
                  
By the time I arrived home the sun had already started to set. I walk in the front door and am greeted with the smell of roast pork and garlic potatoes.

"I'm home."          
                            
"Noah honey, how was your first day? You have to tell your dad and I over dinner, he's just finishing up the carving now." Liz leads me into the kitchen when my dad is serving up dinner. "Tom, Noah's going to tell us all about his first day at Sheridan Valley."                
   He looks up and me and for a split second, I see the disinterest in his eyes. "Sounds like a plan, can't wait to hear about it buddy," he gives me an obviously forced smile before beginning to plate up our dinner.