Human

Layla: The First Day

"Wake up, Layla, aren't you excited for the first day of middle school?"

I sprang out of bed right away. I could practically feel the butterflies in my stomach. I have always been really shy, and I don't know anybody in my new middle school.

"Earth to Layla, Mom speaking! Go get ready for school! You don't want to be late on the first day, imagine what impression that would make on the teachers!"

"Oh... right..." I mumbled.

After I got ready for school and ate my breakfast, the bus was already outside the house. Mom barely had time to give me a quick hug before I ran out to it.

Practically every seat was taken. When I made eye contact with someone with a seat to themselves, they would look away and move to take up the whole seat. The only seat left was in the very back, and I took it. Well, I thought, at least I'm not attracting any attention.

The bus ride was only 20 minutes, but it seemed to take two hours. I was absolutely dreading what would happen when I got to school. What if I was late to my classes? What if no one talked to me? My thoughts were turning for the worst when everyone around me stood up. I realized what was happening and got up too.

When I was walking to the school, I looked around. Everyone seemed to have a group of friends but me. I could feel my face reddening, so I quickly looked down at my feet. I noticed my shoes. I had decided to wear tennis shoes, but all the other girls were wearing fancy brand names like Toms or Jack Rogers. Why had I decided to wear these? I should have thought it out more carefully, but then again, I don't even have brand name shoes. Too expensive, I heard my mom's voice shout in my head. Now that I thought about it, my whole outfit didn't seem to fit in. These factors did not help my nervousness at all.

I almost bumped into the door when I emerged out of my thoughts. I racked my brain to try and remember what my first class was. It suddenly came to me, Social Studies, Mrs. Braveheart, room 1405. I looked around for a sign to help me get to next class. The hallways were packed, but luckily, I'm tall and could see over everyone's heads. Right turn.

I searched the hall for 1405, and I found it close by to my left. When I walked in, almost all of the seats were filled. It seemed like a habit of mine to arrive later than others all the time. There was only a few seats left, and I took the one in the second from the back row. There were two girls next to me, engaged in conversation. They both had long, thick, stick-straight hair, and I thought of my shoulder length, wavy hair. I should have definitely grown it out. Everything about me seemed different.

"Hello, class, I'm Mrs. Braveheart, and welcome to middle school! I will be your homeroom teacher for your sixth grade year. I hope you enjoy my class!"

Mrs. Braveheart had the look of a sweet, old lady. She had tightly curled gray hair, wore red lipstick, and had little round glasses.

"Now first, we will discuss the rules. Number one, no talking while another person is talking, number two, no gum or cell phones, and number three, respect each other!"

• • •

Homeroom, second, and third period went by fairly fast. My second period English teacher looked young enough to be an eighth grader, had long blonde hair, and had a light, bubbly voice. My third period science teacher was middle-aged, had brunette, short hair, and had a squeaky voice.

Lunch is an interesting story.