The first day of the new school year was always the worst. You spent the day filling in forms and getting sheets given to you with mountains of information. You are confined to a classroom for hours on end after being free from it all for over a month. You want nothing more than to catch up with your friends but you never quite get the chance.
Ella, like everyone else she knew, had a boring first day back at school. It was nearly exactly the same her first day of school last year. There were only two differences; she was a year older and instead of listening to the Head Girl's speech, she had to give it.
--
"You rocked that speech," my best friend Evie shouted at me as she walked towards the school gates. "I will text you."
I walked off towards the office where Miss Jones wanted to see me.
"Ella, what a wonderful speech you gave up there," she announced once she had seen me. "It was one of the best we've had for a long time."
"Thank you, I do try," I said with a laugh. "You wanted to see me?"
"Ah yes," she said, as if she was only just remembering. "There is a new pupil joining your year group tomorrow. He is quite well known around the world but he wants to be treated normally in school. I thought that you could show him around in the morning and be his mentor for this week at least. His name is Brooklyn Beckham."
"That's no problem," I said quickly. "I will be in your office by eight."
As I walked out of the school, towards my brother I couldn't get my head around it. Brooklyn Beckham would be here at this school. I would get to show him around! I went to text Evie before I remembered the strict instruction of not to tell anyone.
"You took your time," my younger brother Tyler complained from where he was standing. "You could have texted to say I would have to wait."
"Quit complaining," I shot at him. "I had to talk to Miss Jones about my speech."
We walked the rest of the way without saying much to one another. I kept on thinking about what would happen the next day while Tyler was texting his friends.
What if I said something really stupid and made a fool out of myself?
What if he - like every other boy in our year - fancied Evie and wanted to go out with her?
What if he was a twat?
The 'what if's...' just kept on coming and there wasn't anything that I could do to stop them.
--
"How did your speech go today?" Mum asked as she came into my room later that night.
"It was really good," I said with a slight smile.
"Good," she said as she picked up a few clothes off my floor and gathered them in her arms. "You seem distracted. You know you can speak to me about anything."
"I'm just tired. I will see you in the morning," I replied as I pretended to yawn and settle down into bed.
I lay in bed for three more hours. I was thinking of different ways the next day could go wrong. There seemed to be a lot of them.
--
"Tyler," I shouted up the stairs. "You've got ten seconds to get down the stairs or you will have to ride with next door."
My brother bounded down the stairs with about six different things in each hand. I grabbed some off him and put them into a neat pile before thrusting them back at him.
"I don't have time for you to mess around today," I warned him as we walked out of the house. "I've got to be in school in twenty minutes time."
"I don't know why you are so stressed," he began. "But, you really need to chill out a bit. Being this stressed isn't good for you. Whatever is happening today, you need to forget about it for the next twenty minutes. If you worry about it, it will go badly."
There it was, my brother's bit of advice that was nearly always the same and was rarely said to anyone. It reassured me that my brother was still sane, so it put a smile on my face.
Twenty minutes later, after the worst tube journey of my life, I was standing next to him. "Hi," he said as he put a hand forward. "I'm Brooklyn, you must be Ella. It is nice to meet you."
