Do It For the Memories

New Beginnings (9/4)

So, day one at the new school. Thankfully, it was day one of freshman year of high school, so I wasn't going to get hit with the new kid card too badly this time around. Plus I didn't have to worry about not knowing anyone, I had a few friends, thanks to my dad and his friends, which is also how I'm avoiding having to ride the bus.

Mr. Daws-I mean, Rian, was driving me, Sean, Max, and his son Mark to school. Max's sister Izzie rode the bus because she wanted to be able to have time to talk with some of her friends, which I was glad of, since Rian's Prius was tight enough with me, Sean and Max crammed into the back seat, Mark having claimed elder privilege as we walked out of the shop this morning. Technically, aside from Mark's dad, Sean was the oldest in the group, but he was too quiet to bother with defending his title, so Mark took shotgun.

Rian pulled into the school parking lot and parked at the front of the school. Mark threw open the door and Rian jokingly called, "Got a hot date before class?" "Dad!" Mark yelled, exasperated.

Max, Sean and I laughed as we tried to find our seat belt buckles so we could actually get out. "Hey, general note, or warning, depending on how you look at it," Rian said, "I have to pick Cass up from the airport this afternoon, so Jack is going to be coming to pick you up from school." Max got an excited gleam in his eye at the announcement of his father driving us home, Sean groaned a little and I looked between them confusedly. "Anyway," Rian continued, "have a good first day, I'll see you guys at dinner."

We finally tumbled out of the car, backpacks hitting the ground before we slung them over our shoulders. "The ride home is going to be so fun." Max said happily, hopping along between me and Sean. 

"Yeah, I think I'll take my chances with the bus." Sean said. 

"My dad's driving isn't that bad dude." Max said. 

"Yeah, and pigs can fly. Holly, if you want to, I don't know, survive the year, I'd suggest riding the bus home this afternoon." Sean retorted, turning towards me as he made his suggestion. 

"Whatever man, the fewer the people in the car, the more room to stretch out." Max said, rolling his eyes.

Sean left us at the flagpole, heading towards a group of his friends over by the bushes and Max and I went inside. As we made our way down the halls, Max insisting his dad had told him a shortcut to get to our English class, which had been drawn onto a school map, I began to feel like we were just getting ridiculously lost. "Max," I finally said, "Are you sure that your dad wasn't just trying to mess with you?" I hadn't known Jack long, but from the two months I'd spent hanging around the shop, I'd gathered that Jack liked to joke around a lot. 

"That's why I made him draw it on the map. C'mon, do you think that after 14 years of living with my dad that I'd let him pull one over on me that easily?" Max replied, his dark eyes floating up from the page for a second. I just shrugged in response.

"1327....1326 there we are!" Max yelled excitedly, grabbing my arm and spinning me around as he started toward the door of the classroom. "Told you." he said confidently, pointing toward Sean's sister Deanna, who was sitting in the center of the room with two empty desks on either side of her. 

We waved and Max bounded to the seat on her right, so I took the one on the left. "Hey Dee." Max said, "How was the bus?" "Obnoxious." Deanna responded, scrunching her nose, "How did you manage to beat me out on the last seat in Uncle Rian's car?" 

Max laughed loudly, earning glares from a few of the not-so-awake people in the back of the room. "Easy," he said, "it's called being connected at the hip with the new girl who doesn't want to ride the bus." He leaned across Deanna's desk, reaching his fist out towards me, looking for a fist bump. When I didn't respond he pulled back and tried to play it cool, which earned a quick giggle from Deanna and me.