"You got everything you need, Hayden?" Mrs. Kempton asks me as I slide into the middle seat of her SUV.
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the ride to school." I nod. I am still half asleep, but it's the first day of school and I know I can't count on dad to get me there on time.
Dad found a job this week. A Saudi company that does business in the US needed another remote coordinator. It was one of the few jobs he could find that didn't require a US work visa and he seems to enjoy it so far, but the hours are based on their time zone and not ours. He was just heading to bed when he woke me up this morning.
"No problem at all, dear," she says and smiles at me in the rearview mirror. "Talmadge will help point you to your classes." It always makes me smile when she calls Tank by his proper first name.
The high school is only a few minutes away and I went two nights ago with mom and dad to get a tour and pick my classes. I tried my best to get the same classes as Tank, but he was on the athletic track and my parents wanted to keep me on the advanced placement one. I couldn't exactly argue with them on that.
"Well, Talmadge," I start when we get out of the car. He glares at me but then smiles. "At least we have the same home room."
"Yeah. Ms. Berks is the works! My brother had her last year and she used to surprise kids with donuts if they show up on time!" Tank glows and reminds me of what a sugar fiend he is.
We make our way through a series of jammed hallways to a peaceful classroom near the back of the school. The teacher went all out with decorations. She has the chairs arranged around group tables and there are two comfy couches along one wall. Her windows look out over the football field and everything is done in shades of pink and green.
"Welcome! Take a name tag! What a great year this will be!" Ms. Berks greets us from her wheelchair. She has grandma arms that show wagging skin flaps as she gestures excitedly towards the small table by the door.
Tank grabs two nametags and a marker then heads over to two empty seats by the window. He takes the outer desk and pulls out the middle chair for me. There's a girl deep into her texting on the other side of me. She does not look up, but slides her bag out of my space.
"I can't believe we get 50 minutes together every morning," Tank whispers to me as he nods to a friend coming in the door.
I start to reply but then Ms. Berks calls our attention. She lifts two boxes of fresh donuts from behind her desk and says we can all have one once we get through her presentation. This lady knows what she's doing. Everyone pays strict attention to her slides with the rules and assignments we will work on.
The next class is Tankless, but he walks me there as we finish our donuts. It's calculus which isn't my top subject, but I did a prep class for it back before we left California so I feel like it's achievable.
I take a desk near the center and pull out a fresh notebook. Judging from the nerd crowd filling in around me, this is going to be intense.
There's a boy already seated beside me. He's taller than me; a little bulkier, kind of cute. I dig out my pencil pouch, and when I pop my head up from my backpack, he's staring right at me. Our eyes meet and he quickly turns his head down and shakes his head. I think he's scoping me. Maybe this class without Tank won't be so bad.
"Have you had this teacher before?" I ask him.
"Uh..." he lifts his head then looks around as if he thinks I couldn't possibly be addressing him. "Me? Oh um... yeah. Mr. Siddhu... Once you get used to his accent, he's pretty good. "
YOU ARE READING
Hayden's Shelter
Teen Fiction[BoyXBoy] - Not-Quite-16 year old Hayden Davis finds himself seeking shelter in the Arizona desert with his mom after his dad's deportation and the fall of the Orange County business Empire his parents had built. He's working with his mom to get th...
