Freshman Friday

Chapter 3 - "Coincidence"

I fiddled with the papermate ink pen between my fingers. It took me no time to locate my first period, but I was the only living soul in the classroom for some odd reason. There were rows on rows of empty desks where students were supposed to be seated. I checked my watch.

8:01 AM

The classroom door swung open and in came a short, tanned girl. She wore the female version of my uniform which consisted of a plaid red skirt and black buttoned top. She looked better in it than I did. Her chesnut hair was long enough to reach her lower back, and the thin heels that her feet were squeezed into nearly tricked me into believing she was a teacher herself.

"Nobody is supposed to be in this room. You'd better not be trying to skip class," she warned.

"Oh, no ma'am. I'm..."

The girl's face lit up. "Wait, is there a chance that your name happens to be... 'Justin Sieber'?"

I nodded slowly.

"Wow! It's so nice to finally meet you! Welcome to Lavista Academy!"

"H-How did you know about me?"

She smiled. "We don't get many transfers here. Especially boys. Of course we know about you. The whole campus knows."

I was unsure as to why that made my cheeks tingle.

"Awe, well aren't you shy? Come, follow me. You wouldn't wanna' be late."

The girl lead us down the hall to the correct classroom. Coincidentally, she and I had the same first period.

"This is it. You ready?" she asked excitedly.

"I think so."

Her face changed. "You'd damn well better be."

She opened the door and I followed her inside. An entire room of curious eyes gazed at us, but mostly at me. From the lack of empty seats available, I was left to assume that I was late.

"Gabby?! Tardy again?! That's strike three," the professor barked.

"No, Mr. Spruce! I have a good excuse this time! Just hear me out! I was helping this new guy find his class!"

The professor grimaced. "New guy? You mean that fella behind you? What's his name?"

Gabby grinned.

"Justin Sieber."

The classroom grew deathly quiet. All eyes fell on me. I looked down to avoid their stares. Mr. Spruce stood from his desk. "Well it looks like you finally made it, Mr. Sieber. We've been waiting for you. Where'd you move from?"

My voice wavered as I spoke. "C-California."

The students murmured to one another.

"What part of California?"

I opened my mouth to speak my usual reply, but I remembered Mason's strange advice from before.

"Los Angeles."

I could see the expression on every student's face begin to soften. Their intrigue skyrocketed. I would be sure to thank Mason later.

The professor rested his hands in the pockets of his khakis. "You don't say! Well have a seat, son. I can't promise you that things here will be as exciting as LA, but you're going to have a thrilling experience here at our school."

"Thank you," I said, holding onto the professor's unusual last sentence.

Gabby tugged my arm. "C'mon Justin. Sit next to me."

We sauntered between rows of students for a pair of empty seats until I felt someone touch my hand.

"There ain't many seats left. You should sit here."

I turned around and froze. Of all the women I had met in this life, this girl was by far the most stunning.

"Oh... thank you," I said weakly, taking a seat next to the beauty while staring at her like a total creep. Gabby sat at the end of the row, looked over at me, then seated herself in silence. She must not have liked the girl I was with.

"No worries," the girl said, her voice calm and sultry.

Her jet-black hair was tied into a messy bun and wavy bangs ran down both sides of her chiseled jawline. Violet mascara encircled her dark eyes, adding more focus to her elongated eyelashes. She wore a simple, white crewneck top with the school's letters imprinted on the front. I couldn't keep my eyes off her, or the full-sized blowpop sticking out of her mouth.

"I had a feeling that you might be cute, but I wasn't prepared for all this," she giggled, her lollipop nearly rolling out.

My cheeks flushed. "I erm, aren't we supposed to wear uniforms here?"

"We are, but nobody really gives a shit about the uniform policy. Maybe you should stay in yours. I kinda' like the way you look in it."

She plucked her lollipop from her lips and licked her teeth. "Name's Julie."

"It's nice to meet you, Julie."

She laughed aloud. "You're so formal. Does every guy in LA talk like you do? We southerners don't really give two shits about what comes outta' our mouths."

"Is that so?"

I heard a familiar voice call my name from behind me. I whipped around to catch a full view of Mason, standing over us in a black hoodie and jeans.

"Yo Sieber! We're in the same first period! What a coincidence!"

Julie turned back to face the front, her face stern. She must not have liked Mason.

He tossed his jansport backpack on the desk beside me and sat himself down with a cocky smile spread across his face. He kept his cool gaze forward, but called out to the girl on my right.

"Hey, Julie. Gettin' comfy with my new roommate?"

Julie ignored him, casually twirling the stick of her lollipop around. Mr. Spruce grew aggregated with the loud chatter in the classroom.

"Alright, alright! Quiet down. We'll be continuing our PowerPoint from last week. Open up your notebooks."

Mr. Spruce patted his pants in search of something. "Has anyone seen my laser pointer?"

Mason flicked his eyes up at me. "Yo Sieber, watch this," he whispered, lifting a bulging object beneath his jacket. A red dot appeared in the dead center of Mr. Spruce's forehead.

"Which one of you little gremlins swiped my pointer?! I know somebody has it!"

The classroom filled with laughter. I didn't quite understand what was so funny. Pointing a laser at a teacher's face just seemed cruel.

Julie looked at me quizzically. "Somebody doesn't have a sense of humor."

"I do. I just don't find this funny."

Julie blew a strand of hair from her face. "What do you find funny, Sieber? Tell me what makes you smile?"

Mason's lips were suddenly in my ear. "Tell her that you play volleyball," he whispered.

I turned to Julie and forced an awkward grin. "I play... volleyball."

Mason smiled with satisfaction and slumped back into his chair. Julie looked up as if she was deep in thought. "Volleyball, huh? That requires a lot of endurance and hand-eye coordination. You must be pretty athletic. Tell me more."

Mason's jaw dropped and his eyes were wide open. Whatever his plan was in making me admit to my volleyball passion must have failed.

I also had a feeling that Julie often got what she wanted.