Treasure Hunting 101

Chapter I

August 22nd, 2015

Brea

Music: Apollon from Gradius IV

One of the craziest transitions a person will ever have to make in their life is the transition from elementary school to middle school. Not all school districts may handle their levels of education in the same manner, but where I live, we have a public school system that operates as such: Elementary school goes from kindergarten through sixth grade, middle school is seventh and eighth grade, and then, of course, you have high school.

Going from a fifth grader to a sixth grader usually doesn't come with much change. But going from sixth to seventh? Absolutely wild. New campus to get used to, all of your classes are in different rooms, there's the distinguishment between standard and "advanced studies" classes, no more recess, lockers, a fixed schedule that applies for almost every day, grades actually start to matter, and let's not forget that your elementary school is now mixed with, like, five other elementary schools. Meaning hundreds of people you won't know. Some of them may become your best friends in a few years from now. It's impossible to tell at first. Fortunately for me, I make friends easily. My outgoing nature makes it easy for me to form connections with others.

Personally, I'm excited for becoming a middle schooler. Sure, the aforementioned changes are quite the jar at first, but I've adapted rather quickly. Middle school usually means lots of new activities, clubs, and extra-curriculars for you to get involved in, and I'm more than ready to try my hand at some of them.

But the main reason I'm excited is that I'll finally get the chance to meet the group of eighth graders that I've heard so much about in the media. I haven't had the chance to find any of them yet, but I'm hoping today will be the day, because I've got something I want to talk to them about.

I walk through the front doors of the building at 7:28 AM. First hour doesn't start until 7:45, and for the first week of school, my bus has been incredibly slow at getting me to school. I've barely had enough time to get to my first hour before I'm supposed to be counted late (luckily, teachers are generous about this at the beginning of the year). Thankfully, today I have plenty of time.

I drop my stuff off in my locker, then make my way downstairs, where most of the eighth grade homerooms and classes are. I walk around the hallways for a little bit until, finally, I get the chance I've been looking for. In the hallway that leads to the library, two of the girls from the group I mentioned earlier are chatting at what I presume is one of their lockers. One of them is a dirty blonde wearing a jean jacket, a t-shirt, glasses, and light blue jeans, and the other has dark brown hair with blonde highlights and is wearing a simple light green, short-sleeved t-shirt with jean shorts. I recognize them as Avery and Skylar respectively.

The two appear to be deep in conversation, so I make sure to approach them in a casual manner. When I get within three footsteps, both of them turn my way, and they both seem rather surprised to see me. I wave at the two of them and give them a simple, "Hi," trying to hide the shakiness in my voice.

To my surprise, both girls give me friendly smiles and wave back. "Hey there," Avery replies.

"You new here?" Skylar asks, looking like she's trying to put a name with my face.

"Yeah. I'm a seventh grader," I tell them. "My name's Brea."

Avery and Skylar introduce themselves to me, with each of them giving me a friendly handshake as they do so. "How're you enjoying middle school so far?" Avery asks me.

"It's only been a week, so I can't really give an opinion on that at the moment," I chuckle. Then, I take in a deep breath to prepare myself for the request I'm about to make. "I was actually wondering if I could talk to you two about something."