Smile | s.m.

Chapter 2

"Excuse me! Coming through!"

Pushing her way through the sea of kids, Emma felt suffocated. A variety of different coloured backpacks smacked her in the face as she tried to force herself through.

"Watch where you're going!" a snooty little voice shouted in her ear.

"Sorry!" Emma cried. She finally made her way over to the school office and breathed a sigh of relief when she found the secretary there.

"Hi, I'm Emma. I'm new here, and I need my class schedule." The secretary smiled at her.

"Just give me one moment," she replied, flipping through her black binder on the farther end of the desk.

As she waited, Emma wandered around the office glanced through the glass walls of the office. Students were still shuffling through the hallways, trying to make it to class on time. She searched through the sea of faces, hoping to spot one she recognized, but she didn't have any luck. Frowning, Emma returned to the desk. The secretary handed her a white sheet of paper, smiling.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief when she got the paper in her hand.

"Period 1: Advanced Functions ~ Mr. Martinez. Period 2: Canadian History ~ Miss Trevor. Period 3: Lunch. Period 4: Biology ~ Miss Brady. Period 5: English ~ Miss Jackson," she read aloud to herself.

"Alright then, Math it is."

It took Emma more than 15 minutes just to find Stairwell C, and then 10 more for her to find Mr. Martinez's class. By the time she had gone in, it was 20 minutes into class, and everyone was staring at her uncomfortably. The teacher eyed her suspiciously, before a look of realization washed across his face.

"Good morning, young lady. You must be the new student." said Mr. Martinez. He was a short and plump man, with few hair strands poking out of his bald head. He then turned to face the class, adjusting the sleeve button on his white button-up blouse.

"I want you all to give a warm welcome to Emma Saunders. She has just transferred here from Springfield Academy, and she was a top student of the Debate Team, alongside class president." Emma blushed and looked down awkwardly. "I'm sure she will shine in our school just as she did in hers." He turned back to her.

"Emma, you may take a seat in the back, next to Mr. Mendes. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask him or speak to me after class. We will do our best to make you feel at home." He then gave her a warm smile.

"Geek," muttered a brunette seated in the third row. A fit of muffled laughter spread across the room, which Mr. Martinez was oblivious to.

"Alright class, back to work. Everyone turn to page 73 in your textbooks. Emma, please share with Mr. Mendes."

Emma took a seat in the chairs and found that the one to the right was occupied by none other than Shawn.

"You again," he said with a smile, twirling his yellow pencil in his fingers.

"Yeah, me again. Tough luck, huh?" she replied.

"I wouldn't say that," he smirked. "You seem like a star student, at least that's what Martinez says. He just kept going on and on about how amazingly talented you are."

"Well, that's because I suck at everything besides school."

For a moment, he said nothing; just sat and watched her. Then, Shawn pulled out his calculator from his red Jansport backpack, and began solving the equations. He signalled her to do the same.

Soon enough, the bell sounded for the end of class. All the students began shuffling, packing their bags for the next class.

"What's your next class, Saunders?" asked Shawn, swinging the strap of his bag over his shoulder, as he leaned over her table.