Annalise Springster's a High School Dropout

Chapter 5

Annalise's POV

I stand outside Jerry's office, staring into the wide expanse of hallway lying in front of me.

Gazing with me are two androids situated on either side of the door. Everyone is already in homeroom. At each classroom door along the main stretch stands a single android at attention, unmoving. Clutching Jerry's note in my hands, I stride down the hallway unaffected by the sight. Once I pass Room 114, Mayor Proctor's voice blasts throughout the hallway.

"Hello, Greensboro High students, and happy first day of school. I would like to start off these morning announcements by welcoming our freshman class of 2206." Applause booms from the other side of the halls walls, then comes to a sharp stop. "I also want to give a special welcome and thank you to the following freshmen who recently moved to Greensboro just to receive a high class education..."

I hook a left and scurry past the mayor's office on the corner, ducking my head lowly in the process.

156...162

At the door to my homeroom class, I find an android with wavy dark hair blocking the entrance.

"Hey John, how have things been going?" I say handing him my note. "Get any new jobs this year?"

"Pretty good. I get to help out with the science labs now." He looks over my note before stashing it in the pocket of his shirt. "It's definitely more interesting than stacking books in the library."

"Nice," I reply, smiling.

He steps aside, allowing me entrance. Immediately, my sight is attacked and overloaded with shades of orange speckled with multicolored posters and diagrams.

Science.

Cassie is sitting at the center of the room, ber dark skin contrasting sharply with the orange desk she's seated in. She doesn't seem to notice my arrival.

Well, actually, no one does.

They are all watching a hologram figure of the mayor give the morning announcements at the front of the room.

I scan around her only to find that all the desks nearby are taken, so I opt to sit in the back. There's an empty seat next to a guy with bleach blonde hair and dark eyes. Sparing no noise in sitting, I plop down next to him, pulling him out of his trance. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot him looking at me, amused. No one else had payed me any mind, and he seems to be lost as to why.

Newbie.

I lean in close to him and whisper sarcastically, "Hey, pro-tip. It's always best to pay attention when the mayor is talking."

"Annalise, quit bothering Tyler!" Ms. Marrow screeches from the front of the room.

I pucker my lips in response. The boy named Tyler straightens up.

"...Thank you all for listening and have a great first day." The mayor's hologram disappears.

Ms. Marrow stands. "All right, class. Let's get down to business. I believe I'm looking at all seniors in this class, yes?" A few students nod in agreement; Cassie is one of them.

"Then you know that college application season is coming up. At back to school night, you and your parents signed a lot of forms, many of which, I am sure, all of you may not have read fully."

I read them word for word.

"This coming application season, you all will be applying to three schools total, and Greensboro High's program, which promises a painstakingly rigorous education, promises that you will get accepted into one of those three. The three aforementioned schools are Whitcheter, Dumau, and Camperton.