Adopted By Harry Styles

10

Harry pulls into the parking lot at the school and turns off the car. There were already students walking inside and some standing outside and talking in groups. I couldn't help but think I'd never be able to find a group of people to hang out with. It was the middle of the school year and it was my junior year. People wouldn't just let me be in their friend group.

"What are you feeling, hm? You look like you've just seen a ghost," Harry eventually says. I hadn't realized that I began to zone out until he spoke.

I look over at him and shake my head. "Nothing, really," I tell him.

Harry sighs because he knew I wasn't telling the truth and nods his head. "I really do think you're going to have a good time at this school, Maddi. It's a good school, I promise."

"I know...I-I'm sorry," I whisper. I didn't want Harry to get mad at me for not believing him, but no matter what I told myself, I don't think I'd ever be able to believe him until I finally experienced the school for myself.

"Don't apologize, love," he says, his voice full of comfort, maybe a little pity. "Don't apologize for you thoughts. How 'bout I walk you inside to go get your schedule?"

I nod my head, glad that he wasn't pushing the subject any further. I didn't want to start crying on my first day.

Harry put on sunglasses and pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt when he got out of the car for some reason. It wasn't even that sunny yet, and it definitely wasn't cool enough to wear a sweatshirt, but I figured I wouldn't say anything.

We get a few stares from the other students while walking inside to the main office. I wasn't sure if they were looking at me or Harry, but, whichever it was, I didn't like it, so I take a step closer to Harry as we continue walking. And I think Harry could sense my nervousness because he  put his hand on the small of my back.

When we walked in the main office and the door shut behind us, it was like we were in a completely different building. There were no more yelling teenagers running through the hall or getting shoved by random people. In the main office, all I could hear was the sound of a few adults speaking quietly amongst themselves and the keys being pressed down on keyboards.

Harry takes off his glasses and hood and walks up to the desk with me following right next to him.

"Good morning," the older woman enthusiastically says, looking up from her computer. She sounded a little too happy for it being 7:45 on a Monday morning. "You must be Maddison Styles and Mr. Styles."

It sounded weird being called Harry's last name. He had asked me whether I would want to go by my old last name or his, and, even though Harry was only fostering me, I chose his because I didn't like the memories I had associated with my old name. It felt almost like a fresh start.

Harry nods his head. "Yup, that's us," he says, giving her a warm smile.

"Alrighty then. Well, Maddison, we have your schedule right here, and we're going to get a staff member to walk you to your first class," the lady says while handing me a schedule with my classes on it. Another woman, I'm assuming the one who would be walking me to my class, walks over to me. She was younger than the lady at the desk, probably in her late thirties. 

"I think you're in good hands now, Madds. I'm going to leave, alright? And I want you to have a great day," Harry says. 

I turn toward him and nod my head. The thought of Harry leaving was frightening to me, but I knew he couldn't just follow me around school all day.

"You text or call if you need anything," he tells me, his tone  serious now as he could sense how nervous I was.

I nod my head again and he smiles. "I'll pick you up at the end of the day, love," he says before walking away from me toward the door.

I turn back to the woman who was going to take me to my class. "All set?" She asks. "My name is Mrs. Smith, by the way."

"Yeah," I say, giving her a weak smile. "Nice to meet you."

I start following her out into the main entrance where the sound of high schoolers yelling quickly started up again. "It's always a little nerve wracking, starting your first day, isn't it?" she speaks over the sound of everyone else.

I nod my head, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear my voice over everyone else, and I didn't have the confidence to speak any louder.

"Thankfully, most of those nerves go away quickly, though. Once you meet one or two people you can talk to. Things get easier very quickly," she says.

I didn't say anything in response. I didn't really feel like talking; I was too caught up in my own thoughts.

Mrs. Smith stops in front of a classroom. It was a math classroom. I could tell by all the math related posters the teacher hung up outside of the room. "This is your first period, algebra with Mr. Wilson. He's a great teacher, you're going to like him," Mrs. Smith says.

When we walk in, only about fifteen students were inside. There was still about ten minutes until the class started, so the rest would probably come in later. I follow Mrs. Smith to Mr. Wilson's desk, and when he notices us, he stands up to greet me.

"Hi, Maddison! Nice to meet you." he was also pretty energetic, like the lady at the front desk. "I'm Mr. Wilson; I'll be your algebra teacher for the year. It's a pleasure to have you here."

"Nice to meet you too," I say with a smile, figuring it would be in my best interest to be as kind as I could to my teachers, considering I'd be stuck with them for the rest of the year.

"I'll have you sit right here. You'll be next to Noah. He's a nice kid, don't worry," he tells me, leading me over to a desk in the middle row.

I nod my head and take a seat at the desk. Mr. Wilson puts a paper on my desk. "This is the warmup. Just do what you can; I'm not sure what you learned last at your old school," he tells me.

"Okay," I say. 

Mr. Wilson walks back to his desk, saying to just ask if I had any questions, and when I look down at the paper, I already know I would have a thousand, but I didn't have it in me to ask any. I was to hung up on thinking about what everyone else was thinking about me.