When a Nerd Tries to be a Jock

Chapter 1: A Rough Start (Revised!)

Chapter 1: A Rough Start

            I walked up to the school’s doors. They were opened wide and a welcome sign was set up in the lobby of the school. Even with the sign, the school was not a welcoming sight.

            I knew where I belonged in this school. Even to the teachers I truly didn’t matter. So what if I got good grades? All I was recognized for was my work ethic, not my personality.

            The popular kids were the most important ones in school. They were running the school and even if they were sometimes troublemakers, they were what the district had to show. I was the scum of the earth, a nerd.

            “What are you doing?” somebody suddenly asked.

            I jumped, not realizing that anybody had been behind me while I tried to predict the horrors seventh grade may hold.

            “Cody!” I exclaimed angrily as I playfully punched my best friend in the arm, “You know better than to sneak up on me like that!”

            He chuckled. “I’m sorry, Nat! I was just wondering what you were doing. You’ve been standing here for like five minutes,” he said showing me his watch.

            I looked at the time. I had about 2 minutes to get to class.

            “Oh no…” I mumbled. In all of my years of schooling, not once had I been tardy to class.

            “I’ll see you in PE!” I said as I ran off to my homeroom class.

            Cody laughed in the background as I tore down the halls of the middle school. I threw open the door of the classroom; relieved I had made it on time. I took the only available seat that was in the front of the classroom, right by the teacher’s desk. Leave it to me to get stuck with the most horrid seat in the room.

            I slumped down in the chair as the bell rang.

            “Good morning class!” said an all too cheerful redhead.

                        “My name is Mrs. Anderson, and this will be your homeroom class. For now the seating arrangement should be acceptable, but if there are any problems I will be more than happy to create a seating chart. Sound fair?”

            Everyone else in the class nodded, but I just scowled. Even if I wanted to get off task I couldn’t because Mrs. Anderson would be watching me like a hawk.

            “A lot of homeroom classes allow you to just do whatever you want. However, I have a project in mind.”

            Groans could be heard from every corner of the classroom, but I was actually interested in the project. Even though a lot of kids liked sitting around doing nothing, I hated it. It didn’t exercise anybody’s mind and made the hours seem to drag on into eternity. I perked up almost immediately.

            “Now, now!” Mrs. Anderson called the class to order. “This will not be an essay, or even a poster board. We will keep journals. I have taken the time to select some individualized journals. Nobody in this class will have the same notebook.”

            Sydney, a brunette slacker seated in the back of the class, raised her hand. Everyone seemed surprised that she was actually participating, but said nothing.