✮Ｓｔｅｐｈａｎｉｅ✮

CH.4: JOHNNY-COME-LATELY

Notwithstanding my innocence of the foreign culture, I found it easy to adapt to the new life because I had rich friends back in Nigeria who used to fill me in on their stay in the States; plus, I watched American movies a lot and I may have looked forward to travelling out of the country after my dad's last visit before my sixteenth birthday.

I was so glad that uniforms weren't a thing in American public schools and I had the opportunity to show off my style and dress sense. "Trust me, you'll get tired of it," Arthur had told me.

In my ex-school, the uniform was a grey pleated skirt above my knee and extremely long, black socks underneath and definitely not heels but annoying, formal shoes; a white T-Shirt and a grey jacket making school like hell. Nigeria is mostly hot, what do you need such thick jacket for especially during math or physics or chemistry?!

I was a noob to recess and multiple lunch breaks but it was so fascinating! I used a foosball machine, played ping-pong, played basketball, volleyball, soccer, wall ball and football.

I never portrayed the usual reserved act of a new student. I was gregarious enough to talk to people and participate in school activities.

No one dared to bully me the usual way. Maybe because they all thought I had a cool personality and I had potentials. I mean, I answered every question in class. Therefore, many came around me to ask questions about my country and to befriend me. Nicole remained my greatest target. However, she was scarcely seen around "basic Johnny-come-lately."

In my ex-school, we had a short break by 10:00am mainly for taking snacks or using the lavatory and a long or lunch break by mid-afternoon and that was all. There was nothing like a passing period or any other period order than school work with at least six subjects a day, but school was still an interesting place to be despite being constrained in class all day.

We did have a few free periods, but had some persistent teachers ruin it for extra lessons on some occasion.

We, of course, engaged in sporting activities all through Friday, in our gym outfits and as well had Wednesday to attend to various clubs. I belonged to the Performing Arts Club.

Now, in my new foreign school, I joined the Foreign Language Club, Book Club, Dance Club and Drama Club which seemed so disorganized. Mrs Kayla had asked me not to overcommit to too many clubs.

I no longer had to load my bagpack with titanic textbooks because there were cool lockers available for storing such materials!

Yes, I did have lockers in my old school but it was there in class with me and served as a table for me; and when school was over, I'd store up my things in there and get it locked with an actual padlock.

                        ***
After school, I had to use the bathroom for the umpteenth time. Gosh! Why does America have to be so freezing?!

Arthur had told me to wait for him and we would leave school together as we had been doing for the past few days. And after doing business in the bathroom, I left to find Arthur and inform him about leaving when suddenly, I viewed Nicole prancing down the hallway.

I couldn't believe myself when I actually halted and was watching Nicole talk to a guy. She pulled out a paper from her purse and accidentally, a flashy lip gloss dropped from her purse. She handed the paper over to the boy and walked away, leaving the lip gloss behind.

"Now's my chance," I said to  to myself and firmed up like a superhero, ready to save the day. But most superheroes on their first save always make a flub and ruin everything.

I went on to save the costly lip gloss. Then I scurried off to her as she stood, making a phone call; I walked behind her and waited by until she was done with the call, then I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, you dropped this," I said with a bright smile. I had never been more proud of myself in my entire life. She slowly slid on her boots to turn to me, then she shot a gawk at me. An I-don't-care reaction was spelt unsubtly on her rosy-pale face and she stood with her left hand raised halfway as her purse hung on her forearm; she leaned on one leg—a pose.

"Yeah, you can keep it," she replied in a posh accent and blinked twice with her lips pursed and I simply assumed that she was weirdly smiling, but she actually wasn't smiling; that look told she was looking down on me but I was too gullible and making-a-superstar-friend-centered to realize it.

"Okay, thanks. I'm Stephanie," I pressed further.

When she heard my name, she immediately looked at me twice in surprise. I supposed she has heard about me. Then she replied, "yeah, good for you."

"I was wondering if you could let me join your club," I said with a bright smile on my face and awaiting the latter part of a very good conversation, however, she gave a total opposite reaction.

Now, I had gained one or two info about a popular club in the school known as "Young Tycoons." It was an entrepreneurship club supervised by a Japanese teacher named Akira but Nicole controlled the students there and used the club to thrive in her personal lustful dealings. Well, she wasn't the only guilty person; I also wasn't interested in entrepreneurship but in becoming close to her through the club.

"Gosh! What accent is that?" She asked with a horrendous look on her face like she was disgusted by my accent; inside of me, I condemned myself for not going with an American accent... or a British accent for that matter. People love some good British accent—so fancy. I felt so timid when people noticed my 'mother tongue.'

"Um, I'm from Nigeria," abashed, I replied in an American accent.

"First off, you wondered wrong!" She snapped, "and second, in case you don't know, Young Tycoons is a club for cool people of extreme high class and not the low ones who wear such unfortunate... Things, like you. And FYI, you can never fit in here and that's the truth. Don't let anyone deceive you."

And it just went on and on.

"Oh, you think you can just poof out of nowhere— completely nowhere—'cause you're nobody, then indirectly try to befriend me and I would stupidly agree to be friends with a low life like you? Hell no! Now beat it, trash!" She said and strutted away.

Few of her friends gathered around her and they gossiped about the whole scene, while one of her friends claimed that if I knew who she was, I wouldn't dare approach her like that.

Wow! Those words truly melted my heart. I couldn't even think clearly anymore for I was cut to the quick. Her junky words really got to me; no one had ever been that mean to me before... I didn't even do anything wrong. Arthur had been right all along.

I wore my bagpack properly and slothfully walked out of the school with misty eyes. I met Arthur talking to his friends and I walked past him shamefully.

Instantly, my dad arrived in his car. I wasn't aware that my dad would be back to pick me up from school, I preferred taking a stroll home like I often did back in Nigeria. I could tell from Arthur's look that he was startled by my attitude at that moment. I didn't say goodbye or inform him about my transportation with my dad.

My dad on the other hand read my facial expression and asked what the problem was but I gave no answer. And he didn't persist—he didn't care.