Déjà vu
Henry was sound asleep and then the alarm went off alerting him that it was eight in the morning. He swiped snooze on his phone as he felt quite sticky, it would take him a couple of more minutes for the sleepiness to wear off.
It would be his first day of middle school, he had prepared everything beforehand, his new backpack, uniform that were ironed so meticulously, shoes, everything new. He planned on definitely taking a shower in that morning and since he had prepared beforehand, he'd have plenty of time for a nice, warm shower.
8:10am, snooze alarm went off. "Gotta get up!" he thought, he swiped his phone to disable the alarm. He mustered the will to get up, "Aaaaaaah!" he yawned with all his might, that helped he thought and he walked clumsily to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth first and then hopped on the tub and ran the warm water, it seemed to have worked in washing away his sleepiness.
When he was done, he felt revitalized and got changed to his uniform immediately. Looking at the mirror, he dressed up and made an effort to look as presentable as he could. He missed his friends and he wanted to look his best for that day when he sees them.
Henry got down and made himself some tea and toast which he generously spread with butter and jam and ate immediately. He then rushed to leave after securing their apartment.
He got to a bus stop and to his utter delight, a coloured boy wearing the same uniform about his age was also waiting for a bus. He looked at him in acknowledgement and he did the same.
"Looking forward to your first day?" Henry asked him sincerely. The boy gave him an incredulous look.
"I guess." he replied bluntly.
"It's my first year at middle school so I'm kinda excited, what about you?" he enquired.
"Same, we just moved here from Leeds." he informed him and this made Henry think that the boy may have reservations about his new town and school.
The bus suddenly materialized on the horizon and this abruptly stopped their conversation prematurely as they positioned themselves to board it. When they got in, Henry spotted one of his former classmates and he sat down next to him.
"How you been Gavin?" Henry asked him politely.
"No, how you've been?" he asked incredulously as he looked at the faint burn scars on Henry's hands and face and it seemed as though his eyes were going to pop out. This did not surprise Henry at all as it was most likely discussed over the social media and was reported on the city newspaper.
Henry felt such discomfort by giving him an account of the events discreetly but he made it brief and concise as the trauma of the whole ordeal was still fresh in his memory. He felt the boy whom he had chatted earlier that was sat next to them listened rather inconspicuously to the conversation, he couldn't blame him.
The bus stopped in front of school and Henry got out, he looked around the crowd in search of familiar faces, but that was it, just a couple of familiar faces that he wasn't associated with. He hoped to see Danielle but she wasn't to be seen.
He looked at his induction letter, his first lesson was English, he wanted to know the room location number and to know the tutor's name, it was Ms. Cavalier. He eventually located the room and entered, there weren't a lot of students, only 11 from his visual count. He sat to an empty seat cautiously awaiting for whatever the tutor is going to say or do.
They all sat patient but only one student arrived after him and Ms. Cavalier stood up from her chair.
"Good morning everyone, I am Ms. Emma Cavalier. Today would be our induction day." She said in her chirpy voice. She had a dark hair and pale skin with plain make up and dressed rather modestly. Henry estimated that she must be in her late 20s or early 30s.
