Seasons Change And So Will We

Chapter 3

AN: Thank you for reading, voting, or commenting on the last chapter! :)  Please vote and comment on my story. Let me know what you think. :)

As I slowly walk into the chemistry lab all the students stop what they're doing and stare at me. I nervously walk over to the teachers desk and show him my class schedule.

"Nice to meet you, Grant O'Connell," he says looking at my schedule. "I'm Mr. Johnson, welcome to your new chemistry class."

"Uh, thanks," I mumble quietly. I walk away and find an empty chair near the back. Everyone looked like they were working on a worksheet, which I did not have so I just sat there quietly. It's not like I had anyone to talk to anyways. I just observed the class and waited anxiously for the bell to ring. The boy sitting next to me finished his worksheet and stared at me. He had friendly blue eyes and light blonde hair.

"You're a new student?" The boy asks me quietly.

"Um, yeah. I'm the new student," I whisper back.

"That's cool. I was the new student once too. I moved here from Seattle in August. Everyone here is really nice, so you should make friends quickly. My name is Walter." He says kindly.

"Hi Walter, nice to meet you. My name is Grant," I smile.

"Ok, Grant, if you need help opening your locker, getting to your classes or anything just let me know. It's good to have a friend to help show you around when your new," Walter says smiling.

"Thank you, I'll definitely remember that in case I get lost," I joke.

"Yep, that'll come in handy in a school this big," he replies laughing.

Walter and I talked the whole class period. He was pretty nice. He told me about his old school in Seattle and what it was like moving, and I told him about California and the beach. When the bell rang I asked Walter where my next class was, he looked at my schedule and offered to show me. He also pointed out that we have fifth hour English together. Walter walked me to my Economics class

"Well, here's your Econ class," Walter jokes.

"Thanks for showing me to my class," I say gratefully.

"No problem, see you in English, Grant," he says as he walks to his next class.

I walk into the class and once again everyone stares me. I show my teacher my schedule and take a seat. I didn't find anyone to talk to which was O.K. With me, I was too nervous to speak anyways. Soon the bell rang and it was time for third period. I ask a student next to me where the art room was and they just list off a bunch of directions. Somehow I find my way to the art room without being late.

I walk in the art room and see Emily sitting at a table on the other side of the class room. I wasn't sure if she wanted me to sit by her or if she was just being nice so I decide to sit at in an empty chair. I was about to sit at an empty seat near the back before Emily calls my name and invites me to sitar her table. I walk to her table and smile as I sit down. I'm grateful I have a friend to talk to.

"Hi, Grant," Emily says smiling. "This is my friend Grace," she says gesturing to the girl sitting beside her.

"Hi Emily, hi Grace," I reply kindly. Grace had light brown hair and hazel eyes like mine.

"Hi, Grant." Grace smiles. "So your new here? How do you like Lincoln High so far?"

"It's good, everyone seems pretty nice." I reply.

We talked the rest of the class period. We talked about California, the fun things to do in Portland, school, music. It turns out we all love the beach, Starbucks coffee, and Taylor Swift.

"You should eat lunch with us," Emily says happily.

"Yeah! You totally should!" Grace squeals excitedly.

I'm so relieved I found friends to eat lunch with. My biggest fear when moving here was having to eat lunch by myself. That would be the worst. As we walk together to the cafeteria I see Walter from chemistry. I wasn't sure if I should go and talk to him, I didn't want to interrupt the conversation he was having with his friends. Besides what if he only planned on talking to me during class. Being the new kid brings on so much anxiety about what to do and what not to do. I decide to not say anything in case I make a fool of myself on my first day. As we walk past him I notice Grace looking at Walter as well.

"Grace, your staring again," Emily laughs.

"No I wasn't," Grace replies while still looking at Walter.

"Of course you weren't," Emily says sarcastically.

"Shhh, he's walking over here," Grace says smiling as Walter walks over to where we're standing.

"Hey Grant, how was your first day so far?" Walter asks me.

"My first day is going well so far. It's good to see you again," I add smiling.

"Yeah, you tend to see a lot of the same people when you go to the same school," Walter jokes playfully.

We all laughed at his obvious remark but Grace laughed louder than all of us. She really put an effort to show Walter how funny he was. After we all calmed down Grace elbowed my ribs and make a face like "introduce me, stupid."

I take my cue and I introduce her.

"Walter, this is Grace," I say gesturing to her. Grace looked so excited when Walter turned and smiled at her.

"And I'm Emily," Emily smiles excitedly.

"Hi, Grace, Hi Emily. I think we've had a few classes before but it's nice meet you both," Walter smiles politely.

"Do you want to eat lunch with us?" Grace offers excitedly, maybe a little too excitedly.
Any more enthusiasm and Walter will realize she's obsessed.

"Actually I was going to eat with some of my friends over there," Walter says pointing his group of friends sitting a table across the cafeteria. "It was good to meet you guys, see you in English class, Grant," Walter says waving us all goodbye. Even after he walked away Grace was still smiling.

"He's gone, you stop smiling now," Emily says to Grace while nudging her.

"But he's so hot," Grace says breathlessly.

"Yeah, he's pretty good looking," I agree nodding my head.

Emily and Grace go silent and look at me confused.

"What did you say?" Grace asks me.

"I was agreeing with you," I say laughing awkwardly. I should have kept my mouth shut.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Emily asks me carefully.

"Yes, I think so...I hope I'm not wrong," I reply nervously. Should I tell them I'm gay?

"Ohhh, I get it now," Emily says smiling at me.

"Yeah," I laugh nodding my head. I'm glad this didn't turn out to be awkward. I don't know what I would have done if they reacted badly.

"I always wanted a gay best friend, my mom says everyone needs one," Grace gushes happily.

"Well, lucky for you Grace, I'll be happy to be your gay best friend," I laugh.

We ate our lunch and talked. It was great. We all talked about boys so I got to vent about what a horrible person Nathan is to someone other than Rachel, which was a refreshing change. We all laughed and told corny jokes while we ate. We really had a good time. When the lunch bell rang we all exchanged cell phone numbers and went off to our next class. I'm glad I found a good group friends.