Work in Progress

School

It's not even lunch yet and I already want to transfer.

We had moved in with the Reeds two weekends ago and I had missed the first week of school. It was forty minutes away by train, which meant awkwardly sitting next to Ryan for forty minutes of silence as he listened to music. My stomach grumbled because I didn't have time to eat breakfast. When we arrived, I had to push through crowds thicker and harsher than a mash pit at a concert. I had to ask a girl where the guidance office was and she asked if I was a freshman.

The bell rang and the halls magically cleared. I finally found someone who wasn't part of a couple making out and asked him where the guidance office was as he opened his locker. "I'll show you - I have to go there too."

"Thanks," I muttered, as he took his sweet time exchanging binders.

"I'm Peter, by the way."

"I'm Laura."

"Nice to meet you, Laura." I giggled as he shook my hand.

"So why are you going to guidance?" Peter shut his locker and held the door to the stairway open for me.

"They forgot to send me my schedule."

"Shouldn't you have gotten that in homeroom, like, a week ago?"

"This is my first day here. Why are you going to the office?"

Peter chuckled. "I did the daily announcements on the loudspeaker last year, and I want to see if I can do them again. Well, here we are. I think you want to ask someone who your guidance counselor is." Peter waved goodbye and then knocked on a door labelled "Vice Principal".

I asked several elderly women who my guidance counselor was, each one reccamending me to ask someone else in the office. Finally, a young man with huge glasses entered my name on a computer. "Laura Grey," he said. "I think you're in my fifth period math class."

"You're a teacher?" I looked at all of the incapable people slowly scribbling notes on legal pads as they answered phones.

"Yeah, don't worry - they're not. I'm just in here because no one bothers to bring me the attendance anymore, so I may as well get it now for the rest of the day." He pushed his glasses up with a finger. "You want Ms. Hales. She doesn't get here until nine, so just sit tight by her office." He motioned towards the benches.

"Thanks."

For the next half hour I twiddled my thumbs and stared at kids' pictures on the opposite wall. I looked through my tattered school bag and began to count the number of sheets of loose leaf in my binder when the bell rang again. Finally, a chubby woman with frizzy hair waddled into Ms. Hales' office, then paused in the doorway to look at me. "Andrea?"

"Um, no. I'm Laura."

"Do you need me for something?"

"Yes, please," I zipped my bag up.

"Come on in." She draped her coat over the back of her chair, even though I was wearing capris and a tank top because it was so warm outside. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm new here and I never got my schedule..." I trailed off.

"What's your last name, sweetie?"

"Grey."

"Here you go," Ms. Hales printed it out and handed it to me.

I skimmed it over quickly, taking in the list of classes I had already taken last year. "This can't be mine," I frowned.

"What's wrong? You don't like your classes?"

"I've already taken these courses."

"Which ones?" She took the paper from me.