Crumpet and Varian

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

 

It was a 2,4,6 day with the block system, and I had spent the first block of the day in the library while V. got me sorted, so my first class of my first day was back at the library for study hall, until they could sort out what to do with me. I liked hanging out with Ms. Kovak, but she had work to do and I was looking forward to Girls PE, so I hoped it would get sorted soon.

V. felt there was no reason for me to go to period 2 for the last fifteen minutes, so he left me with Ms. Kovak playing a game, under the guise of teaching me how to use the computer.

It seemed to just be a few moments later when the bell rang. “Okay,” Ms. Kovak said, “How the block system works is you only go to three classes a day. You go to each class for two hours. It is supposed to more closely approximate college. Generally a teacher will give you a ten minute break in the middle. Obviously you need to have the same amount of time in each class which is why they alternate days rather than doing Monday Wednesday and Friday and then Tuesday and Thursday. Although it does work out that way, it just cycles every other week. Then after your first class of the day there is a fifteen minute morning break, then after the second you have a forty-five minute lunch.”

“So right now is morning break?” I asked.

“Exactly. So if you brought a snack you want to eat, or you want to go buy something, this is the time.” She said.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, still a little nervous with the new school, and a little bit just wanting to stay with her.

“I have some kefir, yogurt drinks, in the little fridge in my office, I was just going to have one of those. You want one?” She asked.

“Sure, sounds good.” I replied, comfortable to take things a bit slow, but knowing I couldn't be one of those girls who's best friend was a school employee.

“Strawberry or peach?” she asked, getting up.

“Peach,” I said, watching her go. While she was gone a cute Mod girl walked in. Her hair was buzzed down to fluffy soft dark blonde fuzz except for her bangs which were grown down past her chin and dyed flame red. She wore tight jeans in a tiny black and white checkerboard pattern, black Chucks scribbled all over with metallic gel pen. She wore a long sleeved black boy's dress shirt and a silver checked vest. She walked up to me, looking curious and possibly interested. I extended my hand. “Hi, I'm Lily Malagua-Daicev. But my friends call me Crumpet, I just started here today.”

She shook saying, “Nice to meet you. My name's Lisette Charbonn. What year are you?”

It took me a split second to understand since I was more used to being asked my grade than my year. “I'm a sophomore.”

Lisette looked a bit excited. “Oh me too. What classes are you in.”

I got my schedule out and discovered that we had English and Western Civ together. Apparently, in what was probably a well intentioned mistake, they had decided to experiment with making the honors program into a humanities program where the classes were using a connected syllabus and all the kids took the classes together, which would work to further insulate them from the other students. We also had Drama together. “So you from Canada Lisette?” I asked.

She looked surprised and said, “Vancouver, why?”

“I had a Canadian kid I knew at my last school. He always said 'what year' instead of 'what grade' and always said 'grade ten' rather than 'tenth grade'.”

“Oh, I always forget that.” Lisette said. “So where are you from?”

“Up north. I lived in Sacramento but went to boarding school up by the Bay Area. I got emancipated due to some bad shit with my birth parents and moved down here.” I said.