You deserve a better life (English)

Chapter 35

1 week later – first day of school:

Today Dean had his first day of school at his new school.

"Come on Dean, you'll be late for school." Kelly called and looked nervously at his watch. Stella packed Dean's lunch box and Shay his school bag. "Yes, I'm coming." Dean called and ran down the stairs. He skipped the last 3 steps and jumped straight into Kelly's arms. "Woah, slow down little man." Kelly laughed. "Sorry Kelly." Dean said. "What were you doing up there for so long anyway?" Kelly asked. "I was looking for my lucky charm." Dean said and took a keychain out of his pocket. It was a CFD keychain that Chief Boden had given him as a gift. "Ready for third grade?" Kelly asked. Dean nervously tugged at his shirt. "How do I look?" Dean asked uncertainly. Kelly looked at him and smiled. "You look great." he said. Stella brought him his school bag and lunch box. "Your brother is right. You look really great." Shay smiled. "All right then, let's go." Kelly said, opening the door. Dean hugged Stella and Shay. "Have a nice day." Stella said. "Yeah, have fun." Shay said. Dean went to the car. "I'll see you at the firehouse." Kelly said. "Yeah, see you later." Shay said. Kelly kissed Stella and closed the door behind him.

Arriving at the school, James and Julian were already waiting for them with their parents. "Hey Dean, there you are. We thought you'd changed your mind." James greeted. "I still had to look for my lucky charm." Dean replied and gave his two friends a high five. Before the 3 boys could go to their class, they were welcomed by the principal, Mr. Sanders, and shown around the school a bit. Kelly had to leave by now as his shift was starting. After the tour, James and Julian's parents also said goodbye and the 3 boys were taken to their class, where lessons were already in full swing. Mr. Sanders knocked on the door and opened it. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have your 3 new students here." Mr. Sanders said. «Ah yes, hello everyone. I'm Mrs. Patel. Welcome to our class." Mrs. Patel greeted them. Mr. Sanders wished them a nice first day and then left the class. Dean, James and Julian sat next to each other in the three empty seats.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Shift began duty at the newly renovated firehouse 51. At the morning briefing, Chief Boden had some news to share. "Good morning, all. I have some information for you. As you have probably already noticed, there are a few changes at 51. Not only has the entire station been renovated and expanded, but we have also received additional staff. From now on, 51 has a second ambulance, the 91, and with it two new paramedics. Welcome at 51, Violet Mikami and Gianna Mackey." Chief Boden said. "Chief, just a moment. Why do we now have 2 ambulances? Do Shay and I need to worry?" Sylvie asked. "No, don't worry. Headquarters just felt a little sorry for you. 51 is one of the busiest houses in our district and so that you don't have to rush from one call to the next, HQ has given you a 2nd team to support you." Boden explained. "Well then, welcome to the team." Sylvie said. "Thank you, we are happy to be here. We've heard a lot about the 51." Violet said. "We only hope good things." Herrmann joked. "Let's keep that to ourselves for now." Mackey said, winking at him. "Plus, every ambulance is accompanied by an emergency doctor, so there are no nasty surprises on calls." Boden said, eyeing Shay. "Andrew Darden will be by your side on ambulance 61, and Peter Mills will be driving on ambulance 91." Boden said.

Meanwhile, Dean is on his lunch break and is sitting outside at one of the picnic tables with his new and old friends. "What did you guys do over the summer holidays?" Hazel asked. "I was in the Caribbean with my parents for 4 weeks." Ashton said. "Oh cool, I was in Vancouver with my parents for 3 weeks, visiting my grandparents." Brandon said. "I was on a Caribbean cruise with my family." Hazel said. "We were in Greece for 3 weeks." Nia and Nylah said. Lauren was in France with her family for 2 weeks, Melody was visiting family members in South Africa, Maeve was in Brazil with her family, Macy was in Italy and Crystal was in New York for 5 weeks. Henry was in Bali with his parents for 2 weeks, James was in Florida, Julian was on a road trip across the US, Jonah was in Spain for 4 weeks and Jasper was in Jamaica for 4 weeks with his father. "And you? What did you do on vacation?" Macy asked. «I was in Los Angeles with my brother, his wife and his 3 best friends who are also his work colleagues. We just got back last week." Dean said. "You live with your brother?" Crystal asked in surprise. "Yes, but only for about 5 months. Before that I lived with my mom and her boyfriend." Dean said. "And what about your dad?" Brandon asked. "I never met him." Dean said. "I'm sorry." Nia said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "My brother said it was typical of him. He left my brother and his mom when he was 14 or 15." Dean said. "His mom? I thought you were brothers?" Ashton asked. "So are we. We are half-brothers. We have the same father, but different mothers." Dean explained. "Oh, okay." Ashton said. "Where does your brother work?" Jasper asked. "He's a firefighter and works at firehouse 51." Dean said. "Cool, a real firefighter." Jonah marveled. After lunch, Dean and his friends had craft classes.