Should've Stayed Away- Joseph Descamps

one

I had always been intelligent. My parents knew, my siblings knew, even the neighbors in our apartment building knew. I could be heard from a young age reciting poems and droning on and on about historical figures. So when the first mixed school allowed me to enroll, I promised myself I would make something of myself, I wouldn't get distracted. How wrong I was.

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It was too cold for an October morning and sadly for me I had to bear witness to the harsh winds. A shudder left me involuntarily as my arms crossed over my chest in a desperate attempt to keep the heat from my apartment close to my body, the last thing I needed was to be shaking during my first day.

The mixed school opened for girls a month past, during which I was unfortunately in the hospital sick with Scarlet fever. Through my coughing and crying, I read the newspaper, I listened to the radio and I made my younger brother tell me everything he had heard from the playground of his school. All 13 of those girls, each one living out my dream of attending school. And there I was, stuck in a bed in a humid and blindingly teal room.

When I finally recovered, I begged and begged my parents to enroll me. I was the third youngest of nine siblings, most of my siblings had already moved away and started their own families. It was just my parents, me and my two little brothers left in our city apartment. None of my sisters had attended school and I had watched them as I grew up, they sat there bored talking about what they wish they could do.

After a full week of consistent begging, my parents finally agreed but only if I kept good grades and earned enough to pay for half of my enrollment.

As I walked, I quickly wet my finger and wiped at the flour staining the sleeve of my black shirt. I sighed and continued walking, finally nearing the gates of the school. I swallowed nervously and suddenly it felt like there was a boulder resting in my throat.

With a final breath of courage, I walked through the gates and into the courtyard. The students, mostly boys, were all scattered around talking amongst themselves. Right away there were a few heads turned towards me, waves of shaggy teenage boy hair moving through the air and if I weren't so nervous it would be hysterical.

I spotted a head of dark black hair cut into a bob, finally a girl. I walked down one of the paths towards her as she and a blonde girl focused on some paper, a glance over my shoulder in any direction would have me meeting eyes with multiple boys. My father was right, they really were like animals.

"Excuse me", I said smiling, approaching the two girls and sighing in relief as they looked at me and returned the smile, "this is my first day, do you know how to find my class?"

The girl with the bob smiled widely at me, "Madame Giraude told us about you! You're with us", the girl paused to briefly introduce herself and her friend, "She's very strict though, I recommend just keeping your head low". I nodded and allowed the two girls to explain the school a bit further to me.

I must have zoned out though, my eyes wandered away from the faces of Michele and Simone and just over their heads I noticed a boy. He was tall and lanky, his shaggy brown hair just grazed the dark fabric of his eye patch. His angular jaw stretched out, he exhaled a large puff of smoke and the words of Michele and Simone went mute on my ears.

He looked around from where he stood leaning against a cement wall, the two boys around him doing the same. He looked until his eye fell on me. I swallowed nervously and suddenly my gaze snapped back to the girls next to me, to my horror their eyes focused on him. He stood at his full height as he put out the cigarette, stomping on it before walking slowly across the courtyard towards us