The Best School Day Ever?!

"Who the hell are you? Get lost freak." And with that, they brush past me and laugh.  I hear them whispering, " Did you see her makeup. Oh my gosh. What was she wearing? I hope she's not in our class." I stop walking and watch them walk through the gates of school.  Gasp!  School!  There it is!  Yay! Forget them, they must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today.  This is so cool! I skip through the gates and look all around.  The school is a big brick building with lots of pretty windows with vines creeping up all over the walls.  Surrounding it is an enormous courtyard.  There are maple trees everywhere and a little pond is off to my left.  Some kids are hanging out outside, but I see most of them walking up the steps inside.  I follow them.

Reaching into my backpack, I pull out a slip of paper with my schedule and my classroom number.  Class 1-A here I come!  I see the door on the right so I walk right up to it. Here, I pause. My courage begins to fade. What if no one likes me?  What if everyone is like those girls I met? But still, I have to go in!  Move feet!  I take a deep breath.  I can do this!  Just be polite and be yourself, just like mommy always says.  I reach for the door and yank it open.

Inside I see there is a multitude of people lounging around and chatting.  Some are sitting on the desks or on chairs. Others are standing up. They all look happy. Relieved, I say, "Hi everyone!" Everyone pauses and looks up at me. Encouraged I continue. "My name's Hikari! Nice to meet you! I hope we can all be friends!"  I wait for a response. Suddenly, everyone starts cracking up. I don't understand, so I laugh too.  I feel slightly embarrased so I walk timidly into the classroom. A boy leaps into my path.

"Hey, nice to meet you!" He says in a weird voice and drops to the floor laughing.  I stare down at him.  What? I find an empty seat and sit down.  The volume of the classroom returns to a normal volume and people resume their conversations. No one talks to me, so I listen in on some conversations. 

"What is up with that girl? Yeah, did you see what she was wearing? And that makeup, so gaudy!"  Are they talking about me? No, it can't be.  Must be someone else. I look around. I make eye-contact with many people, but as soon as I do, they turn away quickly.  I don't understand.  Did I make a fool out of myself?  But I don't know what I did. This is so frustrating!

The bell rings and a teacher walks in. I look up at her as she surveys the noisy classroom. "Class, quiet down!  Get in your seats. Did you not hear the bell? Sheesh, what a bunch of hooligans." She straightens her glasses and puts a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.  "Now I would like to welcome you all to Maple Woods High. My name is Mrs. Nims and I will be your homeroom teacher. Lets start the day off with a little introduction from each of us. She points to a boy in front. "You, start us off please." The boy stands up and introduces himself.  I listen around as everyone does the same.  Finally, it's my turn.  I hesitantly stand up.

"Um...hello. My name's Hikari Aozora. I..I hope we can all be friends." I sit down quickly and take a deep breath.  All around me, I hear snickers.  Why?

"Alright class, now we are going to go to the gym for orientation.  Please stay together and behave yourselves. Come along now." The teacher walks out the door and there is shuffling and creaks as students stand up to follow her. I remain sitting. Why won't anyone talk to me? Am I really so different? Maybe I'm not meant to attend a public school. For the second time today, my eyes become watery. No, don't cry. Don't cry...don't. Tears start running down my face. I leap out of my chair and run out of the classroom.  I run through the halls with my head down and push my way through many students on the way. I can't help but hear them as I fly by.

"Oh my. Is she okay?

"What's she doing?

"It's that weird freshman girl I heard about."