Just Picture It

Chapter 34- Getting a Schedule Shouldn't be too Hard

Monday, January 30th 8:00AM

Lincoln High School

"Korbin Kastigo, what are you doing here already today? Are you supposed to see the principal again?" asked the secretary as she checked her calendar.

"No, Ms. Johnson. I brought you a new student," Korbin answered.

Jamie stepped out from behind Korbin and introduced herself. "I am Jamie Seymour. I still need to register. Do you have the papers I need to fill out?"

The secretary stopped watching Korbin suspiciously to give Jamie a bright smile. She answered, "Parents need to fill...," before trailing off, refocusing on Jamie and restarting, "I remember now. I have the papers right here. Let me know if you have any questions," before she turned to Korbin and said, "This is going to take awhile. You should go on to class."

Korbin accepted the dismissal calmly and turned to go, but Jamie grabbed his arm and asked desperately, "How do I find you later?"

Jamie had tried to keep her face calm, but knew her grip told another story. Korbin smiled and rubbed her hand as he said reassuringly, "Ms. Johnson can handle everything for you. She knows everything here. She can probably put you in some of the same classes as me. I know that there are empty desks in each of my classes. She will take good care of you if you just let her know what you need."

Jamie still kept a hold of Korbin's arm as they turned back to Ms. Johnson. Jamie asked, "Can I have the same schedule as Korbin? He is the only one I know here so far."

Ms. Johnson seemed stunned by Korbin's recommendation, and stared at how he was patting Jamie's hand. It took her a minute, but she answered, "If you don't need special classes and Korbin is right about open spots then most of your schedule could be the same. If you are sure you want that, I mean."

"I'm sure," said Jamie.

"Okay?" Korbin asked Jamie.

Jamie pasted on a smile, and finally let go of Korbin as she said, "Sure."

Korbin gave one more concerned frown, but after a quick glance at Ms. Johnson he turned and went out the door without another word.

Ms. Johnson turned out to be very helpful after Korbin left. She looked at Jamie, and back at the empty doorway before she leaned forward and whispered, "He seemed different today. Have you known Korbin long?"

Jamie grinned and replied honestly, "Not really, but he has been wonderful."

Jamie then spent the next hour filling out papers. After everything was filled out, she waited for her schedule. She passed the time watching the security monitors from cameras set up around the school. Jamie smiled when she saw the business card saying, "Seymour Security" near Ms. Johnson's phone.

Ms. Johnson noticed Jamie watching the monitors and smiled proudly as she said, "We are proud of our new security system. We just had it put in last month, but it has been invaluable already."

"Can you record what you see going on?" Jamie asked.

"Sure. We can even go back and examine the video from any camera for several weeks afterward," answered Ms. Johnson proudly.

"How does the school store all that video? It seems like My phone can only store a few videos before its memory is half full. Where does it all go?" Jamie asked innocently.

Ms. Johnson grinned and said, "We don't store it ourselves. We store it online with the security agency."

Ms. Johnson added proudly, "No one can go down the halls without us knowing. Bullying has dropped off significantly since the monitors have gone in."