Masterpiece Theatre

All To Myself

First day of school was always a mess. There were so many things that needed getting used to. Finding a classroom, for one, was a hassle. All the doors looked the same. The signs offer little help in providing directions. Panic sent people down the wrong hallways and into wrong classrooms, where onlookers laughed at the expense of the intruder's embarrassment.

After finding a classroom, the next task was to lock down a seat. Some teachers cancelled this process by assigning seats but that was even worse. There was no greater feeling of satisfaction that finding the perfect seat, be it the back corner or in front of the teacher's desk. Not even finishing a test with time to spare beat this level of satisfaction.

Then there was the issue of finding friends in the new classes. A good friend made even the driest classes bearable with their mere presence. They represented many things: a person to share inside jokes with, to study with and to present with, if there was a presentation component. Needless to say, these people were super important.

All these tasks had to be sorted out at the start of the year. Procrastinators found out the consequences the hard way. Losing a spot or working with incompetent partners was a sure way to prolong the suffering of a school year. Not handling these matters early was risking losing out to other students, all of which face the same troubles.

With all of these tasks coming at people like a Canadian snowstorm in January, it was no wonder most students thought of the first week as a headache. So much to do, so little time to do it.

First day of high school was just like that, except a hundred times worse.

It was no longer a case of different classrooms; it was a different building altogether. Everything was completely brand new. No knowledge on any of the teachers or locations. A surefire way to feel lost in the world.

The other students were a main reason for feeling out of place. Puberty had already taken its toll, so height and body shape begin to have noticeable differences.

In terms of the specific genders, girls began to master the power of makeup. On the other side, boys began to hit the gym regularly to fine tune their physique.

Even the terms boys and girls might not be suitable anymore. After all, some of the seniors were legally adults.

Beginning high school was a frenzy and not everyone was cut out for the adjustment phase. Especially when they weren't even from the city.

Toby had moved to Vancouver the summer before grade ten, the traditional start of high school in Canada. For fifteen years before that, the Perrys had lived in Revelstoke, a city more than six hours east from Vancouver.

Revelstoke was a much quieter place, with more distinct community ties and more outdoor activities for enthusiasts. The city was well noted for being a great destination for skiers and snowboarders. Every winter, the locals saw an influx of tourists trying to find a good day to hit the slopes.

For Toby, it was quite a drastic change to move from the laid back city of under seven thousand people to one of the busiest, most developed cities in all of Canada. The lifestyle changes were the hardest to adapt.

Magee Secondary School was supposed to be the easier part about moving to Vancouver. It wasn't a typical high school. There were over a thousand students between grades eight to twelve. Toby wouldn't be the youngest nor the oldest, but squarely in the middle.

That was a good thing. As with any crowd, Toby didn't want to be in the front nor the back. Somewhere in the middle, surrounded or covered by people was where Toby felt most comfortable. He didn't like to draw attention to himself.