BRIGHT

Chapter 2- Peyton POV- Arrival

"Hi, what can I help you with?" the receptionist asked me.

"I'm a new student here, apparently I was supposed to come here on the first day," I said.

"Oh perfect, name?"

"Peyton Emerson," I told her. She typed my name into the computer.

"Oh lovely, we paired you up with another sophomore whose classes are close to yours. I see you took the math test for placement already, you'll be in Calc," the receptionist explained. Calc? Wasn't that a class for seniors and juniors? Oh well. A tall girl with short blonde hair walked into the room.

"Hey, sorry I'm late! Is this Peyton?" the girl asked.

"Yup, you girls can go on now. She's all set," the receptionist said. She grabbed a piece of paper from the printer.

"Here is your schedule," she said. I grabbed it.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Alright, I'm Erin. Let's go!" the girl pepped. We walked out of the office. "Let's see your schedule." I handed it to her.

"Wow, you must be really smart! Calc?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, um, I really like math," I explained.

"Okay this is good, all of our classes are really close together. We also have English and History together," she explained.

"Cool," I said meekly.

"So, we have 5 minutes in between to classes to get where you need to go, but it usually doesn't take more than 3 to get there. Not something to worry about, having English and Math back to back is good," Erin blabbed. She talked and talked, but I didn't really listen. I was just so nervous. As we reached English, Erin and I sat next to each other and a group of her friends. They were all super nice to me, which was good. I realized they were all cheerleaders. Once I told them, I used to be a gymnast, they all told me I had to try out. I was pretty tiny and they were looking for a new flyer. I was even invited to eat lunch with them. The teacher, Mrs. Karson, was super nice and I could tell it was going to be a good, and very fun, year. Once English ended, Meredith directed me to Calc. She was in Geometry, which was right next to where I was.

"Look, it's going to be all upperclassmen, so don't feel bad if you have trouble making friends, okay?" she informed. I nodded. I walked into the classroom. Everything was spick and span, and there were no fun posters or anything like there were in Mrs. Karson's class. This teacher meant business. I looked on the board where our seating chart was. They were tables with two chairs each. I was right next to someone named Greyson. The teacher had not yet entered the room, so no one was in their seats, they were all goofing around. I took my things and placed them at my spot. I went to pretend to get a tissue so people wouldn't think I was a loner. The bell rang and the teacher walked briskly into the room. He wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black dress pants, and leather shoes. His blackish brown hair was slicked back and he had thick, black glasses.

"Excuse me, the bell rang, which is your signal to sit down!" the teacher growled. Everyone took their seats. The teacher wrote his name on the board. "I'm Mr. Mason, welcome to Calculus. I must warn you all, this is a tough class. If you don't think you can handle it, you have a week to let me know you are dropping out, and then you will be placed in either Pre-Calc or College Math," Mr. Mason said briskly. He reached for his clipboard. A guy raised his hand.

"What?" Mr. Manson said.

"I'm dropping this," the guy said. Everyone began to laugh.

"Good, get out, and go to the guidance office," Mr. Mason spat back. Surprised by his reaction, the guy took his things and left.