Falling

1.

I breathe in deep to try and control my nerves. Going to a new school, let alone living in a whole new area was going to take some getting used to. Standing in front of it now, I notice that my new school is a whole lot bigger than my old school. I try not to let it intimidate me, but it being my first day at a new school is intimidating itself.

I spent close to two and a half hours getting ready this morning. I did my hair and even put on a little makeup, before realizing that if I was going to make it through my first day I was going to have to tone it down a bit.

As I walk up the front steps of the school, I replay my moms words in my head: "Hacer cosas increíbles hoy."

My uniform is itchy, but it does make me feel better knowing that everyone else is wearing the same thing as me. There wasn't too much pressure this morning trying to pick out my outfit, as I had the option of a blazer or sweater. The sweater seemed more like me.

"Hello, I'm Jorge. It's my first day. I was told to talk with Sue." The lady at the front desk sighs and yells for Sue.

Sue gives me a warm smile that helps me calm my nerves a little. "Mr. Garay, It's nice to meet you. Welcome." She reaches her left hand out to shake mine. I take it and hope she doesn't notice my hands are sweaty. I'm sure she understands that everyone gets nervous on their first day.

"Thank you," I say smiling back at her. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"So, since it's a pretty big school, we'll have someone show you around," Sue looks around the room, "Oh, she's around here somewhere. Addy!

A dark haired girl comes bouncing around the corner. "Yes, Sue?" She smiles wide.

"Oh, good. This is Jorge."

"It's nice to meet you, Jorge," Addy smiles. "Sue and I talked about it already this morning. We have almost every class together so I'll just be showing you where they are and making sure you're all ready to go. If you need anything just ask."

"Okay, cool. Thank you."

"Wow! Where is your accent from?" Addy's green eyes widen with excitement.

"Spain," I laugh, I get that response a lot.

Addy motions for us to start walking. "Woah. Spain, huh? That's a big move."

"Yes, it is. It's weird being in a place so different."

We walk into a classroom. I'm guessing it's my first period class. I hope this is one of the ones that she has with me. She tells me that this is our photography class and that it is, in fact, one of the classes we have together. Considering the amount of students I saw in the halls and how big the school itself is, it was a pretty small class. There were only around ten students in the classroom when we walked in.

The bell rings and Addy laughs, "Oh, just in time."

I sit in the seat next to Addy as the teacher talks about a project the rest of the class has been working on for a few weeks now. He tells me I will be excused from this assignment because there's only a few more days until it's due anyways. I give him a grateful smile.

The rest of the class period was free time to work on the project I get to skip. Addy tells me she finished her project already so we spend the rest of the period talking. We talk about Spain and why I moved in the middle of a semester. She told me about her friends and invited me to sit with them at lunch. I asked her what classes I would have without her there and I'm thankful when she told me only one. It was seventh period, which was the last period of the day.

When the bell rang, we went to our next class and talked some more. We talked in every class and pretty soon it was time for lunch.

Addy told me that her and her friends always meet up with each other under the staircase for lunch. On our way there, Addy and I stop at the cafeteria to buy lunch. There, a small blonde boy with flecks of blue pieces of hair runs up to us.

"Hey, Syd," Addy says with a bright smile. She leans in and gives him a hug.

"Hey," Syd smiles at me. "You must be Jorge. How's your first day going?"

We talk in line and the whole way to the stairs. When we get there I notice someone already sitting down and talking.

"Benji!" Addy yells. She runs towards him and he stands up in just enough time to catch her in a hug.

"Addy! I missed you," Benji kisses Addy's cheek. He turns and looks at me, "Hi, I'm Benji." Benji holds out his hand.

"Jorge," I shake his hand and give him a small smile.

"Jorge is from Spain," Addy grins and looks up at Benji. He smiles down at her.

"You guys are very cute. How long have you been together?"

Everyone under the staircase bursts out laughing. I'm confused why, though. I don't think I made a joke.

"Oh, my gosh. No! Benji's my bestie," Addy giggles. "I'm dating Cayman. Speaking of Cayman: where is he?"

Syd and Addy begin talking about where Cayman is and Benji looks at me.

"I guess we do come off a little strong at first. I forget that to anyone that doesn't know us we do look very flirty."

"Yeah, just a bit. Doesn't her boyfriend get jealous?" I ask trying not to sound nosy.

"Not at all. I'm gay so that's not an issue. Plus, Addy's like a sister to me." I give him a small smile and sit down next to Syd and begin to eat my lunch.

When Cayman comes to sit with us, he gives Addy a big hug and kisses her forehead. I smile and introduce myself.

"Nice to meet you, Jorge," Cayman says and then turns to talk to Addy.

Syd and I talk about our class schedules and realize we have fifth and sixth periods together along with Addy and Cayman. Benji tells me we have seventh period together and I feel better knowing that I won't be completely alone when Addy and I part ways for seventh period.