Nowhere Kids

First Day

I took a deep breath as I stood in front of my new school. I'm not sure why I was so nervous, this was a chance at a new beginning. In my old school I kept to myself and was seen as quiet and shy. Now I wanted to be more social and learn to relax with friends. After a moment of taking deep breaths, I worked up the courage to enter the building.

I made my way down the hall and attempted to find my locker. The hall was packed with students greeting each other and just hanging out. I pulled out my schedule from my backpack and studied it closely. My locker number was written on the top left corner of the page. I used it to find my locker straight down the hall.

As I put some of my things away in my locker, I took another look at my schedule. Hopefully I'll have time to find my first class. I closed my locker and looked up and down the hall, trying to figure out which direction to go. Suddenly, I heard a shout that caught my attention.
"Get back here!" Someone yelled just as a boy ran past me. A  larger student  followed him, clearly chasing the poor boy. Without thinking, I stepped between the two, stopping the larger one in his tracks.

"What do you think you're doing?" The large boy snarled at me.
"What do you think you're doing?" I snapped back, crossing my arms over my chest and looking him in the eyes. "Leave that guy alone"
"You have no business here girly" He smirked as he attempted to shove me to the side. I managed to hold my ground and shove him away. 
"Who you calling girly?" I asked with a push. He must not have expected the shove as he stumbled back into the lockers.
"Oh, you'll pay for that!" He growled before charging at me. I braced myself for his impact, until I felt someone grab me by my waist and pull me to the side. The boy ran into the wall, falling back while holding his shoulder. 

"Enough! You three, detention!" A teacher shouted as she stormed towards us.  The larger student stood up and brushed himself off before glaring at me while walking off. I noticed the smaller boy he was chasing was now standing next to me.
"Thanks for pulling me out of the way" I said to him.
"I should be thanking you" he said as he pushed his black and blond hair out of his face.
"You okay?" I asked. He nodded and smiled at me.
"Yeah, he like that towards almost everyone. I'm glad you stood up to him." He explained. "Name's Eric by the way"
"I'm Jamie" I introduced myself with a handshake.
"So, I've never seen your face before. You new?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, it's my first day." I explained. Eric offered to help find my first class so I handed him my schedule.
"Hey, I'm also in that class. Follow me." He said before leading me down a few halls to our classroom. 

Our first class was math, my least favorite subject. Eric led us to two empty desks were we took our seats. We were given worksheets to work on during class, and Eric was kind enough to help me with some questions. With us working together, we managed to get our work done before class was over. That gave us time to talk and get to know each other better. Eric told me all about his love for music, and I talked about my love for art. 

The bell eventually rang signaling the end of class. We gathered up our things and headed out to the hall.
"Good luck with your other classes. See you after school." Eric said as we parted ways. Right, I already forgot about our detention. I still don't understand why he got in trouble as well, but at least I won't be alone.
"See you then" I replied before checking my schedule for my next class.

It took almost all of passing time, but I did manage to find my next class. History. I walked in to see most seats were already taken by kids chatting and giggling with each other. In the back corner sat one boy sitting alone. His long black hair covered his face as he looked down at his desk. I noticed an empty desk besides him and decided to approach. 

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" I asked the boy as I pointed to the desk to his left. He looked up at me with bright blue eyes.
"Sure. You new here?" He asked as he sat up and pushed back his hair back, showing his face better. 
"Yeah, I'm Jamie" I said as I sat down. 
"Name's Brent" He responded with a calm tone to his voice. I had a feeling I was going to like this class. 

"Excuse me, your in my seat" A girl told me as she approached my desk. Her blonde hair covered her shoulders as her green eyes stared me down. 
"Relax Courtney. Just take a seat in front of me. " Brent suggested to the girl. 
"Cause then I can't look at you baby" She whined as she walked over and cupped his face. I guess they're dating. 
"I don't mind moving my seat." I  said as I stood up. Courtney hummed in delight as she took her seat next to Brent. I took a seat in front of him, hoping this would prevent any drama between all of us.

Class went by smoothly, though at one point it felt like someone was staring at me. I turned around in my seat to see Brent blush as he noticed me move. 
"Sorry, just lost in thought" he mumbled shyly. I shrugged it off but Courtney sighed loudly. 
"You're distracting him." She whined. 
"Sorry" I said defensively before turning back to my own work. 

I got up as soon as the bell rang, ready to leave class. Brent and Courtney passed by me holding hands as I exited to the hall. Brent smiled at me a moment, but Courtney tugged him away before he could speak. I'm starting not to like her, but maybe I'm being too quick to judge. Checking my schedule I realized it was time for lunch. Time to follow the crowd of students, hoping they lead to the cafeteria.

I was hoping to find Eric in the cafeteria so I could have someone to sit with. Once the crowd settled as students grabbed their lunch and sat down, I managed to find him at a table. He was sitting with Brent and two other boys. After how awkward last class was, I really didn't want to sit with Brent. I ended up grabbing a salad from the lunch line and sitting alone.  

Once lunch was over I headed to my next class. My favorite subject, English. It took me a while to find the classroom, but at least I wasn't late. Once again, most seats were taken by the time I got there, so I took the empty seat next to a boy with dreadlocks. I think I saw him sitting with Brent and Eric at lunch
"Hey, is this seat taken?" I asked.
"No, feel free to take it" He said warmly with a bright smile.
"Thanks. I'm Jamie" I introduced myself to him.
"I'm Barry. Nice to meet you Jamie" He responded kindly.

Once class started we were handed books to read. "To Kill a Mockingbird". The teacher let us read in group, so Barry and I took turns reading to each other. The book was already pretty good, but hearing Barry read it aloud somehow made the experience even better. Perhaps this would be my favorite class of the day. 

The bell rang so we had to put our books away. Barry and I said our goodbyes before parting ways in the hall. I checked my schedule to see what was last. Great, it was gym. Not looking forward to this one. At least the gym was easy to find. Since I didn't know gym would be on my schedule, I didn't pack gym clothes. . Maybe that means I could sit out today.

I entered the girl's locker room and found an empty locker to put my bag in. The coach gave us locks so I didn't worry about anyone touching my stuff. She wasn't happy to see my exit the locker room without changing out of my t-shirt and jeans. No surprise, she made me sit on the bench the rest of class. I didn't mind, I just watched the other students run laps. A blond boy would smile at me every time he passed by, making me roll my eyes. He looked familiar, possibly from lunch with the other three boys.

The coach soon got the class playing basketball. I kept my eyes on the blond boy but got bored quickly. He seemed to have noticed and started goofing off while playing. I have to admit, he did get me to laugh a few time. I'm not sure if he's being a flirt or just friendly, but he's made this terrible class feel a little better.

Eventually it was time for everyone to change back to their normal clothes. I followed the girls to the locker room to grab my bag. While waiting back in the gym for the bell to ring, the blond boy approached me.
"I saw you watching me" he said with a wink.
"Yeah, thanks for trying to entertain me" I said with a smile. I just hope he doesn't think I'm flirting back. 
"I'm Zach. You must be new here" He said as he introduced himself.
"I'm Jamie. First day and.... I already have detention" I mumbled that last part as I suddenly remembered. 
"Bummer. Need me to show you were to go?" He offered.
"If you don't mind" I said shyly, not wanting to be a bother.
"No problem" He smirked. The bell rang and we headed out towards were I needed to be.