"Come on Lindsay. We're going to be late!" I heard my Dad shout from downstairs.
"Won't be long!" I shouted back as I continued to get ready.
Today was a big day for both me and my dad. My dad Michael Byrne is the new Headteacher at Waterloo Road School in Rochdale. Today is also my first day as an official Waterloo Road student. As I stared into the mirror as I straightened my tie, it eventually sunk in and I began to feel a sense of nerves deep in the pit of my stomach. Moving schools wasn't unusual for me, if anything, I was used to it but for some reason, this time it was going to be different because my Dad told me we would be staying until I completed my exams, so I felt I had to make a good first impression.
As I was getting the last few things ready to leave, I heard footsteps approaching before there was a knock at my bedroom door. The door opened and my dad popped his head around the side.
"You ready to go?" He asked as I continued to dash around my room.
"Almost." I breathed, ticking off the list of things I had made mentally in my head.
"I'll go and wait in the car. Don't be long!" My dad ordered before closing the door and descending his footsteps downstairs.
I heard the front door shutting and I made one last rush attempt to make sure I had everything I needed. When I convinced myself I was prepared, I headed downstairs, grabbed my coat and left the house. I got into the car and we started the journey to our new venture. Waterloo Road...here we come!
****
As we drove through the gates of the school and I saw the mass of people entering the school grounds, the nerves I was feeling turned more into nausea. My dad was going to be in charge of running a school with over 600 pupils, his daughter being one of them. Even though my dad had run previous schools, I went to a different one because that's what my parents thought would be best for me. However, when my parents got divorced, I made the decision to stay with my Dad and attend Waterloo Road.
My Dad parked in his designated parking space before we both got out of the car. I stood by the car for a while and took in my new surroundings, but was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard my dad ask:
"Ready?"
I nodded and the two of us walked up the steps and entered the building that I now call my school. We headed upstairs and to my dad's office where he greeted his secretary.
"Good morning Janeece." He spoke politely.
"Morning Mr Byrne." She replied back chirpily.
Janeece was a very glamorous looking woman. Her hair was styled perfectly with not a strand out of place, her make-up was immaculate and she was very stylish in terms of fashion sense. She proceeded to introduce herself to me when she could see me standing there, looking a bit out of sorts.
"Hiya. My name is Miss. Bryant or Janeece." She spoke happily, a permanent smile on her face.
"Hi. I'm Lindsay Byrne." I replied, returning a friendly smile back.
"Wait...you're not Mr. Byrne's..." Was all Janeece could say before my dad interrupted her.
"Yes Janeece, she is my daughter but when we are in school, I am her Headteacher and she is my pupil. Can you please print off Lindsay's timetable?" He asked to which she nodded.
Whilst Janeece was doing this, my dad called me into his office. His office was very modernised with a black and white colour scheme running throughout. He went and sat behind his desk whilst I stood in the middle of the room, rather awkwardly.
"Lindsay, I am going to have to set some rules now. As I said to Janeece, when we are in school, I am your Headteacher and you are my pupil. You will be treated the same as any other pupil as I have protocol to follow. Do you understand?" He lectured and got a nod as a response from me.
With that, there was a knock at the door and Janeece strutted in and handed a piece of paper to my dad, which I presumed was my timetable. He handed the sheet to me before standing up from his desk, not even giving me time to briefly look over it.
"Your form teacher is Mr. Clarkson. I will take you to him now." My dad told me as he left his office, me hot on his heels behind him.
We wandered down the corridor until we stopped outside Mr. Clarkson's classroom. My dad knocked on his door before opening it, stopping Mr. Clarkson from whatever he was doing. I wandered in behind him, standing rather awkwardly in front of lots of beady eyes which were staring directly at me.
"Excuse me Mr. Clarkson, this is Lindsay Byrne. She is going to be a new pupil in your registration class." He announced in front of everyone in the room.
"Yes, of course. Welcome Lindsay, I'm Mr. Clarkson." He said as he introduced himself to me, earning him a shy smile back in return.
"That's ironic isn't it? The new girl has the same surname as the new Headteacher. I'm sensing there's going to be some favouritism here!" I heard some boy shout from the back of the classroom.
My eyes met his but when he looked at me, I turned my attention to the floor, feeling embarrassed immediately. I couldn't help but notice how cute he was, but I also knew he would make my life a living hell.
"Excuse me...what's your name?" I heard my dad shout as he approached the black-haired boy at the back of the classroom.
"What's it to you?" He retorted back as he folded his arms across his chest, the boy sat next to him chuckling.
"It's everything to do with me as your new Headteacher. Now, you either tell me your name now or we can get to know each other in detention. Your choice!" My dad bellowed, however, the boy didn't react.
"Finn...Finn Sharkey!" He exclaimed back as he looked over at his friend sat next to him.
"That wasn't so hard was it...Finn!" My dad shouted back as he headed back down to the front of the classroom.
He thanked Mr. Clarkson for his time before leaving, me still stood at the front of the classroom, still highly embarrassed and wanting the ground to swallow me up.
"I've got my eye on you Sharkey!" Mr Clarkson scolded which gained a smirk from Finn. "Lauren, would you mind being Lindsay's partner for today and showing her where the main facilities and classes are?" He asked, reverting his attention onto the curly haired girl sat by the window.
I glanced over at her, recognising how pretty she was. Her curly locks were tied up in a ponytail at the back of her head and she had a very welcoming smile. She seemed really nice, which made me relax somewhat.
"Sure." Lauren simply replied, sending me a polite smile.
I smiled back and headed over to the table where she was sitting and sat down in the seat next to her.
"Ignore Finn. He doesn't respond well to newcomers." Lauren told me, I think in the hope to reassure me.
I just smiled as I placed my bag on the floor and removed my coat and draped it over the back of my chair, all whilst thinking about what Lauren just said. What hope have I got then? Not only am I a newcomer, but I am Mr. Byrne's daughter and Finn has already had a run-in with him once today. I think I should be a bit more vigilant and watch my back when he's around.
****
It is now lunchtime and myself and Lauren entered the canteen, which was extremely noisy. We grabbed a tray and joined the back of the queue. We collected our food and headed over to the table where Finn and his friend were sat. Great, that's all I need! I placed my tray down on the table and sat down next to Lauren and opposite a curly haired boy.
"Hi Lindsay, I'm Josh. Finn and Lauren's friend." The curly haired boy told me and I politely smiled at him.
"Why is she sat with us? She's not part of this group!" I heard Finn say which immediately made me stand up from my seat, not wanting to create a scene in the middle of the packed canteen.
"Sit down Lindsay." Lauren ordered, but not in a harsh way. "Finn...back off! Give her a chance!" She exclaimed, standing up for me.
"No, it's alright. I understand what it is like to be sat with a newcomer. I'll go sit elsewhere." I replied as I picked up my tray and walked away from the table and went to sit somewhere else in the canteen.
I took myself away and sat on a table with a group of girls, however, I kept myself to myself. I didn't want to cause anymore trouble. Finn already had a problem with me...I wasn't going to make it any worse.
Finn's P.O.V
"What did you go and say that for Finn?" Lauren asked, clearly disgusted by my actions.
"She's a nobody compared to us! We've got our school reputation to think about!" I exclaimed as I slouched back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest.
"Go easy on her Finn! You were new once remember?" Josh added, hoping I would take sympathy on her.
"Whose side are you on?! You know what...I don't need this!" I yelled, sliding my tray across the table before leaving.
I could see Lauren roll her eyes at how dramatic I was being but I couldn't give a crap! As I was walking out, I could see Lindsay looking at me as well as loads of other people. What is their problems?!
"What do you all want?!" I shouted as I continued to leave the canteen, anger seething through my veins.
Lindsay's P.O.V
After Finn's little outburst, I headed back over to the table where Lauren and Josh were sat, the pair in the midst of a conversation.
"Look guys, you have been really lovely and welcoming to me but I am obviously getting in the way. I think I have a rough idea of where everything is and if I get lost, I will just ask someone. I'm not here to aggravate Finn or take away his friends. I think it's best if I hang around with different people other than you." I admitted, feeling a lot better for discussing how I felt.
I was about to walk away when Lauren grabbed me gently and pulled me down into a seat. I kind of knew I would have to listen to what she had to say.
"Lindsay, Finn is a really difficult character to work out! I don't even think me and Josh have truly figured him out..." She questioned as she looked over at Josh who nodded his head. "He will come round eventually. It'll just take him some time. Me and Josh think you are pretty cool." She finished, smiling.
"Thank you guys, but I don't think that will be the case with me. He's already had a run-in with my dad. I'm not going to make things worse. It's better if I just leave you be." I replied as I stood up and walked away from the table.
I placed my tray on the self-cleaning rack before leaving the canteen. To be honest, I cannot wait for this day to be over. It's been a nightmare so far!
****
It was now home-time and masses of students flocked outside the doors and made their way home. I headed over to the school office where I saw Janeece sat at her desk, filing through some paperwork.
"Excuse me Miss. Bryant, could you please tell my dad I am waiting for him?" I asked politely with a coy smile.
Janeece nodded and knocked on the door to my dad's office before relaying the message. Within seconds, the door closed and Janeece looked at me.
"Mr Byrne said to go through."
I thanked her before I entered my dad's office where I saw he was busy doing something on his laptop. He looked up at me and smiled, telling me to take a seat. I abided his orders and sat down opposite him on one of the comfy leather seats.
"Now darling, I have been called in for a last minute meeting so I am not going to be able to drive you home. I'm sorry." He told me, apologising for things that were out of his control.
He's a very busy man. I understand that he is going to get called into meetings unexpectedly. It's what I've been used to being his daughter. Normally, he wouldn't feel that guilty, but I think that now because it's just me and him, he wants to discover the perfect balance between work and parenting. I was just about to leave when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" He shouted but in a respectful manner.
The door opened and in walked a woman. She had shoulder-length jet black hair, a very pretty face and she was wearing a purple sheath style dress, which was paired with black court shoes. She was also carrying a buff coloured folder against her chest.
"Oh sorry...I didn't realise you had company." She spoke and started to back out of the room.
"No, it's fine. Sian, this is my daughter Lindsay. Lindsay, this is my deputy headteacher and your Science teacher Mrs Sian Diamond." My dad introduced, causing us to exchange a friendly smile.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Lindsay. I'll be looking forward to teaching you." Sian spoke, a positive tone to her voice which was somewhat reassuring.
I kind of knew that it was my chance to leave so I stood up from the chair and headed for the door. Before I left, my dad asked:
"How was your first day?"
Do I tell the truth and say it was horrendous or do I lie?
"Yeah, it was good! Well, I'll see you back at home." I exclaimed, lying but hoping that it sounded believable.
My dad smiled at me as I left the room, closing the door behind me. I bid goodbye to Janeece before I headed downstairs and out the door. Exiting the building, I recognised how quiet the school grounds were and I thought I would take in the serenity for a while as I knew it wouldn't be like this when I returned tomorrow. I looked up at the building and sighed before walking away and heading for home.
Fingers crossed tomorrow is a better day!