I take a deep breath, holding it for just a second before releasing it.
My first day at OKCA.
I received my card, room assignment, and schedule the day after my meeting and over the weekend I moved in.
My roommate, Joy, is really cool. On Sunday she basically gave me a run down of what a normal school day would be like, adding a more in depth tour.
Breakfast in the canteen. Three classes. Lunch in the canteen. Three more classes. 5 hours to do whatever I please on school grounds. Then dinner at 8. And everyone has to be back in their rooms by 10, no later than 11.
I spent all of Saturday with my moms. We went bowling, laser tagging, to Dairy Queen, then over to my grandparents house.
Now I stand, looking at myself in the mirror. The school doesn't have uniform so I'm clad in light grey joggers, a black nike shirt, and white Air Forces.
I brush my hair back and put on a black diamond snapback.
"Ready for your first day?" Joy asks beaming at me.
She's standing at her dresser, applying make up to her face.
"Yeah I think so," I glance at the clock," shouldn't we be leaving, it's 7:45."
"Right right lets go." She puts some lipstick on, steps into her shoes, and grabs her bag.
I sling my messenger bag on to my shoulder and we leave out.
We head to the canteen for breakfast. I'm shocked by the options we have: pancakes, fruit salads, waffles, oatmeal, omelets, etc.
Considering the time we got down here we only have fifteen minutes to eat so I grab a fruit salad and an orange juice.
Lucky for me Joy and I have our first class together but after that I'm on my own really.
Our first class is Global Politics. The class just finished a chapter so I haven't missed anything.
The teacher, Ms.Stevens is very lively and excited. Global Politics sounds extremely boring but she teaches it in a way that makes me actually interested in the subject.
We're immediately assigned a project. And she picks partners for us. My partner is Maggie, who I at first didn't notice was in this class.
Basically she assigns us a country and from there we have to find a political issue. We choose two different sides of the issue and write an essay explaining and defending our side. Then we come together and make a presentation where we will then try to persuade the class to take our side.
"Hey there newbie." Maggie says coming to sit beside me.
Chuckling I smile and greet her back.
"So what country do you want to do?"
I shrug," Brazil?"
"Sounds great. You want to meet up in the commons later to work on it?"
"Will do."
We idly chat for the rest of the class before the bell rings.
Math is my next class which I find pretty easily, then Health.
Both classes blow by pretty easily, lesson then classwork, then homework.
When lunch comes around I realize I have no where to sit. I go into the Canteen, get in line, and buy lunch.
The selections still surprise me. Grilled chicken and vegetables, shrimp and grits, Thai noodles, and cheeseburgers.
I get shrimp and grits, a sprite, and a big cookie. Scanning the room I spot an empty table towards the back and I go sit there.
"You must be new here."
A deep voice rings through my ears, a cool breath following it from the person standing so close.
It causes me to jump ever so slightly and I look behind me.
The tall light skin boy standing next to me grins, white teeth exposed. He has an OKCA football jersey on, blue jeans, and black Nikes.
"Yeah I am." My eyebrow raises.
"Vincent, pleased to meet your acquaintance." He extends a hand, his other hand holding his lunch.
I shake his hand," Emerson."
"Emerson hey!" Maggie walks up and sits down.
I nod in greeting.
"You two know each other?" Vincent asks, gesturing to us.
Maggie and I nod.
"She was my tour guide." I say.
He nods," cool beans."
"You two dating?" I ask.
Vincent nods, a frown on his face," how'd you know?"
"Body language. Your shoulders are touching more than a little bit, your hands keep brushing together, the close proximity gives it all away." I say.
Maggie nods," that makes sense," then her eyes fall on something behind me," Jasmine!" She calls.
I turn around to see Jasmine approaching. Her long brown hair glows down her shoulders and backs. She's clad in a navy blue and white varsity jacket, black crop top, and blue jeans.
She sits at the round table between me and Maggie.
"Hey Mags, Vince," her eyes land on me and she beams before hugging me," I haven't seen you since you moved here jeez, I was starting to miss you."
"Okay new girl knows everyone but me?" Vincent asks.
Jasmine looks at him. It's a strange look, like she's having a conversation with him.
His eyebrows raise just a fraction,"what was your name again?"
"Emerson."
Then his eyes widen a little and he looks at Jasmine.
"Jasmine wouldn't shut up about you for like a week."
Her cheeks heat up, the faint pink almost unnoticeable," I was excited about making a friend outside of these losers."
"Makes sense." I chuckle.
"So Emerson, we can meet up in the common room at 4 kay?"
I nod.
Lunch, as usual, is quicker than usual. To my surprise I have my next two classes with Jasmine and my last with Vincent.
Though I'm in Vincent's class, Astronomy, I sit with someone else. I love the classroom as soon as I step in. The entire ceiling is glass, the clouds and sun in full view.
The first thing I notice about the guy next to me is his hair. It's dark brown, appearing black without the light, and curled to tightly that from a far you almost wouldn't notice.
"Hi, I'm Jacob." He smiles at me, extending a hand.
I'm captivated by his deep brown eyes and charming smile.
"Hi," I shake his hand," I'm Emerson."
"You must be new."
"Yeah I am. First day."
He nods," well it's 6th hour and your still here so things must be going well."
"They are."
The teacher calls the class to session.
Class passes uneventfully and we're dismissed.
"Hey," Jacob says from my side," we should hang out sometime."
I sling my bag over my shoulder as we leave out the class," that sounds like a plan."
"Brother!"
Turning around I see Joy run up and jump on Jacob's back. His tall muscular body holding her off the ground.
"Hey sis." He smiles.
Her eyes travel over to me," hey roomie, you flirting with my brother," she pauses sending a glance Jacob's way," or is he flirting with you?"
"I was being nice Joyce." He rolls his eyes and sets Joy down," so what're you girls gonna do today?"
Joy shoves her hands in her pocket," practice."
"And you Ms.Emerson?"
I shrug," I have a project to work on and I'll probably find something else to do after."
"There's always the Volleyball game at 6."
We step outside and for the first time since Fall started I feel the cold air whip past my face.
"Whew it's cold out here." Joy says rubbing her arms.
"It's hoodie weather. You know what that means."
I raise a brow.
"Girls are going to need a hoodie to wear. They may have their own but they usually want to wear someone else's, you get where I'm going here?"
I nod," understood. However I'll see you guys later I'm gonna go grab a jacket and then head to the commons."
"See ya." Jacob says.
"Bye roomie."
Waving I head over to my room. Once I get there I grab a hoodie and pull it over my head and pick up my iPad before leaving right back out and going to the commons.
The common room looks pretty nice. Couches spread about, some pool and ping pong tables, a little computer section, charging stations. It's large, large enough to need an upstairs that holds two bathrooms and some vending machines.
"Yo Em!"
I turn around to see Maggie waltzing in.
"Sup partner."
"Shall we?" She gestures to some couches near the big front window.
I nod and we head over there.
Maggie pulls out her laptop and a notebook and I pull out my tablet and my notebook.
"So you seemed pretty confident about Brazil do you know about any political conflicts already?"
Sitting up I say," currently a lot of Brazil's youth are creating their own political parties. They're so upset with the way everything's been run."
"Sounds awesome. I'm all for it. However I'm sure you'd like to be Pro Millennial Politics. So I'll explain why that movement might "suck" and you tell us about the great powers of the Brazilian Youth!" She says.
"Sounds like a plan."
So we spend the next two hours working. We take a 10 minute break to snack and talk briefly.
Maggie checks her phone," hey I have to get to the athletic center so we'll finish this up later kay?"
"Yeah for sure. You going to the volleyball game?" I ask her packing my stuff up and throwing my trash away.
"I'm in the game. Wing Spiker."
Chuckling I say," I'm gonna need an explanation as to what position that is cause Volleyball isn't my game."
"What is your game?"
"A few things. Lacrosse is the main one though."
"We have a lacrosse team here you know."
I nod.
"Basically my job is to score the points. I can do just about everything but my main focus is getting points on the board." She explains.
"Well I will be there to cheer you on, though I'm sure you have a large fan base."
She chuckles," I can never have too many fans."
"See ya."
Dropping me off at the dorms she leaves to the Athletic center.
Joy is in the room when I get there, finishing up homework and listening to music.
"Hey." She greets.
"Sup."
"So I was thinking about it and I realized you just got here, you don't have school gear do you?"
I shake my head.
"Thought so. Let's leave early and grab you a t-shirt, it's your first game here so it's only right that you show support."
"Makes enough sense. Let's go."
We leave out and head to the school store. I buy a basic tee, the white letters reading OKCA standing out against the coral color.
"Now you're looking like a real OKCA student."
"Yeah yeah." I chuckle and we head over to the athletic center, stopping to get Jacob.
"Ladies, would you like anything?" Jacob asks, stopping at a vendor.
"I'm cool." Joy says.
I go to grab my wallet but his hand reaches out and stops mine.
"My treat."
"Oh," my eyebrows raise a little," then I'll have a fruit punch and skittles please."
He smiles, dimples appearing on only one of his cheeks," fruit punch and skittles for the lady and I'll have a strawberry Fanta and nachos."
The vendor nods, accepting Jacob's money, then handing us our things.
We find seats after much searching, almost all of them being taken. I wave to Maggie as the team comes from the locker room.
She waves back, then looks left, waves, and blows a kiss. Being the oh so nosey me I lean forward and see that Jasmine and Vincent sit a few seats down.
"Emerson!"
Turning around I see Joy holding her phone up ready to take a picture.
Jacob slings his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer, smiling. I smile too.
The game starts.
Maggie is on fire the whole game. Someone sets the ball she spikes it, she sets the ball and gets an assist.
By the time the game runs down I see 100% why she got the position as Wing Spiker. She's great at every position.
It's dinner time now, everyone files out of the athletic center and over to the canteen. The chefs set out the food and we go up and get it.
I settle for tacos and a small brownie. Before I even make it to Jasmine's table I'm pulled over by Joy.
"Sit with us roomie." She smiles plopping down.
It's just her and Jacob.
Shrugging I sit down between them and eat my lunch. They chat quietly about their family and what they're going to do over the weekend.
Jacob makes an effort to keep me in the conversation, asking about my parents and not at all shocked or disgusted when I tell him I have moms.
"Cool."
I raise a brow," cool?"
"Yeah. It's cool to have moms. I don't but my aunt on my dad's side is a lesbian and her wife is awesome. My cousins are cool too, both adopted." He says.
Smiling softly I nod," yeah that is cool."
"Are you adopted? If you don't mind my asking." He finishes his food and looks me in the eyes.
Again I'm almost lost in them, the grey like the eye of a storm pulling me in.
"Uh, no, I'm not. My momma gave birth to me. I'm told the process is long and a little personal." I say.
It is long but it worked. Basically, from what my moms told me. They took Ma's egg and put it inside Momma and then found a sperm donor. Some other complicated health stuff and months later I was born.
I was a premature baby. My first few years of life were tough. I struggled to see well, my learning skills were absolute crap because I was underdeveloped mentally and physically. But when I turned 14 everything looked up. I hit puberty and started filling out and growing.
My brain started catching up with everything and after a year of summer school I caught up and now I'm a senior.
"Ah okay. Seems your special Ms.Emerson." He winks.
A blush rises to my cheeks and I shake my head," nah nothing extraordinary over here."
"I find that hard to believe."
Dinner ends and we're told to head to bed. I walk back to the dorms with Jasmine and Maggie.
"Hey friend!" Jasmine exclaims.
A smile stretched across my face," hey Jazz."
"I missed you at dinner. Why didn't you sit with us?" She asks hooking her arm through mine and leaning her head on my shoulder.
I take a deep breath and look down at her," I uh, my roommate snagged me over to eat with her and her brother."
"Oh okay. Well next time your all mine."
Blinking I stammer," uh, I, tha- Okay."
We split up when we get in the building, heading to our own rooms. The first thing I do when I get inside is FaceTime my moms.
"Hi princess." Ma answers.
"Hi ma."
"No hi for me?"
Chuckling I nod," hi momma."
"How was your first day?" She asks.
"Pretty good. I made a few friends."
Ma smiles," that's great. How about the classes?"
"Hard to tell. First day and all. I'll get back to you on that."
My yawn cuts off their next words.
"Oh, someone's tired." Momma points out.
"Get some sleep princess, we'll talk tomorrow." Ma adds.
I nod," goodnight, I love you."
Momma blows me a kiss and Ma says goodnight.
After hanging up I shower, throw on shorts and a t-shirt and collapse on my bed.