My alarm blares early in the morning, screaming at me to wake up from my deep, comfortable, sleep. I turn my alarm off and begrudgingly climb out of my bed. I put on my black, ripped, skinny jeans and my new long sleeve All Time Low t-shirt. I pick up my Pierce The Veil sweatshirt and pull it over my head, knowing that it'll be extremely cold outside seeing as it is early January.
"Happy new year." I mumble to my self, still rather annoyed by the short duration of time allotted.
I walk downstairs with a yawn half expecting my parents to already be awake. My fathers were not awake yet, I internally groaned as I made my way back upstairs, I knock on the door rapidly, "Wake up someones gotta take me to school soon!" I shout before going to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth.
I take a moment to look at my outfit, I ponder on the idea of adding a beanie but decide against it due to the fact that I will only have to take it off in class. I walk back downstairs to see a sleepy Alex sitting on the couch, waiting for me. "Hey, dad." I say as I take a seat next to him.
"Hey." He smiles at me.
"You look tired." I point out the obvious.
"That's because I am." He replies.
"Welcome to my world, I was doing this nearly every day before you adopted me." I smile at him as I get off the couch and slip on my vans that are sitting by the front door. "Ready?" I ask as I pick up my backpack and sling it over my shoulder.
"Yeah." He yawns as he gets up from the couch.
The car didn't fully warm up until we're about halfway to the school. It was a shame that the car wasn't able to heat up sooner, it's very cold outside and I am not particularly a fan of the weather in the winter. The car slows to a halt signaling that it's finally time for me to leave the comfortable warmth of the car. "It's cold are you sure I have to go?" I ask Alex.
He yawns before speaking, "Yeah, it's sort of required." He smiles at me encouragingly.
"Okay," I sigh, "I'll see you later then, I love you." I said as I opened the car door, letting the cold winter air surround me.
"I love you too baby girl." Dad smiles at me.
I make sure I have all my items before completely exiting the car. After closing the car door and watching the car drive away I take a deep breath in and out. I make my way to the large building that has an office sign on it. I pass the building that I assume is the cafeteria, given the side, and find building one with the office in it. I enter through the big glass doors into the overheated front office.
"Good morning." The lady at the desk smiles at me.
"Morning," I mumble back, "Uh, I'm new I need to get my schedule." I cringe at my awkward speech.
"Last name?" She asks as she looks down at her keyboard ready to type.
"Dawson." I reply.
"Stella?" She asks as she pulls something up on her desktop computer.
"Yup, that is me." I inform.
"Okay give me a moment to print out your schedule and I'll write you a pass to your first class." She says as she stands up from her desk chair and walks across to the printer. The paper slowly makes its way out of the printer. She pulls out the paper before walking back to her desk and taking a seat. She hands me the freshly printed, warm paper with a soft smile. She begins scribbling on a sticky note before handing it to me the note read, "Stella Dawson to class 8:10 am" then it had her messy signature underneath it.
"Thank you." I say happily before anxiously leaving the building.
I look at my time's table to see that my first class is math in room 1005, that means my class is in building ten, the other side of campus. I quickly make my way across campus in the cold winter air, when I make it to my first classroom door I stop outside, taking a deep breath before twisting the doorknob and opening the door. The teacher was a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length, dyed blonde hair. She wasn't on the younger end because her wrinkles were still very much prominent, however, she doesn't seem old either.
The teacher looks at me in confusion for a moment before her eyes flicker to the pass in my hand. "You must be a new student." She smiles at me.
"Yeah." I say quietly as I hand her my late pass, "Where do I sit?" I ask quietly.
Her eyes scan the room before her eyes land on an open spot in the middle of the room. "Right there next to Dakota, Dakota put your hand up so she knows who you are." She says as she points to a girl with black dyed hair and pale skin. The black hair in contrast with her pale skin makes her skin seem even whiter then it already is. Her piercing blue eyes made contact with mine as she raised her hand to let me know who she was.
I was about to walk to my desk when the teacher stopped me, "Why don't we take a moment for you to introduce your self to the class." She smiles politely.
I wasn't sure what to say so I just went simple, "My name is Stella." I say simply before walking to my seat and sitting down before the teacher is able to interject.
I try to catch up with the lesson and take notes but I have no idea what we're even talking about. Dakota, the girl next to me must have noticed my confusion so she spoke, "Hey, give me your number so I can send you the rest of the notes later, you missed some important things." She smiles at me.
"Oh, thank you so much." I say as I rip the corner off of my notebook page. I write my number down on a piece of paper and hand it to the girl next to me. Dakota examines it before stuffing it into her pocket and continuing to take notes.
I decide that I'm far too lost to take notes, not to mention if I start in the middle and add the beginning of the notes later it won't be organized the way I like it. Instead, I flip to the first page and write, "Table Of Contents" in fancy lettering at the top before flipping the page and numbering every page in my notebook. When I finish numbering the pages I shut my notebook. shortly after the bell rings, signaling us all to continue to our next class. I pack up my bag before zipping it up and slinging it over my shoulder. I look at my next scheduled to see that my class is science. This class was luckily just across the hallway. I walk in before anyone else and walk up to the teacher, he smiles at me encouraging me to speak. The teacher was a middle-aged man with hairs just starting to gray, he had a happy smile on his face which told me he loves his job.
"I'm new." I say shyly.
"Oh, yes, you must be Stella." He says happily.
"Yeah." I reply.
"You can sit there." He says pointing to a seat in the front row.
"This one?" I ask as I walk over to the desk.
"Yeah." He says before going back to class preparations for this hour.
I take a seat and set my backpack next to my chair, I assume I don't need any materials for this class because there is a chrome book sitting on the desk. I open it up and it flashes on with a sign in screen, "How do I sign in?" I ask the teacher as the classroom starts to fill.
"Your ID number then @student.BUHSDMD.org and the password is first initial, last initial, month, day, year, in numbers." He explains.
I fill out the information as instructed and the laptop brings up the home screen. We play a game called Kahoot, amazingly, I come in the top five in the class. It was all easy questions, nothing new mainly review from things we learned before the break. This class period was used as a refresher to ease us into the second semester.
"You're really smart." The guy next to me says as he looks at my placement on my chrome book screen.
"This class is really easy." I inform him.
"Yeah well I don't try." He shrugs. "I'm Tristan by the way." He smiles at me.
"I'm Stella." I reply.
The bell rings signaling for us to leave for our next class. I once again secure my backpack onto my shoulders and exiting the classroom. I look down at my schedule to see that next I have English in room 200. I remembered that the office was building one so I went in that direction, assuming building two would be right next to it.
When I spotted the large number two on the side on the building I quickly scanned the signs above the hallway to see where my class might be. Room 200 wasn't on the sides, I ended up finding the door to room 200 in the middle of the front wall, alone. I quickly turned the door handle and let my self into the classroom. The teacher was a young, blonde, woman, presumably in her mid-twenties.
I walk up to her desk which catches her attention, she looks up at me with a smile, looking at me expectantly. "I'm a new student." I inform her awkwardly.
"Oh yes," She says with a smile, "You can sit in the third row, the second seat from this wall." She explains as she points at a wall to let me know what she meant.
"Thank you." I state before walking to my seat.
I sit down in my seat and a minute or two later someone sits next to me. I wasn't going to say anything but he started talking to me.
"I'm Dustin." He informs me.
"I'm Stella." I respond politely.
"You knew here?" He asks.
No shit, "Yeah." I reply simply.
"Oh, that's cool." He nods.
Our conversation thankfully drops there as the teacher makes her way to the front of the classroom. She informs us that we have a free write day, meaning we can write about whatever we want for the entire class period. She admits she didn't have anything planned and assumed we'd enjoy a day to just write.
When the bell rings I leave the classroom and slowly make my way to the cafeteria. I remember passing the building on the way in, I remembered where to go due to the fact that it was near the office and parking lot. by the time I got there the cafeteria was overflowing with students, there didn't seem to be nearly enough chairs and tables for everyone there, the lines for food were so long that they nearly went out the cafeteria doors. This certainly was a gigantic middle school. I felt overwhelmed by the number of people packed into one room so I walked outside, back into the fridged Baltimore, winter air. I sigh knowing that this is the warmest it will be all day. I shivered as wrapped my arms around my torso. I looked around when my eyes landed on bathrooms nearby. I know it's a cliche that the student with no friends sits in the bathroom at lunch alone but I needed warmth and the bathrooms seemed to be my best bet at the moment.
I was not exactly hiding from the other students, I was only seeking the little bit of warmth that this enclosed space my offer. Much to my surprise when I entered the bathroom there were girls in there fixing their makeup in the mirror. One girl turned to look at me with her perfectly made-up face and raised an eyebrow sharp enough to cut someone. After looking me up and down she let out a scoff and continued to fix her make up in the mirror, I didn't mind her rude gesture, I'm sure it was because she didn't like my style and that's understandable.
I ignore the girls and walk to the hand dryer, turning it on and placing my hands underneath. The hot air that escaped the machine warmed up my fingertips, I sighed gratefully at the feeling. Once I felt warm again I left the bathroom, not wanting to continue hanging around the girls in the bathroom. I once again felt my body temperature slowly decreasing but I decided it may be best to ignore it, for now, lunch must not be that long, twenty more minutes, max.
I was wrong, after another thirty minutes, I finally heard the bell ring. I let out a sigh of relief as I fished out my school schedule. My next class is art in room 707. I hadn't seen building seven yet which was very concerning. I stopped someone to ask them.
"I'm sorry, I'm new, do you know where building seven is?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, that's just across the parking lot." She says as she points past the cafeteria.
"Oh, thank you so much." I say before rushing to art class.
When I open the door I see a tiny classroom with tables so close to each other that its a miracle two students can fit back to back in the small gap. I walk up the teacher who is standing by her desk and greeting students as they enter the classroom.
"Hello." She greets me happily as I walk up to her.
"I'm new." I inform her, still unsure of what to say.
"Oh, yes, here follow me." She says as she walks across the room. I follow her to her desk, she opens a drawer to a filing cabinet and pulls out a yellow cover sketchbook. She hands me the sketchbook and says, "You can seat at table three, seat three." She points to a table in the of the room.
"Thank you." I smile at her. I find my seat, luckily my back was to the wall and not another student, if I scooted my chair out I wouldn't be pissing someone off.
The teacher talks about our upcoming projects and what our final will be like. She gives out our schedule for the rest of the year and explains how this week will pan out. She finishes speaking right before the bell rings, I notice everyone stuffing their sketchbooks into their backpacks so I do the same.
My next class was history, in room 302. Building three, if I'm remembering correctly, is on the opposite side of campus, meaning I have barely enough time to make it to my next class. I speed walk across the large campus until I see a building with a large number three on the side. I look at the signs above the hallways until I find the one that says "301-305" I enter that hallway and walk down the corridor until I see 302 next to a door, the door was already open so I walked right in, the late bell rang as I entered so I was still on time. I walk to the back of the classroom to the teacher in the back at his desk.
"Yes?" He asks curiously as he looks up at me.
"I'm a new student." I inform awkwardly.
"Oh, right." He says as he looks around at the desk, "Sit in the open seat over there." He directs as he points to the row closest to the wall farthest from the door.
"Thank you." I say as I walk to the front of the classroom and take my seat.
The teacher hands out skeleton notes to the class, we take notes the entire class period, however, the teacher cracks jokes constantly. His jokes were hilarious and he was not a try hard by any means. When the bell rings I pack up my things and exit the classroom as I look down at my schedule.
My next class is gym, which I know is next to building seven. This means I need to walk all the way back across this excessively large campus. I follow the crowd of girls into the locker rooms, I look around until I find the office. I walk into the small room to see an old woman with short hair.
"Hi," I say to get her attention, "I'm, new."
"oh, okay." She says as she opens a drawer, "This is your lock, the combination is on the tape on the bottom, you can pick any locker that isn't already claimed, do you have athletic clothing?" She asks as she looks ay my outfit.
I take the lock from her, "Not with me, no." I answer her question.
"That's okay, we're reviewing the muscular system today so you won't need them, just bring some tomorrow, no tank tops or short shorts and they have to be school colors, gray or black." She informs. So my options are blue, gray, and black, easy.
"Thank you." I say before exiting her office.
I find a large locker underneath an air vent. I put my lock on the locker and figure out how to unlock it, practicing until its time to go to the gym. When I enter the gym I notice the girls from the bathroom at lunchtime. I really hope they don't think less of me because of that, I don't want to ruin my middle school experience.
When the final bell rings I go back to the parking lot where I was dropped off at and wait for Alex or Rian to pick me up. Papa pulls up in his car so I climb in the back and seat my backpack next to me before putting on my seat belt.
"How was school, kiddo?" Papa asks.
"Good." I reply simply. I wasn't lying, I didn't have a bad first day, just didn't do anything exciting.
"You like your teachers?" He asks.
"Yeah, they seem nice." I say, I am thankful that they aren't awful people.