Chapter 2: Kelsey's Point of View

We meet Kelsey, our protagonist. A little boring, but keep reading :)

Chapter 2: Kelsey’s Point of View

 

 “So you’ve never been to public school before?”

I shook my head quickly, while trying to avoid the astonished stare I was getting from Jenny. One of the teachers had chosen her to show me around the school, since she knew the place pretty well. It also didn’t help that she was a sophomore and seemed to be in every school club available.

“Well…why not?” she asked.

I had not expected to hear this question. If anything, it seemed to be the other way around, that private schools were better. What could I say to this? I wasn’t used to the whole “not everyone’s a Christian” concept yet.

 I just smiled. “My parents wanted me to get a good education. Besides, Christian schools give you a tighter group of friends.”

She seemed satisfied with this answer, but moved on to another question. “Didn’t you hate it? My friend went to a Catholic school, and left after the first semester.”

“No, actually I really liked it.” A lot more than this place, at least.

“Well, I guess everyone’s different.” She said finally. “So where should we sit for lunch?”

We were approaching the cafeteria, and already I could tell finding a seat would not be easy. “I don’t really know…this is my first day.”

“So you don’t care where we sit?”

I shook my head. “You know this place better than I do.”

This seemed to please her. “Cool. Follow me then.”

She took me to a table in the back corner of the lunch room, which seemed pretty crowded, but could fit a few more seats. She sat down next to an older looking girl, and turned to me.

“Come on, pull up a seat!”

Hesitantly, I got a chair and pulled it over. Already, Jenny was talking with her friend, and seemed too busy to notice me. I sighed, and opened my lunch.

“Hey, you!”

I looked up quickly and saw a girl staring at me. I pointed to myself. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.” She pointed to a chubby boy with dirty blonde hair that flipped on its ends. “You see this kid over here?”

I nodded uncertainly.

“Do you think he looks weird?”

That’s a weird question. I thought. Do all people here ask awkward questions? Out loud, I replied “I…uh…what?”

She looked annoyed. “This kid. Right here. He looks like an idiot, right?”

I shrugged. “Um…sure. I guess so.”

“Hey!” the boy shouted in an annoyingly loud voice. “I don’t think I like you.”

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “I…Well, I don’t know. I guess I’d have to know him.”

The girl didn’t look amused. “His name is Brent. Trust me, he’s weird. Don’t talk to him.”

“Oh…okay.”

“I’m Emily, by the way.”

I nodded. “I’m Kelsey.”

“Nice to meet you Kelsey. So, are you a freshman?”

I nodded again.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’ve ever seen you here. Well, most of the kids at this table are juniors or seniors. Jenny’s here because she practically runs this school. You can ask us anything about this school, and we can probably help you out.”

“Thanks. Oh, do you know where the gym is?”

She nodded, and put down her sandwich. “It’s right down the hallway, if you take a left from in here. Is that your next hour?”

“Yeah.”

She made a face. “Ugh, gym after lunch. What idiot decided that would work?”

I smiled and continued eating. Emily went back to talking to Brent, and I started feeling lonely again. How am I ever gonna fit in here? I wondered miserably.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

When lunch was over, I grabbed my bag and hurried to gym class. The good thing about having gym right after lunch was that it was close by; too bad my class after gym was across the entire school. I rushed into the gymnasium, hoping we wouldn’t have to change clothes on our first day. There was a sign posted on the door saying, Meet in bleachers. Use other doors.

Other doors? This made me nervous. I wasn’t sure if I should start searching or follow the next person who came to these doors. What if nobody uses these doors though? I thought worriedly. Luckily, someone came by just then. It was two guys who looked my age, one with curly brown hair, and the other with straight blonde hair.

“This door is closed.” I said as they approached. “It says to use the other doors.”

The blonde looked at his friend. “Other doors?”

The other one sighed. “I guess we should go look.”

I followed them slowly, making sure I didn’t make them feel uncomfortable. As we walked, the boy with brown hair turned to me.

“Are you new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

I nodded. “I’m Kelsey. I’ve never been here before, so I’m kinda lost.”

He laughed. “Well, Rick and I don’t know what were doing either. I’m David, by the way.”

We reached the back doors quickly.

“Oh good. I was afraid this was some sort of senior prank or something.” Said David’s friend, who I assumed was Rick. He went in the gym quickly.

David held the door open for me. “Hey, if there’s anything you need, feel free to ask me or Rick for help. First days are never fun, but it’s always better when you have someone there with you.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

We both went in, and luckily we weren’t the last kids to make it. There was a considerable amount of kids waiting, but I noticed a few more coming in occasionally. I sat down on the bleachers as the gym teacher did role call.

I really wish I did have someone to be with today, I thought. Maybe I could just tag along with David and Rick. I watched them talking. I wonder if they’re gay…

It was a weird thought, actually. But really, David seemed to be a clean cut guy, and polite too. Besides, I had always heard that any guy who is good looking and nice is most likely gay.

“Kelsey Shipley.”

I snapped to attention. “Here!”

The teacher continued down the list, and I began feeling embarrassed. Then again, no one here cares for anyone but their self…

Our teacher quickly went into a lecture on what we would need to bring every day, and punishments for those who didn’t follow the rules. Gym class dragged on slowly, until it was time to go to my 6^th hour, English. I rushed out of the gym, realizing my English room was on the complete opposite side of the school.

I reached my class just as the last bell rang. Most of the kids were already sitting, but I was too tired to mind. I sat down in one of the only empty seats, and waited until the teacher began.

“Wow, guys, I am so excited to see you all today!” She smiled and sat on her desk. “So how has everyone’s first day been?”

No one responded.

“Good? Well, I have a feeling that by the end of this year, we’ll all be very close to one another. For those that didn’t know, I’m Mrs. Arnold, your Advanced English teacher. Before we start on our first book, we’ll be spending some class time getting to know each other. So what I’d like you to do is take the interview sheet from the tops of  your desks and get to know the person next to you.”

I pulled the sheet from the top of my desk and turned to my partner. She had straight brown hair that was in a ponytail, and looked nice enough.

I sighed. “Okay. Well, I can start, I guess. I’m Kelsey Shipley.”

She began writing on her paper. “Okay. I’m Emmy Ross.”

I wrote down her name on the first line. “Alright. So, next question. Why did you want to be in this class?”

Emmy began to giggle. “Well…it’s a funny story actually.” She leaned closer, and said quietly, “I’m actually not supposed to be in this class. I was signed up for normal English, but they made a mistake and put me in Advanced.”

I started laughing. “Really?”

She was grinning. “Yeah! I don’t even know what I’m doing in here! My guess is I’ll get flunked by the end of the semester.”

“Well, I’m sure it can’t be that hard.”

She looked unsure. “Well…let’s just say English isn’t my strong subject.” Then she looked at me again. “What about you? Why are you in here?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, actually. I really like writing…and I guess I wanted to try something a little more challenging.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, you’re a writer? So, is this your only advanced class then?”

I blushed. “No. I’m in Advanced Geometry too.”

“What? Seriously?”

I was smiling now. “Well, yeah…two advanced classes isn’t bad.”

“Those are the only two available for freshman!” She was shaking her head as she wrote. “Great, I’m paired up with a genius, of all people.”

“Trust me, I’m far from being a genius.” I assured her.

Instead of responding to that, she changed the subject. “Hey, are you new this year? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I went to a Christian school before this.”

“Ah. Private school…is that why you’re so smart?”

I shrugged, feeling my cheeks growing warm again. “I’m not that smart.”

“So why’d you come here then? Did you move?”

I shook my head. “My parents couldn’t keep paying tuition.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I bet they make you pay so much so they can weed out the normal people and keep all the snobs.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that must be it.”

“So did you have a hard time making friends there? Like, was everyone really rude and stuff?”

“No, not really. We were a small class, so we were all…close to each other. And I went there since preschool, so I guess I’ve never really known what else school can be like.”

“Oh, gotcha.” She tapped her pencil on the table. “But enough about that. Next question. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

I laughed. “Wow, they sure dig deep for a first day interview.” I leaned back in my chair. “In 10 years…I’d like to be done with college and start writing, and hopefully married too. I’m not sure why, but I just like thinking of that time, where you don’t have to worry about school anymore. Just relax and live a perfect life with the perfect guy…and live happily ever after.”

“Oh, you’re the planner type, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, feeling silly. “I guess so. But what about you? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

She looked at the ceiling. “Hm…I haven’t thought about it much. I’d like to become rich, or maybe just marry a rich guy. And I’ve always wanted to travel…maybe go to Europe or something. That’d be cool.”

I wrote that down. “Cool.”

“So, wait, do you know anyone here?”

I shook my head. “Not until today at least. This sophomore named Jenny is showing me around though.”

“Jenny Modano?”

I nodded.

“Oh trust me, you’ll wanna find some new friends. She’s too busy with all her clubs to have a social life. Just leave her while you have the chance.”

“Well I don’t really have anyone else to hang out with…”

“Well, I can help teach you some of the rules of public school in English some time. I’m sure you’ll need a little help with all of this.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

Just then the bell rang, and everyone was leaving. I was still having a hard time getting used to how snappy the schedule was. I just prayed I would never fall asleep in class and miss the bell. As I walked to my locker, my heart soared. My first day in high school was over.