Chapter One - Reintroduced

Sebastian arrives at school for the first day, when he comes across an "old friend."

It was the first day of school. Was there any other way to put it? Everybody thinks that first days of school are the worst for the so called "new kid," but I was ready to put that idea to shame. At my old school in New York, I wasn't the most popular, but I knew my way around and how to get to some of the more "important" events you could say. Santa Monica couldn't be that much more different.

I stood in front of my closet and studied all the possible choices. First impressions are the most important, after all, and I didn't want to make myself look like a pig, or come off as a flamboyant fashion snob. I observed for fifteen minutes before coming to the conclusion that I was over-thinking the whole situation and grabbing a decent pair of jeans and a white button shirt with a black tie.

Picking up my backpack off the bed, I headed for the kitchen, which turned out to be a bad idea however as I began having another debate with myself. It ended quickly due to the fact that I was overcome with paranoia about the possibility of getting food stuck in between my teeth and going around talking to people.

I dashed out the door over to my car, unlocked it, and stuffed my backpack into the backseat. Putting the car in reverse, I pulled out of my house, and speedily drove off to school.

'There it is,' I thought to myself. It was nothing like Barthelemy Preparatory Academy back in New York, but it would do. After parking in a spot I was assigned at orientation, I crept out of my car to find people standing all over the campus. There were some standing in groups conversing among one another, and others by themselves reading books or playing with their phones, something I was guilty of doing when I was left alone with nobody else. I didn't want to be that person, however, and I kept thinking, 'who will I eat lunch with if I don't meet somebody before that time of the day?' The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me, so I was glad to hear the bell ring for first period only around two minutes after I had arrived.

The interior of the school was quite nice in contrast to its slightly dated exterior. As I walked to pick up my schedule, I took in my surroundings and found it to be a very positive place. There seemed to be something everywhere, from murals painted across the walls by previous graduating classes to awards for various achievements. Arriving at the gym, tables were set up along the wall with posters containing letters to represent student's last names taped behind them. Teachers stood by the tables waiting to assist students who may have run into any trouble. I walked over to the "C" table and began flipping through to find my schedule, which did not take much time to find. I reached for my back only to realize I had forgotten my backpack in the car.

'Jeez, here's mistake number one for the day,' I thought already stressed that the day had begun in such a manner. I figured that I wouldn't need my backpack anyway, so I just headed for my first class, which happened to be English.

Looking up from my map as I walked to English, I realized just how big the school really was. Passing periods were seven minutes long, but it seemed as though my class was miles and miles away as I felt like I was practically running to my first period. When I finally got there, my English teacher stood by the door. She wasn't the most professional looking, wearing a red skirt with a gray blazer that seemed to be missing a button at the bottom. Her hair was tied into a rather sloppy bun and her horn-rimmed glasses sat at the tip of her nose, something that seemed to irk me much more than usual due to its combination with the rest of her outfit.

"Sebastian Chevelier?" she asked with a taciturn demeanor. I could already tell this was going to be a monotonous class I would want to get the heck out of as soon as I got in.

"That's you correct?" she questioned looking down at her clipboard.

"Yes ma'am," I replied politely.

"Nice to have you here," she said not even looking up from the clipboard. I just wanted to snatch that thing out of her hands and smack her up side of the head a couple of times, but nevertheless, this was not an opportunity to make a complete fool of myself on the first day of school.

"Thanks," I reluctantly said making my way into the classroom and picking a seat towards the back. I never did like the seats in the front as they felt quite intimidating, and it seemed like those who sat in them were always the first people to get called on for a question. Just then, the bell rang, and Miss "What's-her-face" slammed the door shut keeping any tardy students from coming in unauthorized. I looked across the classroom to find a couple of desks empty, then turned my head over to the door to find some students constantly knocking on the door awaiting entry. I could already tell this lady meant business.

She walked over to the board, and wrote her name in big capital letters with a worn out Expo marker: MISS BANISZEWSKI. With a last name nobody could really pronounce, it's no wonder she feels miserable about her job.

"Welcome to Renald Heights, students. I will be your English teacher for the rest of the year." The class remained quiet as she stumbled over to her desk. "I realize you are all what, juniors now? However I still have deep curiosity for what your long term goals are, so here is your first assignment..."

The class let out a deep sigh before she could finish her sentence. "Oh, come on, you're not in middle school anymore! What did you guys expect?" The class grew quiet again.

"Anyways, I want you all to write two pages detailing your plans for what you plan to do after you graduate. You may continue working for the rest of the period, and it is due tomorrow."
A guy sitting by the window raised his hand. "What if we don't have any pencil or paper?" I silently chuckled to myself knowing that I happened to be in the same boat as him.

She glared over at him from her desk. "If you are not prepared for the first day of school or your first assignment, how will you be prepared for life!?"

Everybody began looking at each other. I figured that wasn't a very good question to ask her, and that is an understatement. She then began making her way over to the door to presumably lecture the late students. I decided this would be a good moment to ask the guy in front of me for paper and pencil. Tapping on his shoulder, he glanced before turning his body to the side. "Yeah?"

At that very moment, my heart stopped beating, and I held my breath for what seemed like forever. It was Damien.

Reviews

[PossiblyAlice]

This is really good, it made me want to keep reading :)