| |
On Monday morning, my first day in American high school, I started to get more nervous by the minute. I really didn’t want to return to high school. Especially not since I would be the only new person in the school district. I spent the whole night finding an appropriate outfit to wear. In the end, I decided on jeans and a dark green sweater from H&M.
I felt like a real teenager when I stood there with my packed backpack, and Melissa handed me a brown bag with an apple that I wouldn’t eat. Luke and she both gave me a hug and wished me a good day.
I took a deep breath and biked off to Orleans High School. Unlike everybody else, I neither took the school bus nor did I drive my own car. The bus would have had to change its route and I would have been the only over sixteen-year-old loser. About the driving, first of all, I hadn’t learned how to drive. Secondly, a car would be too much an unnecessary imposition on the environment.
When I got closer, I saw hordes of teenagers walking around in packs and a big parking lot with yellow school buses and other cars. Their hearts sounded like a strong summer storm. I grew more and more nervous. So far, I was able to control myself. What if these kids were really mean and would make me angry? It didn’t help that I didn’t have any idea where I should park my bicycle. So, I was on the lookout for that while trying not to notice all the confused and curious glances. Their open stares followed me as if they were attached to the girl on the bike. I didn’t realize that riding the school bus would have made me less of an exotic species than riding the bike.
On the right side of the school was a big sports field. Next to that I saw something like a shed that looked like the place to park my bike. After I had locked it up, I made my way toward the entrance. I wished that I would know one friendly face in order not to feel so alone. But they all just watched and whispered. Too bad, I didn’t have sensitive hearing. I would have loved to know what they were saying. Generally, from the look on their faces, I could tell that the boys were happier to see me than the girls. The way their brows furrowed and how they’d suddenly whispered to whoever was next to them, it was clear that many marked me as some kind of rival right away.
I made it to the attendance office, as Luke had told me to and announced my arrival. The front desk lady kindly led the way to the principal’s office. The bell rang, and kids were streaming through the hallways. The woman pointed to a row of chairs in a room between the hallway and the principal’s office. There was a beeping sound and then a female voice announced that the SADD club would meet at 4 pm in the auditorium. Then, everybody had to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I heard chairs being pushed around and then the murmur of the students covered their heartbeats. That was the first time I heard the pledge. Afterward, the door opened, and a woman in a smart business outfit stepped out. She was probably in her early fifties and had shoulder-long light blond hair.
“Hello, you must be Nathalie,” She took a step toward me. For a second, I had to remind myself again that yes, I was Nathalie. “Come in.”
I got up and shook her hand as I walked past her.
“I’m Mrs. Stevenson. If you have any questions or problems in finding your way around here, don’t hesitate to knock on my door. It must be hard for you to transfer so late in your education, but there are nice kids in this school. I’m sure you will find friends very easily.” Again, I was pointed to a chair.
“I hope so.” I nodded and sat down. There wasn’t a lot of space and what was available was filled up with the desk and a big cupboard. On the desk were a few piles of papers, a cup with pens, a stapler, and a small cactus.
“Are you happy with your schedule?” Mrs. Stevenson asked.
“Yes, I think so.”
“And you don’t need a parking space or anything else?”
“No, I received a locker, and I will bike to school.” I already felt like a freak.
“How admirable, that must be at least three miles,” She observed.
I shrugged, “I like to be outdoors.”
“Perhaps you can join an after-school club. A sport or maybe the interact club.” She paused for a split second, while her clear blue eyes rested on me, “or cheerleading, with your figure.”
“I’m really bad at dancing.” That was the unfortunate truth.
“I am proud to say that ninety percent of our students are in an after-school club. it would be nice to see you in one of them as well.” Clearly, this was an order.
I swallowed. Somebody else who expected something from me without even knowing me. I pursed my lips and reciprocated her stare.
Her nose twitched. “Well, I hope you will settle here ok.” She placed her hands flat on the desk. “What is your first class?”
I glanced at my schedule again, which I was still holding in my hands. “English with Mrs. Holdings,” I read.
“That’s almost at the other end of the school. Let me guide you there. It’s probably good if your start doesn’t get delayed any further.” She got up, and I followed her. We walked past a glass cupboard with trophies and many closed red doors. A few posters cheering for school sports teams decorated the walls. Mrs. Stevenson walked at a fast pace, so I had to concentrate on keeping up with her but not accidentally dart away. This was quite challenging. I still never entirely felt how fast my movements would be until I walked a few steps. Running away was much easier.
Due to the concert of the heartbeats, it was like walking through rain without getting wet. It calmed me somewhat that none of them attracted me in a particular way.
There was an occasional movement of a chair, some laughter in a different classroom and finally, we came to a halt in front of a closed door. I heard a woman talking in a teacher’s voice; you know, slow and clear that even the last idiot would understand it.
Mrs. Stevenson knocked and then opened the door. Eighteen pairs of eyes were drawn to the opened door and looked right past the principal toward me. I gulped, so much for an unnoticed entrance.
“This is Nathalie Belkin. She transferred here from boarding school in Germany and will stay with us for the rest of 11th and 12th grade. Help her get comfortable here.” She smiled at the class and at the teacher and finally gave an encouraging nod in my direction. I tightened my grip on my backpack strap and strode past her into the classroom. There only was one free desk in the back row next to the window. On my way there, two guys nodded at me, but I kept my glance straight. Something interesting happened. Eleven heartbeats continued in the same manner they had been thudding before. Seven heartbeats suddenly quickened. As I glanced around, I noticed that there were seven boys in the class. I exhaled the breath that I had been unconsciously holding. I faced Mrs. Holdings, trying to ignore the clandestine glances from everybody else.
“Well, Nathalie, welcome to our class. You should come talk to me in a free minute to see what you have covered so far and what gaps may need to be filled. We’re covering reported speech at the moment.” She pointed to the blackboard that was filled with words in chalk. “Can you tell the class anything about you, so that we know a little about who you are?”
My eyes widened, while I was trying to come up with something to say. Now, everybody was openly piercing me with their stare again. One of the girls who had been looking at me rather skeptically chuckled.
“I don’t know. I’m seven- I’m sixteen.” That was close. “I like to read.” I thought that if I said that, I surely wouldn’t make any friends which was fine with me. Actually, I still couldn’t believe I was sitting in one of these small high school chairs again. I threw a glance at the clock and hoped that the year would go by, fast.
A few students whispered to each other, and Mrs. Holdings tried to drown them. “Then you should have no problems with this class.” She smiled. “Anything else?”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head.
“Let’s move on then.” She walked back to the board. I took out a folder and labeled it with English. Then I let my gaze wander across the windows. I saw right to the football field. Then, my mind started re-evaluating the pros and cons of my new life. Being pretty, living at the beach, being able to run around the world made it to the pro side. Being away from home, missing my family, missing my friends and having to be back in high school definitely made it on the con side.
The bell rang and I got up to follow the other students that were already storming to the door. Others were hanging back, taking it slow while packing their bag, talking to their friends.
A slim girl in a cheerleading outfit stepped into my path, and I had to stop walking. The red lipstick on her face was very prominent. She had a good figure and a good-looking hairdo, but her firm posture and the strict glance made her seem a bit too strained. One hand was placed on her hip, and that pose alone let me know that she was someone I had better not have as an enemy.
“Hi, I’m Belinda, and this is Courtney.” She pointed to another cheerleader who was standing behind her like a faithful dog. Her bossy voice went well with her body language. “I’m the head cheerleader, and I see that we are in the same English class.” Very observant, I thought. “Have you ever done cheerleading before, Nathalie?”
“No, I’m actually pretty bad at gymnastics.”
Her shoulders lowered a little as if she had been tensed up before. “Okay, well, you have the body for it but to be doing it at our level, it demands a lot of training. That certainly isn’t for everybody and our squad is full for this year anyway.” They both gave me a smug look. Did they see me as a threat or were they always so stand-offish?
“I prefer spending my free time with cute guys instead of working my butt off.” Belinda flinched slightly, and Courtney was left open-mouthed. I’d never have dared to say something like that as Serena. It used to be way too important to me, what other people thought. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to my next class now.” I strode past them.
“Hey.” Somebody called out and kind of bumped into me from the back, when I was already out in the hallway.
I turned to find a boy walking next to me. He was about two inches shorter than me, had a mess of blond hair and was carrying a huge backpack. “You’re from Germany? My grandfather is from there too. Wie geht’s?” He eagerly looked at me.
I was so surprised that anybody would speak German here, that I answered politer than I had intended to. “Gut, danke.” I smiled. “You speak German?” So much for trying to keep my distance.
“Only small talk,” He pulled his backpack higher. “I’m Sam by the way.”
“I’m Nathalie.” There, I said it.
“Nice meeting you, girl on the bike. What’s your next class?”
“Economics with Mr. Parrot.” He must hear a lot of jokes because of his name. Some names are not practical if you are a teacher.
“He is cool. Likes to digress, though. I got physics.” He shrugged as if he needed to apologize that we weren’t in the same class. “Do you know where you have to go?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“Go straight and then the second door to the left at the end of the floor.”
“Okay, thanks, Sam,” I smiled. “See you later.”
“Yes, later.” He waved and turned into another hallway.
While I followed his directions, I was aware again of people looking at me and whispering. They weren’t even hiding it. That was too weird. I kind of preferred being a wallflower. The conversation with Sam before had been nice, though.
Economics was an interesting subject. Something I could use in real life, and Mr. Parrot was quite entertaining. His simple blue jeans and black shirt didn’t indicate anything about his name, though. The rest of my classes were okay too. Most of them interested me, and I realized that I still liked learning something. If only there weren’t all these other kids. Several times that day, I thought that something must be wrong with me. Perhaps, I had something weird in my face. There were boys just looking at me with their mouths open. Mostly, the older ones; the younger ones luckily seemed immune to my Siren aura. Already, I was earning evil looks from jealous girlfriends. I pulled up my hoodie and hoped that hiding behind that would somehow take away the fascination they had in me. During lunch, I went to the cafeteria, like everybody else. We weren’t allowed to leave the school grounds. The most fun time for the other students would be the hour that posed most problems for me. I had to pretend to eat something. I sat down at a table with a few freshmen. At least, I guessed as much because of their size. They were too engrossed in a conversation about a concert to even notice me. I let my gaze wander and saw some cheerleaders talking to guys who looked quite sporty as well. They were all busy looking great to pay any attention to me now. There was one guy my eyes lingered on for a moment longer. He was very tall and had a natural smirk on his face. It indicated that with him, there was always something to laugh about. Right as I wanted to open the packet of chips I had bought but would later throw out anyway, Sam came over.
“Hey, you shouldn’t have to sit here so alone. You can join us if you want.” He pointed to a table with a guy dressed all in black, with black dyed hair, wearing huge headphones. His clothes hung loosely on his skinny body. Next to him sat a girl in colorful, bright clothes, with red dyed hair, wearing a hat.
“Okay, thanks.” I followed him.
“Guys, this is Nathalie.” He presented me.
“Hey, I’m Phe.” The girl waved and then turned her head to the guy in black.
“And this is Joe,” Sam said. Joe didn’t take off his headphones, but at least he acknowledged me with a small hand movement. “He doesn’t talk much, but he is fun to hang out with anyway. How was your day so far?” Sam asked.
“Alright. I feel a bit lost sometimes. There are so many new faces.”
“I can imagine,” he said.
“So, what year are you in?” I asked because I didn’t know what else to say.
“Seniors, we are all in this together,” He laughed. “You’re a junior?”
“Yes.” I couldn’t suppress a frown.
“We might have some classes together anyway. What do you have after lunch?”
“French II and then painting.”
“Cool, we’re in the same French class then, and you have painting with Phe.”
“Cool,” I responded.
“You like arts as well?” Phe asked.
“Yes, as a hobby. I like to doodle around when I am bored.”
“Phe here will be a big artist one day.” Sam put a spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth.
“I like to paint, that’s all,” She rolled her eyes.
“Always so modest, our Phe. She has to show her portfolio to a few art colleges in Boston next week, and I am convinced that all of them will take her.”
“Cool,” I said again. Somehow, being back at school made my head run out of decent vocabulary. “What is your plan?” I looked at Sam.
“Computer science. I’m pretty good with that.”
“Good, I know who to call then, when my computer breaks down,” I said.
“He is being modest, too. He probably already has letters from MIT at home in which they ask him to come study with them.”
“I wish.” He sighed. “What’s on your list?”
“Psychology, I guess.”
“That’s always useful,” Sam answered.
Since Joe was finished with his plate, I held my small packet of chips toward him. He grabbed a handful and mumbled thanks. “Are the chips your lunch? I would drop dead by next period if I couldn’t eat now.” Phe exclaimed.
“My mom makes me eat a big breakfast, and then I eat some snacks in between classes. Therefore, I ‘m just not hungry around lunchtime,” I lied.
“I should try to skip lunch, too, if that would make my body look like yours.” I didn’t know why she said that. Phe had nothing to complain about. She looked exactly right and healthy. If she weren’t dressed in these colorful clothes and she wore contacts, I would mistake her for a cheerleader. Except that she wouldn’t have to put an effort into her beauty.
“Why would you say that? And, I’m trying not to lose weight. Otherwise, I’d have to eat an apple or a carrot instead of chips, wouldn’t I?” I also handed her the chips, and she reluctantly took a few. At the same time, Joe took out a binder and started doing what looked like chem homework.
“Besides, Joe is the one who it wouldn’t hurt to gain a few pounds,” I said.
“Yeah, I don’t know how he does it. He eats like a wolf but just keeps getting taller and taller. One day that will stop, my dear.” She poked him in the stomach. He grimaced at her and then concentrated back on his homework.
“He is a nerd and always does his homework at school already. He never has any work at home. He is nice enough to let us copy it, though,” Sam said.
“That’s practical,” I smirked. “So, are you in any after school clubs?” I asked.
“Phe is in the art club of course, and I am in steel drum, but that doesn’t start until November. Joe is lazy. He usually goes home to eat more food or sleep,” Sam laughed. “Were you thinking about joining anything?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet. I also would like to earn some money and have a job,” I said. I hated to be so dependent on Melissa’s and Luke’s hospitality. So far, they had been paying for everything.
“I help out at CVS in the photo section twice a week. Most stores in town employ juniors and seniors. You have to go and ask,” Sam advised me.
“Good, I’ll look into that,” I answered.
“I work in The Land of Milk and Honey. We sell 127 different products made of honey, or that evolve around the topic of honey,” Phe said enthusiastically. “I used to love honey, and now I think I will be forever allergic to it,” She groaned. “But you should try the lip balm; it’s delicious.” She added.
“Okay, sounds good. I like honey, too,” I smiled.
The bell rang, and the noise level was taken up another notch. Chairs were being pushed around and the students exchanged the last words with their friends before heading to class. This time, it was easy to find the right room, as I could follow Sam. By now, I did not feel so new anymore, but the teacher thought it was my first class and made me introduce myself once more.
After class, Sam came to my desk.
“Your French sounds so... French. I didn’t know it was possible to speak this language until now.” He said in bewilderment.
“Well, France is right next to Germany. I guess it’s easier to pick it up when you are so close. My problem is math.” After my first ever math lesson in English, I had to say that numbers sounded even more complicated in a foreign language. “I might have to use Joe as a homework ticket. There are too many letters and not enough numbers in these problems.”
“I can try to explain it to you sometime if you want.”
“I’m never going to need this kind of math anyway. So, what’s the point?” I couldn’t believe I had to go through that again. “But in case you need help with French, I could also try to help you.”
“Nah, same here, I took it because I had to take a foreign language.”
We walked to the door, where Phe and Joe were waiting.
“See you later, Phe,” Sam said. “And you maybe, too. Otherwise, mañana.” He tipped his head like a pilot.
“Later,” Joe waved and walked off as well.
I followed Phe to art class. It was organized like an atelier. Everybody was working on a topic the teacher had suggested, but they were quite free in their interpretation. Plus, they had heaps of fun material to work with. It looked as if everybody was really talented. The atmosphere was very agreeable, and I felt like I fitted in well. This would undoubtedly be my favorite class. I even figured out what “Phe” stands for since Phe answered when the teacher called Felicia. Nice name, I automatically assumed that her name was Phoeboe. That lesson was over in a heartbeat. While we were washing the brushes at the sink, Phe asked me whether I also wanted to help her with her portfolio.
“I have to do one plastic artifact, and I choose to tape a body with duct tape, so I will have a human-sized sculpture.”
I couldn’t really imagine how that would look like. Or how long the sculpture could remain intact if somebody was taped up. But it sounded interesting.
“Yes, that would be awesome,” I said a bit overly excited. I indeed was happy that I wouldn’t have to spend all afternoon and all night alone. Days are so long if you don’t sleep at night, but everybody else does.
“We’re going to Joe’s house since he lives the closest to the school and he is the model. I just have to go to my locker.”
I accompanied her to her locker, where she dropped most of her books inside. A quick stop at my locker let me know that I would have to buy a lock. I decided to take my books home since I might just as well do the homework. I would have enough free time anyway.
We met the others in front of the school.
“Oh, you’re coming, too?” Sam greeted me.
“Yes, the project sounds interesting.”
“Did you come by car?” Phe asked.
“No, actually, I parked my bicycle over there.” Reluctantly, I pointed to the shelter.
“I figured that this must have been you. I heard people talking about the girl on the bike this morning,” She laughed.
“I can’t drive, but I didn’t want to come by school bus.”
“You can’t drive? I know how to, but my parents won’t allow me to drive on my own until I’m eighteen,” Sam frowned. “Another half year. Luckily, Phe lives in the same direction as me, and I can ride with her.”
“I can’t be that mean and make him go on the bus with the elementary school kids. He’d end up being deaf. And then, he’d have to stop playing steel drum.”
“Yeah, terrible, terrible fate.” He shook his head.
“Usually, we take the car to Joe’s house, but we can walk today so that you know where it is. It’s only a five-minute walk anyway.”
We passed a playground and a few small houses. A car slowed down, and out of the window a guy yelled: “Bye losers!” I still heard him laughing when the tires screeched, and they drove off.
My companions shook their heads in annoyance.
“That was Timothy.” Phe rolled her eyes. “I kissed him in sixth grade. Now he and his friends think they are something better because they win medals for our school with the sports they do.”
“You will soon see that there are the typical divisions at our school,” Sam shrugged.
Then, we already stopped in front of a house.
“My modest home.” That was the first real phrase I heard Joe say. We entered, and they all got comfortable in the kitchen. Soon, they took the ice cream out of the fridge, and put four bowls on the table.
“Uh, not for me please.” I rejected.
“What! You can’t still be hungry,” Phe exclaimed.
“I’m lactose intolerant,” I pulled my mouth into a frown. “You know I get blown up like a balloon.” I formed a circle over my belly. I have noticed that if you talk about uncomfortable things, people let you off the hook more quickly.
“Oh no, is there anything else you can’t eat?” Phe asked.
“Sometimes, I feel like there is hardly anything I can eat.” I sighed.
“That must suck! I love food.”
I used to love it too. Now, I never feel hungry enough to take a bite of something.
“Would you like anything else?” Joe asked.
“No, I’m good for now, thanks.”
They ate their ice cream but then, we went straight to work. Joe kneeled on a blanket on the ground and threw his arms in the air, like a soccer player who had made a goal. The task was to wrap him with tape and cut him out of it and then tape once more over the cut, to make the form stable. In the end, there should be a statue in the posture of that soccer player. When Phe was working at Joe’s lower body, two heartbeats in the room started quickening. I saw that Phe was carefully applying the tape on the inside of the top most part of Joe’s thighs. He was staring highly focused on the opposite wall. I smiled to myself. There was a little romance going on, but they weren’t aware of it yet. When his whole lower body was covered with tape, Joe looked like he was wearing a see-through diaper.
“I might get some muscles thanks to this,” Joe said strained. “My stomach is shaking already.”
“Well, if you get a six pack out of this, you can thank me,” Phe responded. “Besides, tomorrow is the last time you have to play model.” Phe leaned back into the chair at the desk. “The only parts that are missing now are the upper body and head.”
“How can you guarantee that you won’t cut my hair?”
“See, I have thought of that too. You wear a shower cap.”
“They should also let me into the art school. I did at least as much of the work as you.”
“That would be great, then, you’d be forced to touch colors,” Sam laughed.
We went into the kitchen where we were all handed a glass of ice tea. I sipped at it and then dumped parts of it in the orchid next to the table, whenever nobody was looking. I hoped it wouldn’t kill the beautiful flower. They were talking about so many different things, it was hard to keep up with them, so I mostly listened. I was surprised when all of a sudden, a question was addressed to me again.
“So, are you coming again tomorrow, Nathalie?” Sam asked.
“If I may? This is fun.”
“Sure! The more hands we have, the quicker we finish,” Phe answered.
Soon after that, we said goodbye to Joe and then walked back to the school. There still were a few girls playing field hockey.
Phe looked at the school building and sighed. “I can’t wait to leave this place. I have been in this freaking small town for way too long.”
“Only a few months more, my dear,” Sam said. “But you will miss it anyway.”
“No, I won’t.” She boxed him in his arm. “What do you think, Nathalie?”
“Honestly, I didn’t want to come here.”
“I don’t blame you,” She said.
“But I am positively surprised that there are some normal people to talk to here.” I grinned at them.
“Aw, thanks, girl,” Sam grinned back.
They accompanied me to my bike, where we said goodbye, too, and then I started cycling back to the house. I shook my head at the thought that I had already met such nice people. Returning to school the next day wouldn’t be so bad after all.