First day of school

Wednesday 3 September 2008

My alarm went off, but Mother came down the hall to fetch us. Jessy prefers an evening shower, so that might free the hall bathroom in the morning. My bathroom is not large, barely big enough for the plain white porcelain stuff in it, but it is right inside my door to the back hall so she tends to use it a lot, like for her makeup in the morning.

I put on my white toille skirt with a brick-red genre print and sleeveless pullover top in the same brick-red color, and then my plain white canvas wedges. Jessy came out of her room in a cute cotton skirt in a yellow-and-white-on-pale-green print and a pale yellow tanktop with a white cotton shirt worn unbuttoned over it. She had on flip-flops but I cautioned her about that. The high school doesn't allow flip-flops. After we had tea she went up and came back down in her natural-colored sandals.

When we stepped out the sun was already hot; it was like 75 degrees at 7.15. That storm is still waiting offshore. Roger was waiting with the dark-green Cadillac. Daddy insisted that we let his driver take us to school this year, so he and/or Mother can take little Lisa in to kindergarten. I predicted it will be only awkward, but my predictions won't sway Daddy. At least Jessy and I are both going to the same school this year so Roger wouldn't have to make two stops.

We both kissed Lisa goodbye and skipped down the steps and said good morning to Roger as we got into the car. Roger is an old friend of Daddy's who has worked as a driver for him since his superstar days. He is trustworthy and conservative-- like anyone else who works for my parents.

At the school there was a crowd of people milling about in the front yard, on the grass, on the pavement, under the portico, you know. Naturally they turned to look as we pulled up in the long Cadillac. It's not very gauche at all, just a 20-inch stretch, just enough to have a rectangular back door, done in a very dark green with subtle navy-blue pinstripes and real wire wheels with wide tires with small white letters and private number plates. It's also not new-- 1981. And of course Roger wears a plain gray business suit and black tie, more understated than a hired chauffeur. So it's definitely not a hired car and I think that impresses people.

Roger left us off at us the kerb where the buses don't go and stopped at the end of the portico. I checked my make-up in the inside mirror before getting out but it was all right. A girl can never be too careful, you know.

This was only the second time Jessy and I have ever been to this building and we were trying very hard not to flinch as a hundred strange people stared at us, not just because we had just got out of a twenty-foot Cadillac but because we were also new to this school and oddly dressed-- I had not seen anyone else in a skirt so far. I heard one or two comments, things like, 'Who is that?' and 'Oh, look, it's Hilary and Haylie.' I got a little red, looked to Jessy, and when she gave a little nod we started up to the building with our notebooks and purses.

I found my homeroom all right, but it's in the science lab. Already I hate this room, which will be full of half-dissected furry creatures, stuck to their boards with pins, and which will smell like people have been tossing cutup cat livers into the dustbins forever. The only thing good about it is that today is the first day of school and there won't be anything like that happening for at least a few weeks.

I'm just glad I had Biology at HOH and won't have to take it here. Unfortunately, Jessy will.

After the Pledge, which I almost had to remember, were the announcements, and then the period was extended to a whole hour so that the freshmen could get all their stuff. It was helpful to me (and Jessy in her homeroom somewhere) too. We filled out forms for school lunch, school insurance, school Internet and school locker assignments. The period was very boring. About half the people talked about their summers and the other half are new and don't know anyone. Next to me is a very quiet slightly-heavy girl in the wrong jeans who's showing too much middle below her top. On the other side are three boys who talked together all period. I sat very still and alone in my seat, keeping my knees together like I was being stared at. Really I think they were all ignoring me. I was glad for the bell.

First period is Geometry. We received our textbooks and a schedule of chapters to be covered and the concepts they will include. Then the teacher put a few examples on the board and assigned the first page, which is some kind of diagnostic, for homework. Homework on the first day! --and this is only first period. What an omen.

Second period is PE. I hate PE... you go to all this trouble making yourself look beautiful and then they make you get all sweaty and then there's no time to do it all over-- not that you even want to anymore without a serious shower. For the first day they just made us sit on the bleachers while they told us what PE uniform to wear and what padlocks to use and what the grading policy will be. It's all based on participation. Last year at HOH there was a girl who claimed she had a health problem and didn't have to participate in PE. She ended up on the Honour Roll. I think I have an health issue too. It's an aversion to putting makeup back on over sweat.

The slightly-heavy girl from homeroom is in my PE class. I saw her talking to someone else, so at least she's not friendless.

Third period is German. Ach, mein Gott! Ich nicht mochte diese Klass! The teacher is 'Ms Heidelbraun' who is obviously MISS Heidelbraun, and for a reason. She is blond, blue-eyed, tall, broad-shouldered, and has a scary ability to become very cold and stern. This woman is a serious throwback to Hitler's 'Ubermann principle'. You feel like giving her the Hitler salute every time she says something. (Where do they get these teachers?) Now that this is German III, so she said, she had each of us introduce ourselves with our full names-- auf Deutsche, naturlich-- and answer whatever she asked. They were not tough questions, of course, but it was surprising how much I can forget over such a short time-- probably mostly because of changing schools. Miss Heidelbraun promised us that most of the instruction would be in German, to get us used to hearing and understanding it, and we would be expected to reply with as much as we could. Was machts Sie mit diese?

'Hallo,' I said, 'ich heisse Janine [and my last name].'

'Vilkommen am Deutsche Drei,' she said. 'Und was hast Sie gehaben, dieser Sommer?'

Of course they looked at me. This was the penalty for anyone who sounded like he or she had any modicum of proficiency in it. 'Ich hab eine suntan gehaben,' I said.

People laughed. 'Vielen gut,' she said, and moved on to some girl called Sarah behind me. Sarah messed up her own name and Miss Heidelbraun laid into her a while trying to drill her back to competency. I'm not sure Sarah ever had any competency to begin with.

Fourth period came; American History II. I like History, and I already like the teacher. He is a published authority on the Holocaust and also Equal Rights, so this promises to be a decent learning experience. While he was handing out textbooks, a guy beside me introduced himself as Barry and asked me if I'd heard of any parties for this weekend yet.

'Um, no,' I said gently. 'I don't know anyone here yet.'

He looked me over. I flinched a little and held my knees together. 'Well, you know me. And you are--?'

'Janine,' I said-- and just then there was a lull so that was all anyone heard.

'Janine,' the teacher said from across the room. 'Welcome to the class.'

People looked at me and laughed. I went red. The bell rang and I got up fast. Barry called to me but I just got out of there.

Thank God Jessy is in my lunch period. We'd agreed to meet up here. She came in nearly late and saw me before I saw her. 'Hey,' she said behind me, and I turned round. Two other sophomore girls had come in with her and she introduced them-- Anna and Josie, both of them in cute little skirts too. As we stood there in the centre of the cafeteria I heard comments-- someone actually said, 'Hey, look-- it's the junior plastics!'

Jessy only smiled. Nothing like that ever bothers her. 'Come on, sit with us. We're sitting with Rita.'

'Rita?' I wondered.

Rita comes with a reputation of being a serious socialite, but she is actually very sweet. She is the first person who actually asked anything about Jessy or me all day, and we sat at the table for the shortened lunch period and were able to tell her and Anna and Josie a little about our old school and how we had come to move here from England. At least I have made some friends, even if they're all sophomores.

Sixth period was Chemistry, which I can handle if I'm up to it. Last year I got a B in Bio, but I hated Bio. Chemistry has labs and all, but basically it's more intellectual than practical and that probably means I'll handle it better. The teacher assigned us seats and I am now seated right next to a really good-looking guy who transferred into the district this year. None of the other girls have said anything to him yet, so I made sure I said hello.

'Hey,' he said, not quite looking at me, and kept his attention on the teacher. The guy was handing out textbooks! --is this more important that a cute chick saying hello?

I watched him trying to push his hair back up on his head-- it kept falling into his eyes, being so long in front, and it looked kind of cute. When he happened to glance at me, I asked him, 'How was your other school?'

'Oh, it was all right,' he said to me. 'Not as good as this one.'

'Why's that?' I asked.

'It's just not that good of a school. Do you like it here?'

I shrugged. 'I guess. I mean, it seems all right. I used to live in Delaware. My stepmother says it's a little harder here than most places.'

Joey nodded. 'It is. That's what I heard.'

The period was short and the bell was about to go off. 'Well,' I said, 'all it takes is actual work, you know.'

He looked at me again. 'That's right.'

Was I correct in assuming that this guy is a science geek-- however cute he is? But how bad could that be? At least I like chemistry-- 'Well,' I said, feeling lost for something to say, 'I'm Janine.'

He nodded, as though he already knew that. 'Joe,' he said; 'well, everyone calls me Joey.'

I smiled. 'Okay, Joey.'

The bell rang. Mission accomplished.

For seventh period I have choir. This is by far my favorite class already. I was in choir at HOH. Of course it's mostly girls, but it's a good group. Two of the guys and about three girls-- including my little sister Jessica-- are apparently are new this year. Our cute young teacher led us in a really quick warm-up, which everyone desperately needed, of course-- it sounded awful. The new boys were given a little audition for parts, which meant they each had to sing alone in front of us all. 'Better get used to it,' someone said, and we all laughed, at the joke of course-- not at the boy. He blushed and sang anyway. --not too badly at that. The other boy was better; he's obviously sung before. Two of the boys got on the percussion after that and started this almost-Jamaican-sounding thing, and some girls started vamping on that, 'Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah,' you know, while the teacher took care of her books and sheet music, till the bell rang.

Jessy and I walked out together. 'So, where are you going now?' I asked her.

She looked again at the paper on top of her notebook. 'Three-oh-six. Math.'

I nodded. 'Algebra sucks. There will always be about three idiots who hold the class back. The best thing is to find someone better than you and work together, like after school or at lunch. And you have to do ALL the homework.'

She nodded, smiling a little to herself. 'I'm sure I'll be all right, Janine.'

I smiled. 'Okay. I have English; it's down this way. See you out front then?'

She nodded eagerly. 'Yes. See you.' And we shared smiles before she went off.

One of the guys from choir came up on my shoulder then. 'Is that your sister?'

I nodded. 'Yes.'

'Oh, I didn't know who she was. She looks like you.'

'It's the hair.'

I smiled. 'It's the hair. And other stuff. What do you have now?'

'English,' I said.

'Yuck. I have gym.'

I laughed. 'Aren't you're going the wrong way for that?'

'I have to go to the locker first. Hey, it's the first day anyway.'

I laughed again.

'Derek!' he yelled loudly up the hallway. I shuddered. Fortunately I had one more hallway to come.

Eleventh-grade English is American literature, beginning with Ann Bradstreet and Phyllis Wheatley and daring to get into the Beat Poets by June. Last year in fifth form I had British lit and would have had the A-level (the British A.P.) class this year. This is supposedly an Honours-level class and already I can see people who don't care or don't know how to pay attention. The teacher handed out the one-and-half-inch-thick textbook and her schedule of chapters to be covered and when we might expect major papers and a term paper. People groaned. Actually I don't mind writing at all, as long as what I'm writing about is worth my time. The teacher talked for the rest of the period about MLA format and Internet plagiarism, and I sat back in the seat and wished I were somewhere else.

When the bell rang I walked out the end of the hallway into the main hall and met up with Jessy. Somehow the guy from choir had made it back from PE and skipped-- literally skipped-- dodging people, going past us on his way to his locker. Apparently he didn't see me. We went on up the main hall looking for people we'd already met to say 'hi' to. There weren't many. While at my locker I saw the slightly-heavy girl with the bare-middle top and I said 'hi' to her. I'm not sure she remembered me from homeroom, but I'll say 'hi' to her tomorrow.

Of course I remembered to take the math book with me. 'Why are you bringing that?' Jessy asked.

'I have homework.'

'Ughh!' she groaned.

'I know, right? So how was it?'

She smiled. 'It was fine. How was yours?'

I held up the math book. 'I have homework,' I said, holding up the book.

'Ughh. So... do you think it would be a problem if I wanted to stay after some days? Anna asked me to work on the wall murals. The class usually gets a late start, so....'

'I really don't care, hun.' Then I saw Joey walking by himself on the other side of the hallway, and before I could catch his attention he turned up the wing and left us. 'I'm sure I can find something to do while I wait,' I said. 'Maybe get a start on our class's....'

As we were going by the 200 wing Rita and Anna met us, with some other girl. Rita leaned right in and said, 'This is Jessy and her sister Janine. Janine, I don't think you know Rachel. She's a friend, a good friend.'

'Hi,' the girl called Rachel said shyly to me.

I was very impressed with Rita's sense of manners-- she's not 'Regina George' at all! She's more like Barbie. Mother would be pleased. I smiled at the girl called Rachel, to be nice. She is very pretty, tall and slender with almost-red hair and a cute powder-blue cotton skirt. 'Hi, Rachel,' I said. 'Are you working on the mural too?'

She nodded. 'She's our class president,' Anna said. 'We elected her last year.' She smiled proudly at her friend and then looked at me again. 'So, it's kind of her project.'

'Cool,' I said.

'Our ride is here,' Jessy said, having looked out the glass doors.

'Um, yes,' I said, and then turned to her. 'Well, we'd better not be late. We'll see you girls tomorrow, okay?'

'Okay,' Anna said, and the shy class president only watched us go then.

Roger stepped out and opened the door as usual. 'Good afternoon, girls,' he said. 'How was the first day?'

I held up the math book. 'Janine has homework,' Jessy told him, and got into the car.

'It's a school thing,' I said, and Roger laughed.

...