Snippet #1611481

Steven was looking around nervously, trying to spot the office. Surely, kids would be going there, right? I mean, first day of school- kids would need schedules that they lost and there had to be some other new kids and, and... Steven was growing more and more anxious. It was in his personality to fret and worry about insignificant little things. Just about as he was going to pick a random hallway and walk down it, a girl ran into him.

Immediately, she burst into a stream of apologies. She looked flustered, blushing slightly. Steven could say the same of himself.

"Oh, sorry- you okay?" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. The girl was really pretty, with long blond hair and pale grey eyes. For a split second, Steven could imagine drawing her into his graphic novel. He could feel his face flush, embarrassed. Suddenly, a loud bell rang and the already crowded halls grew even more frenzied.

"Bye," she said quietly, before she left, turning to walk down on of the hallways. A few yards away she looked back and smiled, before glancing back at the paper in her hand. Steven supposed it was a schedule.

A schedule!

He tried to remember which way she had come from, guessing that she had been in the school office. He started to walk down the way she had come. He had barely gone three steps before her bumped into another student. He was shorter than Steven and had inky black hair.

"You're a new kid, right? I'm Beau, I'm a Junior," the boy introduced himself.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm the new kid. Steven... is my name," he replied awkwardly. Beau smiled and walked off to who knows where. The good thing was that Steven had spotted Beau exiting from a certain door that read "Main Office". Relief washed over him, and Steven walked through the door happily. He walked up to the counter and asked for a copy of his schedule and a map of the school. A girl standing a little ways a way, and she smiled at him.

"Cool shirt," she said, before walking out the door. Steven's mouth twitched up. So far, so good.

Within a minute, Steven had a map and his schedule. Thank the Lord. He was running a bit late, the halls mostly deserted save for a few stragglers. He had English first. Good way to start the day. Steven loved English. He found his English classroom easily on the first floor. He was the last to walk in.

"Ah, Mister... Adler, I presume? Please take a seat. We were just about to get started." The teacher, Mr. Harold, nodded to an empty seat. At first glance, Steven couldn't help compare him to a sad walrus. He had one of those mustaches, that made it nearly impossible not to compare him to the blubbery animal. However, Mr. Harold was very tall and slim. If he turned to the side, he might have disappeared completely. He stood right up against the blackboard, as if he was afraid of the students in front of him. His droopy, basset hound eyes watched the class anxiously.

"I hope you've all brought your books. Today we're going to start George Orwell's 1984..." Steven grinned. He had read the book in previous years. It was one of those must-reads. He almost opened his mouth to comment on the dystopian genre... but he stopped himself just in time.

NO. I will not be the nerd this year! Steven thought determinedly. So, he spent the class in silence, listening to Mr. Harold's slow, deep voice.
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Hadley didn't really feel all too much like a new kid. This was good. Moving in the middle of the summer did some good. She had met people who attended East Shore, so she wasn't alone entering the huge building...

Not that she was nervous. No, Hadley Darrow was never nervous. Well, at least not anymore. New year, fresh leaf, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Hadley arrived at school around 7:20, carpooling with some friends she had made over the past month and a half.

"Hey, I've got Math first period..." Hadley looked over to Amanda Jenkins, Varsity goalie for the soccer team and recent best friend.

"Your point?" Hadley asked. Amanda made a face.

"I hate math," Amanda grumbled. Hadley laughed.

"Guys, if you just applied yourselves once in a while-" Melanie started. Both Hadley and Amanda just shook their heads.

"Listen, Mel, you've got the smarts here. Panda and I will apply ourselves to other things- like sports and TV marathons," Hadly replied, dodging a smack in the head from Amanda at the nickname. Mel just rolled her eyes. Melanie was a well-rounded person. She played in tennis tournaments on a regular basis and was a soccer striker; not to mention, she was a brilliant student. Hadley met both Amanda and Melanie at a local park. She saw the two kicking around a soccer ball and asked to join in. From there, they just clicked.

The far-away sounding bell rang. Amanda groaned.

"Curse you math, and your goddam numbers...." With that she was off, trudging up the steps of the school. Mel shook Hadley's shoulder.

"I gotta run too. I've got History. Catch ya later, Hadley!" And Melanie was running up the steps too. Hadley sighed. She entered the school with a brief trip through the metal detectors. Checking her schedule, Hadley found her way to Mr. William's Honors Biology class. The only reason she had made it into the Honors class was due to the fact that she had taken Biology as a freshman last year...

Thinking about the previous year sent shivers down Hadley's back. That old dread that was rooted deep inside her found its way to the surface. She could see his evil face, sneering at her. Hadley shook herself. It was over. She had gotten out. Mr. Williams put on a movie about Charles Darwin, and Hadley focused on that. Roughly two minutes after the movie began, a girl entered the classroom. Mr. Williams identified her as Millicent Laurence, to which she corrected him.

"Millie" took the empty seat beside Hadley, and fixed her eyes on the screen at the front of the room. Hadley looked over at her. Blonde, slim... but there was something athletic about her. When you yourself are an athlete, you learn to tell who is and who isn't. This girl possessed that natural grace. Hadley always got along with fellow "jocks", so she nudged Millie with her elbow.

"Hey. I'm Hadley. Nice to meet you," Hadley whispered.