New Kid in New Jersey

I woke up to the sound of my mother's voice, calling to me from downstairs. I squinted at the small clock next to me. Seven in the morning. Why the hell was I being woken up at seven o'clock in the morning? And then I remembered. High school.

I swore under my breath and slowly rolled over, falling out of my bed and onto the floor with a blunt thumping sound. I sighed, and rubbing my eyes wearily, I stood up and sat on the edge of my bed, sitting quietly for a few minutes, wondering what to do with myself, yawning every once in a while.

"Frank! Time to get up, Honey!" My mom called.

Well, I guess I should be attempting to get myself looking presentable, at least. I picked up a box of clothes from the floor, and turned it upside down, emptying the contents onto the floor.

Fishing around in the messy pile, I found a Black Flag T-shirt and my favourite pair of black jeans. I picked my black eyeliner pencil up from the floor, and grabbing my studded belt from the door handle where it was hanging, I went into the bathroom to get dressed - I had this thing about getting changed in front of my posters.

I slipped my T-shirt over my head and, with difficulty, I pulled on my jeans (they were getting rather small). I slid my belt through the loops on my jeans and stared into the bathroom mirror. I drew thin black lines under my eyes and grabbed a comb, styling my black and red hair exactly as I liked it: all over the place. Ruffling it up slightly at the back, I made my way back into my bedroom and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Hmm. I grabbed a black, short-sleeved shirt off from the floor, and threw it on over my tee. Better. I grabbed my black Misfits bag by the door and began to scoop some stuff from off the floor to take to school: my cell, iPod and eyeliner. I didn't really need anything else.

Dragging my bag down the stairs behind me, I went into the hall downstairs and dropped my bag down next to the door. I made my way into the kitchen to have breakfast. Mom was leaning against the counter holding a slice of toast when I came in. She greeted me cheerfully as I opened the fridge in search of something to eat. I looked at the toast in my mom's hand, and decided to make myself a slice aswell.

I sat myself down at the table, and sat there, munching on my warm buttered toast.

"I’ve left you twenty dollars on the counter for your lunch, Frank." Mom said, coming to sit down next to me. "You know where you're going, don’t you? It’s not far; we saw your school when we were driving through Jersey. It was on the way to our house, remember?"

"Yeah, I think so." I muttered, finishing off my toast and licking my fingers. I was a bit unsure of the way to my school, but I had a basic idea. I really, really didn’t want to go today. I’ve always hated school; I doubt this one will be any better.

"You’ll be fine, Frankie. I’m sure you’ll make lots of friends. Don’t worry, everyone gets scared on their first day." She told me, sensing the worry in my voice. She followed me out into the hall.
"I know, Mom. Are you sure, though? I mean, it’s not exactly the best school in Jersey…" I said, swinging my bag over my shoulder and grabbing my hoodie from the wooden banister. I stowed the twenty dollars safely away in my bag.

"Come on, Frank, like I said: you’ll be fine. You’re sixteen years old." She said in a positive voice. She opened the front door for me and gave me a warm hug. "I love you, Frankie. Have a lovely day."

"Love you too, Mom. See you after school." I waved, stepping outside.
I watched my mom close the big red door, before setting off along the grey sidewalk towards my new school.