Please Don't Cross Me, I Asked Nicely

“There's no way Mrs. Thorne was serious about the five minutes thing, right?” Mel asked nervously as we speed-walked down the steps.

“Yeah. She was serious. If you receive a tardy, then you can only receive two more the entire school year. Didn't you read the conduct book?” I asked breathlessly.

We reached the second floor, working our way to the first. There were a LOT more students, all scattered in different places. I shook my head as I watched some not even budge from the staircase as they goofed off. It happened every year.

“What happens after you receive three tardies?” Nick asked as we reached the first floor.

“Well”, I began, taking a quick breath, but not slowing my pace, “you receive a detention. If you're late again after you have that detention, then you're put on academic probation. You must have at least a C in every class by the end of the year. Now, if you're tardy for a fifth time, you'll receive three detentions and, as a result, must request make-up work since those detentions will be ISSP, in school suspension. You'll be in ISSP all day and you'll only report to lunch out of the entire day”, I explained.

“Are you serious?” Mel asked.

We got close to the A building, so we slowed down some.

“Yeah. Education is very important since this boarding school is the best in the country. They strive to stay number one and have maintained that title for over 20 years”, I replied.

Nick checked the time on his Rolex.

“It's 7:50”, he said.

“Damn”, I mumbled.

There were 7 lines. 7 tables each with two people at the tables. The first two tables had last names ending with A-G, then H-N with a table in between with two computers and printers, followed by two more tables that had O-U, then V-Z, and finally two tables, each with 2 computers and printers.

There were 2-5 people in each line except for the ones with the computers. I walked to the second computer table that was in between H-N and O-U.

“Hi. Name, please”, a woman with blue eyes, flowing blonde hair and red lipstick said kindly.

“Rosalina Sanchez”, I replied.

I coaxed the other two to go to the first computer table.

“OK. Here you are, Ms. Sanchez”, she replied.

“Thank you”, I said just as kindly, receiving the white paper from her.

“That was fast”, Nick said, meeting up with me as I walked away from the lines. Mel soon followed.

“OK. Go!” she said.

She and I put our papers down, low enough for us to see and compared schedules.

Mel's schedule read:

Semester(s)/Quarter(s) 1 & 2 Room

Period 1 Chemistry I S100
Period 2 English III E106
Period 3 Algebra II M104
Period 4 A.P. Psychology S107

My schedule was similar to Mel's, except I had Earth/Space Science in room S111.

“Damn. I was hoping we'd have exactly the same classes”, she whispered.

“It's OK, Mel. At least we have 2nd -4th period together”, I replied.

Mel scoffed.

“So, what about your schedule, Nick?” she asked.

Nick had been watching us and apparently went into a daze. He blinked a couple of times, looking at Mel first, then me before responding.

“It's the same as Rose's schedule”, he answered casually.

Mel gasped.

“Oh, you're lying!” she exclaimed, taking the paper from him, then mine.

“You're so ly- Oh, he's not”, she said in a slightly surprised tone.

“OK, so where do we go?” Nick asked, ignoring her.

“Well, our first class is on the third floor”, I began, “and Mel's is on the same, so, that's a good thing.”

Mel nodded, handing us back our schedules.

I rolled my eyes.

“Time?” I asked.

“It's currently.. 7:55”, Nick answered.

“We should-”, Mel began, but I cut across her.

“Yeah.”

We sped-walked up the stairs to the 3rd floor, breathing a little heavily as our feet touched the shiny, white, tile floor.

There were 6 classrooms on each side, separated by light, beige lockers. Room S100 began on the left side, while room S101 began the right side. Nick and I's class was at the end of the hall, while Mel's was right there.

I scoffed. She, however, stood rooted to the spot.

“Go, Mel”, I coaxed in a whisper.

She looked like she was going to be sick. I shrugged, going down the hallway, knowing she'd snap out of it in a matter of seconds. Nick followed me down the empty hallway.

We made it to our classroom, me breathing deeply as Nick opened the door and we entered.

There were a total of 24 desks and 12 tables. Each table had two stools for only two students to sit per table. My eyes quickly scanned the room for any empty seats. Our teacher cleared their throat. She was a female. The nameplate MRS.GLOVER was on her desk which was very organized. She was black and as short as me. She wore grey dress pants with a white dress shirt underneath her grey matching jacket. I smiled. She had to be around 40 at least.

“Go on. Take a seat”, she said with a chuckle.

Nick found a seat in the 3rd row, third seat, while I sat parallel to his seat in the 4th row. Almost all of the other seats were taken.

The bell rung, signaling that it was 8 o' clock. I sighed quietly with relief.

“OK. First of all, I hate the introductory crap that some teachers do, but you all are Juniors, so you shouldn't have to do it, so I won't ask you to. My name is Mrs. Glover. I've taught at this school for ten years, but I've been teaching this subject for 20. So, I'm going to call roll and you may respond by saying present or here, or simply by raising your hand, OK?” she asked.

Some of the other students laughed lightly. I sighed, feeling a little bored, the routine being too familiar to me.

After she called attendance, she talked to us some more.

“Many of you are returning students, while some of you are not. Now, with that being said, I must explain what's going to happen this period. At 8:30, we're going to head to the F building, as a class, and you'll receive your school I.D.'s. We should be back by 9 at the latest. So, for now, I'll pass out my syllabus and talk about this course.”

“Oh, and once you receive your I.D.'s, we're heading to the Book Room so you can receive your books for all of your classes. Once that's done, just for today, you'll have a 20 minute break between your first and second period class to place your books in your dorms. Sounds good?” she asked.

Some kids groaned, while others said “yes” or “yeah” in return.

Mrs. Glover said nothing and stood from her desk as she grabbed a stack of packets from her desk, handing 4 to the first person in each row.

“Take one and pass it back”, she mumbled to each person.

When I got my syllabus, I skimmed through it, my eyes resting on the rules first, then the grading policy.

Mrs. Glover talked once more and I finally tuned her out, yet paid attention at the same time. Eventually, we left at just the right time that she said we would and received our I.D.'s. Needless to say, my Earth/Space book was the smallest out of all of my other books.