I Am Invincible

Starting school in Australia was an interesting experience. For one thing, I had to wear a uniform, which is something that I’ve never had to do in my entire life. Grey baggy shorts, a light blue button-up shirt and black shoes. Could it be any more boring? I was complaining to Zach about the fact that I had to wear a uniform to school as I was getting ready for my first day at Jake, Jackson, Rhys and Mark’s high school. The guys had told me that the kids at their school get over-excited when new kids start there, especially if they come from “foreign countries” (Jake’s words; I was going to ask how ‘foreign’ America was but Jake just gave me a look that screamed ‘shut the hell up’ before I even opened my mouth), so I was a bit apprehensive about starting a new school in a new country, in a grade where I knew no-one (everyone else were in 11th grade; I was only in 10th). I had voiced these concerns to Zach the night before and he told me that if I really, really didn’t want to do this, I didn’t have to, but it was my decision and whatever I did decide, he would support me. After deliberating for what felt like a million years, I finally decided that I did want to go to school, because after all, I didn’t want to be in my 20’s by the time I graduated.

At about ten minutes before school was due to start I started panicking. Jake was meant to pick me up on the way to school and show me where the office was so that I could officially sign in as a student and get timetables and all that stuff. I had no idea what would happen if he’d forgotten about picking me up and I was about to call him when I heard a frantic knock on the door and Jake shout through it, “Cameron! Hurry up, we’re going to be late, you better be r—”
He stopped talking when I flung the door open with my bag in one hand and Zach’s arm in the other. I leaned up to peck Zach on the lips quickly before Jake grabbed me and hauled me out the door. I shouted a quick goodbye to Zach over my shoulder as Jake dragged me down the stairs towards the street.

Panting, Jake and I entered the school gates just as the obnoxiously loud bell rang, signalling that it was the official start of the school year.
“Okay… office is that way,” Jake said quickly and pointed to his left, “Just go up there and there’s a massive sign that says ‘office’, just tell the lady your name and that you’re new…uh, I really gotta go. My roll teacher always throws a fit if anyone arrived after he’s finished calling names,” Jake finished, as he began running in the opposite direction to where he pointed.

I trudged up the path that Jake had shown me and sure enough, I found the building he was talking about. Pushing open the heavy door, a light jingling of bells alerted the woman behind the desk that someone had arrived in the air-conditioned office. The dyed-red haired woman smiled up at me as I approached the front desk.

“Hi, can I help you with anything?” she asked me though a thick British accent.
I nodded, “Um… I’m supposed to be starting today?”
“Oh, yes. The American kid… What was your name again?” she asked, shuffling through papers on her desk.
“Cameron Gaskarth,” I replied.
“Right. Now, this is your timetable,” she said, handing me a large piece of paper, “I’m sure that if you have trouble finding your classes, someone will be happy to help you. Now, you’ve missed roll call, but I’ll put your attendance into the system so you don’t need to worry about that today… but tomorrow, you’ll have to go to roll call like the other students. I’ll take you to your first class, which should just be starting now. Can I see your timetable for a second?” she finished, reaching over the desk. I handed her the timetable and she scanned it quickly before passing it back to me. She stood up and came through a door that I hadn’t noticed before and placed a hand on my shoulder, leading me out the office door.

She chattered to me about trivial things as she led the way to my first class. Glancing down, the timetable told me that my first class was science. Kill me.
I nearly ran into the office lady when she stopped suddenly outside a classroom, but I caught myself just in time.
“Okay, here we are,” she said, beaming, “Enjoy your first day!”

I mumbled a ‘thanks’ before grabbing the door handle and pushing the door open to reveal a room filled with about 30 students and a teacher, all staring. I flushed lightly and stood in the doorway awkwardly for a few seconds before my brain connected to my legs and told them to walk towards the teacher, preferably without tripping over anything. I made it over to the fat, balding teacher without making a fool of myself, which I was grateful for. I whispered to the guy and told him that I was new and my name and he told me to take a seat at the back next to a girl whose name I didn’t remember as soon as he said it.

I found my way into the only empty seat, and sat down heavily with a sigh. The teacher up the front was explaining what we were going to do that lesson, but I didn’t pay him any attention. Neither did the girl who was beside me, because she turned sideways towards me and looked at me with a smile on her face.

“Hi!” she said brightly, “My name’s Ivory. I know it’s kind of weird for a name, but I don’t really mind. What’s yours?”
“Uh, Cameron,” I replied.
“Cool. It’s nice to meet you. Did you just move here?”
“No, I came here a few months ago for a holiday with my dad and I decided to stay for the school year. I’m kind of sick of America at the moment,” I mumbled.
“Oh, America! I’ve always wanted to go there…” she trailed off and stared at me, making me feel rather uncomfortable. It looked like she was holding something in that was just dying to be said.
I cocked my head, “Are you –” I stared to ask.
“You’re really cute,” she blurted out and I went bright red. “Are you single?” Wow, just come out and say it, Ivory, don’t beat around the bush, I sarcastically said to her in my mind as I shook my head.
Her face dropped. “Aww, that’s not fair. Why are all the cute ones taken? She’s very lucky, what’s her name… and can I have her address so I can beat her up and steal you?”
I laughed, “Uhh… his name’s Zach, and I don’t think you’d be able to reach to beat him up; he’s fucking tall,” I finished, wondering whether I’d done the right thing telling someone straight away.
“Damnit! You’re gay?” she asked and I nodded, “Gah, why does my life have to suck so much?”
“It can’t be that bad; there are plenty of cute guys out there that are straight,” I reasoned.
Ivory sighed, “Yeah, I guess so. My brother has some cute friends…”
“You have a brother?”
“Yup, and a sister. We’re triplets actually. Me and my sister are identical and then there’s my brother.”
“Holy shit. Are you kidding? I’m a twin! I have a twin brother.”
Ivory’s eyes widened, “Really? A straight twin brother?”
I laughed, “Yes, a straight twin brother, but he has a girlfriend and he’s still in America.”
“Fuck it!”
“Ivory! You know that swearing is not tolerated here,” the teacher scolded, glaring at her from the front of the classroom before turning his harsh eyes on to me, “Make sure you don’t make a nuisance of yourself your first day here. The outcome won’t be very pleasant. Now,” he addressed the whole class, “I want no more talking for the rest of the period; I want to see you working silently.”

Ivory and I stole a glance at each other and she pulled a face, before turning around and beginning her work. We didn’t get a chance to talk anymore during class but as soon as we were out the door she began chattering again like we’d never been cut off from our conversation until a tall boy with black hair and ten thousand piercings on his face alone stood in front of us with his hands on his hips, making Ivory stop in the middle of a sentence.

“Ivory, where the hell is my iPod? I know that you’re the one who had it last and now it’s not in my bag, which is where I left it last. And you know how I know it was you? Because Ebony never touches my stuff… and who is that?”
Ivory turned to me, “Cameron, meet my brother, Silver. Silver, this is Cameron. He’s new… and American. Anyway, I don’t know where your iPod is… maybe mum borrowed it?”
“Hi Cameron. Ivory, why would mum borrow it? She barely knows how to turn it on.”
“Well I don’t know. Maybe somebody that wasn’t me stole it.”
“Ugh, whatever. So, Cameron… how come you moved here?”
“Technically, I didn’t exactly move here. I’m only staying in Australia for a year, but I was sick of America and wanted a change. I’m here with my boyfriend, he’s looking after me, legally at least,” I told him, “I have to ask, how many piercings do you have?”
Silver chuckled, “Let’s see… Ears, cheeks, septum, 4 lip rings, eyebrow, nape, hips and uh… Prince Albert,” he finished as red dusted his cheeks, “That last one was a mistake… Do you have any?”
“You really have a PA? Fuck, that must’ve hurt,” I said with a grimace before lifting my shirt up to my bellybutton to reveal my hips and sticking out my tongue.
“Wow, my sister will love you. She absolutely adores guys with tongue rings,” Ivory squealed, as a bell rang, “Oh shit. We’re gonna be late. C’mon Cameron, I stole a look at your timetable, you have English with us, let’s go!”
Ivory grabbed my hand and hauled me over to one of the many buildings, with Silver running behind us.

We fell into our seats just as the teacher walked in and immediately launched into an explanation of what we would be doing in English class throughout the year. It all sounded very boring, but at least I was in a class with two interesting and funny people. Going to school in Australia turned out to be one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.