Essex.
one.
First day at Notley was similar to what I imagined. I actually imagined being left alone in a building of teenagers who all knew each other. Instead, I got my first British friend. Cainley was her name. She had blonde hair and she seemed to know everyone. She hooked her arm around mine as she brought me around to all of my classes, our schedule being the same.
The students all fled to different classes, and some to the cafeteria, all in their appropriate polos and khakis, or skirts for girls.
“Be sure to stick next to me, this period of lunch can get a bit hectic,” Cainley said to me as we rushed to the cafeteria.
Cainley was right. The cafeteria was extremely crowded with all different kinds of students. As some sped towards me, and others flew by me, we made our way to a table towards the back.
“So, normally I would be sitting over with Tabitha and her friends, but today I think we should sit alone and get to know each other,” Cainley said with a brilliant smile as she took her seat at the empty table. I put my bag on the table and sat down, pulling my polo down.
“So Linda,” Cainley started. She pulled out a plastic box that held a salad and a fork. “Do you want some?” She asked, tilting the box towards me.
I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I said reassuringly.
Cainley shrugged and continued. “You said you’re from Chicago? How is life in the city?”
“It’s great, really,” I smiled to myself. “Never a dull moment,” I chuckled.
“I’ve always wanted to live in the city,” Cainley sighed and looked off away from me. I looked around the cafeteria at all the other students, when my eyes landed on a table of boys. They all looked around my age, as they talked and ate. Some were messing around, and one was looking in my direction. He has slightly curly hair that fell in his eyes. Black and shaggy, with a soft, pale face. His hands were in his pockets and he was sitting on the table with his feet on a seat.
“What are you looking at?” Cainley asked, pulling me out of my daze. She followed the direction I was looking at and a smile appeared on her face.
When I turned to look back at the table of boys, I found two of them walking towards out table. It was the boy with soft hair, and a friend of his with shorter brown hair. Cainley stood up and gave the other boy with shorter hair a hug. The one with black hair gave her a wave and sat down next to me.
“Don’t mind if I sit, do you?” He asked with his thick British accent.
“Um, no, not at all,” I stammered, adjusting myself in my skirt.
“David, Jacob, this is Linda. She recently moved here from New York, all the way in America,” Cainley informed them.
“Nice to meet you,” Jacob, with the black hair, smiled politely, holding out his hand.
“Uh, yes,” I said, shaking his hand, but my statement sounded much more like a question.
“All the way from the states?” David asked with fascination. He sat down in the seat next to Cainley and put his elbows on the table.
“Yea,” I chuckled and nodded. I was already starting to sound like an American. I had been trying to keep my grammar proper now that I was in England.
“What’s it like over there?” He asked.
“Um, noisy. But I like it I guess,” I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at Cainley’s salad.
“Did you live in the city?” Jacob asked. He had deep brown eyes and an innocent smile. His eyelids were slightly purple from lack of sleep, and his hair was a bit messy.
I nodded.
“Must have been exciting,” David intruded, raising his eyebrows up at Jacob.
“It was,” I nodded.
“Why’d you move?” Cainley asked.
“My parents got back together, and my dad is originally from here, so,” I dragged out my ‘so’ probably reminding them of how American I really am.
“What’s your schedule?” Jacob asked when the silence was too much for him.
“It’s the same as mine, except for 1st period,” Cainley answered for me, holding up my paper.
“Let me have a look,” David snatched the paper from her and him and Jacob began looking at my classes.
“Then we will be having Chemistry and Pre Calculous together,” Jacob smiled. His smile was accidental, I could tell by the way his lips pulled from the short laughter.
“Chemistry is one of the two classes we do not have together,” Cainley disappointedly said. “But I’ll pick you up from that class, as my 6th period is directly down the hall,” She smiled.
“Okay,” I laughed and nodded.
A light bell rang and the commotion began, as everyone suddenly stood up.
“I’ll be seeing you around, then,” Jacob said to me, handing me my schedule back.
“Yes,” I nodded.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” David called out as him and Jacob ran back to get their belongings from their table.
“Jacob and David are… well, I don’t know how to explain them,” Cainley said.
“Is that a good thing?” I chuckled. Cainley tossed her unfinished salad into the trashcan and we left the cafeteria. The building of Notley was more modern than I expected. My expectations gave me a school made in the 20th Century, with a bell at the top of the tallest building, and courtyards with gardens. In my mind I actually expected a school very similar to Hogwarts…
“It’s whatever you’d like it to be,” Cainley said to me, finally answering my question. “We have French next,”
I beamed. “I’m taking French?”
“Yes, according to your schedule,” Cainley looked at me. “Is something wrong?” Her brows furrowed.
“No, I love French. I took it for a few years back in Chicago,” I smiled brilliantly.
“Alright, well we best not be late to class. Our French teacher Is kind of a wanker,”
I burst into laughter at the word. Wanker. I’ve heard it before, and I knew how bad of a word it was. I remember hearing it whenever I’d watch Jackass: Gumball Rally. Just hearing it be used by a British person in England made it so much better.
“What is it?” Cainley asked, confusion in her pretty blue eyes.
“Nothing,” I waved at her. She must think I’m a dumbass or something.
“Alright… If you say so…” She stared at me for a few more seconds before turning and entering a room with a French flag outside of it.
“Bonjour Madame Tourant,” Cainley’s accent was perfectly matching to her gorgeous smile. “Je te presente a mon ami, Linda,”
“Bonjour Linda. Comment ca va?” The teacher, I’m assuming Mrs. Tourant, said to me, holding out her hand.
“Uhm, Ca va bien, merci,” I said hesitantly, not sure if that was the right response.
“Tre bien!” Mrs. Tourant clapped. “You must be our new addition to the class,”
I nodded.
“You can take a seat in the second row, dear,” Mrs.Tourant said. I follow Cainley to the 2nd row and sat down behind her. I don’t know why she said Mrs. Tourant was a wanker. She seemed awfully nice.
As French went on, I explained to Mrs. Tourant where I was from, and my past French curriculum. She asked me basic questions to get a better feel of where I was, and then went on with the rest of the class.
“So you’re really from America?” A girl next to me whispered.
I turned to look at her. She had long straight brown hair, and her bangs were pushed back with a brown headband. “Um, yea,”
“That’s so wicked!” I tried to hold my laughter, as I wasn’t used to people actually saying ‘wicked’. “What part?” This girl seemed intrigued by the fact that I was from America.
“New York,”
“That’s my favorite! I’ve always wanted to go to New York! Did you go to see the actors on Broadway? Like The Phantom Of The Opera? And all the stores! You must have had the best clothes, living in a place like that,”
“Um, sort of, I don’t really know,” I could tell I looked like a nervous fool, stammering with every word.
“I’m Melissa by the way,” Melissa held her hand out. I shook it uncertainly.
“You and I are going to be friends,” She smiled, before turning to face the front of the classroom.
French passed by and my next class was Chemistry. Cainley and I walked out of the classroom and across one of the courtyards to get to the other side of the building. We went up two flights of stairs and arrived on the science and mathematics floor. Each floor was dedicated to a different baseline. The first was the arts, including languages, the second was homerooms, literature/writing and history, and the third was mathematics and sciences.
“This is the class we don’t have together,” Cainley began as we stood outside the classroom. “Just go in and introduce yourself to the teacher. I will be right down the hall in pre cal. I’ll pick you up after class so we can go to art?” She said.
“Sounds good,” I nodded. I did not need Cainley treating me like a 5 year old. I know it sounds rude but I was capable of going through a high school without getting myself killed or lost beyond belief.
I turned to enter the classroom when I bumped into someone next to me.
“Pardon me, after you,” Their familiar voice said. I looked and saw it was Jacob, the boy was lunch. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there,” He smiled sheepishly.
“Hey,” I waved slightly, before entering the classroom. I stepped up to the old teacher’s desk when Jacob stepped in front of me.
“This is Linda, she is a new student here, today is her first day,” Jacob said smoothly and professionally.
“Yes, I’ve heard of you. Have a seat anywhere you’d like for now,” The teacher said. “I am Mr. Smith, I will be your chemistry teacher,” His monotone voice was already boring me.
“Come sit with me and my friends,” Jacob smiled. I was almost overwhelmed by how friendly he was.
I took a seat on a stool next to him after setting my bag on the desk.
“Now, who’s ready to do some chemistry?” Mr. Smith said as an attempt to get the class of sophomores motivated. The room was filled with only awkward silence before he spoke again. “Really? Will you all respond in silence every time I ask you a question? What is going to happen when you are on a date with a mate, and they ask you a question? Will you remain silent then? Then what would happen?”
“Intimacy!” Jacob called out, smiling. The class went into fits of giggles, along with myself.
“Very charming, Mr. Smith,” Mr. Smith said. I was not surprised by their matching names as Smith was a common last name in England.
“Thank you sir, I like to think of myself as it,” Jacob sly grin was making me smile. There was something about him that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Alright, quiet down now,” Mr. Smith said to the class before beginning his lesson. The whole 45 minutes I tried my hardest to pay attention. Every so often I would glance at Jacob to see what he was doing. He was either texting on his big, long touch screen phone, or talking to the boy sitting across the aisle from him.
“What kind of science were you taking in America, Linda?” The teacher asked me out of the blue.
“Um,” I pulled my gaze away from the phone that sat in Jacob’s hand underneath the desk. “I was in all honors, so we already went over this. But yea, basically this,” I shrugged.
“What are honors?” Mr.Smith asked.
“Um, like, a higher, and faster pace level of the course. There are regular classes, then honor classes, and then there’s the International Bachlorette,” I explained.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of any of those. I’ll do some research though,” He smiled reassuringly. “Anyways, your homework for tonight, is to read pages 41 to 48 in your text book,” He announced to the class.
“So you mean we have no homework?” Jacob asked, laughing.
“You’re beginning to be a bit of a problem, Jacob Smith,” Mr. Smith narrowed his eyes at him before the bell rang. I picked up my bag and pushed my chair in before making my way towards the door. Jacob. He was making me like Essex already.
The students all fled to different classes, and some to the cafeteria, all in their appropriate polos and khakis, or skirts for girls.
“Be sure to stick next to me, this period of lunch can get a bit hectic,” Cainley said to me as we rushed to the cafeteria.
Cainley was right. The cafeteria was extremely crowded with all different kinds of students. As some sped towards me, and others flew by me, we made our way to a table towards the back.
“So, normally I would be sitting over with Tabitha and her friends, but today I think we should sit alone and get to know each other,” Cainley said with a brilliant smile as she took her seat at the empty table. I put my bag on the table and sat down, pulling my polo down.
“So Linda,” Cainley started. She pulled out a plastic box that held a salad and a fork. “Do you want some?” She asked, tilting the box towards me.
I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I said reassuringly.
Cainley shrugged and continued. “You said you’re from Chicago? How is life in the city?”
“It’s great, really,” I smiled to myself. “Never a dull moment,” I chuckled.
“I’ve always wanted to live in the city,” Cainley sighed and looked off away from me. I looked around the cafeteria at all the other students, when my eyes landed on a table of boys. They all looked around my age, as they talked and ate. Some were messing around, and one was looking in my direction. He has slightly curly hair that fell in his eyes. Black and shaggy, with a soft, pale face. His hands were in his pockets and he was sitting on the table with his feet on a seat.
“What are you looking at?” Cainley asked, pulling me out of my daze. She followed the direction I was looking at and a smile appeared on her face.
When I turned to look back at the table of boys, I found two of them walking towards out table. It was the boy with soft hair, and a friend of his with shorter brown hair. Cainley stood up and gave the other boy with shorter hair a hug. The one with black hair gave her a wave and sat down next to me.
“Don’t mind if I sit, do you?” He asked with his thick British accent.
“Um, no, not at all,” I stammered, adjusting myself in my skirt.
“David, Jacob, this is Linda. She recently moved here from New York, all the way in America,” Cainley informed them.
“Nice to meet you,” Jacob, with the black hair, smiled politely, holding out his hand.
“Uh, yes,” I said, shaking his hand, but my statement sounded much more like a question.
“All the way from the states?” David asked with fascination. He sat down in the seat next to Cainley and put his elbows on the table.
“Yea,” I chuckled and nodded. I was already starting to sound like an American. I had been trying to keep my grammar proper now that I was in England.
“What’s it like over there?” He asked.
“Um, noisy. But I like it I guess,” I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at Cainley’s salad.
“Did you live in the city?” Jacob asked. He had deep brown eyes and an innocent smile. His eyelids were slightly purple from lack of sleep, and his hair was a bit messy.
I nodded.
“Must have been exciting,” David intruded, raising his eyebrows up at Jacob.
“It was,” I nodded.
“Why’d you move?” Cainley asked.
“My parents got back together, and my dad is originally from here, so,” I dragged out my ‘so’ probably reminding them of how American I really am.
“What’s your schedule?” Jacob asked when the silence was too much for him.
“It’s the same as mine, except for 1st period,” Cainley answered for me, holding up my paper.
“Let me have a look,” David snatched the paper from her and him and Jacob began looking at my classes.
“Then we will be having Chemistry and Pre Calculous together,” Jacob smiled. His smile was accidental, I could tell by the way his lips pulled from the short laughter.
“Chemistry is one of the two classes we do not have together,” Cainley disappointedly said. “But I’ll pick you up from that class, as my 6th period is directly down the hall,” She smiled.
“Okay,” I laughed and nodded.
A light bell rang and the commotion began, as everyone suddenly stood up.
“I’ll be seeing you around, then,” Jacob said to me, handing me my schedule back.
“Yes,” I nodded.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” David called out as him and Jacob ran back to get their belongings from their table.
“Jacob and David are… well, I don’t know how to explain them,” Cainley said.
“Is that a good thing?” I chuckled. Cainley tossed her unfinished salad into the trashcan and we left the cafeteria. The building of Notley was more modern than I expected. My expectations gave me a school made in the 20th Century, with a bell at the top of the tallest building, and courtyards with gardens. In my mind I actually expected a school very similar to Hogwarts…
“It’s whatever you’d like it to be,” Cainley said to me, finally answering my question. “We have French next,”
I beamed. “I’m taking French?”
“Yes, according to your schedule,” Cainley looked at me. “Is something wrong?” Her brows furrowed.
“No, I love French. I took it for a few years back in Chicago,” I smiled brilliantly.
“Alright, well we best not be late to class. Our French teacher Is kind of a wanker,”
I burst into laughter at the word. Wanker. I’ve heard it before, and I knew how bad of a word it was. I remember hearing it whenever I’d watch Jackass: Gumball Rally. Just hearing it be used by a British person in England made it so much better.
“What is it?” Cainley asked, confusion in her pretty blue eyes.
“Nothing,” I waved at her. She must think I’m a dumbass or something.
“Alright… If you say so…” She stared at me for a few more seconds before turning and entering a room with a French flag outside of it.
“Bonjour Madame Tourant,” Cainley’s accent was perfectly matching to her gorgeous smile. “Je te presente a mon ami, Linda,”
“Bonjour Linda. Comment ca va?” The teacher, I’m assuming Mrs. Tourant, said to me, holding out her hand.
“Uhm, Ca va bien, merci,” I said hesitantly, not sure if that was the right response.
“Tre bien!” Mrs. Tourant clapped. “You must be our new addition to the class,”
I nodded.
“You can take a seat in the second row, dear,” Mrs.Tourant said. I follow Cainley to the 2nd row and sat down behind her. I don’t know why she said Mrs. Tourant was a wanker. She seemed awfully nice.
As French went on, I explained to Mrs. Tourant where I was from, and my past French curriculum. She asked me basic questions to get a better feel of where I was, and then went on with the rest of the class.
“So you’re really from America?” A girl next to me whispered.
I turned to look at her. She had long straight brown hair, and her bangs were pushed back with a brown headband. “Um, yea,”
“That’s so wicked!” I tried to hold my laughter, as I wasn’t used to people actually saying ‘wicked’. “What part?” This girl seemed intrigued by the fact that I was from America.
“New York,”
“That’s my favorite! I’ve always wanted to go to New York! Did you go to see the actors on Broadway? Like The Phantom Of The Opera? And all the stores! You must have had the best clothes, living in a place like that,”
“Um, sort of, I don’t really know,” I could tell I looked like a nervous fool, stammering with every word.
“I’m Melissa by the way,” Melissa held her hand out. I shook it uncertainly.
“You and I are going to be friends,” She smiled, before turning to face the front of the classroom.
French passed by and my next class was Chemistry. Cainley and I walked out of the classroom and across one of the courtyards to get to the other side of the building. We went up two flights of stairs and arrived on the science and mathematics floor. Each floor was dedicated to a different baseline. The first was the arts, including languages, the second was homerooms, literature/writing and history, and the third was mathematics and sciences.
“This is the class we don’t have together,” Cainley began as we stood outside the classroom. “Just go in and introduce yourself to the teacher. I will be right down the hall in pre cal. I’ll pick you up after class so we can go to art?” She said.
“Sounds good,” I nodded. I did not need Cainley treating me like a 5 year old. I know it sounds rude but I was capable of going through a high school without getting myself killed or lost beyond belief.
I turned to enter the classroom when I bumped into someone next to me.
“Pardon me, after you,” Their familiar voice said. I looked and saw it was Jacob, the boy was lunch. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there,” He smiled sheepishly.
“Hey,” I waved slightly, before entering the classroom. I stepped up to the old teacher’s desk when Jacob stepped in front of me.
“This is Linda, she is a new student here, today is her first day,” Jacob said smoothly and professionally.
“Yes, I’ve heard of you. Have a seat anywhere you’d like for now,” The teacher said. “I am Mr. Smith, I will be your chemistry teacher,” His monotone voice was already boring me.
“Come sit with me and my friends,” Jacob smiled. I was almost overwhelmed by how friendly he was.
I took a seat on a stool next to him after setting my bag on the desk.
“Now, who’s ready to do some chemistry?” Mr. Smith said as an attempt to get the class of sophomores motivated. The room was filled with only awkward silence before he spoke again. “Really? Will you all respond in silence every time I ask you a question? What is going to happen when you are on a date with a mate, and they ask you a question? Will you remain silent then? Then what would happen?”
“Intimacy!” Jacob called out, smiling. The class went into fits of giggles, along with myself.
“Very charming, Mr. Smith,” Mr. Smith said. I was not surprised by their matching names as Smith was a common last name in England.
“Thank you sir, I like to think of myself as it,” Jacob sly grin was making me smile. There was something about him that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Alright, quiet down now,” Mr. Smith said to the class before beginning his lesson. The whole 45 minutes I tried my hardest to pay attention. Every so often I would glance at Jacob to see what he was doing. He was either texting on his big, long touch screen phone, or talking to the boy sitting across the aisle from him.
“What kind of science were you taking in America, Linda?” The teacher asked me out of the blue.
“Um,” I pulled my gaze away from the phone that sat in Jacob’s hand underneath the desk. “I was in all honors, so we already went over this. But yea, basically this,” I shrugged.
“What are honors?” Mr.Smith asked.
“Um, like, a higher, and faster pace level of the course. There are regular classes, then honor classes, and then there’s the International Bachlorette,” I explained.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of any of those. I’ll do some research though,” He smiled reassuringly. “Anyways, your homework for tonight, is to read pages 41 to 48 in your text book,” He announced to the class.
“So you mean we have no homework?” Jacob asked, laughing.
“You’re beginning to be a bit of a problem, Jacob Smith,” Mr. Smith narrowed his eyes at him before the bell rang. I picked up my bag and pushed my chair in before making my way towards the door. Jacob. He was making me like Essex already.
♠ ♠ ♠
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