Salvation

~ Kellin’s POV ~
On my way to my new school, me and Tyler sat near the back of the bus. She asked me some questions, not too many though.

“Where are you from?”

Florida.

“Why did you move here?”

My mom thought it’d be good for me to get a fresh start.

“Are you nervous?”

Yes.

“Can I see what music you have on your phone?” I smirked at that question. I entered my passcode, and then I passed my phone into her hands. As she scrolled through the list, she smiled.

“This is fucking great!” She said loudly, fist pumping in the air, making a few students look towards us, and the bus driver gave her a little glare for her use of language. I giggled at her enthusiasm, which made her laugh. “Here, check out my music!”

She handed me here phone, the music menu popping up. I wasn’t disappointed with any of the artists listed as my finger swiped the screen- Silverstein, Thrice, The Amity Affliction, The Story So Far, and even some old punk rock bands that I’ve heard of like Exploited and The Misfits.

“I’m impressed.” I gave her back her phone.

“Thanks” she smiled. Tyler seemed like a really nice girl, someone I’d like to be friends with.

Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

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Well, scratch that. Almost from the moment I walked through the doors, I’ve been given glares from the other students. No one likes the new kid.

Tyler walked with me to the office, where I was handed my schedule by my guidance counselor.
“Man, we only have History together. But I’ll show you where your other classes are!” I followed her down the hallways as she glanced at the room numbers. This semester I had Music, Science, English, and History. After she showed me where my classes were, she decided to skip her first period and give me a tour of the school. The school had many hallways; I wouldn’t be surprised if I got lost. Even sometimes Tyler seemed unsure of where she was going.

Soon, the bell rang, signaling that the end of first period was over and students flooded the hallways, going to their second period classes, which means I have English. Tyler told me that I shared that class with one of her friends named Mike. She said he was a very chill guy and I’d probably get along with him well. If he’s good friends with Tyler then for sure he must be pretty cool.

I found the English room a little after the final bell rang, alerting everyone that class has started.

Shit, I’m going to be late.

Eventually, I found the classroom, and quietly knocked on the door.
No response.

I really didn’t want to knock any louder; it was so quiet in the hallways.

I tried again, and luckily this time a woman wearing brown skinny jeans and a green shirt came up and pulled open the door.

“Oh, are you…um… Kellin Quinn?” I guess this is my teacher.
“Yes” I answered quietly.

“Well come on in Mr. Quinn! I’m Mrs. Stolks, I’ll be your English teacher for the semester.” Mrs. Stolks opened up the door wider, giving me room to walk into class.

“Students, may I have your attention please. We have a new student with us today.” A few people in the back sighed, clearly uninterested. My teacher looked at me, “Why don’t you introduce yourself?”.
“Um… My name is Kellin Quinn. And well I moved here from Florida.” I spit out. I hate introducing myself. I never know what to say.

“Ok Kellin, have a seat next to Mike, he’s the boy on the left with the long dark hair.” Oh, that must be the guy Tyler was talking about.

I silently made my way over to the empty seat beside Mike, and the teacher resumed her lesson.

“Hey Kellin, I’m Mike.” I looked to the right, where Mike was looking towards me.

“So I’ve heard.” I let out a hand and we shook. I smiled.

“So Kellin, have you made any friends today?” He asked.

“Uh yes, actually. I think you know her, her name’s Tyler.” Mike’s face brightened when I mentioned her name.

“Oh yeah, she’s one of my best friends! It’s so typical of her, helping out the new kid.” We didn’t really say anything after that, and focused on our work.

“Hey, Mike, do you think you could come over to my place later and help me catch up?” I faced him after a few minutes of silence, where I was building up the courage to ask. I got so nervous about little things like asking people for help, or going up to the cash register after shopping. My mom would always tell me to relax, but it seems that I can’t.

“Sure man. I’m guessing we’ll walk over or…”

“My mom said she’d pick me up today, so we’ll just wait for her at the front doors and stuff.”

“Ok cool.” He gave me a small punch to the shoulder and we returned to our work.

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About 4 hours later, Mike and I were sitting in my kitchen; eating snacks before he started helping me catch up with some of the work. We also shared Science together, which was good too, so I would only be a little behind in two of my subjects.

“Well boys, I’m going grocery shopping. Mike, do you want me to drop you off at your house later?” My mom asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you Ms. Quinn, but my house is actually right across the street.” He responded with a mouthful of cookies. That was pretty awesome I guess, having my new friend live so close to me.

“That’s wonderful! Do you want to stay over for supper?” My mom seemed really excited that I had made a new friend.

“I actually need to be at home for dinner tonight Ms. Quinn, but thanks.” With that my mom nodded and headed out the door.

“Why don’t we get started on English?” Mike suggested. We put away our plates and started making our way down the hall to my room.