Other Half
September 3, 2002
Jason Flores sits in his assigned seat with two notebooks and two pencils sitting on top of the desk. The teacher is sitting at her desk, talking to a student in the above grade, who’s already visiting her teachers from the last year. Jason rolls his eyes. She’s way too much of a teacher’s pet. Jason loved his sixth grade English teacher, but he won’t be visiting her until at least a month into classes.
As other kids drift into the classroom, Jason spots a new kid he hadn’t seen last year. Jason waves at a girl named Crystal who he had class with at the end of the last school year, but he keeps his eyes focused on the new kid. He’s white, paler than most of the kids who spent their summers outside in the California sun, and he’s got dark hair. He’s not nervous, Jason doesn’t think, but his grip on his backpack is tight.
He walks past the first two rows, reading the name tags sitting on each desk. There are a few desks empty near the back, but the new kid head directly towards Jason. Jason raises an eyebrow, wondering if maybe he really did know this kid, but then he slides into the seat in front of Jason. His backpack drops onto the floor and Jason hears him let out a sigh.
Jason looks up at the clock; they’ve got a few more minutes before the bell rings and homeroom starts. He taps the new kid on the shoulder.
“Hi,” Jason says, looking into the kid’s green eyes. “I’m Jason.”
“I’m Noah.”
“Did you just move here?”
Noah nods. “Yeah, from Seattle.”
“Do you skateboard?”
In the middle of pulling a notebook from his backpack, Noah freezes. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
Jason shrugs. “You just seemed like you would. I skateboard too.”
“That’s cool, man,” he says. Jason sees him twist the obscene amount of jelly bracelets around his wrist. Jason’s wearing a cloth band over his wrist, the type of band that fits into the school’s rules.
“You might have to get one of these,” Jason says, pointing at the wristband. “All the schools in California require you to wear one like this until you’re eighteen.”
“Oh,” Noah says. “I didn’t know.”
His fingers close around his wrist, pressing the bracelets against his skin. Jason shrugs. “You’ll be fine. It’s only your first day.”
Noah opens his mouth to respond, but the bell rings and the teacher finally walks towards the front of the classroom.
As other kids drift into the classroom, Jason spots a new kid he hadn’t seen last year. Jason waves at a girl named Crystal who he had class with at the end of the last school year, but he keeps his eyes focused on the new kid. He’s white, paler than most of the kids who spent their summers outside in the California sun, and he’s got dark hair. He’s not nervous, Jason doesn’t think, but his grip on his backpack is tight.
He walks past the first two rows, reading the name tags sitting on each desk. There are a few desks empty near the back, but the new kid head directly towards Jason. Jason raises an eyebrow, wondering if maybe he really did know this kid, but then he slides into the seat in front of Jason. His backpack drops onto the floor and Jason hears him let out a sigh.
Jason looks up at the clock; they’ve got a few more minutes before the bell rings and homeroom starts. He taps the new kid on the shoulder.
“Hi,” Jason says, looking into the kid’s green eyes. “I’m Jason.”
“I’m Noah.”
“Did you just move here?”
Noah nods. “Yeah, from Seattle.”
“Do you skateboard?”
In the middle of pulling a notebook from his backpack, Noah freezes. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
Jason shrugs. “You just seemed like you would. I skateboard too.”
“That’s cool, man,” he says. Jason sees him twist the obscene amount of jelly bracelets around his wrist. Jason’s wearing a cloth band over his wrist, the type of band that fits into the school’s rules.
“You might have to get one of these,” Jason says, pointing at the wristband. “All the schools in California require you to wear one like this until you’re eighteen.”
“Oh,” Noah says. “I didn’t know.”
His fingers close around his wrist, pressing the bracelets against his skin. Jason shrugs. “You’ll be fine. It’s only your first day.”
Noah opens his mouth to respond, but the bell rings and the teacher finally walks towards the front of the classroom.