See You In High School

January 30th, 2004

I stood outside of the classroom with my mother and a counselor, being squeezed to death by her tight embrace, "If you need anything, tell a teacher to call me." She said finally, pulling away and gripping my shoulders firmly. I was homeschooled most of my life. My mother recently overcame her horrible anxiety and finally felt safe around others and when others were with me. She finally decided to let me go to a public school. I nodded to her and turned to my new counselor, Ms. Meera. She smiles at me and bends down to face me, "Are you ready, Luca?" She tilts her head and sets her hands to her knees. I twiddle my fingers together in a tight, messy dance as I nodded to her, "Yes, I am." I spoke softly, almost unsure of my honesty. She and my mother stood up and turned to face each other, "I'll take care of everything from here. I'll call you if he needs anything." Ms. Meera says, wrapping her hands together and smiling to my mom, "Bye, honey. Have a good first day of school." My mom says, smiling and waving to me as she turns to walk off. As she got out of view, Ms. Meera took my hand and moved the other to the doorknob, "You'll be fine; the kids here are kind and open minded." She reassured me as she opened the door.

"Oh, Meera." A woman at a desk says, standing up and brushing her jorts before she walks over to the door, "Oh, hello. You must be Luca?" The woman says, looking down to me and smiling softly. I silently nodded, watching the new person carefully as she welcomed me.

"Luca, this is Ms. Leana. She will be your new teacher." Ms. Meera says as she lets go of my hand, "He's new to being around so many people, so please take care." Ms. Meera says, waving as she steps out of the door. Ms. Leana nods and waves to her as she walks out. She looks back at me and tilts her head, "Do you want me to talk for you, or can you introduce yourself in front of everyone here?" She asks, gesturing her head to the other side of the room. I followed her gesture, my gaze being dragged to a bunch of tables filled with kids my age. My hands fisted and I tensed up, looking back at her. She smiled sadly and took my hand, "Got it," She nodded, slowly moving me to the front of the room. She gave my hand a little squeeze before she pulled away. I watched as kids turned to me at the front of the room, whispering and leaning to each other. Ms. Leana clapped her hands together, silencing the whispers as she did. She smiled brightly and moved her hands to her lap, "Students! We have a new kid joining us for the rest of the year. This is Luca," She said, turning to me then back to the tables of kids. They all looked to each other and to me a few times before looking to Ms. Leana.

"He's not used to being around so many people, so please be kind and patient with him." She said, turning to me and bending down to face me, "There's a table right over there for you to sit at." She said, pointing to a table in the front corner of the room. I nodded at her before walking over to the table, setting my backpack down beside it. I dipped my head down as I felt eyes on the back of my head. I looked up as Ms. Leana sighed and sat back down, flipping through a book before she spoke, "Okay, kids. Get out your notebooks and flip to an empty page." Everyone shuffled around to grab their things as they were told to, slamming their notebook on their desks. I pulled out mine and slipped a pencil out of the pocket of my backpack. I set my notebook down and opened it to the first page, tapping my pencil on the side of it as Ms. Leana began the first lesson of the day.

                                                                                             ~

During recess, I sat down in a soft patch of grass and picked up a small stick. I turned to a little patch of dirt, drawing and doodling into it with the stick as kids screamed and darted past me.

"Is that a cat or a dog?" I heard from behind me, jumping and turning to see a girl leaning over me to look at the dirt. I tensed up, flipping back to the dirt and gripping the stick firmly, "It's a bear." I said, twirling the stick around. She hums and falls down beside me, criss crossing her legs, "It's a good drawing. I'm Raya, nice to meet you." She said, her smile brighter than the sun on an eighty five degree summer day. She extended her arm out for a handshake, "Nice to meet you, Raya. I'm Luca." I spoke softly, moving my hand up to wrap around hers, partaking in the handshake. She giggles and looks over to her side, picking up a stick and begins dragging it into the dirt, "I know. I sit behind you in Ms. Leana's."

"Oh," I looked down as she doodled into the dirt, observing her precise movements, "Why'd you start school here?" She asked, her eyes darting to me for a moment before looking back as she worked her stick into the soft dirt, "I was homeschooled up until now."

"Really? What was that like?"

"Lonely. I had my mom, though." She turns to me after she finishes her drawing, smiling softly to me as she sets her stick down, "You'll love it here. There's so many cool kids and adults." She said, her smile beaming with positivity. I looked down to the dirt to see what she drew. A cute bear with a bow on its head stood next to mine, a smile tugging at my lips because of it. I looked back to Raya, looking at her carefully as if I was trying to read her like a book. I didn't get why I felt so comfortable with her already, but the way her smile complimented her face and the way she kept her distance while trying to get to know me gave me a sense that I could trust her. That she was a kind soul, "Does this make us friends?" I asked, moving my knees to my chest and tilting my head. She laughed at my comment, the sound echoing in my ear for a little longer than it went on, and stood up. She brushed off her shorts and looked at me, reaching her hand out, "Yes. We're friends now." She said. I took her hand, pulling myself up and standing straight. I look down to her, "She's tiny," I thought, tilting my head in confusion. She giggled as she held my hand firmly, dragging me with her to the playground, "Woah!" I jumped, picking myself up as she dragged me. She turned to me, nodding as she walked us over to the swings.