Chapter 2 of mah novel.
Stu was nervous, yet at the same time excited. Today was his first day at a new school. He couldn't wait to make some new friends, but he couldn't help but worry that no one would like him. He was walking towards the office to get his schedule and a map. He had come early in order to get a head start on knowing where everything was, so there weren't many other students around. Entering the office, he looked around. There were a few motivational posters hanging on the walls, along with notices of school events.
"Can I help you?" Said the secretary from behind her desk. Stuart jumped a little when she spoke and turned to look at her. She looked like she was centuries old, and not very happy or kind.
"I'm uh... I'm new here? And I was um..." Stu was having a hard time getting his words to come to him.
"You're what?" The old secretary snapped. "Here to stutter like a fool and interrupt my work?"
"No ma'am! I'm j-just new to the school, and I was told to.. uh.. to come to the office and g-get my schedule and m-m-map..." Stu stuttered quietly. He was very afraid of this woman, she looked like she was going to smash her computer keyboard over his head.
"Name?" She growled.
"S-Stuart Howland." The secretary flipped through a file of papers and pulled a few out.
"Here. Now get out." She glared at him as he took the papers and fled.
"That was the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me!" Stu said aloud as he walked towards his locker. "Ah, here it is!" He had stopped in front of locker 316. "Now, what was my combination?" Stu consulted one of his papers. As he read the numbers on the paper, he turned the dial on the lock. Then he pulled. The lock did not open.
"Aw, crap..." Stu sighed. He made a second attempt. No success. He tried again and again, until the lock finally decided him worthy to open. Stu opened the locker and took his large heavy backpack off of his back. He then began to take the books out of his bag and put them into the locker. Once this was finished, he pulled out his schedule and looked at it.
"Chemistry is my first class? Great. I hate chemistry..." He mumbled as he pulled out his chemistry notebook and textbook, and put them back in his backpack. He looked at his watch. It was 8:15, and other students were starting to arrive.
'Guess I better go find the classroom,' he thought. He consulted his map and headed in what he hoped was the correct direction.
Stu had successfully found the room, but with only minutes to spare. He walked in and took one of the few empty desks left. He glanced around the room. Nobody was paying him any attention. Nobody seemed to be curious about the new kid. This saddened him a bit. But then he thought that it was better than them deciding to beat him up just because he was new, like the kids at his last school had done.
"Now, we have a new student today class," The teacher said as he walked to the front of the room. "A Mister..." He consults his notes. "Stuart Howland. Stuart, would you please stand up and give us a little introduction?"
"Uh... Yeah, sure..." Stu slowly stood up. "Um... Well, I'm Stuart, but I really just go by Stu..."
"Tell us a bit about you. What do you like? What are your hobbies?" The teacher urged him.
"Oh, okay. Well, I play guitar, and I really like music... I want to start my own band. Uh.... yeah." Stu looked nervously around at the other students, who were all watching him with a bored expression. "Can I sit down now?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Oh thank god," Stu sighed, sliding down into his seat.
When lunchtime came, Stu was feeling exhausted. He had already gotten lost three times and he had almost been late to his math class. He walked into the cafeteria and sat at the first empty table he could find.
"Guh, I hope every day isn't like this," He muttered under his breath as he pulled his lunch out of his bag and looked at it. "Oh man, not another organic veggie whole-grain pita..."
His mother was an extreme health nut. He was allowed no junk food, no ordinary fruit and vegetables, and the bread was always whole-grain. No food he ever ate tasted good. He wasn't even allowed to take proper medicine, she would only give him "all-natural" medicines. Apparently, the regular stuff had to many chemicals in them. Because you know, those chemicals aren't put in there to cure you or anything, right? Stu always argues with his mother about these things, but she never listened.
He sucked it up and ate the damn pita though. He was used to the bad taste, and could almost ignore it, and he was way too hungry to not eat.
He looked around the cafeteria at all of the other student, talking away, playing games, and swapping lunches. He wished someone would come and sit next to him. Then he noticed a boy at the very back of the room who was sitting all by himself, just like Stu, and reading a book while eating a sandwich.
'Huh,' Stu thought, 'maybe I should go sit with him? He must be fairly new to this school too.'
He was about to stand up when another thought came to him. 'Actually, maybe I shouldn't interrupt his reading. He looks pretty into it.' Stu plopped back down and continued to eat his healthy pita alone.
After lunch, Stu walked to the washroom. He still had ten minutes before class started, and he was fairly certain he knew where the English classroom was. After he relieved himself, he turned to the sink and began washing his hands. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. His red-brown hair was messy from all the stress and the running. He combed his damp fingers through it and patted it down.
'That should be fine for the rest of the day,' he thought, and looked at his own green eyes reflecting back at him. He grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands and sighed again, and grumbled nonsense quietly.
Walking out of the bathroom, he headed down the hall. His English class was just around the corner. He walked into the room he thought was correct only to see what looked like a science lab.
"Um, excuse me," he said to the teacher in the room,"this is the English 20 room, right?"
"No kid, this is the science lab. The room you're looking for is upstairs at the other end of the school."
"Oh, shit!" Stu yelled. He turned to the correct direction and began running.
"Language!" He heard the science lab teacher shout after him.
Stu kept running until he saw stairs. He flew up them, checked his map quick and studied the classrooms around him to see where he was. The bell rang.
"Crapcrapcrap!" He said, searching the map for his destination. He discovered it was further yet down the hall. He began racing yet again in the direction of the room. Passing room after room, starting student after staring student, he kept pelting down the hall, finally stopping at the closed door to the room he had been looking for. Relieved, he threw the door open a little harder than he had meant to. So much harder, in fact, that the door hit the wall and bounced back towards him.
"S-sorry," he panted as he bent over in an attempt to catch his breath.
The teacher stared at him. "What on EARTH did you do that for?"
"I... got... lost... First day..." Stu gasped and began to uncurl. "Sorry, again..."
"Fine, fine, just sit down," the teacher waved her hand and turned back to what she had been doing before.
Stu walked over to the only empty desk left, which was in the middle of the room, and sat down. His breath had almost fully returned, but he was still panting a bit.
'Well, that was awful,' he thought. 'Let's hope that never happens again.' Then he had the feeling someone was watching him. Turning in his seat, he saw the boy from lunch sitting at the back of the room, watching him. Stu smiled at him, but the boy looked away. Stu felt a little disappointed, and turned to face the front of the room again.
"Can I help you?" Said the secretary from behind her desk. Stuart jumped a little when she spoke and turned to look at her. She looked like she was centuries old, and not very happy or kind.
"I'm uh... I'm new here? And I was um..." Stu was having a hard time getting his words to come to him.
"You're what?" The old secretary snapped. "Here to stutter like a fool and interrupt my work?"
"No ma'am! I'm j-just new to the school, and I was told to.. uh.. to come to the office and g-get my schedule and m-m-map..." Stu stuttered quietly. He was very afraid of this woman, she looked like she was going to smash her computer keyboard over his head.
"Name?" She growled.
"S-Stuart Howland." The secretary flipped through a file of papers and pulled a few out.
"Here. Now get out." She glared at him as he took the papers and fled.
"That was the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me!" Stu said aloud as he walked towards his locker. "Ah, here it is!" He had stopped in front of locker 316. "Now, what was my combination?" Stu consulted one of his papers. As he read the numbers on the paper, he turned the dial on the lock. Then he pulled. The lock did not open.
"Aw, crap..." Stu sighed. He made a second attempt. No success. He tried again and again, until the lock finally decided him worthy to open. Stu opened the locker and took his large heavy backpack off of his back. He then began to take the books out of his bag and put them into the locker. Once this was finished, he pulled out his schedule and looked at it.
"Chemistry is my first class? Great. I hate chemistry..." He mumbled as he pulled out his chemistry notebook and textbook, and put them back in his backpack. He looked at his watch. It was 8:15, and other students were starting to arrive.
'Guess I better go find the classroom,' he thought. He consulted his map and headed in what he hoped was the correct direction.
Stu had successfully found the room, but with only minutes to spare. He walked in and took one of the few empty desks left. He glanced around the room. Nobody was paying him any attention. Nobody seemed to be curious about the new kid. This saddened him a bit. But then he thought that it was better than them deciding to beat him up just because he was new, like the kids at his last school had done.
"Now, we have a new student today class," The teacher said as he walked to the front of the room. "A Mister..." He consults his notes. "Stuart Howland. Stuart, would you please stand up and give us a little introduction?"
"Uh... Yeah, sure..." Stu slowly stood up. "Um... Well, I'm Stuart, but I really just go by Stu..."
"Tell us a bit about you. What do you like? What are your hobbies?" The teacher urged him.
"Oh, okay. Well, I play guitar, and I really like music... I want to start my own band. Uh.... yeah." Stu looked nervously around at the other students, who were all watching him with a bored expression. "Can I sit down now?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Oh thank god," Stu sighed, sliding down into his seat.
When lunchtime came, Stu was feeling exhausted. He had already gotten lost three times and he had almost been late to his math class. He walked into the cafeteria and sat at the first empty table he could find.
"Guh, I hope every day isn't like this," He muttered under his breath as he pulled his lunch out of his bag and looked at it. "Oh man, not another organic veggie whole-grain pita..."
His mother was an extreme health nut. He was allowed no junk food, no ordinary fruit and vegetables, and the bread was always whole-grain. No food he ever ate tasted good. He wasn't even allowed to take proper medicine, she would only give him "all-natural" medicines. Apparently, the regular stuff had to many chemicals in them. Because you know, those chemicals aren't put in there to cure you or anything, right? Stu always argues with his mother about these things, but she never listened.
He sucked it up and ate the damn pita though. He was used to the bad taste, and could almost ignore it, and he was way too hungry to not eat.
He looked around the cafeteria at all of the other student, talking away, playing games, and swapping lunches. He wished someone would come and sit next to him. Then he noticed a boy at the very back of the room who was sitting all by himself, just like Stu, and reading a book while eating a sandwich.
'Huh,' Stu thought, 'maybe I should go sit with him? He must be fairly new to this school too.'
He was about to stand up when another thought came to him. 'Actually, maybe I shouldn't interrupt his reading. He looks pretty into it.' Stu plopped back down and continued to eat his healthy pita alone.
After lunch, Stu walked to the washroom. He still had ten minutes before class started, and he was fairly certain he knew where the English classroom was. After he relieved himself, he turned to the sink and began washing his hands. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. His red-brown hair was messy from all the stress and the running. He combed his damp fingers through it and patted it down.
'That should be fine for the rest of the day,' he thought, and looked at his own green eyes reflecting back at him. He grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands and sighed again, and grumbled nonsense quietly.
Walking out of the bathroom, he headed down the hall. His English class was just around the corner. He walked into the room he thought was correct only to see what looked like a science lab.
"Um, excuse me," he said to the teacher in the room,"this is the English 20 room, right?"
"No kid, this is the science lab. The room you're looking for is upstairs at the other end of the school."
"Oh, shit!" Stu yelled. He turned to the correct direction and began running.
"Language!" He heard the science lab teacher shout after him.
Stu kept running until he saw stairs. He flew up them, checked his map quick and studied the classrooms around him to see where he was. The bell rang.
"Crapcrapcrap!" He said, searching the map for his destination. He discovered it was further yet down the hall. He began racing yet again in the direction of the room. Passing room after room, starting student after staring student, he kept pelting down the hall, finally stopping at the closed door to the room he had been looking for. Relieved, he threw the door open a little harder than he had meant to. So much harder, in fact, that the door hit the wall and bounced back towards him.
"S-sorry," he panted as he bent over in an attempt to catch his breath.
The teacher stared at him. "What on EARTH did you do that for?"
"I... got... lost... First day..." Stu gasped and began to uncurl. "Sorry, again..."
"Fine, fine, just sit down," the teacher waved her hand and turned back to what she had been doing before.
Stu walked over to the only empty desk left, which was in the middle of the room, and sat down. His breath had almost fully returned, but he was still panting a bit.
'Well, that was awful,' he thought. 'Let's hope that never happens again.' Then he had the feeling someone was watching him. Turning in his seat, he saw the boy from lunch sitting at the back of the room, watching him. Stu smiled at him, but the boy looked away. Stu felt a little disappointed, and turned to face the front of the room again.