Chapter Two: First Day.
He was already washed and dressed so all he had to do was drag his protesting body off the chair, pick up his school bag and head out the door. He entered the kitchen, opened a cupboard and the fridge and pulled out the ingredients he needed to make a southwest omelette: Eggs, some butter, ham, onions, peppers and parsley. A normal fourteen year old boy wouldn’t have to be able to exist completely independently of his parents. But Ryan’s situation in life was far from normal. He listened to some music as he prepared and ate his breakfast. Once he had finished, Ryan placed the dirty dishes and cutlery in the dishwasher and then placed a load of laundry in the rarely used washing machine. Ryan’s mother, Lisa, never had the patience to wait the eternity it took the washing machine to clean a load of clothes. She washed everything by hand. It was faster.
Once the
chores were done, Ryan took the cookie jar down from the shelf and dipped his
hand inside to take some money out. Ryan’s dad wouldn’t allow sweets in the
house, instead the cookie jar held a few hundred dollars in cash, just in case
it came in handy. Ryan took a roll of fifty dollar bills out and slipped one
into his front pocket. He’d have to pay for lunch in school today. He didn’t
have time to cook something decent.
He left the apartment and headed for the elevator in the hall. He needed to be at the bus stop in five minutes. The rest of the building was quiet. The other occupants had left at the same time as his parents had. He exited the building and walked to the bus stop. He didn’t have to wait long for a yellow and black school bus to turn the corner and pull up at the kerb. He got on board and nodded in greeting to the driver. The bus was mostly full. Ryan shuffled down the aisle as the bus started moving; several of the other kids were staring at him, wondering who the newcomer was. Ryan continued on down the aisle and spotted an empty seat about half way down the bus. As he approached the boy sitting beside the seat placed his hand to guard the empty space:
“Someone’s
already sitting there. Find somewhere else.” The boy said.
Ryan sat
down on an empty seat near to the back of the bus, beside a girl who didn’t
even look at him as he sat down. She was too busy staring out the window,
trying not to catch his eye. The bus sauntered through the early morning
traffic and reached its destination: Jimmy Carter Middle School. The doors
opened and the bus disgorged its passengers. Ryan followed his new schoolmates
out the door and into the school. The place was noisy and warm as friends who
hadn’t seen each other in weeks laughed and talked together. Ryan took it all
in as he moved slowly down the packed corridor. The School had the usual
cliques, the pretty girls hung out with other pretty girls, the sports stars
hung out with other sports stars and the quiet kids hung out in small closely
knit groups or alone.
It was
exactly like Ryan’s last school back in Chicago, except that most people here
were much better sun tanned. Ryan followed the signs for the Vice-principal’s
office and knocked on the open door.
“Come in.”
said a bespectacled woman seated behind a desk. “Excuse me.” said Ryan. “I’m a new student here.”
“Name?” She responded.
“Ryan Curtis.”
“Ah, Yes.” She said as she ticked a box on a printed list that lay on her desk. She smiled at Ryan: “Are your parents with you?”
“No,
they’re busy.”
“Well
that’s understandable. I’m Angela Williams. Your home room is number fourteen. Take
a right when you leave my office and then take a left. It’s the sixth door on
your right. It’s numbered.”
“Thanks.”
said Ryan.
“The
Vice-principal asked to speak with you when you arrived. He’s in his office, go
straight in. I hope you enjoy your time with us Ryan.”
“I hope so
too. See you again.”
Ryan
rapped his knuckles on the open door and entered the Vice-principal’s office.
The Vice-principal’s
nameplate on his desk identified him as Mr Stack. He attempted to smile as Ryan
walked in, at least, the sides of his mouth curled up slightly and he exposed
some teeth. “Ryan Curtis. It’s nice to meet you. Are your parents here?”
“No. They were called away on business.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, I was really hoping to meet them. Never mind, let’s have a quick chat before you start class. I like to get to know all my students. Connecting with people personally was a value espoused by the man who this institution of learning was named after: Our thirty-ninth and best President.” Mr Stack leaned back in his chair and pointed up at the portrait of President Carter which hung over his desk.
“That’s great.” said Ryan.
“Yes, He was great wasn’t he? I know it’s fashionable for people to mock the man as ineffective in office but he proved them wrong afterwards. Yes he did!”
“I suppose.” said a confused Ryan, this wasn’t how educators were supposed to talk.
“His approach to life informs everything this school strives for. Have you seen our motto? “Attempt to succeed.” Marvellous sentiments, I’m sure you’ll agree.”
“Yes, I
definitely do.” Ryan said in an effort to bring the conversation to a close
before it became even weirder. “I’d better go to class.”
“Yes.”
responded Mr Stack as he stood up to shake Ryan’s hand. “Best of luck.”
Ryan left
the office as quickly as was polite. A bell rang, signalling to everyone that
they had better get to class instantly. Ryan picked up the pace and got to his
new classroom just as the second bell sounded. A desk at the front was the only
one still free. He sat down and tucked his bag underneath his desk. He probably
had a locker somewhere. He’d ask someone later on. An adult waltzed into the
room and stood at the top of the class.
“Good
Morning class.” He said with a slight lisp.
“Good
Morning sir.” The class chorused in unison.
“Many of
you know who I am, I recognise a lot of you from last year. I’m Mr Ridge.
English teacher and the nearest thing this school has to a poet. But enough
about me; we’ll allow our new classmates introduce themselves. You there!” he
said pointing at Ryan. “I don’t know who you are. Tell us about yourself.”
“What
would you like to know?” Ryan asked.
“Your name
for starters.”
“I’m Ryan
Curtis, I moved here nearly a year ago but this is my first time at the
school.”
“And what
did you do for a year instead of coming to our palace of education?”
“I was…home
schooled.”
“And why
did you stop?”
“My
parents thought it might be a good idea to meet people of my own age. We used
to travel a lot because of my parents job but we’re settling down now.”
“Very
good. What do your parents do?”
There it
was: the question Ryan dreaded. The answer he gave would undoubtedly greatly affect
the new few weeks and months of his life.
“They’re
involved in law enforcement.”
“Excellent.
Who’s next? You there, the blonde girl with the vacant expression!” said Mr
Ridge.
Ryan sat
back and relaxed. He’d dodged that bullet. He mentally gave himself a pat on
the back, saying that his parents worked in law enforcement had been smart. It
was partially true and also managed to skirt the issue of what it was they
actually did. School life would be difficult enough without letting everyone
know on the first day that his parents were Superheroes.
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