The New Student

Chapter 3

      The first bell had finally rung, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. The door to their classroom instantly opened and Mrs Schmidt appeared and waved at the students to come inside. Without saying a word to each other, both Sydney and Derek walked inside.

      Alright, where do I sit? Derek frantically scanned the room. For him, this was a more intense version of musical chairs. Sydney seemed to notice he was having trouble, mainly because he was unknowingly blocking her path to the desks.

     "Whatever desk you choose, I'll try to sit next to you. How about those two over there?" Sydney pointed to the row of desks that were parallel to the teacher's. There was an empty middle section in the room which served as a hallway with rows of desks pointed towards it on both sides. Derek walked over to the second seat in the line and Sydney took the seat in front of him at the front of the row.

     Everyone had now settled into their seats as the last bell rang, signaling the first period class had just started. The teacher introduced herself to the class and went through the usual first-day monologue. Every word that came out of her mouth bounced off of Derek like he was covered in an invisible force field. It was too late for him to focus now. The only thing that snapped him out of his thoughts were the syllabus packets that were being passed around. He took the stack that Sydney dangled over her shoulder, took a copy, and passed the rest to the students behind him. Snap out of it! Focus!

     Sydney carefully paid attention to Mrs. Schmidt's words. This sounded like another class that would be a piece of cake. Critical thinking, essays, dissecting novels, nothing out of the ordinary for her. At the moment, she was grateful that she interacted with someone so quickly. It was good to know her social skills hadn't faded.

     He seems nice. He looked a little nervous talking to me, though. I wonder if Keisha knows him.

The introductory class was coming to an end. Derek wondered what he was going to do once the bell had rung and class was dismissed. The thought of speaking to her during the passing period crossed his mind, but he was stuck on what to say. This was unfamiliar territory for him. He's damn near a legal adult, so he couldn't let something like a pretty girl choke him up. He considered texting James to see if he was busy to help him take his mind off his issue. Nah, I'll just tell him at lunch.

     The school bell grabbed his attention, as well as all the students getting up and grabbing their belongings. Derek quickly stood up and got behind Sydney as a line was forming to leave the classroom.

     "Hey Sydney. Do you need any help getting to your next class?" he asked, as he tried to keep himself calm and not sound as nervous as he really was.

     "No, it's okay. I had my friend show me around this morning. But thank you, though." They both left the room and found themselves heading in the same direction, walking through the hallway of other language classes that made up the Right Wing of the school. Both wings were connected to the main hallway that was chocked full of lockers, bulletin boards, and the occasional water fountain. The electives, such as Metals and Art, were the only classes to be stationed in the main hallway. Sydney stopped and faced her next class: Photography.

     "Oh, you have photography next? You are going to like that class. Mr. Chamberlain is a really funny guy. There's even a darkroom in there." Derek said as he thought of the memories he made in that class. Sydney turned to face him and smiled, a gesture he would hope to see very often in the coming future.

     "Yeah, that's why I chose it. I really enjoy taking pictures of, well, everything." As she was explaining her love of photography, Derek easily clued in on her changes in body language. Her pupils widened, and she started flailing her arms in a way people do when they talk about their passion. She wasn't lying. "My old school didn't have a photography class, so I was stoked when I found out this place had one." She had to stop herself from talking Derek's ear off, even though he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. "Well, I should probably get in there. It was nice meeting you Derek."

     "Yeah same here." He started walking down the hallway as she entered the classroom, smiling ear to ear. He couldn't believe his luck. Sydney had already rented out an enormous space in his mind, and he was a generous landlord.