First Impression I

Chapter Three- Introductions and Impressions

Chapter Three- Introductions and Impressions

The school bell rang, signalling the beginning of class. I bade goodbye to Angelina and her friends whom I had been talking to and headed towards my first class- Advanced Literature. Manoeuvring myself through the crowds in the corridors, butterflies erupted in my stomach and all the symptoms of first-day-of-school-nerves came rushing in. I attempted to convince myself that there was nothing to worry about but the symptoms merely intensified. Brilliant.

I wobbled into the classroom. Mrs Catherine Taylor, the teacher, looked up and smiled. “You must be Eleanore, I’m Mrs Taylor. Come in.” she said gently. I nodded and walked up to her desk.

“Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?” she asked. As if a ‘No’ would be accepted as an answer. I sighed and began the first of the many self-introductions to come my way.

“Hi, my name is Eleanore. Literature is one of my favourite subjects so please welcome me here,” I said. Well done, I congratulated myself. I did not stutter. I sounded confident. Excellent first impression.

To be truthful, I am not really that confident. I am only boisterous and frank with close friends. I get rather awkward talking to people whom I don’t really know well, especially popular girls and guys, actually all guys. But confidence is important. I’ll just start anew here.

“Thank you very much. Please take a seat, anywhere you wish,” she said and turning to the class, “Please take out ‘Wuthering Heights’. We will be analysing this book for the next three weeks.”

I tuned Mrs Taylor out and stared around the classroom instead. It was spacious and airy. Desks were arranged in rows of three and quite a few of them were not filled. My eyes immediately zoomed in to the aisle near the window overlooking the courtyard. I love window seats. Looking at fluffy white clouds is a really good way to meaningfully waste away a boring class. Besides, cloud gazing will give you inspiration. That is a fact well tested and tried by me on several occasions.

I walked towards the window seat. Two other girls were sitting beside my chosen seat. The girl in the middle seat was absolutely gorgeous. With chestnut brown tresses that curled only at the tips, almond-shaped hazel eyes, a perfectly straight nose and a smooth powder complexion, she was the picture of beauty. I couldn’t help staring for she was exactly what I had always wanted to look like. Tall, beautiful and elegant.

I reluctantly turned to look at the girl sitting on her right. She was beautiful too, in her own right. Shiny blonde hair hung down her shoulders in curly locks, framing her warm grey eyes. Sunlight reflected off her hair, giving her a bright golden aura. I realised that I had met her yesterday. She was one of the best opera singers of this school. I became slightly more positive. I knew one of their names.

“Hi,” I began. “May I sit here?” I motioned towards the empty window seat. The blonde looked at the brunette who just shrugged, not looking at me. That was not very welcoming. I sat down, putting on a cheerful smile and masking my disappointment. Something told me that the brunette didn’t like me. But why? I shrugged the thought away. I was over thinking and analysing.

“So you’re Alice right? I said to the blonde.

“How did you know?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“We met yesterday. Angelina introduced you and all the other singers,” I replied.

Alice smiled, her whole face lighting up. “You actually remembered!” she exclaimed joyously. The brunette, however, stiffened at the mention of Angelina. I wondered why. My gut feeling told me that the reason would explain why she disliked me so. Again, I ignored it.