2

As he sat down, he wondered how long the bus ride would take. The bus doors closed and the bus started to move but stopped just as quickly as it had started. The doors opened and Travis craned his neck to see the late-comer. A short girl, about the same age as Travis climbed the steps of the bus and apologized to the driver for being late. She quickly walked the length of the bus and sat in the only available seat on the bus right next to Travis. She put her legs up on the seat in front of her and started to chat animatedly with another girl on the seat across from them. The girl sitting beside Travis was short, with long dark hair and dark eyes and throughout the bus ride Travis could judge her bubbly personality through the conversation she was having with the other girl. Pretending not to listen to the conversation, he picked up the girl’s name.

“Trish, you’re always late for the bus, don’t you learn?” the girl in the other seat whined.

“Sorry sorry, I was up late talking to Brad last night again” Trish giggled. The other girl’s eyes opened wide and Travis could tell where the conversation was headed. He turned the music up on his iPod and drowned out the gossiping girls beside him.

As the bus drove along, Travis judged the kids around him. Almost every student wore a brand-name sweater, including himself. If he knew one thing, it was to wear your nicest clothes on your first day at a new school, make a good first impression. Judging by the clothes the other kids wore, Travis figured the school would be a pretty rich one. Well, at least he wouldn’t be going to another poor school again.

The bus only made one more stop before it pulled up in front of the school twenty minutes after Travis got on. The students filed off the bus and Travis had his first glimpse of his new school. It was way larger than what he expected, he counted three wings just in the front of the school attached to the main building. In the background, he could make out a track surrounding a football field on which early morning runners were already practicing.

Travis followed the crowd of students flowing towards the school in search of the main office. As he entered the school he heard snatches of conversation from the students around him. He knew he would never be able to find the main office unless he asked someone. However, everyone was already in the midst of a conversation, who was he supposed to ask? He glanced around quickly and spotted a girl who was alone, but staring at her cell phone in her hand, not talking to anyone else. This girl was obviously very pretty and he knew that if he didn’t talk to her now, someone else would. He ran up to her and quickly took in her appearance before he spoke. The girl was tall, with blonde hair down to her shoulders. She wore a short skirt and a tight white sweater with the words ‘Abercrombie & Fitch’ written across the front. When he approached she lifted her head and he saw that she had shining blue eyes and freckles dotted her cheeks before she lowered her head again to stare back at her cell phone.

“Hi, my names Travis uh I’m new here and uh...” Travis stuttered, nervous.

“No.” The girl answered sharply, without looking at him. Travis frowned and politely continued,

“I need to know where the main office is, I need to—“ The girl cut him short,

“No.” Becoming upset at her rudeness, Travis raised his voice

“Look, I need to get my schedule and it would really help if—“ The girl looked up from her cell phone,

“Third door on the right” and pointed in the general direction of the main office. On her hand he noticed a thin scar in the shape of an S that ran the length of her thumb. Funnily enough, he had a birthmark on the bottom of his foot just like it. He didn’t stare too long in fear that she would bite his head off.

“Thank you, bye” Travis breathed out and walked quickly in the direction of her pointing finger. He took the third door on the right, just like the girl had told him.

1

What was this, the fourth school in just over a year? Every other month it seemed like his family would move somewhere far enough away that he had to switch schools every time. His mother would get sick of one place and drag the rest of her family along with her to a new one. He had just started making friends in the last school too, but then of course she had to end it again.

Travis walked down the street to the bus stop on the corner, thinking about his past school and how this one would probably be the same thing; the kids in the cafeteria, separated by cliques, not daring to step out of the one they 'belonged to'. He would probably have to spend lunch in the library today, maybe by the end of the week he’d build up the courage to sit in the cafeteria with the other students.

He had never gotten close to anyone before now. He never had enough time to make best friends; he barely had enough time to even make acquaintances.Already at the bus stop was another boy who obviously went to the same school as Travis would soon be attending. He wore a team jacket with the words ‘West High Football’ embroidered across the back. All Travis could see of the boy was his back, but the boy was noticeably taller than him. From the back he could see that the boy had short black spiked hair, and that he was listening to music judging by the headphones stuck in his ears.

As Travis approached, he could hear the music from the other kid’s earphones blasting through the warm air. Travis noticed the warmth because in the last place they lived, it was cold now, as New York was almost in winter already. Here, in Florida, it was summer all year round, even in the middle of November.The other boy turned his head as Travis walked up beside him but didn’t say anything to him. The boy had dark round eyes and an olive complexion. His broad shoulders gave him a demeaning stature and even through the thick football jacket his biceps were noticeable. Travis politely nodded a greeting, and the other boy nodded back, still without speaking. From where he was standing, Travis could see something embroidered on the side of the boy’s sweater. ‘Quarterback’ it read. From what Travis could tell, this kid would definitely fit the definition of jock.

As the two boys waited, Travis looked up and down the street for any sign of the bus approaching. It was early in the morning, almost 8 o’clock so there were barely any cars on the road in front of them. Just as Travis was reaching into his bag to retrieve his iPod, he caught sight of the bus rounding the corner before it pulled up in front of him and the other boy. The doors squng open and Travis got on the bus after the boy and looked for a seat alone. A girl in the third seat from the front beckoned to the football player and he sat down in the seat next to her. Travis moved to find a seat two seats behind the girl and the huge football player.