Chapter 25
I’m up early on Monday morning for school.
I pick out my favorite blue jeans to wear along with a new t-shirt and leather jacket, pulling my hair up into a high ponytail so it’s out of the way.
Because I’ve never really worn makeup before, I grab some chapstick.
With my new gym bag packed and cell in my back pocket, I throw my wallet in my backpack with my school supplies.
As I make my way to the kitchen, I notice Zander cooking eggs and bacon at the stove. “Hey Summer. All ready for day one?” He asks as he sets a plate on the island for me.
“As I’ll ever be,” I respond, grabbing a mug for my tea. I’m nervous, of course, but knowing I have nice friends helps tremendously. From what I know of Seb, he’ll stick close by.
“I have my own money, Zander. You don’t need to do that,” I say, exasperated.
“But I want to, Summer. I told you I was going to deposit money every month into your account, and so I did. Starting last night,” he smiles. “Now, are you taking or buying lunch today?” He asks as he takes a seat beside me with his own plate of bacon and eggs.
“I thought I’d buy today so I can check out what the food is like.”
“Solid plan. When should we arrive at the school for Alex’s meeting?”
“He said before school, so I’m meeting Seb outside about 7:20am.”
“Okay, eat up and let’s get going. There’s not much time,” Zander replies, eating quickly.
We gobble breakfast and do the dishes. I grab a bottle of water to put in my backpack, and then we’re off to school. When Zander pulls up in front, Seb is standing on the steps outside the front doors. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come to the office with you, Summer?” Zander asks in concern.
“No, I think it’ll be fine. Seb seemed confident Alex would resolve it this morning,” I reply, opening the passenger door to hop down.
“Text me if there’s an issue and I’ll drive right back over here, okay?”
“Thanks, Zander,” I smile. With a deep breath, I close the truck door. Waving goodbye, I walk towards the front doors. One moment at a time, Summer.
“Hey Sunshine,” Seb calls out. I wave back as I climb the steps. After giving me a quick hug, he opens the door for me. “Alex went straight to the principal. Let’s find out if he performed his magic.”
I follow Seb back to the office. A few people are milling about, but the hallways are mostly empty.
When we enter the office doors, I notice a tall guy with wavy dirty blond hair exiting the principal’s office.
They shake hands as the guy walks towards us.
This must be Alex. Another cute guy. There must be something in the water down here.
He stops at the desk behind reception and says something to the woman working there.
She types on her computer and hands Alex some paperwork from the printer.
Then he walks by and motions for us to follow him into the hallway.
He turns and smiles at me once we’re past the office windows. “Hi Summer, I am Alex. Nice to meet you in person.” Alex is a few inches over 6ft tall. Intense light green eyes look down at me. He’s got an angular jaw, plump soft pink lips, and cheekbones that could cut glass.
“Hi Alex. Thank you for talking to the principal this morning for me.”
“My pleasure, Summer. He agreed to allow you into the AP Seminar class.” He hands me the paperwork he’s holding. “Have Z sign the top form and drop it off at reception tomorrow morning. Your new class schedule is on the second page, and a school map is on the third.”
“That’s amazing, Alex. Thank you so much. What about Ms. Johnson? “
“The principal will handle her. Hopefully, you will not need to deal with her until next year.”
“I knew you could fix this stuff, Alex. Thanks, man,” Seb says, clapping him on the shoulder. “How about a tour, Sunshine, to help you navigate your way today?”
I nod as Seb and Alex take me around the school, pointing out all my classrooms to me, my locker, and the gym, which is a separate vast building behind the school.
An indoor track surrounds a court with foldaway bleachers on both sides.
There’s an Olympic-sized pool with diving boards on the left side of the building.
Offices, bathrooms, and a concession stand line the main hallway connecting the two halves of the complex.
Tennis courts, a baseball field, and a large track area are outside to the right of the gym complex.
It’s all much bigger than what I’m used to in Virginia.
As we head back inside the main school, I notice a lot more students filling up the space.
The wide hallways keep it from being too congested, though, and Alex and Seb walk on either side of me.
We stop at Seb’s and Alex’s lockers, then go back to mine so I can drop off my gym bag.
E, Bay and Nick are waiting at my locker. I look up and raise my eyebrow at Seb.
“What? I told them to meet us at your locker, Sunshine.”
The guys get a few shout-outs as I’m filling my locker, but I pay little attention.
Gabby and some girls are approaching the guys when I turn around.
This past year, I would have put my head down so as not to engage with people.
Be brave, a new beginning, I remind myself.
Socializing is part of getting my life back.
“Hi Gabby,” I greet her with a small wave.
“Hey Summer. Excited for your first day?” She asks with a big smile. She’s wearing her new blue leather jacket with leggings and a tank top, and it looks amazing on her.
“Yeah, so far, so good,” I nod, as the girls crowd closer to our group, making me feel a little uncomfortable.
“These are my friends Cara, Ana, and Stacey,” Gabby introduces.
I wave at the girls and say hi as Seb puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. That causes the girl I think is named Cara to narrow her eyes. Hmm, found a mean girl or a jealous ex already?
“Hello ladies,” Seb smiles. Seb and E talk to the girls about spring break while I stand there.
“Shall we head to class?” Alex offers, speaking quietly from my other side.
“Yes, please,” I answer, ducking out from under Seb’s arm. I wave to the rest of the guys and walk to AP Biology with Alex. He introduces me to the teacher, Mr. Davies.
“Nice to meet you, Summer. Alex, you’re the only one without a partner, so Summer can work with you,” he says, handing me a textbook and syllabus. I follow Alex to the second bench on the left side of the classroom.
“Why don’t you have a partner?” I ask, pulling out a stool and opening my backpack for a pen and notebook.
“There was an uneven number of students until you arrived, and I prefer to work alone,” he replies simply, getting himself situated.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I won’t bother you, I promise. We can do our work separately,” I say, feeling awkward and a little disappointed.
“No, Summer, I am sorry,” he sighs. “I have no issue working with you. I did not mean to imply that. I prefer to work alone, as many students want me as a partner for grades or to be close to my family.”
“And I already used your connections to get into the AP Seminar class,” I say, scrunching up my nose. “Now I feel terrible.”
“That is not the same thing, Summer. I offered. You and Zander were going to handle it this morning yourselves if I had not stepped in. Besides, you are a friend,” he replies with a gentle smile.
“I promise not to use you for your brains or your family,” I joke. “Not that I have any idea who your family is,” I shrug.
The teacher calls the class to order. Luckily, we’re starting a new section on DNA today.
The first 30 minutes are a lecture where I take notes.
This is followed by a one and a half hour lab in which we extract DNA from strawberries.
Alex and I get everything set up and work through the steps together.
It’s pretty easy, and we’re soon done. The teacher comes over to check our work, then we clean up, and we have almost a half hour left.
“Would you like to go over the syllabus?” Alex offers.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I nod, grabbing the paper the teacher gave me to read through it.
It looks like this school has followed a similar order of studies to my school in Virginia, except for one section.
“So I haven’t done the mathematical modelling labs in Virginia, but it looks like everything else is similar. ”
“We can schedule lab time, and I can take you through those. All the lectures from this semester are available online in your student portal. All your classes should be on there as well. AP English is a discussion class and involves group projects. Miss Miller prefers a different lecture style than other teachers usually do,” Alex tells me.
“That would be amazing, Alex. Thanks.” I give him a genuine smile, so appreciative he would take time out of his schedule to help me get caught up.
“I will consult with Mr. Davies and determine when we can book lab time,” he says, getting up and moving to the teacher’s desk, so I grab my phone to check out the student portal.
Creating a login is a quick process, and all my classes are listed there.
I browse AP Bio and notice a folder for labs and one for lectures, with dates attached to each file.
Easy enough. AP Chemistry has a similar setup.
AP English has a list of books and discussion questions attached to each book.
There is also a list of group projects. Opening the book list, I realize I haven’t read the three books they’ve already completed.
That will require some extra work for sure.
Alex comes back to our lab bench. “I booked the lab for a week from Saturday in the morning. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine, thank you, Alex.” I quickly add a reminder on my phone and inquire about the AP Seminar class. “So, how does the seminar work?”