A Freshmen's First Day

Jennifer or Jenn as she preferred, felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach as she prepared for her first day as a freshmen in high school. Not only would this be her first day at a new school, but the first day with new classmates. She attended middle school in New Jersey and should have been attending high school with her fellow eighth grade graduates. A bad domestic situation forced her mother to relocate them back to Pennsylvania. They now lived with her aunt whose oldest son, Josh, would be a sophomore in high school. At least I'll know someone, Jenn thought as she ran a brush through her hair.

Her vision was bad enough to label her legally blind. Due to her smaller than average stature made her look younger than fourteen. After breakfast she went into the downstairs bathroom to brush the food out of her braces. There's another thing going against me, she thought as she navigated the electric tooth brush around the wires in her mouth. She replaced the electric toothbrush on the charger, and joined her three cousins by the door.

The four of them hoisted backpacks onto their backs, received kisses good-bye from their mothers and aunts, and proceeded to the bus stop. The spot where the bus picked up was at the bottom of the hill, at the end of the drive way. The four adolescences made their way down the perilous hill doing their best to keep to the narrow shoulder. The knot in Jenn's stomach tightened around her breakfast as the big yellow bus stopped in front of them. Josh assisted her with getting on the bus, and headed toward the back. Jenn took her place in the front seat behind the drive; a precaution her mother insisted upon in the event of an emergency.

The bus pulled up in front of the high school. Jenn disembarked, and waited for Josh. He guided her inside, and introduced her to another student named Steph who assisted her in finding her homeroom. Jenn relaxed a bit once she was settled at a desk. She looked over the enlarged copy of the schedule and map that her vision itinerant, Mrs. Watson, made for her. She helped Jenn orient to her schedule the day before, but the building was empty then.

By the time home room was over, she had memorized her class schedule and the route to each class. She and Josh would pass each other en route occasionally, and would acknowledge each other with a quick "hello". Most of her teachers were more than willing to accommodate their curriculum to Jenn's visual needs.

When it was time for her to go to lunch she was permitted to leave the class prior a bit early so that she could navigate through the line with proper assistance. Once she purchased food she attempted to find a seat in the crowded cafeteria.

"Jenn?" A voice inquired.

Jenn turned to see a tall young man with short dark hair approaching her. He wore a pair of blue jeans and an untucked t-shirt. She had to tilt her head up to attempt eye contact.

"Hi, I'm Will," he offered. "We're in choir together."

"Oh, hi," Jenn felt the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile.

"Would you like to sit with me, and some of our other choir friends?" Will offered.

"Um, sure," Jenn felt her cheeks heat.

This was new for her. Boys did not approach her let alone invite her to sit with them. Will led her back to the table he was sitting at, moving slowly so that she could keep up, and moving abandoned chairs out of their way. Once they were seated he introduced her to the rest of the group.

After lunch Jenn navigated her way through four more classes, and then it was time to head home. Steph assisted her with finding the right bus, and she once again took her seat at the front behind the driver. The bus stopped at the middle school to collect her younger cousins, and then proceeded on the route home dropping off students along the way. When Jenn and her younger cousins disembarked they made their way back up the hill discussing their first day of school.

Word Count: 720