“Maybe this year won’t be so bad”, Joel says as the door shuts behind him. It was the first day at a new school. His backpack was as heavy as he could remember. High school books are heavy, he thinks as he comes to his locker. This was the third year in a row he had changed schools. To make it worse, this was his freshman year – a ball game he wasn’t used to playing from middle school. It was hard enough trying to make friends in a small school, but this…
A frown crosses his face. This is the fifth time he’d tried his locker now, and it wasn’t budging. Frustrated, he looks around for anybody having similar issues. A loud creak from behind him makes him jump.
“Oh, hey!” He says.
The sound came from the kid opening his locker beside him. “Sup?” he says.
Joel smiles. “Would you mind helping me out here? It’s not opening.”
“Oh, no prob. I had this locker last year. You just have to give it a kick. See?” The locker popped open after a few smashes. “So, where you from?”
“Canada, actually,” Joel replies.
“That’s cool, man. I’m Dave, by the way.”
“Joel,” he says. He started walking towards his first class. I don’t want to be late on my first day, he thought. Surprisingly, Dave followed.
“So, how long have you been in the states?” Dave says.
“About two months. We moved here over the summer so we could get acquainted with the community. I don’t know many people yet, but I like it so far.” Joel looked at his watch. “Uh…sorry, but I have to get going. My class starts in five minutes, and I’m not sure where it is.”
“What room is it in?”
“S340.”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” Dave says. “Just go down this hallway until you get to the water fountain, then go right down the hallway. It’s one of the first two doors.
“Thanks, Dave.” Joel began walking away in a hurry. Nice guy, he thought.
“Hey, look for me during lunch. I sit at the table near the soda machine,” he heard Dave shout over the crowd of students growing between them.
“Alright, will do!” Joel couldn’t help but laugh. Looks like he was right. This year wasn’t going to be so bad after all.