EASTSIDE

01 .

THE FIRST DAY
OF SCHOOL IS
ALWAYS THE HARDEST.

But not for Bayley. She never understood why there were people who feard the first day of school. She could understand if an elementary schooler was afraid, but a high schooler? Come on.

She grabbed the bookbag that was placed next to her and stood up, feeling the bus take a halt. She has arrived. It was her last first day of school. There was no need to be nervous. She had known all the kids in her high school since she was five. She watched them all grow, along with herself. Who was there to impress? No one but her teachers.

She walked off the bus and she walked towards the doors, ready to start her day when she felt someone tug her back. "Hey!"

About to give the person a piece of her mind, she turned around and was met with a blue-haired female. She rolled her eyes as the female laughed. "Not funny, Sasha. I have important stuff in here."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "You do this shit every year. Loosen up a bit. It's out freakin' senior year dude! We're graduating and getting the hell out of this dump!"

"Ms. Banks, please," the two girls hear from the principal next to them. "Sorry, principal H. It won't happen again."

The man nodded as he let the two girls walk into the school building. "But, Pam, I'm serious," Bayley winced at the sound of her middle name being used, "you need to loosen up. Get a boyfriend, lose your virginity, do something stupid and memorable. Please."

Bayley shook her head in disapproval as the two stopped by her locker. "No, Sasha. I have too much to worry about. I have community service at the clinic, I have to worry about my college applications, get teacher recs. I can't be slacking off with silly boys. I don't even know if I'll go to prom."

Her friend let out a dramatic gasp, placing her hand on her chest. "You are not missing prom. We planned this since we were eight. If you miss prom, I'll never speak to you and you'll be the dork with no friends."

Bayley let out a small laugh. "You'd never."

"Watch me."

Bayley let out another laugh. "Fine. Because prom is important to you, I'll go. But I don't wanna party this year. I have too much stuff to worry about and as my best friend," she said as she put some items in her locker, "I need you to be understanding."

Sasha sighed. "One party?"

"No."

"You are unbelievable."

Bayley closed her locker. "I was supportive when you started dating Seth sophomore year. All I'm asking is for you to respect my choices."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're comparing my relationship to your problems? You can't do that."

Bayley smiles. "I can and I will. I have two free periods. I'll be in the library. Text me first before you decide to bother me." She walks away from her best friend and heads toward down the hall.

She opened the door and headed to the front desk to mark herself present. She picked up the pen and started to write her name when she felt a presence behind her. She finished signing her name before walking off, ignoring the person behind her.

She walked to the back of the library, putting her bag on the desk. This was her spot every year. The thought of coming here every day, seeing the days get shorter, the leaves fall to the ground and soon be replaced with snow, and soon, the grass growing, and the cycle repeating again. Symbolism.

She took out her copy of The Great Gatsby and her laptop, getting ready to re-edit the essay that she had worked all summer on. Describe how three characters in the novel would survive modern-day troubles and explain your reasoning behind it.

She opened the book to a bookmarked page as she began to skim through the page, making sure she got the best evidence that she could to get the best grade on her English essay.

"Hey," she heard, making her look up from her book. There stood a man, dressed in all black. How was he not uncomfortable wearing all of that black? She couldn't think of a time where she saw him not wear black.

"Yes?" She responds.

"Do you have a pencil I can borrow?" He smirked at her. She shook her head. "I don't share my pencils. Sorry."

He rolls his eyes. "Bayley you've known me since the first grade. My best friend is dating your best friend. I'm pretty sure you can trust me with a pencil."

"I don't even give Sasha a pencil. What makes you think I'll give you a pencil?"

"Because you're the only person in the library and I didn't do my summer homework and in order to play soccer, I needed to start doing my homework. So, pencil, please."

Bayley sighed as she reached into her bag and pulled out the pencil and handed it to him. "I need it back before the end of next period."

He snickers. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You'll get the pencil back when I'm done."

[ edited 08-12-2021]
[ word count 881 ]