A Mom in Middle School

Cool In Middle School

Okay. First day at school number ten. The big ten.

I got out of bed and threw the Spongebob covers off Josie. She swatted at me and pulled them back over her head. I went downstairs and found a spot at the table across from Ethan, the one high-schooler.

"You excited?" he asked

"Mmm hmm," I said, pouring myself a bowl of Trix. The good kind, before they made all the fruity shapes into spheres, then brought the shapes back by popular demand. "I'm pumped to go to a school with actual people. The last place stuck Josie and I in a K through twelve little rural Catholic school. I had ten kids in my entire grade."

"Wow. That's nuts," Ethan said. "I can bring you over to the front office, if you want."

"I'm good. I'll figure it out," I said.

I took a few bites of cereal before my stomach decided that it was enough. I held back my nausea as much as I could, but it was no use. Halfway up the stairs, I started running to the bathroom. I threw up, but tried to brush it off. I was okay. I was going to start at a real middle school today. It was gonna be a good day. I brushed my teeth quickly and went back to my room. Josie was just starting to wake up.

Now that my garbage bags were unpacked, I could look through all of my clothes in my half of the closet. Janet took us shopping to get a few new things. I put on jeans and a dark blue Abercrombie shirt. After that I straightened my hair, put on eyeshadow, eyeliner, and maskcara, then finished it up with my favorite cupcake-flavored lip gloss. I thought I looked good as hell back then, but now, I can't imagine wearing that much dark eye makeup against my red hair. It just didn't go at all.

I placed all my extra makeup and hair ties into the little purse that matched my brand-new, black and blue Vera Bradley tote bag, which contained more locker decorations than school supplies. I couldn't believe I hadn't had my own locker until eighth grade.

"Ros! Time to go!" Janet called from downstairs.

"Coming!" I said.

I placed my pink Razr phone and my treasured iPod shuffle I bought with my allowance money into the bag before grabbing a sweatshirt. Ethan waited for me by the front door. I slipped on my clogs and we started walking down the street. Since the middle and high school were right next to each other, everyone was lumped together on the same busses.

"I want you to meet Abbie. I told her that you guys are the same age. All the kids at our bus stop are older than her, so she never has anyone to talk to. She's excited to have someone to sit with," Ethan said.

"Sure. I like friends," I said.

I remember thinking, I like friends? Who on earth says that? You moron!

"Yeah, I like hanging out with my friends too," Ethan said. He brought me over to a girl in a sweatshirt and jeans, carrying a loaded backpack. Her hair was kept in a neat bun. "Hey Abbie! This is Ros."

Abbie perked up and walked over to us, giving a shy little wave.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," I said.

"Do you have your schedule yet?"

"Uh, yeah. It's right here," I said, pulling it out of my backpack. "I haven't been to the school yet, so can you show me where my locker is?"

"Yeah. Of course," she said, taking my schedule and looking over it. "Oh, we have gym together!"

"Cool," I said.

Wait. If I'm pregnant, can I even do gym class?

The bus came, and Abbie took a seat next to me. I wanted to listen to some music, but it felt like it was more important to get as much info about Pine Crest Middle School out of Abbie as I could.

"So, Ethan told me all the different halls have different colors. Which color is mine?" I asked, pointing to the hall listed on my schedule."

"Oh, Norris? That's the green one."

"Yuck. I hate green."

"I'll trade. I'm in Hetcher, which is bright yellow."

"Oh. Yikes," I said, causing us both to laugh.

We pulled up to the school, and Ethan said goodbye before he made his way up to the high school. I walked with Abbie into the cafeteria. It was noisy and crowded. Super overwhelming. I followed her through the crowd to the library, where we went over to a table with a kid in a fancy suit.

"Nice threads," I said to him.

"Why, thank you," he said, tipping his hat.

"Blake, this is Ros, my new neighbor," Abbie said.

"Good morning, my fair lady," Blake said. "Blake Zorro, future great actor."

"Don't mind him. He's a little weird," Abbie said, sitting down.

"We all are, in a way," I said.

I took the time to people-watch in the library. Everyone was just conversing with each other. Some kids had their headphones hidden by the hoods of their sweatshirts, but everyone was just looking at each other. No one's face was buried in their phone, since all our phones did at the time were texting and making calls.

When the staff finally let us go, Blake and Abbie walked me to my locker. It wasn't even in the main section of Norris Hall. It was all the way around the corner from it in these strange, light blue lockers that didn't match any of the halls.

"Whoa, finally, someone who has a locker near me!" Blake said. "I get a cool last name starting with Z, and this is what I get. It's like that episode of Ned's Declassified!"

I raised my hands and balled them into fists. "I have a locker at the end of the universe!"

"Hell yes!" Blake said, giving me a high-five. "I like this one, Abbie."

Blake and Abbie helped me get my locker all decorated before walking me to my homeroom. I was so relieved to at least be in a hall with Blake. We had science and math together.

The rest of my day was chaotic, but good. I sat alone at lunch, which was fine. I sat alone all the time at my Christan school because my classmates and I didn't get along. It gave me time to finally start reading some Harry Potter. Josie and I weren't allowed to at our last house.

About halfway through lunch, I was chilling out, eating tacos and reading Harry Potter when a lunch monitor came up to me.

"Oh what, I seriously can't have a book out while I'm eating?" I asked her.

"Are you Roslyn?"

"What's it to you?"

"You can drop the attitude or take it right to Peterman's office. How about that?"

"Ma'am, I don't even know who that is," I said.

"The principal. Now, are you Roslyn Jaxson? Let me see your student ID." I huffed and took my ID out of my wallet, then handed it to her. "You're being dismissed. You can go to the front office."

"Huh. Why?"

"You're being picked up. I was told to get you. Let's go."

I tossed the remaining bits of my tacos and chugged the last of my chocolate milk, then grabbed my tote bag and followed the lunch monitor to the office. I had no idea what was happening. There was no reason why I should be leaving right now. Why couldn't I have a normal first day at school?