Behind These Bars

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Walking into the entrance of Wake Forest Prep, I was surprised at how much I remembered about the layout. Before going to juvie I had spent my ninth grade year traveling these halls. Now as a tenth grader I felt like the new kid on the block again. I'm sure that in the few months that I had been gone, people that I used to somewhat converse with had moved on to bigger and better people, completely forgetting about little delinquent me. I would have to start all over again. After contemplating my situation, I realized that maybe starting over wasn't so bad.
Making my way to the front office, I opened up the glass door to enter the main lobby. Behind the huge oak desk was an older woman in her fifties, if I had to guess, typing away at her computer while simultaneously answering phone calls. After standing at the desk for a solid two minutes without any acknowledgement, I cleared my throat at the receptionist and kindly said, "Excuse me."
Finally realizing my presence the receptionist, who I could now se was named Anne, turned off her headset and rolled toward me in her plush chair. "Yes, can I help you dear?" I nodded my head and answered, "Um, yes. I'm here to collect my schedule." The receptionist rolled towards the assortment of filing cabinets located behind her desk. She then turned towards me and asked, "Name hun?" I didn't notice it but I had begun tapping my fingers on the solid wood of the desk. "Evangeline Lafayette," I said.
Anne immediately froze for a moment before glancing at me. She then began to reach for a file drawer while muttering "right" quietly under her breath. "Give me just a second to find it," she said. I just gave her a tight-lipped smile while I waited. It looked like word traveled fast about where I had been for the past couple of months. Turning back around, Anne rolled back over to me and handed me a piece of paper. "There you go. Do you need a map?" Her cheery demeanor had faded. "No thank you. Thanks for your help," I replied. With that I turned around and walked out of the doors of the office.
Once out of the office and away form Anne, the judgmental secretary, I looked down at my schedule. I had biology first with Mrs. Fletcher on the third floor; math studies with Mr. Grueman on the first floor; lunch; history with Mr. Cruz on the second floor; and finally English with Mrs. Altmann on the first floor. Sighing, I realized that this semester was already starting off challenging. Distantly, I heard the warning bell ring signaling that I needed to head to first block. Stopping by my locker to drop off my third and fourth block binders, I then headed to the stairwell.
One thing I had forgotten about high school during my stay at juvie was just how crowded the stairwells were. It was almost like going to war just to climb one flight of stairs. By the time I got to the third floor, I felt like I had just survived the apocalypse. Catching my breath, I glanced down the hall to see Mrs. Fletcher's room. As I crossed the threshold into her classroom, the final bell had just rang.
Glancing around the room, I was surprised to see everyone already in class and sitting in what I assumed were their respective seats. Guess they all knew what a mad house the stairs were during class change and decided to leave early to get here. "Can I help you?" Mrs. Fletcher asked. Turning around I was a tall woman standing beside her desk. Assuming that this was Mrs. Fletcher, I walked over to her. "Yes ma'am, you can. I'm new here and I have you as my first block." Handing my schedule to her I studied her while she confirmed my story. She was a tall woman who had to be around 5'10". She was younger, only in her early thirties I would guess. She had long brown hair and from what I could infer from her outfit today, an eclectic style. Looking up from the paper, she turned to me, "very well." "If you would please introduce yourself to the class."
I turned away from Mrs. Fletcher to face the people that had once been my classmates. Recognizing some faces, I took a deep breath and just decided to introduce myself quickly. Clearing my throat, I simply stated "My name is Evangeline. Evangeline Lafayette to be exact." Cue the wide eyes and whispers. Taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders, I walked to the only available desk in the back. Taking my seat and pulling out the required supplies for the class, I tried to ignore all the whispers and looks being directed at me. Awesome, I thought to myself, this day is going to be just great. Cue the sarcasm.