GONER

4 • Spilled Coffee

Walking into a new school is like entering a battlefield. Except you're the only one on your side and everyone else has already formed their seperate army, and you're the intruder. Which is exactly how I felt at this very second in time. And, how I would feel, for the many seconds to come.

Almost everyone had looked at me, if they weren't staring, and I felt anxious, all of my confidence seeping through my fingers like sand. I was in different periods of despondency the further I moved down the hall. When I first entered the doors, I felt okay. The closer I got to other human beings, though, the more I began to fear. It's not even that I was afraid of the people themselves, but the way most of them made me feel was the problem. I just felt so insignificant, and by the looks people were giving me at this moment, I knew that feeling would return. What a shame, it wasn't even gone for three days.

And, because I just had to make this day even better for everyone, I decide to run directly into some guy with a suit on, and spill his coffee everywhere. Squeezing my eyes shut, I sighed, hearing people start talking. The conversations were different now, and that's the only reason I started to worry. They went from aimless and random to entertaining and mocking. I tried to ignore them as best as I could and trained my eyes on the ground before prying them open.

"I'm guessing you're the new kid?" I heard the man sigh. Looking up sheepishly, I nodded. He had two napkins in his hand and his empty coffee cup, which made me feel bad. Plus, it was sticky on my hands, and soaked his clothing.

"I'm really sorry," I apologized, knowing words wouldn't dry him off. He smiled gently, handing me a napkin, before motioning for me to follow him.

"It's alright," he sighed, straightening his tie as I walked beside him. I couldn't tell where we were going, but I figured the office, considering that's where I was supposed to go in the first place. Because no one showed me around, I didn't know where to go. Directions were not something I got along well with.

"I'm Mr. Dobson, by the way," he stated, pushing me into an office. "The principal of this fine place." Sitting down behind a big wooden desk, he motioned for me to take a seat, too. I felt really uncomfortable sitting in a foreign place, though, and so I sighed gently.

"You gonna stand?" He asked me, smiling. Watching me nod quickly, he chuckled before opening one of his drawers. First, he grabbed a pack of wetwipes, and I sighed, because I really did feel bad about that. Of course, only I would manage to do something like that. On my first day. But when he smiled at me reassuringly and handed me a piece of paper, I figured it was alright. "That's your schedule. If you need anyone to show you around, just ask. There's a map on the back, though, because some of your classes are upstairs." He announced, swiping at his tie with the moist cloth-like cleaning supply.

"Thanks," I sigh, not bothering to scan the paper until I get out of his office. I could tell he was nice, but hated offices like that. They made me nervous, just like everything else. Very rarely was I in trouble, so I didn't know how to act in atmospheres like that. Plus, knowing I spilled hot liquid on him just made em want to avoid him for the rest of the day. Or, if I'm lucky, the entire year.

It turns out, though, that I most certainly did need help navigating. My first class, this paper said, or what I thought it said, was on the first floor. Sighing, I kept my head down still. But for the sake of any more coffee mugs, I glanced up occasionally.

There was nothing except a few lines to tell me where to go to, and I had no idea as to how to read this. It didn't help that the printer was straight crap, either. They probably ran out of ink and just figured they could buy more later, like every school in America. So, like an idiot, I walked with the paper an inch from my nose for about twenty minutes until I looked up. Surpise didn't even register when I realized that I wasn't anywhere close to where I had to be. No one had asked me if I needed help yet, and so I didn't know where I was supposed to end up on this long and dangerous journey through a high school hallway.