The Hudson Boys

C H A P T E R 1 0

C H A P T E R 1 0

I swallow my words the moment I step through the front gates of the school. Suddenly it feels like all eyes have turned to look at me, the new kid, and I know exactly what they would be thinking.

Who is she? What's her story?

Realistically I know that everyone is too busy greeting their friends and preparing for their first class to even notice me walk in but the few people who do happen to glance our way, their eyes widen as they see my arm linked through Ryan's and I quickly pull it away as not to draw too much attention to myself. I don't need people gossiping on my first day. I will be happy if I manage to go as unnoticed as possible. Ryan glances down at me with a questioning look on his face but continues walking across the courtyard as if he understands that I want to be as inconspicuous as possible. However, so far I don't seem to be doing a very good job. I can catch snippets of conversation as we pass by groups of students who look to be about our age.

...who is that...

...where did she come from...

...I didn't know the Hudson's had a sister...

...she better not be his girlfriend....

...Tara's gonna have her head on a silver platter....

Okay, so that last one is a little off-putting, and after that, I stop listening. Ryan directs me in the direction of a large brick building with a plaque labeled "Reception" above the double wooden doors. Ryan holds one open for me before following me inside. The lady behind the counter is short with a bleached blonde bob and half a pound of makeup on her face.

"Good morning Mr Hudson. How can I help you?" She asks popping her lipgloss cover lips. The way she drags her gaze over Ryan makes my stomach roll. 

"Good morning Miss Wilson," Ryan replies calmly.

"Please, call me Kate." She smiles sweetly at him but he's either totally oblivious or just outright ignoring her advances.

"Sorry, Miss, my friend Maya here is just starting at Fordman High School today. Do you have her transfer packet?" He asks blatantly ignoring the frankly impressive display of cleavage. 

Miss Wilson turns and looks at me. Her eyes widen as if she is seeing me for the first time and I would not be totally surprised if she is considering how caught up she is in trying to flirt with Ryan.

"What did you say your name was?" She asks dully. She is quite obviously uninterested in the subject change.

"Maya Thompson." I reply, trying to sound as peppy as possible.

She stiffly gets up out of her chair and walks towards a large green filing cabinet on the back wall. She pokes around in one of the draws for a short period before pulling out a large brown envelope and two sheets of paper. She then returns to her original seat at the desk placing both the folder and the papers on the top of the bench and passing me a pen.

"Sign the top one and take the second one home and get it signed by a parent or caregiver, then bring it back to school. Your schedule is in the envelope along with a map of the school. You should be able to collect your student ID card at the start of next week." She says all of this in the most bored manner you can imagine before returning to whatever she was originally doing on her computer before we arrived.

I quickly follow her instructions, signing on the dotted line and slipping the other page into the envelope before passing back the signed page and her pen.

"Thank you." I reply as she takes the page from me. She looks up briefly and Ryan nods his thanks before we both leave the room.

The moment we step outside we both start coughing and inhaling the fresh air like it is going out of fashion. Did I mention that "Kate's" perfume was so sickeningly sweet that we had just spent the last ten minutes slowly suffocating? I probably would have passed out if I had stayed in there a moment longer and by the looks of things, the same went for Ryan.

"That was horrific." He mumbles as we both catch our breath again before heading down the front steps.

"She definitely has a thing for you." I laugh and he pulls a disgusted face.

"She's like, forty-something." He sounds horrified. "Besides she is known for flirting with the majority of the male population of Fordman."

"Her breast implants were about to swallow you whole." I laugh. Ryan visibly shivers in horror before turning back to the situation at hand.

"So which homeroom are you in?" He asks changing the subject. I pull up my brown envelope and slip my schedule out of it.

Mrs Parke, Room 208, Block B.

"Lucky you." Ryan sighs as he reads over my shoulder. "Mrs Parke is a cool teacher. She teaches Junior Economics."

"So where is room 208?" I asked.

"You're lucky, Block B is on this side of the school. Come on, follow me." He says as he starts walking across the concrete towards the nearest classroom block. "My homeroom is right next door. I'll wait outside for you when the bell rings and help you to your first class."

"You don't have to do that." I deny. "I have a map." I announce this proudly as if this fact alone makes me self-sufficient.

"Yeah but can you actually read maps?" He laughs. This is when I realize a significant flaw in my strategy.

"Well, sort of, no but..." I mumble.

"Exactly. I'll wait here for when you come out. The next door is yours." He smiles at me.

"Umm." Suddenly I'm not feeling so sure about this. I had been at the same school as my friends right through high school and elementary school. I have never been the new kid before.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine." He smiles reassuringly at me before giving my shoulder a slight nudge in the general direction of the next door.

"Okay." I say confidently and walk five paces down the hall until I am standing in front of the classroom door. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly before reaching forward and turning the door handle.

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A/N.

I actually do have a teacher called Mrs Parke at high school. She teaches Commerce (economics & accounting) and she is really nice.

How do you think Maya's first day is going so far?

Who is this Tara that she overheard someone mention?

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