Old Friends

New Kid

A/N

Just a quick explanation of the British school system
Instead of grades we have years, so that's how each age group is split up.
Primary school: Ages 4-11 (Nursery; reception; years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Secondary school: Ages 11-16 (years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Sixth Form: Joined up with secondary school, but not compulsory. Ages 16-18 (years 12 and 13. Some people also go to college at this age.
University: Our version of American college (I think. Sorry I don't know how it compares to other countries!)
(If there are any terms that you don't understand or want explain then feel free to ask! Criticism on anything else at all is also welcome ^^)

Starting secondary school quite simply sucks. You go from being the oldest, most respected kids in the playground to being right back down at the bottom again. Everybody is older than you, and they will not hesitate to set you in your place.

What makes it even worse, though? Moving to a different country, where the only person you know is your mother, and leaving the only actual friend you ever had behind. Secondary school is basically hell when you can't even fall into the comfort of friends your own age to soften the blow of the new experience.

Absolute hell, but not impossible to get through. Just find a small group of friends to latch yourself onto for the next five years, and learn how to get by on your own. Easier said than done, of course, but it can be sort of enjoyable once you get used to it. Those five years will be over before you know it, and the relief on that last day is the best feeling out there.

I didn't even bother showing up for the last day of school. All the year 11's would come in with suits and fancy dresses on, giving their final goodbye's before half of them left the damn place forever. Personally, I didn't want to see any of them again. As far as I was concerned, school ended as soon as I had finished with my last exam. It was pointless going back for one day just for social reasons.

In fact, I spent that very last day of school packing up all of my stuff to move back to my hometown. It's not that I hated it in Germany, but I definitely preferred it back where I grew up. So, my mother agreed that I could move back to live with my father and go to sixth form there instead. Of course I hated leaving her, but she assured me that she would be fine on her own and that I was going to have to leave eventually anyway.

I didn't move straight away, though, instead opting to spend the rest of the summer holidays with my mother. Then, just a few days before school started back up again, I got on my flight back to Britain to live with my dad. It was kind of odd looking around where I grew up again, but at the same time it almost felt like I had never left in the first place.

For the first time in forever I was actually sort of excited to be going back to school. Not only was I doing subjects that I actually cared about, but I was also going to be seeing my old best friend for the first time since I left the country. I wasn't even sure why I was looking forward to seeing him so much, it had been so long that it'd probably just be awkward seeing him again, but he was the only friend I had ever really been close to.

Maybe we'd even become close friends again.

On the first day back I made sure to get there early, not wanting to have a bad start to my first year there. My school uniform was just how it was expected to be, with a green and black striped tie and a blazer. It was difficult finding my way around the building, since the only time I had ever been there before was when my primary school used the building for their annual christmas concert.

I bit lightly down on my lower lip as I stared down at my planner, walking slowly along the corridors as I tried to figure out where the room for my first lesson of the day was. A small sigh slipped past my lips, my hand reaching up to run through my hair, before lifting my gaze as I felt someone tap on my shoulder and then turning to face them.