The Framing

The real first day

January 5th 2016 8:05am
I sat down in my homeroom seat. I was a little anxious about what happened yesterday. I didn't want anything to hurt him anymore. It's funny that after everything that's happened to me, all that I care about is everyone else.

After the bell rang, I slowly walked to my first period English class. I had Jeremy in it, and I really hope he made it to school okay this morning.

I sat down in my seat, and he came in before the bell rang. I smiled as he sat down next to me. I really have made an impact on him.

"Good morning." He said and sat down next to me. I nearly had a panic attack when I looked at his face.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I thought I could go for a new look." He said.

I looked at him and thought he was crazy for shaving his beard off. Everyone in the class was actually staring at him, more than they usually did.

The teacher had a slight pause when she walked in. She started the lesson and we all moved on.

I leaned over to whisper something in his ear. "Are you trying to impress someone or something?" I asked.

"No, I only did this for myself."

Every time I looked at him I wanted to gag. His chin was too pointy and I don't really like looking at him anymore.

The teacher walked around and passed out the assignment to us. "I like your new look." She said to Jeremy as she walked by.

She handed us a packet with the word "Antigone" on the cover. "Does anyone know that this is about?" She asked the class.

Jeremy raised his hand and was called on. "In the oldest form of the story which was written by Euripides, a fortune teller told Queen Jocasta that her son will eventually marry his mom, and kill his dad. The parents forced a villager to kill the child so it didn't happen, instead that villager took the baby out of Thebes and into the next city. Oedipus grew up thinking his foster parents were his, and one day went to the city of Thebes which was being attacked by a Sphinx. On his way there, he killed someone for being in his way which turned out to be his birth dad, and went to the city. For the Sphinx to go away, someone had to solve a riddle. Oedipus did and was offered to marry the Queen, which was his birth mom."

The teacher seemed shocked that Jeremy knew all that. Based on the way he was when I first met him, I was shocked too.

"That's very well put Jeremy. We will spend the rest of the quarter learning more about the Greek play."

We spent the rest of class learning more about it. She kept mentioning more Greek Gods and things. This one kid kept saying "There is only one God!" Which got really annoying.

The rest of the class kept laughing about the fact that the guy ended up marrying his mom. I felt like I was a freshman again and we were learning about Edgar Allen Poe, who married his cousin. People need to learn that this was very common a long time ago.

After class, I walked out the door with Jeremy. "You're basically a new person, what has gotten into you?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just feel a lot better about myself when I am being smart. I don't want to be the bad kid everyone is afraid of anymore."

It was a nice change, I want to think that this was all my fault. That I caused him to be like this. But it was 100% his doing.

I walked away from him and went downstairs to my next class. I had history.

Alex and Josh were in this class with me. I never really talked to them unless we were at lunch and I had to. One time we had to go a group assignment with three people, which they invited me to do with them.

I sat all the way in the back now. I used to sit by the board in all my classes, which I now have lower grades in. The truth is that I am becoming Jeremy and he his becoming me.

Sitting in the front meant that the teacher would always call on me. Even if my hand wasn't up, sitting back here is basically claiming you don't want to be in school. Which I don't.

My advice to freshman is to sit in the middle. That's where it's okay to sleep a little and also pay attention. If you're in the front, then the teacher knows you by name, and if you skip they know because they know your face. The middle is basically golden.

The teacher went into the lesson which I mostly slept through. It was on the Homestead Act which I already know about. They teach us the same thing over and over again. I just want to graduate.

I came into high school with the goal to be valedictorian, that goal has now slipped away. Along with my GPA and all my hopes and dreams.

I did all the work and homework for this class. The teacher never gives us anything. One time we were taking notes from a power point presentation that had 70 slides. By the end of it, I only had half a page of notes filled. That's how much nothing history is to me.

I went to third period which is science, I had it with Kevin. But he sat all the way in the back and I was forced with a seating chart to be in the front. Seating charts always make me cry because teachers know I'm smart.

In technology, Kevin and I did the work together like we always did. We were working on an end of the semester project. I really just want this school year to be over so that I can be a senior, and leave this stupid town.