You'll Just Know

Chapter 16

            It may be a terrible thing to say, but I honestly don’t remember learning much during my senior year of high school. I mean, I know I must have learned something, because I eventually graduated and went on to college, but I think that any learning that actually took place was accidental on my part. Classes, teachers, homework... all of that was secondary to the real reason teenagers went to school: to socialize. It was a big party every day and everyone was invited.

            On that first day, though, every face was a stranger and every hallway in the school was unfamiliar to me. I remember trying frantically to find room 617 in the fifteen minutes I had before homeroom started, but I kept getting turned around in the crowded hallways and ended up in the same place three times in a row. The place was a maze!

            The halls were a chaotic riot of activity. It was all I could do to elbow my way through the crowd. I caught tatters of conversations about what so-and-so was wearing and who such-and-such was dating these days. The air swam with the smells of soap and cologne and perfume, new notebooks and hairspray. When I looked down, I saw an endless parade of new tennis shoes, bright white and unscuffed.

            Where was room 617?

            I was starting to get nervous here. I felt out-of-place and disoriented. I tried to remain outwardly cool, but I felt like I looked stupid and confused. (Also, I began to realize self-consciously how horribly tacky my purple shirt with zippers was.)

            “Hey, Casey!”

            I could have sworn I heard someone in this sea of strangers call my name. A brief, fleeting voice in the riot of noise.

            “Casey! Over here!”

            I turned in the direction of the voice and saw Adam, the redhead from the party, standing near some lockers with a group of guys. He waved me over when I caught his eye.

            I pushed my way to him, then ceremoniously clasped his shoulder. “Salvation! I was about to lose my grip on sanity!”

            “Wassup man, you recovered yet from Saturday night?”

            I cringed. “I have sworn off alcohol permanently.”

            He smiled knowingly. “You didn’t seem in too bad of shape when I left. In fact, you and Emily Moore looked really... healthy.”

            Adam’s group of buddies chuckled evilly at that. One scrawny-looking kid in a denim jacket elbowed me in the ribs. “You’re a dog, man. Emily Moore is so fine...”

            I smiled awkwardly. “Can one of you guys tell me where room 617 is? I think whoever designed this school enjoyed mental torture.”

            My attempt at changing the subject was lost on the boy in the denim jacket. He was still grinning. “So what, man... how far did you get with her?”

            I became suddenly very irritated at this boy, and it must have shown on my face because before I could open my mouth, Adam jumped in easily. “617 is down two halls. Take your first right, then your second left.”

            I still may have said something to Denim Jacket if the bell hadn’t rung at just that moment. Its ear-splitting wail sliced through the sounds of the crowded hallway, but otherwise had little effect. The mob seemed unfazed by it. I turned to Adam. “Was that the bell for homeroom?”