The New Kid

Introducing Stars Hollow High

First day of a new school. Okay. No biggie. I've done this a hundred- no, more like a thousand- times. So why am I so worried now? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that at every other school, I've known that even if I completely screw it up, I'll only be there for a few weeks.

This is different; for all I know, I could be here for the entire school year.

I took a deep breath, staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror for a second before making my way downstairs.

"Good morning, Dean." May said as I entered the kitchen. I smiled at her weakly, noticing my "sister", Clara, was already seated at the kitchen table. "Good morning!" She said cheerfully. I nodded to her in response, sitting down at the table as May placed a plate in front of me. "Are Pop Tarts okay?" She asked. I smiled at her, genuinely this time, "Sounds great."

I had barely finished eating when Clara practically jumped out of her seat, "Dean, we have go! Now!" She exclaimed, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder with one hand and using the other to yank me up from my chair. "Clara, relax." May said calmly, "You have plenty of time to get to school on time."

Clara rolled her eyes, "But I don't want to get there on time, I want to get there early!" May opened her mouth to scold Clara, but I just laughed. I thought she was pretty cute honestly.

I grabbed my own bag, heaving it up on to my shoulder. It was still insanely heavy, filled with all of my books and supplies since I hadn't gotten to put anything in my locker yet. The walk to school was short enough, even with Clara yammering on about everything under the sun. I tried to slow my heartbeat as we neared the huge brick building.

Stopping in front of Stars Hollow High, I began running through my life story, again and again, suddenly terrified that I would forget it as if I hadn't done this a million times before.

My name is Dean Forester, I am sixteen years old, I am originally from Chicago but my family moved here last week . I have a ten year old sister named Clara, my dad sells stereo systems and my mother transcribes medical records, and I have a severe allergy to walnuts...

I continued to go over my life story as I walked up the stairs towards the big, wooden doors.

"Bye, Dean!" I heard Clara call from behind me as she ran off towards the elementary school. I turned around and waved, before facing the intimidating doors yet again. Looking around, I saw that most of the kids here were hanging out in front of the school, throwing footballs around, cramming to finish homework before first bell, or smoking something that I could smell long before I saw it.

Suddenly the doors flew open, almost nailing me in the face. I jumped back just in time as a group of boys about my age walked out. "Hey, sorry man." One of them said, patting me on the shoulder. I shrugged, "It's cool. Hey I'm new here, could you point me towards the main office?" I asked, trying to act calm, cool, and collected. Trying to act like Dean Forester.

One of the boys, the red haired one, pointed down the hallway to the left. "Right down there, its the first door on the left, you can't miss it."

I nodded and thanked him, ducking inside and walking where where he had sown me until I saw a door that said 'Main Office' on the window. Well that's promising.

I knocked twice before letting myself in. The door opened to reveal an office exactly like every other high school's office in America - a secretary's desk, some bookshelves and filing cabinets, and another door leading to the principals office.

I walked up to the secretary, smiling and waiting for her to notice me. She was much younger and less cranky-looking than most of the secretaries that I came across, so I took that as a good sign.