Chapter 1
My older sister Sam, a senior in high school, has assured me that junior high is nothing to be afraid of. My Dad complimented Sam’s comments by saying that it is simply a new place, a new way of doing things and that while it is going to be different from elementary school, that many of the changes are for the best. He told me to not be nervous or afraid, but to instead embrace the new changes. As Sam pulls up to the doors of the junior high, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Smith” she says to me, “Honestly, you’ll be fine”
I ’m not sure whether I’m going to be or not. I have one thing going for me though. Red, my best friend is going to be there with me, and we have first hour math together. I open up the car door and walk towards the doors of the school. I hope I spot Red soon.
As I open up the doors, there are two older people, a man and a woman. They look happy at my arrival. The woman looks about 30 years old or so, with long blonde hair, that looks as if it has been recently washed. She has big bright blue eyes and teeth that would otherwise be perfect, if it not been for a small chip in one of her carrot cutters. She’s wearing a blue jean colored dress with a white blouse that accents the dress. The man is much older than her, by at least 20 years if not more. He’s completely bald on top, with thick hair that trims the sides and back of his head. He has a thick mustache and small but thick perfectly round glasses. His pants are a size too small for him, and his white shirt with a black tie are tucked in a little too far.
“Good morning” the woman says, “Welcome to Willis Junior High”
“Thank you” I say as I shake the woman’s hand.
“I’m Principal Elesdee” the man introduces himself as I hake his hand, “and this is Secretary Miss Hartley”
“I’m Smith Jones” I say to them.
Principal Elesdee points at a table with name badges and black sharpie markers on it.
“Please write your first and last name on one of those name badges.” He says. “Then put it on your shirt. Go into the gymnasium and find a seat on the bleachers. We’re going to have quick meeting for all the seventh graders before school begins this morning” I thank him and Miss Hartley, as I walk into the gymnasium. I can’t tell you how relieved I am when I spot Red.
“Smith!” he shouts. “I saved you a seat”
I run up the bleachers to him.
“This building is huge!” He says. “This his gym is huge”
“Yeah I know” I say scoping out the size of the gym. I had gotten to the point to where I could hit home runs in whiffle ball and kick home runs in kick ball over at the elementary. As big and long as this gym is, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do that anymore or not.
As more and more seventh graders pile in, the bleachers begin to fill up. Some of the faces are familiar. Kids I went to elementary with. A lot of the faces are new though. Principal Elesdee walks towards the middle of the gym, with a microphone in his hand. He introduces himself again and begins to tell us of all of the rules and expectations that Willis Junior High has for everyone. Unlike my sister and my Dad who had tried so hard to tell me that there was nothing to be afraid, he admits that your first day of junior high is a pretty scary time. While I appreciate Sam and Dad trying to instill confidence into me, I appreciate Principal Elesdee’s honesty in admitting that this ia kind of a scary place to be.
“It’s new. It’s different.” His words relate well to what I’m feeling. “You don’t know what to expect. What are the teachers going to be like? What’s the food going to be like? Will the eighth graders help me or pick on me? Why doesn’t Principal Elesdee get a hair piece?” We all laugh as he pulls out a hair piece from his pocket and puts it on top of his head.
“My wife thinks it makes me look ridiculous.” He says as he puts it back into his pocket.
He waits for the laughter to stop.
“If you need any help or assistance, you can ask any of the staff and they will help you. Where’s room 201? Where’s the bathroom? Any questions you have, ask, and you will be helped. You all know the rules and expectations now, as I have stated them to you. Abide by them, and we’ll get along fine. Don’t, and we won’t.” He wishes us all the best of luck on our first day and tells us that we can head towards our first hour classes.
“I know where the math room is” Red says to me. “I got here really early this morning and found it”
I follow Red, ready to see what “Pre-Algebra” is all about.
Mrs. Douglas is a rather odd looking woman. She is either barely five foot tall, or 4’11. I can’t tell. Not to be mean, but she’s as wide as she is tall. She looks like a beach ball with arms and legs. Although her head isn’t that small, her body is so large that it makes it look like a ping pong ball. She doesn’t walk like a normal person. She waddles, more like a penguin. She’s a nice lady though. She tells us all of the things we’ll be learning in her class as she passes out our math books and a blank notebook.
“I want you all to take good notes.” She explains. “Good note taking can be the difference between victory and defeat. What turns a C into a B, a B into an A.”
“An F into a D” I think.
Math isn’t strong point of mine and hearing some of the horror stories from other kids about how difficult algebra is, I am not looking forward to it. As Mrs. Douglas continues, I look over at Red. He’s drawing a picture in his math notebook, and paying no attention to anything she is saying. Math, as are most classes, is a breeze to him. I guess he must figure that pre-algebra is going to be too.
“You’ll be able to use your notes on test and quizzes”
Did I really hear her correctly? Did she say we’d be able to use notes on our test and quizzes? Hallelujah! I might pass Pre-Algebra after all!
Up next is Civics with Mr. Fitzgerald. I am pretty happy with myself that junior high isn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as I thought it was going to be. Sam and my Dad were right. There really isn’t anything to fear or be afraid of. Some of the eighth graders think they are better than us, and made some snide remarks about us at lunch. And some of the classes seem like a challenge, but nothing too major.
“Yep”, I think to myself as I sit down in a desk for my last class of the day, “Nothing to be afraid of at all”.
I look out the window, and see the football field. Summer is slowly transitioning into fall and it makes the field look brand new. Peaceful and nice.
“Nothing to be afraid of at all” I think to myself again.
Suddenly, I freeze, and an uncomfortable chill runs down the length of my back. As she gives me a weird look, I realized that as much as there is not to fear and not to be afraid of, there is one thing to be afraid of. There is one thing to be very afraid of, matter of fact one thing to be downright petrified of...girls.
