First Day of High School - Part 1

This is the first part of my three-part serial of my first day at my beloved High School.

For most people who are 11 years old, starting at a new school is a terrifying, nerve-racking experience that could only be beaten in the horrifying stakes by being ripped apart by tigers, while being watched by the people they loathe, and not being able to escape from the cage they were stranded in. They tend to stick with people from their own previous school only, until they are settled in and ready to browse the market.

I have never been 'most people'.

I faced only pure excitement at starting at the same place that my sisters had gone to and my brother still went. And even wearing the uniform. I loved it.

My brother Crotchet still got a lie in that morning when I went down to my first day ever. He would be there later. My sister Semibreve, who was just about to, or already had started at the local Sixth Form college, took me to the school, and had promised to show me the way to a shop in the area.

She never did. Instead, she dumped me outside the hall, where the other Year 7s would be gathering. I took a seat, and waited.

Once there were lots of people in there we had an assembly of a kind. One of the teachers had a strong accent, and it wasn't easy to decipher what he was actually saying. His voice was grumbly as well which didn't help. When it came to the form-lists I hoped that it was the other person who would say my name because I was not sure about him.

Then they did the form lists. I kept my ear out for my name. I knew it was planned earlier that me and another guy from my school would be in this certain form. Apparently this was learnt from taster day, only many people from my old school hadn't been to it, and that included me. He would have come after me, probably straight after, and I disliked him. 

The two teachers took it in turns to announce the names of the people in each form. The Maths said, and indeed it was, the guy with the strong-accented voice who told of the names of the form I was to be in. Thankfully, I knew he said my name, and I joined the form it was planned for me to be in a while earlier. And the male I disliked who was planned to be in the same form? Well, he wasn't. I was the only person from my old school in that class and I didn't mind a bit.

I was also the only white person in that form (not counting the form tutor). The rest were all Asian, apart from one black guy. This led to confusion, particularly when it came to males, who looked all the same to me at that age.

We went to our form room, and it was a delight. (We were lucky to have all our 5 years of form-time in that room, apart for one term where we were next door). There we sorted out our official business, which included planners, timetables, going through the rules, and lunch cards.

I had initially been concerned about timetables because Semibreve, who showed me her planner once, had a two-week system. How would I know which week was A and which B? What would happen after half-terms and holidays? I wouldn't know how to deal with it when that happened!

Keep your eye out for the second part - in which I get slightly lost...