Twelve hours later I was sitting in the parking lot of my new high school, staring in dismay at the hundreds of kids parking their cars and getting off buses. Everybody looked happy and relaxed. Everybody already had a group of friends to catch up to, to walk with, to high five.
I looked at the school entrance, watching until most of the kids had walked inside. It was now or never. I leaned down to grab my backpack off the floor of the car and banged my head on the dashboard when I heard a loud rapping above me on the window. I glanced up, rubbing the sore spot on the back of head. Rowan and Holly were staring down at me. Holly covered her mouth, obviously trying to stifle a giggle, while Rowan mouthed “Sorry” and shrugged through the window. I smiled and shrugged back at him and got out of the car.
“Hey guys, what’s up?”
“Guess you’re not as graceful as you are agile, huh Siri?” Rowan teased.
“Hey,” Holly punched him in the arm. “Give a girl a break! If it was me I would have probably shrieked in surprise, too.” She smiled at me as we started toward the school. “You should hear my bug scream.”
“Ha, yeah. Let’s go find a spider. Holly has an awesome spider shriek.” Rowan snickered as Holly actually paled and started shaking her head.
“Whatever. I think I see Emelie. See you!” And she jogged off into the school.
“Guess she’s not a fan of spiders?” I asked.
“Nope. Not at all. I have a great collection of rubber ones in my room that I save for extra special occasions.”
“Such as?”
“Oh, you know, breakfast, showers, prom. Whatever.”
“Nice. Remind me not to tell you about the things I’m afraid of,” I laughed.
Rowan examined me as we walked into the building. “Somehow, I imagine you’re not afraid of much, Siri Alvarsson.” He stopped and reached for me. Was he actually going to kiss me right here? My heart sped up with excitement and just a little bit of nerves. Instead, he straightened my backpack on my shoulders and tucked one of my curls behind my ear, just like a mom. “The school office is over there,” he said, angling his head to point to the right. “Go get your locker number and schedule, and hopefully I’ll see you soon in one of my classes. And don’t forget to come find me at lunch by the windows in the caf.” And then he did kiss me, well, more of peck really, on the nose, but it still caught the attention of a couple younger girls walking by, who started whispering furiously and giggling.
I smiled up at him shyly. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”
“Get on with you then,” He smiled and started walking backwards. “See you later, Serious!” He yelled the last part loudly, and everyone still in the halls looked around at him curiously. I rolled my eyes and ducked into the school office as quickly as possible.
The woman behind the counter glanced up and smiled kindly at me. “What can I do for you, my dear?”
“Um, yeah, hi. Today’s my first day, I’m Siri Alvarsson,” I said, approaching the counter.
“Oh yes, Miss Alvarsson! I’m Mrs. Kite. Your mother had all your transcripts faxed over to us last week. So many places you’ve lived in. Wonderful to have seen so much of the world, isn’t it?” She beamed at me.
“I guess it is.” She was so open and warm, I felt compelled to smile back at her, even though I usually tried to stay off the radar at school.
“Well, based on your past performance, we’ve placed you in all honors history and science classes, and senior lit. You have room for some extracurriculars, and I saw you seem to like the arts so I would suggest trying Mr. Brown’s film class. It’s pretty popular with seniors, and you get to watch so many great classics. Also, we have a really great horticulture class that people love. Not too many high schools offer a class like that, but with all the agriculture in the area, we take plants pretty seriously.”
“Um, sure, yeah, those both sound good.”
“Alrighty then.” She gave me my new class schedule. “Hold on just a minute.” She picked up the phone, pressed a couple buttons and spoke into it “Mr. Fein, could you please send Miss David down to the office? Thank you.” She hung up and looked back up at me. “Now, all I need is your driver’s license and license plate number for campus parking, since your mother indicated you wouldn’t be taking the bus?”
“Yes, right, here they are.”
“Perfect. I’ll just get these copied down and you can follow Miss David to class when she gets here. She’ll show you around this morning until you get your bearings. Can’t have our new student getting lost on her first day!” She cackled to herself, as she walked over to her desk, apparently thinking the very idea of it was pretty funny.
I stood there, looking at the framed inspirational posters scattered throughout the office walls. It was your typical mix of “Determination,” “Achievement,” “Dream Big,” “Teamwork”. I did a double take when I saw one of a kitten standing with its paws up that said “Busted: You know what you did.” I laughed in surprise. Just then Rose came running in.
“Hey! Siri, right? Guess who gets to be your tour guide of the day!”
Mrs. Kite looked up and greeted Rose happily. “Rose, darling, so nice to see you this morning! Ms. Alvarsson here is just starting in your class.” She handed Rose a copy of my schedule. “Can you please show her around for the day?”
“Oh, yes, of course, Mrs. Kite, I’d love to!” Rose grinned at me. “Siri and I are old friends. Come on, off we go. Wouldn’t want to miss your first class!” She grabbed me by one arm and steered me out of the office. “Have a great day Mrs. Kite!” she called over her shoulder. The door closed behind us, cutting off whatever the woman said in reply.
“Okay, so, let’s see.” Rose looked over my schedule as we walked, her arm linked through mine. “Ooh, you’re a smart one!”
“We have lit and weeds together. The rest I can show you where they are. I’ll walk you to your first class, that’s math – ugh, what sadist thought anyone should start the day with numbers anyway? – and I’ll be waiting outside when it’s over to walk you to the next one.”
She talked a mile a minute while I just let her drag me along.
“Oh, I love this job. Because of you, I get to miss half of every class today! You are the best!” she gushed and squeezed my arm. “SO. What is this I hear about you kissing Rowan Carey?”
I stopped walking. “What?!”
“I saw you guys this morning, all cute and up close and personal, and he kissed you right there in the hallway. Everyone’s talking about you, the mystery girl Rowan’s sweet on. So spill.”
I blushed. “I don’t know. We met a few days ago, and we went to the falls. He wants me to have lunch with him today.”
“He’s a smooth one, our Rowan. He hasn’t dated anyone in a while, as far as I know.” She bumped shoulders with me. “Must have been waiting for someone special, eh?”
“Ha, right. I don’t know, we’ll see.” I tried to blow the whole thing off. But on the inside I felt bubbly. So he’d been telling the truth about not dating that much.
“Yes, we will. As your self-appointed Union mentor, I’ll come with you at lunch and help you assess the situation,” she teased me. And with that, she opened the door to my first class and propelled me forward. “Enjoy!”
I turned around, ready to glare at her, but the door had already closed behind me and she was gone. I turned back around and realized the whole class was staring at me, including the teacher who looked none too pleased to have been interrupted. Ah, perfect.
“Can I help you, young lady?”
“Yes, hi, I think I’m in this class?” A couple of kids in the back started sniggering, only to be cut off by the teacher’s glare in their direction.
He looked back at me, “You think?”
“Um, yes, here, see?” I handed him my schedule. He quickly scanned it, snorted, and handed it back to me.
“Well, you’re going to have some catching up to do. Find a free seat and like it. You’ll be in the same seat all year.??
?
I nodded and scrambled into a chair by the window.
“Everybody, meet Siri Alvarsson. Siri, meet everybody,” the teacher said, and started back in on the lesson. I spent the rest of the class vacillating between paying attention, and drawing a picture of the large eastern pine that towered outside the window.
When the bell rang, I joined the rush for the door. I felt a tug on my backpack and turned around, annoyed. “Hey watch–”
“Hey yourself,” Cooper grinned at me. “If you need help catching up, let me know. Math is kind of my thing.”
“Oh, hey! Thanks, Cooper, that’s really nice of you. I think I’ll be alright, but I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”
“No problem,” he smiled. “See you later, Serious.”
“Aw, come on, not you, too!”
He winked at me. “Later!”
He walked off, just as Rose came up. “Hey, looks like you made another friend already!”
“Yeah, I met Cooper and Holly yesterday at the falls with Rowan. Emelie, too.”
“Oh, that’s cool.” Rose’s tone cooled down for the first time since I’d met her.
“Let me guess. Not an Emelie fan?” I drawled.
“Oh thank God. I was worried she had tried to claim you into her group of minions. She is such a hag. She has this whole clone group of girls that follow her around and do whatever she says.” She eyed me up and down from my green Docs to my Social Distortion tank top. “But I guess you didn’t win her favor, huh?”
“Not quite,” I chuckled. “She was really pissed when I showed up with Rowan. I ignored her for the most part, though.”
“Oh, I bet that really pissed her off. Especially since you showed up with Rowan.”
“Yeah, what’s up with those two?”
“Oh, they dated for about a week in ninth grade, broke up because she decided she had crush on some senior, then she changed her mind and she’s been trying to win him back ever since. He never got back with her, but he hasn’t really dated anyone else much, either. At least, not anything serious. Their parents are best friends, so she and Holly are besties, even though Holly isn’t a mindless minion.”
“Ah, so all is revealed.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“I know, right?! Anyhow, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends when we get to class. We’re all in weeds together.”
“Weeds?”
“Horticulture 101. Anyone who likes plants or farming is in it, plus all the hippies and stoners. Or any seniors who want an easy grade.” She must have seen the doubt on my face because she rushed on. “It’s a really fun class, actually, I promise. A couple of the guys I board with take it, because they want to do forestry when they graduate. Plus, the teacher is way cool. You’ll see.”
We wove through the halls, finally coming to an outside door that led to a covered greenhouse inside a large courtyard area. I was a little nervous about taking a class all about plants, we’d never really bothered with having any gardens anywhere we lived, since we wouldn’t be able to keep them. My mom did buy a few houseplants for every new place, but we always had to leave them behind when we moved. I had no idea how to do anything with a plant, other than to give it some water when it started wilting.
The hot, humid air of the greenhouse poured over us as we entered. I was glad I had worn a tank top today, and made a mental note to always wear layers to this class. A short, plump woman was standing in the far corner, and a bunch of students were already standing around her attentively. We hurried over and stood on the edge of the group.
“Well hello there, Rose, nice of you to join us today. And who’s our guest?”
“Sorry Ms. Anjali, this is Siri Alvarsson, a new senior. I’m showing her around today.” Everyone turned to look at us.
“Hi,” I said, smiling and doing a little half-wave. A few people smiled back, while most looked bored and turned back to the teacher.
“Wonderful, wonderful! Welcome, Siri!” She gushed in a sweet voice. “I was just telling the students about today’s project. We are going to be rooting Begonia, Forsythia and Echinacea cuttings with vermiculite to plant around the school in the spring. So step up and listen in. You can work with Rose today.”
Thank goodness we were working in pairs, because I had no idea what she was talking about. Cuttings? Vermiculite? It was like she was speaking a whole different language. This was going to be interesting. I looked around the room while she started talking about buds and hormones. Everything was so green and vibrant. I could practically feel the energy humming around me. I breathed the sweet air deep into my lungs and felt a calmness that I hadn’t ever really felt before. The plants all looked so happy and full of life. Without realizing it, I zoned out for the rest of her talk, just staring at the lush blooms behind her merging together in a sea of corals and pinks.
It wasn’t until Rose nudged me forward to gather our own collection of plants to work with that I noticed how much time had passed. Luckily, Rose had been paying attention and was able to guide me through the simple process of cutting small, healthy stems off the living plant, dipping them in a fine powder and then gently planting them in a light soil mix that Rose called “rooting medium.” Soon enough, we heard the faint echo of the bell ringing indoors, washed up and headed out to the next class.
The day continued on easily. Most people seemed nice enough, and my classes weren’t bad. By the time lunch rolled around I was starving and looking forward to just sitting quietly for a while. Of course, with Rose meeting me right after History, that last part was pretty much not going to happen. That girl could talk!
But she was really nice, and seemed to have decided that we were going to be good friends, so I’d resigned myself to the happy chatter. It was great, actually, to have been able to fit in so quickly in a new town. As we walked to lunch, linked arm and arm again with Rose pulling me speedily along, I thought about the fact that I was about to see Rowan again. Suddenly, Rose didn’t have to pull me so much as she needed to keep up.
“Whoah, slow down there, speedy!”
“Sorry, I thought I smelled tacos,” I lied. “I’m starving!”
“Sorry, no, Taco Tuesday’s tomorrow, today I think it’s burgers. Or pasta salad if you’re a veg.”
We stepped into line, grabbed our food and I followed Rose out into the cafeteria. “So, I usually sit over there,” Rose pointed at a table nearby filled with a few guys and girls I recognized from our hort class. “We all work at the mountain together. But you said you’re meeting Rowan? You want me to come with?”
I looked over at the table where Rowan was sitting, and saw Holly, Emelie and Cooper, along with a couple strangers. I smiled at Rose, glad to have her with me. “Definitely.”
She beamed back at me before leading the way to their table. “Hey guys!” She said as she sat down next to Holly. On the other side of the table, Rowan slid away from Emelie and motioned for me to sit down between them.
We all introduced ourselves and then everyone got back to their previous conversations. Rowan smiled at me and picked a fry off my tray. “So, how’s Union treating you so far?”
“Not bad. I have this crazy guide taking me around, but other than that it’s not so bad.” I grinned over at Rose, who threw one of her own fries at me. I grabbed it out of the air and popped it in my mouth. “See? I even get free food.”
Rowan laughed. I started in on my burger, which was pretty overdone but not terrible with the “special sauce” the kitchen had come up with. I practically jumped out of my seat when Rowan put a hand on my knee and squeezed. He leaned in and whispered, “I was thinking about this all morning.”
I looked back at him dumbly. “About burgers?”
He let out a huge bark of laughter. “No Siri, not burgers.” He winked at me, took his hand off my knee, and went back to eating. Everybody else looked at us, wondering what he was talking about. Emelie glared and turned her back to me, talking to the girl on her other side in hushed tones before they got up
and left. Definitely no love lost there.
I stared down at my plate, suddenly all thoughts of hunger had left my body, and all I could think about was the hum in my leg where his hand had been. What was happening to me? I had never felt like this before. I couldn’t even tell if I was nervous or excited, hungry or nauseous. I took a cautious sip of my juice, decided that it was acceptable, and went back to picking at my fries.
“So, what class do you have next?” Rowan asked me.
“She’s got AP Physics.” Rose answered before I could check my sheet.
“Sweet, so do I. So we do have a class together after all.” Rowan bumped shoulders with me. “You gonna let me walk you to class, or do I have to fight Rose for the job?”
Rose giggled and gave me a knowing look. “Oh, I think you can handle it. I’ll even let you walk her to her class after, too. Just make sure you get her there on time.”
“What am I, a dog?” I grumbled at the same time he answered with a chivalrous bow. “I swear it will be done.”
“Ooh!” Rose clapped. “Princess Bride! I always knew you were a keeper, Mr. Carey.”
“Yeah, well, this one over here,” he said, inclining his head at Holly, “gets to choose half the flicks we watch on movie nights, so I’ve watched it a few billion times.”
“Perfect,” I chimed in. “Now I know what to make you watch when you come over.”
He looked back at me. “Oh, really? Am I coming over?”
“Um, well, you know, maybe some time.” I stammered. Ugh. If the floor could just open up now that would be good.
He leaned into me. “Maybe definitely.”
“Oh. Good. Great.” Great. More stammering. I was so not good at this flirting stuff.
Rose laughed and got up. “Okay, well I don’t think I can stand any more of this young love. I’m out.” Everybody at the table laughed, too, and started getting ready to go. I ate a few more fries while the table emptied out.
Finally, Rowan stood up and took my tray on top of his, “Ready?” He looked down at me kindly, with a little smile teasing the corner of his eyes. It was so not fair. He was obviously way more socially adept then I was. A little flare of jealousy for the stability he had enjoyed all his life flashed through me for a second, and I shook it off. I stood up and followed him.
“So what’s this class like? Am I super far behind?”
“It’s not too bad. Mr. Adiletti is pretty awesome. He has this hair that sticks up everywhere and makes him look like a young Einstein. And he’s pretty cool, gives hard tests but not too much homework other than reading. I have next Friday off, so you should come over to my house that afternoon. I can help you catch up before our first test. Plus, then you can enjoy the fabulous Carey Friday Family Movie Night tradition afterwards. And, lucky for you, it’s my turn to pick the movie, ha ha!”
“So is it studying or is a date?” I asked before I could think better of it.
We walked around the corner into an empty stretch of hall, where Rowan stopped and turned, pinning me up against the wall. “Oh, it’s a date.” He leaned in and I tilted my head up, closing my eyes, ready for a kiss like Sunday’s. Instead, I heard someone clear their throat and felt Rowan let go of my shoulders. Disappointed, I opened my eyes to see Union’s track coach glaring at me.
“Mr. Carey, Ms…Well, I don’t remember your name, but this is not the time or the place for that sort of thing. Get to class now before I think better of it and send you both to the school office.” Ms. Thorn crossed her arms and started tapping her foot. All the blood drained from my face. I never got in trouble at school, ever. She threw a pointed look at Rowan. “Mr. Carey, you, especially, know better than this. I would hate to have to call your father. Go on now, you two. Get!”
“Sorry Ms. Thorn, it won’t happen again.” Rowan looked almost as pale as I felt. He placed his hand on the small of my back and steered me around her.
“See that it doesn’t,” she called after us.
“Whoa.” I exhaled. “That was intense. What’s her problem?”
Rowan ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the little blue and blonde spikes, and looked down at me, clearly distracted. “Um, what? Her? Yeah, she’s always like that. And she’s old friends with my dad.”
“Oh. I hope your dad isn’t as scary as she is.” I joked.
Rowan looked at me with a weird expression on his face. “My dad is…well, he’s my dad, you know, so I wouldn’t say he’s scary, but he can be kind of tough. He takes school pretty seriously, always talking about my duty to excel and all that.”
“Wow, that sounds kind of rough, no offense.”
Rowan nodded. “It’s not so bad. He just wants me to do well so I can join him running the family business someday.”
“Oh, well that’s cool I guess.” I shrugged. “What’s he do?”
“Just business stuff. Nothing too exciting.” Rowan didn’t quite meet my eyes, and I got the feeling that he didn’t really want to talk about it any further. “That’s why he has me working at Giovanni’s, so I can learn all about how regular businesses are run.”
We stopped in front of a door.
“Here we are,” he opened the door for me and in we went, finding a couple seats next to each other.
I spent the next forty minutes trying to keep up with Mr. Adiletti as he talked about quasars and black holes, and how some people theorized they led to other dimensions or hid worm holes inside them. Once, I flashed back to Ms. Thorn’s cold, dark, almost black eyes, and shivered.
Thank God Rowan was going to help me catch up on Friday. I could tell this teacher didn’t just mindlessly follow the text in the book. I would definitely be needing some help.
The rest of my classes flew by without incident, and when the day was over I was relieved to be able to climb in my Forester – I still couldn’t get over the fact that it was now mine and mine alone. I turned up the music and headed home.