Wintersprings
Dances Princess
Inner Sanctum Nobility
Take a deep breath and walk through the door
Araceli stood back on the sidewalk, watching as groups of different grade levels waltzed past her into the large building. The school was much larger than her last one, how was she ever going to find her way around? The three story building was made of white brick with blue stucco accent walls. Paradise Valley High School was displayed in white letters across the front side of the building, a large panther statue is in the wide walkway, the mascot of the school front and center to greet the students everyday. After a few moments, Celi took a deep breath to calm her nerves before walking up the path to the front doors.
Her hand shakily reached out and wrapped around the handle, giving it a tug and feeling the blast of cold air from inside hit her face. She took one last breath before walking inside completely, the inside seemingly louder than the band playing outside. Students were scattered around, groups talking by lockers as they caught up from the break, others filling their lockers with decorations, textbooks and notebooks. She scanned the open hallway before finding the sign for the office and headed in that direction. The office was warmer than the freezing hallway, making her hands tingle slightly from the temperature difference.
An older woman sat behind the desk and was typing away on the computer in front of her before looking up and smiling at her. "Good morning dear, what can I do for you?" She asked. Celi walked up and leaned against the desk, her hands bundled together. "My name's Araceli de la Cruz, today's my first day and I was told to come here for my schedule." Celi said softly, not wanting to be too loud in the otherwise quiet space. The woman's face lit up and small wrinkles creased by her eyes as her smile grew. "Ah yes! Ms. De la Cruz, I just finished printing out the papers." She turned towards the printer behind her and pulled a set of papers off it. "These are copies of the papers students get sent with on the first day of school. Make sure to get these filled out at home and bring them back as soon as you can." She explained, shuffling through the first four pages before placing the last one on top. "This is your class schedule." She stated before explaining further. "Monday and Wednesdays are 'A' days, Tuesday and Thrusdays are 'B' days and Fridays will alternate everyweek. Periods one through four are your 'A' day classes and periods five through eight will be 'B' day classes." Celi nodded along as she explained everything to acknowledge her following. "On the main floor, science classes will be found on the left side. Second floor, Math will be on the left and History on the right. Third floor, English will be on the left and foreign language on the right in the main building." She explained and showed her on the map of the school where everything was laid out. Once she was given the run down of where everything was, she thanked the women and made her out of the office and back into the crowded hallway. She forced herself to swallow down the anxiety she felt building up and calm her nerves. "Count to ten, you're ok." She whispered to herself.
Try and stay out of everybody's way
Remembering what she was told, she looked over her schedule and made her way to the third floor. English was her first period and she'd rather find the classroom sooner than later, she'll be here for the next four years. She has plenty of time to explore the school later. Shoving her hands into the pocket of her hood, she weaved through the crowd of students. Celi felt out of place. She was coming into the school in the middle of the year. The family moved due to her dad getting a higher position at work but it required him to move to a new office, halfway across the country. She felt like a fish out of water trying to navigate new hallways when she was already used to the ones at her old school. Familiar faces she hoped to come around the corner were replaced with ones of strangers, laughing past her about something the other said.
Looking above the doors she passed, she found the room number of her class and seeing other students inside already, she walked in and made a beeline for the empty desk in the back corner of the room. Celi set her back down next to her and pulled out a notebook and her pens, setting them on the desk in front of her before distracting herself on her phone before the bell rang. Shortly, the classroom filled with more students and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the seat next to her get taken. Still looking at her phone, she didn't notice the person next to her trying to get her attention until they tapped the side of her desk. Looking up, she was met with a warm smile and bright green eyes that rivaled her own blue ones. "Hi, I haven't seen you around before. I'm Jax." The boy next to her introduced himself as he held his hand out.
Celi gave him a small smile and took his hand. "Araceli, but everyone calls me Celi." She introduced herself. "Today's actually my first day… I just moved here from Washington." Celi explained. "That's so cool! Can I see your schedule? Maybe we have more classes together." Jax asked and she pulled the paper out of her pocket and gave it to him. Before much more could be said, the bell rang and their teacher started the class.
The period went by quickly and she was happy she didn't need to do any type of introduction on who she was. Her next class was art and it was one she sadly didn't share with Jax. Once again she found herself towards the back of the class and listened as the teacher explained what their project was going to be for the next month and a half. Once the bell rang again, it was time for lunch and this was the part she was dreading the most. She grabbed some food and moved to the side as she looked around the cafeteria. She didn't know anyone which also meant she had nowhere to sit. Just as she was about to give up, she heard someone call her name and turning her head, she found Jax coming up to her with a smile. "Hey Celi, did you wanna sit with me and my friends?" He asked. "I promise they're cool." He added on, hoping it helped convinced her. She didn't have anywhere else to sit so she gave him a small smile and nodded her head. His face lit up and pulled her with him outside to the courtyard. She was introduced to his friends and he wasn't lying, they were pretty cool. Her one friend turned into four and she was surprised to find out how much of their interests lined up.
And soon enough you're best friends
After Lunch, the rest of the day seemed to go pretty quickly. She had theatre and lastly History. Walking through the door, she found Jax and he waved her over, moving his backpack out of the seat next to him. "Hey, I saved you a seat." He told her. She thanked him and they made small talk before the bell rang. By the time the school day was done, it felt like they had been friends for years and she was starting to feel better about being in a whole new school. Jax walked with her outside to the front before stopping just short of the sidewalk. "I walk home, do you like around here?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. Celi nodded her head but turned towards the opposite direction. "Yeah but I live that way" Her smile falling just a bit. Jax thought for a moment before he pulled out his phone and typed something quickly before returning it to his pocket. He started to walk past her, only stopping after a few moments to look back at her. "You coming?" He asked. "Kinda hard to walk you home if you don't lead the way." he gave her a lopsided grin as he walked back and grabbed her hand, taking her with him this time. A small blush crept onto her cheeks as they walked, conversation coming easy to them now that they've had to the whole day to get to know each other a bit.
By the time they made it to her doorstep, the two were laughing and making jokes that only they'd understand. Waving goodbye, she watched Jax walk back in the direction they came from. Even though she lived the opposite direction he did, he still took the time to walk her home and keep her company. Walking inside, Celi set her bag down by the door and her mom peeked her head out of the kitchen to greet her. "Welcome home sweetie! How was your first day?" She asked, wiping her hands on the dish towel tossed over her shoulder. Araceli gave her a smile. "It was good." She nodded her head slightly like she was agreeing with herself that the day wasn't as terrible as she thought it'd be. "I made a friend. His name is Jax. He walked me home just now." She told her mom, who gave her a knowing smile. "That's great sweetheart. We'd love to have him around some time." She said before going back to what she was doing. Celi had a stupid smile on her face as she brought her thumb up to her mouth, slightly biting it. Maybe, just maybe she thought... starting at this new school wasn't going to be such a bad thing.
count to ten, take it in. This is life before you know who you're gonna be... at fifteen