The first thing I noticed when stepping into the classroom was that everybody was silent. Normally in class, if a teacher asked for silence, you could still hear slight whispers from small groups, and it was okay. But not here; there were no slight whispers in this classroom.

Delilah led the way as I timidly followed behind. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until we found out. I saw some of the students raise their faces as they heard our footsteps, some of which eyes were widened, some jaws were dropped and others had a pure look of shock sketched on their faces. It was clear Delilah had been right; nobody had ever been late.

The more we stepped in, the more of a large old desk I could see with many papers covering the surface in an unorganized fashion. I saw unclean paint brushes and broken pencils with dots of paint on some of the work. Then I saw him. Mr. Way. He sat with his chair to the side, his leg crossed over the other while his arms were crossed over his chest. His eyes, a wonderful hazel, were in a glare as he stared hard at the two of us, his shaggy black hair slightly moved away from his face and his thin lips were formed straight.

Delilah looked to me then back at Mr. Way, “Mr. Way, we’re –“

Mr. Way raised his right hand as a signal for his student to stop talking. Slowly, he stood up from his chair before moving just two small steps forward. He put his hands on his hips, “There is absolutely NO excuse for arriving late to my class, Miss. Hudson… You’ve been in my class long enough to know that I will not tolerate this… Get to your seat, now! I’ll see you in detention tonight.”

Delilah nodded before quickly rushing to her seat. My heart began to thump quicker as I realized I was now left alone. Mr. Way stared coldly at me, sending shivers down my spine, “And as for you Miss. Phillips, you may be new here at this school, but you will learn quickly of the rules I have in this class, and learn to obey them, do you understand?” My silence forced him to step closer, “I said do you under –“

“Yes, Mr. Way. I understand.” I replied in a stutter.

He was quiet for just a moment, “I will let this one slide for now… But you will not let it happen again… Go find a seat, quickly!” He barked before we both went to our seats. I was happy when I found one just behind Delilah; I needed to be near someone friendly.

“Okay, class, continue with your work. There’s no need to be distracted.” He calmly spoke before sitting back in his chair, continuing to mark student’s work.

Right now, I was feeling unsure of what to do next. While the people in this class had already been set their work and were getting on with it quietly, I hadn’t been told by Mr. Way of what to do. I also wasn’t sure whether I should say something or stay quiet. Either way, I’m certain, he’ll get angry again.

“Samantha!” I heard Mr. Way yell. I gazed up at him and he gestured for me to come to his desk. I did as was asked and stood patiently next to his cluttered desk. Mr. Way grabbed a thick heavy book and a large sketchbook, “Take these back to your seat. I will allow you to ask Delilah what to do, but keep the noise to a minimum and get on with it.” I took the books from him and nodded before returning to my desk where Delilah told me the work we had to do by the end of next week.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, everybody sighed with relief as they rushed from the room to enjoy their twenty minute break before next class. Mr. Way reminded Delilah about her detention this evening.

“That’s the first detention I’ve ever gotten. Ever! I blame you, new girl.” I went to apologize but she stopped me by chuckling, “Don’t sweat it. It’s all good. I don’t really blame you… I wasn’t gonna leave you all lost and confused on your first day, was I?”

I shook my head, “No, but I’m still sorry… Mr. Way seems like a tough teacher, right? If I had any idea at all, I would have made a point to get here earlier and search for all my classes beforehand. Neither of us would have gotten into trouble then.” She told me again not to worry about it, “So what do we do now? What class do you have next?”

Delilah grabbed her timetable from her unorganized bag. She looked at me with a cheeky smile, “Senior year started over a month ago and I still don’t know the order of my classes yet… Lemme see… I have Human Biology, you?” I told her I had the same and she smiled, “No way! Two classes in a row. That’s cool… I like you, new girl. You seem cool. Where are you from anyway?”

I hadn’t noticed that we were in the canteen until Delilah sat down at an empty table. I sat with her before replying, “I originally from New York. I’m not sure why my parents decided to move. I always thought if we did move, I’d still go to my old school. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Did you leave any close friends behind?”

I thought about her question for a moment, “Yeah, I guess. I had a few close friends. But I guess I’ll find out how close we are by how often we stay in touch… So what about you?”

“Well, I was born in Minnesota, but moved here when I was really, really young. My parents divorced when I was six. I barely see my dad now. He used to make a point of seeing me every chance he could, but not anymore.” She looked down at her fingers, sadly.

I felt awkward right now. I was lucky enough to still have both of my parents together, married and happy. I didn’t say anything, in fear that if I did, I probably would have said the wrong thing.

“Come on, let’s go to class.” She said in a happier tone and with a small smile. I nodded and followed her.