First Chapter of my next book!

When you’re nine years old and going into secondary school for the first time, it’s kind of a big deal. I mean, you get to study mature subjects like Business Studies and all that stuff while the little kids are still hung up on phonetics and quantitative reasoning. I’d been to this school before, when I was still in primary school. I left, but I was back now. And nothing was going to stop me from owning it.

        I strode into my new class upstairs, the cellophane bag with most of my textbooks heavy in my right hand and weighing me down. This was a fresh start and I could be cool if I wanted to. I didn’t resume on a Monday like the rest of the kids, so that was already a cool move. I could be like those high school girls I admired on TV. But I wasn’t going to get a boyfriend. That was corrupt. And good girls like me didn’t do corrupt things like that.

        A strange man stood at the front of the class, teaching what I knew to be English. But that wasn’t the only weird thing. There were so many strange faces in the classroom too. Like who were these people? And why were they so many? “Hii, Ashley!” Little voices called out amidst the small crowd of supposed classmates. I knew where the voices were from. Like I said, I’d been to this school before, meaning I knew like ten percent of the kids here. The ten percent were my good ol’ classmates and friends, Thomas, Jamie, Prince, and of course, my best friend, Dora.

        Dora Finch and I had been best friends since basically nursery school. She was basically my ride or die. I nodded, a smile tugging at my lips. I mean c’mon, I had to play it cool. In case you’re wondering who I am, I’m Ashley Jones. A nine year old smart kid who’s definitely gonna rock your world. I slipped into the only empty seat which happened to be at the back of the class. But that was fine. I could hear the teacher pretty well from there. 

    “Hello, there.” The teacher suddenly called as I pulled out a notebook. “What’s your name? Won’t you introduce yourself to the class?” He questioned and I got on my feet. It was fine. All I needed to do was say my name. The ground wouldn’t swallow me if I spoke. Ashley Jones. Is it that hard to say? No one would laugh, right? I glanced around.

    Oh, no. Everyone’s staring at me. What if I say something stupid? What if my voice sounds stupid? Why am I even using the word stupid? It’s corrupt. Am I corrupt now? 

     “Her name is Ashley.” Dora announced. I pressed my lips together, my thoughts dying down. “She’s shy.” She added. That was one thing I needed to get rid of if I wanted to be cool— my shyness. It was becoming a MAJOR problem. The teacher cleared his throat and I looked up at him. He was rather boyish, his dressing a bit more modern than the stero…stereo…than the boring ones the older teachers wore. 

     “Really?” He inquired, looking at me. “Well, Ashley, you can’t be shy. You’ll have to say it yourself.” I glanced at Dora and she shrugged as if saying, ‘I tried what I could’. 

      “My name is Ashley Jones.” I coughed out, surprised at even my own voice. But, hey! I did it! 

     “See, that wasn’t hard to do.” He teased. “My name is Mr. William. I’m your English teacher. Welcome to Valley Waves Academy. You may sit.” I sat down, my heart pounding. I actually said my name. I may have delayed but I didn’t stutter like I usually did. It was too early to tell if I was starting to look cool to the rest of my new classmates, but I had hope. 

      “Hey,” A voice echoed beside me. I turned to face the boy right next to me. He was smiling at me, his dark hair cropped on his head. “My name is Nathan.” He whispered. It was a good call. Getting caught talking during lessons was never good. 

      I nodded, flashing a smile. “My name is Ashley.” I said back.

      “Don’t mind him, though. “He whispered, and I knew he was talking about Mr William. “He’s kinda strict, but he’s also nice.” I glanced at Mr. William, his back to us as he wrote notes on the board for us to put down. 

      He wasn’t like any teacher I’d had before. He was younger, and shorter, with dark rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. I’d always heard the saying, ‘You don’t judge a book by it’s cover.’ Maybe Mr William fell into the category of people we shouldn’t judge for their looks. 

      I looked back at Nathan, his pen to his notebook. “Really?” I whispered, and he stopped writing to nod at me before whispering a joke. I giggled, using all my strength to stop myself from laughing out loud. We could get into trouble if I did. Nathan was laughing too. I looked away from him, a wide smile on my face as I started to take down notes.

      Maybe being cool here wouldn’t be so hard after all. And maybe my first day of school couldn’t be termed as embarrassing. 

      I’d made a new friend. And I just knew this friendship would last a mighty long time.