Before I knew it, it's August 18th, and my first day of going to an American high school. I couldn't help my excitement that morning as I got ready for the school day. I felt a bit of pride as I dressed in my forest green polo, khakis, and sperrys. I decided to put my hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of my face during the day. As I came down the stairs, I heard my Aunt Eleanor exclaim:

"Cecilia, you look very nice!"

"Thank you, Aunt Eleanor, I'm excited for my first day of school."

"Wait on the bottom step, I want to take a first day of school picture."

She rushed over and snapped a picture of me on her phone. "You look so beautiful!"

I smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I didn't know why I got nervous when someone complimented me. Everyday my parents would tell me I looked pretty and my cheeks would get rosy.

We ate breakfast and Aunt Eleanor drove me to school. I had been told that I should come into the office and get my schedule on the first day. My advisor met me there with another girl.

"Cecilia, this is Caroline. She is in most of your classes and will help you navigate through the school. If for some reason you get seperated, find myself or another teacher and we will help you get to the next place."

"Thank you, Mrs.Crabtree. Hi, Caroline!" I was suddenly confronted with another slender blonde, dressed in a salmon color dress that she had paired with converse, who seemed to be slightly more calm than Mrs.Crabtree, and almost reminded me of Aunt Eleanor. I felt like I had known Caroline all of my short life, but I had only just met her.

We talked for a few minutes before Caroline and I headed off to our first class of the day, which was band. Since it was the first day, the teachers passed out the syllabus and we talked about what we would do in class. We figured out which instrument and cubby would be ours for the year and discussed music for our first concert. I had brought my flute from Carin; but because it was in need of some repairs, I needed to start the year with a school flute. After the lesson, Caroline gave me directions to my next class, one of the few that she wasn't in with me. I found that classroom, my advisor's room, with ease and sat down in a breeze.

"Good morning everyone! How has your first day been so far?"

The class moaned in protest. My advisor's brows frowned in disappointment, but suddenly she began to smile again.

"Alright, before we get to the syllabus let's all give our name and a fact about ourselves. I'll start and we'll go across the rows. I'm Mrs. Crabtree, and I coach volleyball."

It took a while but it felt so sudden when it became my turn.

"My name is Cecilia Lawrence and I am originally from Carin, St.Lea. An island in the Atlantic Ocean."

"Alright, time for the less exciting stuff. Take a syllabus and pass the stack on, I'll start as we pass. In this class we spend Monday through Thursday working with Microsoft Office Word and Powerpoint, but we spend Fridays doing team building and community service activities so that we come together as more of a family than just a class. The syllabus that you should have by now has my contact information on it, as well as an overview of the class, a bit about the club that I advise, Business Professionals of America (BPA), a bit about me, and what I like to call a 'conduct contract'. I need both you and your parents to sign this and return it to me tomorrow. I also included some helpful websites, that have video tutorials for the programs that we will be using. Any questions?"

After a few questions from others, we played a few games that she called 'ice breakers' and then the bell rang. The rest of my classes went over the syllabus and did introductions, but accomplished nothing else. At the end of the day we had club signups with our advisors.

"How was your first day?" Mrs. Crabtree asked.

"It was good, I liked your class the best. Where is everyone else?"

"That's good, I like to make things exciting in class so everybody doesn't get bored. I don't usually have any students in my club session until they have officially started. They've never needed me to help, but they thought I would be the right person to advise you. What clubs would you like to sign up for?"

"I want to sign up for choir and this Business Professionals of America."

"That's great, Cecilia!" She clapped her hands together, "You will love BPA and I'm sure that you will enjoy Legato. That's what our choir is called here. Cecilia, do you need your assignments and syllabus in another language?"

"No, thank you. I've spoken English all of my life."

"I just wanted to make sure that was the case. Here is the club sign up sheet, I've marked your selections but, I need you to sign the bottom."

I took the pen she was holding out for me and signed up for Legato and BPA with a neat signature. My parents taught me how to write in cursive when I went to high school. They told me it would come in handy when I would need to sign anything, and they thought that every child should know how to write in cursive.

"I hope you have a great rest of your day, I will see you tomorrow. Don't forget your signed syllabi tomorrow, we'll jump on in to what we will be learning this year. Oh, I know you are interested in trying out for volleyball, we have a pre-tryout 'camp' on Monday, and then actual tryouts will be on Thursday and Friday of next week. You get Wednesday off."

"Thank you! I won't forget. See you tomorrow, Mrs. Crabtree!"

I didn't notice but Caroline had come into the classroom and was waiting for me. She was the one who made sure that I got to my Aunt's office. "How do you like Mountain Pass High School so far?"

"I like it but no one wants to get to know me, besides you of course."

"That's just how people are on the first day, they have to worry about themselves plus any siblings that may be attending Mountain Pass Junior High. It should get better tomorrow, but forsure at the start of next week it'll be better."

"That's a relief. Do you play sports or do anything like that?"

"Yeah. I do Scholars Bowl and a few other things, but that's beside the point. We need to go up this set of stairs and take a left to get to your aunt's office."

"Okay. Hey, how'd you know that's where I was going?"

"My mom works at the university with your Aunt. I spent the summer running errands for her and your aunt."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?

Caroline walked off into the main hallway. I turned around before stopping at my aunt's door.

"How was your day Cecilia?" She turned around from her paperwork as I walked in. Her office was filled with the scent of lavender and wood; it surprised me that I didn't notice it earlier.

"It was good, I need you to sign a couple of my syllabi. Volleyball starts on Monday with pre-tryout 'camp' on Monday and Tuesday, we have Wednesday off, and then tryouts on Thursday and Friday. I don't know when clubs start, but I started working on making friends."

"I'm glad to hear that Cecilia. I forgot to tell you this morning, but, you will need to stay for Advisory on Fridays. I have a late class on Friday's and I can't have you alone at home or in my office. I'm not comfortable leaving you home alone, and the university won't let you stay in my office by yourself. Don't worry, I will pick you up right after class. That class is over at 6:00, so I will pick you up about 6:15 on Fridays."

"Okay, thank you Aunt Eleanor."

For dinner that night Aunt Eleanor made me one of her favorite American dishes: salmon, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. As we ate the delicious dinner Aunt Eleanor and I talked about some of the differences between school and life in Carin and in Colorado, then I asked her about volleyball.

"Aunt Eleanor, is volleyball as serious here as they used to take it in Carin? Do they try to be the best in the world?"

"Cecilia, they take it seriously but not as serious as those in Carin did. The girls are trying to return to the Colorado state volleyball tournament and win the championship for the first time in school history. Do you want me to see if one of the college girls can give you a lesson tomorrow during my late class, to make you feel better about trying out?"

"Oh, would someone want to, Aunt Eleanor? I haven't played on a team for many years. Governor Malik decided that volleyball wasn't worth all of the emphasis put on it, so he put a ban on it."

"I think so. Are you finished with your dinner?"

"Yes. I think I should go to bed now, tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Alright Cecilia. Go and shower first. I'll see you in the morning, goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Aunt Eleanor."

Author's Note

Dear Reader, Cecilia had to learn that making new friends on the first day of school can be difficult. Hopefully she'll adjust better to her new school when she joins some clubs and tries out for volleyball. I'm Treasure and I am delighted to be able to work on this story with Vinchelle and Rachel. We hope you have enjoyed the story so far!

Written by: _BeautifulRose_  & RachelAnneWrites & chellever 

Edited by: lydia-perri