"Today, you'll be getting back your papers that you handed in yesterday. I was thoroughly disappointed in the class as a whole. Remember that I do have after-class help sessions, and more of you should be utilizing that opportunity," Mrs. Chung said, as she picked up a stack of papers that were on her desk.

Making her way around the tables, the sound of her high heels clicking against the tiles echoed throughout the room. "But, there were a few individuals that did better than expected," she added, as she stood over Tanya's desk.

When Mrs. Chung handed our papers back, Mike crumpled his up and stuffed it inside his desk. "It's not even worth knowing at this point," he said while his frail fingers danced along his brown hair.

"You know what, I probably failed too," I added. My paper was still turned over, and part of me was scared to flip it. I didn't really want all that hard work to go to waste, as I was almost sure it would.

Snatching my paper, Mike's eyes immediately widened. "I must be seeing things," he said. Taking off his glasses, he wiped them with the fabric of his shirt while I snatched the paper back from him.

"Holy shit," I said. My jaw dropped, as I was just left in a state of shock. I blinked a few times, just to make sure I was seeing this mark correctly. Turning the pages of my story, I noticed that there was a smaller amount of red comments. I could actually see glimpses of the white paper I wrote the report on this time.

"As always, I'll give you some statistics to help you put things into perspective. The highest mark on this assignment was a 90 percent. Congratulations to that individual," Mrs. Chung said, as she walked back to the front of the class, taking a kid's cellphone along the way.

"But, the average on this was a 55 percent. While I do put more weight towards assignments at the end of the year, we're getting to the point where failing an assignment will start to have a serious impact on your grade. Next week, I'm extending my hours and will be open every day for those of you that need extra help," she concluded.

Mike looked back at his crumpled paper, exhaling loudly and slumping back in his chair. "Well, I guess I didn't have the same luck, good job man."

I still couldn't wipe the smile off my face. A 76 percent. While you may look at that and think it wasn't that impressive, this was coming from a class where I had failed all of my previous reports.

But, that upward trend wasn't about to stop there. Over the next few months, something interesting happened. I became a regular attendee of Mrs. Chung's help sessions after school, and so did most of the class. The class average went from an F to a C+, while my grades on assignments in the class steadily improved from a C+ to an A.

Not only that, but I started to do better in my other courses as well, slowly improving my grades from average to above average. While I began to help Mike in English, he returned the favour and helped me out in math. I even started to get more involved in school, as Mike and I joined a gaming club, where we played a variety of video games and board games once a week.

The distinctive accents of Boston residents, and the way they pronounced words like beaver and enter became less jarring. The way the gold dome on the State House shone at sunset became beautiful, and the hold that the Red Sox had in the city started to feel entrancing. Boston began to feel familiar, and it began to feel like home.

Here's a fun fact about your mother – she loves rollercoasters. Seriously, if you're ever looking for a Mother's Day gift, try giving her a season pass to Six Flags or Canada's Wonderland.

But personally, I hate roller coasters. In fact, the only part about rollercoasters I like is the very beginning, when I'm enjoying the steady ride up to the peak. My seatbelt secured tightly, the wind gently dancing through my hair, and the landscape of the amusement park and the surrounding trees slowly coming into view, each moment becoming more and more breathtaking. The sounds of silence ringing throughout the air, as the noises from the park below become more and more distant.

These few months felt exactly like that beginning part of a rollercoaster – peaceful, calming and enjoyable. However, there's a moment where the tide begins to switch. A moment where the calming and relaxing view begins to turn into a fear. A fear of the peak, and the craziness and complexity that would eventually follow.

Going back to my life story, I would say that moment occurred on a sunny day in 2007, during the month of March. 

The snow was beginning to melt, the sky was sunny, and my day was generally going well, if not typical. My classmates and I watched a video about World War II in history class, and in math class, we used the quadratic formula to solve some equations. But, as you'll find countless times in this story, it wasn't until I got to English class that everything changed.

The sharp sounds of Mrs. Chung's heels resonated throughout the room as she got up from her desk. "Thank you Tanya, you can stop there," she said. "Everyone, please close your books and put them in your bag."

While waiting for everyone to do as she instructed, she picked up a stack of papers from her desk. "Alright class, we've been reading Shakespeare for two weeks now, but I'm going to take a bit of a break from that. It's mandated by the curriculum that there should be an oral component to your grade."

"Heh, oral," Mike whispered while the corners of his mouth furrowed upwards. I couldn't help myself and began to laugh as well.

"Shut up, you two, or I'll have to force you out of here, again," Mrs. Chung said, looking at us directly. Looking into her icy stare, it felt as though an army of needles were inching closer and closer towards me.

Turning her attention towards the rest of the class, she continued on. "So, I have decided to incorporate that component into this project, which will be due this Thursday. Essentially, you'll be working in groups of four to complete a re-enactment of a scene in Romeo and Juliet."

Mike looked at me, and I looked at him. Almost simultaneously, we both nodded our heads. This head nod represented the agreement that we would be together as group members. Or, as the agreement is more formally known, the Group Project Nod.

"You can either perform this in front of the class, or you can pre-record a video and use that. However, you cannot have your books during your re-enactment. So, if you perform your act in front of the class, all of your group members must have your lines memorized," Mrs. Chung said, as she began writing on the chalkboard, assigning a letter to five scenes of Romeo and Juliet.

"Now, I'll be forming the groups you'll all be in."

Heh, it's funny how a sentence can change your mood. Slumping in my chair, I banged my head lightly on the desk in front of me. Man, how I wished the Group Project Nod was legally binding.

Mike began to pat my back, his bony fingers colliding with the surface of my skin. "Don't worry, bro, I'm sure we'll be in the same group," he said.

We weren't. You know the scene in Titanic, where Rose was on that wooden panel, and Jack wanted to get on the panel too, but both of them couldn't fit on it, so Jack had to watch Rose slowly drift away? Yeah, I felt like that, as my mind played My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion in the background and Mike moved to be with a different group.

Mike was assigned to Group B, I think, with a bunch of people who I honestly couldn't remember the names of. They're not relevant to the story here, so I'll just go to the point where I was assigned a group.

"Finally, Group E will consist of Malik McKnight, Eric MacMillan, Kat Delacroix, and Tanya Webster. To settle all future complaints on the topic, you will be judged as a group, not individually. If a group member doesn't pull through, too bad. As they say in show business, the show must go on."

She sat back down in her chair and began adjusting a few books placed on the desk. Looking back up to her students, she uttered two words. "Class dismissed."

Walking out of the classroom, I felt heartbroken since I wouldn't be able to work with Mike on the project. The chance for us to joke about how stupid we thought Shakespeare was seemed like a distant memory. But, I figured since I the smartest girl in class was in my group, acing the assignment would be a breeze.

The next day, my friends and I were eating our lunches in the cafeteria. That day, I had brought a sandwich, and I was extremely thankful for that. The taste of bologna and dried, crusty lettuce was still a godsend compared to the cafeteria food that I saw Jason poking at.

His shepherd's pie, if you could even call it that, looked extremely parched. The potatoes looked like they stood in a desert for three days, desperately needing some nourishment or moisture of some kind. The meat was severely overcooked as if the cook decided that black was a good colour to cook ground beef to. But, at least the dried vegetables went well with the rest of the food.

"Nice hair, is that gel?" Allison twirled her hair and looked at Jacob. I thought he looked a bit like a greaser, with the thin layer of gel covering his hair making contact with rays of sunlight gleaming in through the windows.

"Yeah, maybe now this doofus can stop copying my haircut," Jason replied while the corners of his mouth edged themselves towards a smile. He used his elbow to tap Mike on the arm, and Mike retaliated by elbowing Jason even harder.

"So, Allison, you figure out what we're going to do for that English project on Macbeth?" Zoey asked, as she picked her water bottle and took a sip of it.

Allison adjusted the frames of her glasses. "Zoey, we still have a week. Plus, it's, like, so much easier to just present the scene instead of creating a video around it," she replied. "Like, we don't need to memorize it, so let's just get some foam swords and we'll be ready to go."

"We're doing the same thing in our class, but Romeo and Juliet. Only thing is, we have to memorize our lines," Mike grumbled, as he slumped back in his wooden chair.

"Like I told you guys, you should have, like, switched to our class when you had the chance," Allison said. "Who's in your group?"

"Blah Blah, No Name, and Untitled," Mike replied. "I guess they're okay, but it sucks not having Malik in my group," he continued, turning towards me. The corners of his mouth sloped downwards.

"Yeah, likewise."

"Who's in your group anyways, I wasn't really listening when she called out your group," Mike asked, pulling a lone strand of hair away from his left eye.

"Um, me, Kat Delacroix, Tanya Webster, and some Eric kid," I replied.

"Oh, shit, Kat Delacroix, she's like the hottest girl in school. And you're doing Romeo and Juliet. You lucky, lucky bastard," Jason exclaimed. His shoulders moved up and down, in tune with his laugh.

Allison smacked Jason on the back of his head, her hand colliding with his gel-covered hair. "But, Malik, you're also with Tanya Webster, and she's a real bitch to work with."

"Hey, that hu-"

"What do you mean?" I responded. At that point, Tanya seemed nice enough from the times I had seen her in class. Sure, she was a bit of a know-it-all, and she complained even when she got good marks, but hey, she was smart.

"In grade six, like, me and Tanya were working on an in-class history project and I was sick for one day. This girl cried until I got in trouble, we got split up, and I had to work on it all by myself while Tanya basically got her dad to do everything for her," Zoey remarked.

"Oh, that's nothing. One time in grade eight, we were working on a science fair project and the girl wouldn't even let me do anything. She literally called me stupid to my face, and told me that I was worthless," Allison added.

"Alright, alright, I get it. She's a very terrible person. But, I mean those two things happened years ago. Maybe she's changed," I replied.

The rest of the group immediately burst into laughter. Mike and Zoey began laughing so hard, they began to bang the table, tears flowing down their cheeks. This continued for about a minute, attracting the attention of a few other groups, who gazed at us with looks of confusion on their face.

About a minute later, everyone began to calm down. Zoey was still wheezing from the entire ordeal. "Oh man, that's a good one," she said as she wiped a teardrop located directly under her eye. "Ever consider stand-up?"

"On the bright side, at least you have Kat on your team. She's smoking hot, and you have the perfect opportunity, as long as you get Romeo and she gets Juliet. Don't fuck this up, Jason and I are counting on you," Mike said.

"Yeah, like he can pull her off. I've been trying to get her number for like a year," Jason added. Again, Allison smacked Jason on the back of his head.

"Stop doing th-"

Jason was interrupted by the bell, it's familiar ring echoing throughout the cafeteria.

Walking to my next class, I thought about Tanya, and how negatively everyone seemed to perceive her. My friends viewed her like she was a personification of evil, this person who was so undeserving of my time or respect. I should have had no reason to doubt them, after all, they helped me become accustomed to the place I now lived in. But, there was a small part of me that did doubt them and doubted the cloud of negativity surrounding Tanya Webster.

I mean, she couldn't be that bad, right?