First Day

Jamie’s alarm went off at 6:00 AM, a reminder of the day that was to come, the first day at a new
school. She groaned, reluctantly getting up to smack the snooze button, but the nervousness in
her stomach wouldn’t let her go back to sleep anyway.

She hid back under the covers for a moment, staring at the ceiling. What if she didn’t find anyone
to talk to? She remembered her mom saying, “No one knows each other; it’s a new school for
everyone.” Jamie didn’t believe this, because even though this school was a new environment
for everyone, her peers had known each other since elementary school. They all came from the
same schools, had the same childhood memories, and shared the same inside jokes.
Meanwhile, Jamie had only ever been to private school. She was an outsider, trying to fit into a
a place that wasn’t hers.

She finally dragged herself out of bed, carefully picking up the outfit she had laid out the night
before, ripped jeans and a shirt with a niche movie reference.

Downstairs, her parents were quietly talking about their worries for Jamie’s first day. Jamie then
began to walk down the stairs. “First day!” her dad said in excitement. “You ready?”
Jamie looked down. “No. But I’ll never be ready, so let’s go.” Her dad peered over his coffee.
“You’ll do great. Just be yourself and try to talk to some people.” Jamie wanted to contest her
father’s point, but instead, she quickly drank the orange juice on the table and grabbed a piece
of toast.

Her mom joined in, trying to sound excited. “You always say that you’re good at reading people.
Use that, find the friendly ones.” Jamie looked down. “It’s not that simple. I’m just scared no one
will notice me.”

“You’re impossible to miss, trust me,” her dad said with a weak smile.
Jamie shook her head in disagreement. “Not in a good way, though.” “It’s just… what if there’s
no one who gets me there?”

“New place, new chances,” her mom said in encouragement.
“You’re the coolest kid I know,” her dad explained.
“I’m the only kid you know, Dad,” Jamie said while rolling her eyes.
“Still, you’re definitely the coolest,” He argued.

Jamie shrugged, grabbing her plaid Converse backpack before heading out the door.

The drive to school was quiet and tense. Jamie stared out the window, watching the morning
haze cover the street. Kids with backpacks walked in small groups, laughing like they had
known each other their whole lives. Her mom parked across from the school. “Want me to walk
you in?” she joked. Jamie looked at her, horrified. “Yeah… no thanks.” She laughed. “Alright, you
better get going, you don’t want to be late on your first day,” her mom urged.

Jamie got out, brushing her shirt and adjusting her backpack. The school looked intimidating
and was already swarmed with students. She took a deep breath and walked forward. The
building towered over her, cold and unwelcoming. Red brick, tall windows, and the echo of
voices and slamming lockers in the hallway. The air smelled like damp concrete and cafeteria
grease.

The halls were filled with chatter and people pushing past each other. She checked her
crumpled schedule: first period, English in room 204. After walking for some time, she peeked
inside the classroom. The students were already seated, notebooks out, the teacher writing on
the board. Her schedule said English, but maybe they started with something else. She walked
in and sat in an empty seat.

The teacher turned around. “Take your seat, class. The syllabus is in front of you. Welcome to AP
Computer Science.” Jamie froze, and panic set in. “Computer science?!” She scanned the room; the students looked older, more confident.
She pulled out her schedule, nervously trying to figure out her mistake. Her stomach dropped.
Room 207. Not room 204. She was in the wrong class. Bad enough on a regular day, but on the first day?

The teacher began looking at Jamie. “Name?” she said.
“Umm, Jamie?”
“Last name?” the teacher asked.

“Smith.” The teacher furrowed her eyebrows, looking through her roster. “You’re not on my list.”
People began to turn around and stare. Jamie felt her face heat up. She forced a nervous laugh.
“Oh, haha, that makes sense now. You’re right, I am in the wrong class!”

Silence.

Someone snickered and mumbled to her friend. The teacher raised her eyebrows. “Do
you need someone to walk you to the right room?”
“No, no, I got it. Thanks!”

Jamie grabbed her backpack and practically sprinted out the door.
As Jamie hurried out of the classroom, she could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. She
could still remember her classmates’ eyes and their snarky whispers. She didn’t even look back as the
embarrassment of her teacher offering to bring her to class filled her mind.

She made a sharp right turn down the hallway that led her to her real classroom, hoping nothing
would stop her from finally getting where she needed to be. As she saw her classroom door,
Jamie heard scurrying footsteps behind her.

“Hey! Are you ok?”

Jamie stopped in her tracks. She contemplated pretending not to hear, but she slowly turned
to see a girl from her previous class. She had short brown hair and was one of the few girls not
dressed up.

Jamie felt a knot in her stomach. “Yeah, I’m ok,” she stuttered. “I just mixed up my schedule, that’s all.”

The girl nodded. “I’m just glad it wasn’t me who went into the wrong class. It would have been
so embarrassing. You handled it a lot more gracefully than I would have.” She chuckled softly,
and Jamie let out a sigh of relief.

The recent memory of that moment played again in Jamie’s head. “I had to keep myself
together, everyone was staring.”

The girl smiled. “It’s only your first day, you’ll forget about it soon enough. I’m Jessica, by the
way,” she said, extending her hand out to Jamie.

“I’m Jamie.” She replied. “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have to hurry to English in
room 207.”

“I’ll walk you there.” Jessica offered. Jessica then took a look at Jamie’s schedule. “No way! We
have Science and History together.”

The idea of seeing a familiar face in some of her classes comforted Jamie. “Awesome! Well, catch up in class then,” Jamie said in excitement.

“Definitely,” Jessica exclaimed.

“Good luck, Jamie, and don’t stress too much about earlier.” Jessica said in comfort.
Jamie watched as Jessica went back into her classroom. She felt relieved and optimistic about
the school year ahead of her. She was still nervous about the rest of the day, but she finally
made it to her right classroom.

By the time the last bell rang, Jamie felt like she had been hit by a truck. Her brain was shot
from a long day of awkward icebreakers and pretending to know where she was going. Her
back ached from sitting in an unsupportive chair, and her backpack was twice as heavy as when
she got there.

She rushed out of school, scanning the line of cars in the pickup lane. Finally, she spotted her
mom’s white SUV. She opened the door and collapsed into the seat with a groan.

“Well?” she asked. “Was it that bad?”

“I don’t even know. I went to the wrong class first thing this morning.”
Her mom slightly chuckled as she was pulling away from the curb. “Oh no, how bad was it?”

“AP Computer Science bad.”

She let out a loud whistle. “Yeah, that is rough.”

Jamie nodded in agreement. “And the teacher called me out in front of everyone.”
“At least you got all the embarrassment out early,” she sighed, looking out the window.

“Yeah, I guess.”

They drove in silence for a while before her mom asked, “Well, any good parts of the day?”
Jamie thought about it for a second.

“Lunch wasn’t too bad. A girl in a couple of my classes asked
me to sit with her.”

“Wow, that’s great. You’re already making friends,” said her mom.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

When they got home, Jamie ran upstairs, kicked off her shoes, and lifelessly passed out onto
her bed. She stared at the ceiling, replaying the day in her mind. It wasn’t a total disaster, so she
considered that a win. At least she knew where her classes were now.

Jamie’s mom knocked and opened the door. “Dinner’s ready.” Jamie began to get up.

“Sounds good.”

“First days are always hard. But it will get easier, trust me.”

Jamie nodded in agreement. “I know.”

Her mom gave a weak smile before closing the door.

Jamie exhaled. Tomorrow would be easier, she thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be. Either way, she
just had to keep going.

As Jamie laid in bed that night, the day replayed in her mind. The initial awkwardness of her
classroom mix-up was immense, but she couldn’t help but laugh at the situation now.

She thought about Jessica, and how maybe she had a chance to make a real friend. She laid
back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Earlier that morning, even the thought of
stepping into a new school made her stomach turn. She recalled how badly she just wanted to
stay under her covers. But she didn’t. She went and she survived. Maybe she was stronger than
she thought.

Jamie smiled to herself. It was just one day, but she proved that she could face the
next one. “I should get some sleep, I have to do this all over again tomorrow,” Jamie thought.
The hum of the house wrapped around her, and she closed her eyes.