I figured that the line for locker combinations must be down the hall, so I did, what the lady told me to do. Five minutes later, I was standing in the Principal’s office, receiving a lecture about why students are not supposed to be wandering the halls after the class bell rings. Principal Casting was a short, partially bald man, with a bad comb-over and wickedly crooked teeth. Never once did Principal Casting look at me, while he recited, what must have been a memorized speech. He ended with, “And seeing how this is the first day of school, I will let you off with a warning, but only this one time. Now get to class.”

I was heading back up the hallway to the open area of the office, to once again, try to get my locker combination, when a door to my right opened and a boy taller than me came out. Our eyes met and he suddenly blushed so red, he looked like he had a wicked case of sunburn. He made a sound like someone had just kicked him in the balls, turned, ran back into the room and quickly closed the door. I had no idea why he had been so embarrassed when he saw me, however, I was quickly learning that the people living in Maine are quite a different sort of people than what I am accustomed to.

At first, I didn’t give this any thought at all, but while I was standing in line, waiting to talk to the lady about my locker combination, I saw no less than a dozen boys and girls going in and out of that room. However, I never saw that first boy come back out again.

It was during lunch period, that I saw that same guy again and just as before, when he spotted me, he spun around and took off in the opposite direction. I got a better look at him this time and though I couldn’t put my finger on it, something about him seemed … well, something just didn’t seem right about him.

Believe it or not, I was actually wishing I had Micah’s horrible Machewie fish stuff instead of, what the school was serving for lunch. I sat alone, eating my rubbery, tasteless macaroni and cheese, with limp broccoli, what I imagine was supposed to be a ham steak and milk so cold, it had ice crystals in it. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like I was being watched the whole time I sat there, trying to choke down that awful stuff. Then again, I was probably just being paranoid.

It was nearly at the end of the day, when things really got interesting, and I don’t mean in a good way. Despite missing nearly all of my first class, I was beginning to get a little more comfortable and getting the hang of the schools layout. I had all my textbooks piled into my locker, except for my last class, Social Studies, which was where I was heading when I got the sudden urge to pee. As luck would have it, the bathroom was all the way at the other end of the hall and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it through the crowded hallway to the bathroom and then back again before the bell, but I also knew that there was no way I would make it through a 45-minute class, without having to ask for permission to go to the restroom. I decided to chance it and try for the bathroom. I put myself against the far wall and squeezed past everyone, only getting rammed into three times.