"New school, new town, new me?" I asked myself as I clutched 1my backpack straps looking at the mirror. That 13-year-old kid with dark curly hair, and a confused expression 2is me. And today is my first day of school.
My name is Kyle, I am 13, and I just moved to Glendale because my parents both got jobs at the big hospital here. Leaving Westwood was tough, but hey, at least Glendale has a mall.
I'm not the most outgoing guy, so making friends in a new place was basically my worst nightmare. And now, I'm facing a whole new crowd, a whole new world. I just want to fit in, y'know? My dad says, that's the thing about being new—you're the mystery box, right? Everyone's curious. But that curiosity wears off 3fast if you don't have anything interesting inside.
I shuffled 4into my first class, my eyes darting around the room. It was a typical middle-school scene: rows of desks, bright posters taped to the walls, and a whiteboard gleaming under the fluorescent lights. I scanned the room for an empty desk and plopped into one at the back corner hoping to blend in.
Just as I thought I could maybe disappear, a whirlwind 5of energy burst through the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges6. "JB, you're late again!" a voice called from the hallway.
JB, a mop of sandy hair and a grin that could light up a stadium, practically crash-landed into the desk beside me. "Yo, new kid!" he exclaimed, his voice booming like a loudspeaker. "What's your name?”
"Kyle," I mumbled, trying not to shrink into my chair.
"Cool, Kyle! I'm JB, the one and only! Your partner for this mess we call a class. This place is wild, man. I'll show you the ropes7."
A group of students clustered 8around our desks, firing questions at JB. "Yo, dude, how was your summer?" "Catch any gnarly 9waves?" "Hear you got busted 10for skateboarding in the principal's office again."
JB's grin widened. "Summer was epic, bro! Almost finished a half-pipe 11in my backyard! And even managed to blow up my dad's lawnmower12. You know, the usual."
A few kids laughed, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. JB seemed like a magnet for trouble, but everyone clearly liked him.