Malia's Might

Chapter 8: Open mouth insert foot.

                I sat there in the hallway looking at all the traffic as it passes me by.  I felt like it was a valuable learning experience.  I mean I could really see how high schools followed the animal kingdom rules in most ways.  For instance, I was the weak link because I was new.  Like an albino in the species I was sticking out like a sore thumb and thus the rest of my species had shunned me in a way.  Knowing that I was prime meat for the apex predators they had abandoned me to my own devices and currently were pretending not to see my frantic state of utter confusion in hopes that the big bad beasties would go after me and they could slink to relative safety in the cover of the crowd.

                No, not really.  I mean yes I was in a frantic state, and yes I was being ignored like the plague by my fellow schoolmates, but I was in no means in danger of being eaten right?  Right!  I just watched the last group of kids scurry through the hallways on their way to whatever classroom would be their new prison for the next hour.  I stopped in the hallway and leaned against the wall in an effort to get my bearings because I could swear that I had seen that same pep poster on the wall for the fifth time now.  At this point I really wanted to just chuck my book bag at it and call it a day.  I slowly sank down to the floor as I looked at the picture of the poor kitten hanging from the branch with the ever popular slogan of “Hang in there”. 

                “I feel ya kitty, I feel ya.”  I was really starting to think that either that poster was mocking me or that poor kitten was just waiting for one person to help it off the damn branch already.

                I had started out my first day with stellar progress if by stellar you mean epically failing at every turn.  I had been on such a surge of confidence after dealing with the step-monster but as dad had started nearing the bus stop that confidence had washed away as if it had never existed.  I was still unsure as to where that surge of energy had come from that forced those words out at Shannon.  I can tell you that I was definitely not looking forward to coming home to deal with the fallout from that little stunt that was for sure.  I was kind of wishing at this point that I would just fade away right here in the hallway so I would not have to listen to her drone on about how my actions this morning were unacceptable and really disappointing for someone of my age.  Yuck, can you say gag me?

                Shuddering I remembered the moment I had walked onto the bus and apparently had chosen to sit in someone else’s seat.  The driver had told me to sit “wherever” and so I had plopped into the first open seat I could find, much to the dismay of my surrounding occupants as this seat was supposedly saved for someone.  I had then trudged on to the next one to find it blissfully empty and at the very back of the bus.  Other than feeling like I was being stared at like that strange fish at the local aquarium it was dandy.  You would be surprised what a good pair of air pods and a killer playlist would do for droning out the gawkers.

                Then came the office and getting my ridiculous excuse of a class roster and directions and this was how I ended up where I was now commiserating with the darn kitten on the poster who I was pretty sure at this point was definitely mocking me as the bell finally rang and let out the detained students so that they might get a bit of food before their next several hours of mandated detainment.  So here I was on my first day of school, which always happens to be a Monday if you haven’t noticed.  You never hear about someone starting their new school on a Friday as if that would be too kind to the newly transferred subject to be able to recover from the transfer shock over the weekend.  Nope you get to suffer through the whole week feeling like a science experiment as you walk into each new class to be stared at and have your teacher try to point out a new seat or get you a “class buddy” to help you out.

                Anyway, I was once again straining my eyes looking at this little laminated square they had given me in the office.  Apparently it was a map so that I could find my way to my new classes.  As far as I could tell it was more ancient hieroglyphics than actual words and I was completely lost.  I had somehow managed to make it to one of my three classes and I found what I thought was my locker only to realize I was in the wrong wing.  Yeah, that was a fresh hell I would rather not live through again as I had tried desperately to explain my side of the story to the very angry “in crowd” girl who believed I was trying to break into her locker.  Talk about wanting to crawl under a rock, I think I could feel her staring daggers into my back the whole way down the hall.  Ouch.

So at this point I was beyond lost, I am serious, I think I ended up making the same wrong turn into the bathroom instead of the classroom three times before I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to either plop a squat right there in the hallway wasting away until someone took pity on me and helped me find my way to the lunchroom for my lunch period, or suck it up and trudge back through the chaos of the hallway rush to the office and plead mercy to the stern old bat that was behind the counter.

                I was seriously thinking wasting away might be my better option.  If looks could kill that woman would have roasted me three times over again just for having asked her to explain this damn pictograph I was looking at now.  She literally looked at me like I was the worst thing to have crossed her path when I asked her to explain the little placard, and then in the same seething monotone she had given me the first time gave me the exact same directions again.  Because if you haven’t figured it out apparently getting the same nonsense repeated to you over again makes it no longer nonsense.  Gosh I can feel the headache already.  Maybe I could get dad to agree to online education, yeah right like the step monster would let that happen.  I could hear the screeching already, joy.

                I was in the middle of wallowing in my own self-pity and hunger when I noticed that two black boots were now firmly planted in my field of view, and they weren’t moving away.  I craned my head to look up at the figure in front of me, straining against the florescent assault of the overhead lighting, to see a boy about my age staring back.  He was looking at me as if he was expecting something and I was trying to wrack my brain to see if he had been speaking to me while I was in my own head.  Nope, no recognition there just more wallowing so I just stared back at him waiting for him to speak or do something other than stare.  Cue the awkward silence and three, two, one.

                Finally, he cleared his throat and I was prepared for him to ask me if I needed help.  “You are sitting in front of my locker.”  That was all he said as he pointed with one finger of the hand that was holding his backpack strap over his shoulder.  I looked in the direction he pointed to see that I was in fact leaning not up against a wall as I had thought, but right smack dab against the last locker in this row.  Great, the only person who has even said two words to me today and it is just to get me to move out of the way.  Really making a mark there Malia, way to go!

                “S..Sorry, I’ll just get out of your way now.”  I slid my body down the wall and off of his locker as he opened the door and began to put his stuff away and grab other stuff out.  I was thinking that he was just going to go on with the silence when he spoke to me.

                “You lost or something?”  He closed the locker and was looking at me as if he was trying to figure out why I was there.

                “Yeah actually, I can’t figure out this darn map thingy and I am supposed to be heading to lunch and then to Senior English, where ever that is.”  I waved the little useless plastic covered map in the air with my frustration and then turned back to the boy again.

                He had a small smirk on his face as if he didn’t smile often.  “Well, the lunchroom is down the hall that way and on the right.”  He pointed back down the hall behind me.

                I felt my frustration rise a little bit since I had already gone that way three times at least with no luck.  At this point I might as well send up an emergency flare, it was pointless.  Almost as if reading my face he cleared his throat to get my attention.  “If you want you can just follow me, I have lunch now and then Senior English after.”

                “Really, that would be great.  Thanks.”  I thanked him as he shrugged like it was no big deal.  When I had made it back to my feet I wiped the floor grime from my hand on my jeans and then extended my hand out to him.  “My name’s Malia by the way, nice to meet you.”

                He just stared at my hand before shrugging his shoulders again.  “Name’s Mason, it’s this way.”  Then he turned and headed down the hallway, people moving out of his way as he walked with what seemed like determined strides.  I raced behind him to catch up and not get lost again.

                I followed him into the lunchroom and was immediately hit by the smell of warm food and my stomach began to growl loudly.  Mason stopped and looked at me with a small grin and I felt my face turn a bright shade of tomato red.  Great move Malia, make a fool out of yourself already.  He probably thinks you are some half-starved crazy person or something.

                “You are in luck; they have mashed potatoes and gravy today along with steaks.”  Mason pointed towards the hot lunch line and all I could do was stare.

                “Did you say steak?”  I was shocked and was waiting for him to tell me he was joking but the look on his face practically said “Duh.”

                “My old school never served steak, maybe meatloaf but that was on a good day.”  I looked up to see that he had already walked off and I was officially talking to myself.  “Way to go Malia, scare off the one person who decided to talk to you today.  Great job!”

                “Hey Malia the line starts over here.  Also, I don’t scare that easily.”  Mason gave another slight smile as he handed me a tray and pointed to the start of the line.

                Now I was certain that wasting away in the hallway might have been the better option because I was pretty sure dying of embarrassment only sounded funny in the comics.