RRIINNGG

The sound of the school bell echoed through my ears. I winced for a moment, not yet used to the sharp, hollow noise it made. I looked around the crowded courtyard of the school. People rushing in and out of doors, towards the school and away. They all looked like a bunch of little ants in a large anthill. I fidgeted a bit and looked at myself again.

I was dressed in a gray shirt and skirt, the school uniform for girls. The skirt hung down to just below my knees, and it seemed awkward for me to wear it. You have to keep in mind the fact that tails make it a pain to wear skirts, pants, tights, or anything else like that. Infact, my tail twitches as if to remind me of that small fact. It didn't like having to be crammed under an article of clothing all day. Plus, it made sitting extra hard. I grumbled a bit and pondered the reason for school uniforms as I approached the building.

The school loomed in front of me like a massive mountain. I felt small as I stepped through its front doors and into the crammed hallway. Lockers lined the walls, people shuffled through the crowded corridors. All of the different people around me and the small halls made me feel trapped.

I don't like this. I scrambled to get back outside.

I sat on a bench in the courtyard just staring at the school. The thing was at least two stories high. A few yards to the right of the main doors sat a wide stairway, leading up to a balcony on the second floor. I continued to study the school as another bell rang.

Why do they keep ringing? I sighed. Would I have to put up with that noise all day?

"I think that bell might have ment that you have got to GET TO CLASS!" Tellka's reply screamed through me head.

..... oops...

I jumped up off of my seat and rushed into the school.

With my book bag over my right shoulder, I reached into my skirt pocket with my left hand and began digging for my schedule. I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and read it quietly to myself. "Locker number 246." I glanced around the now empty hall at all of the lockers. 146, 150, 155, where would I find 246? My shoulders slumped as I began to walk through the halls, searching for my locker. I paused at a fountain and leaned over to get a drink.

"You new here?"

I jumped at the voice behind me. Whirling around I found myself looking at a windian girl, about my age. She had short, blonde hair, and large white wings. She was wearing a school uniform and holding a large book that read, 'Windian History.' I must have had a really dumb look on my face, because she shook her head with annoyance and repeated her question.

"Are you new here? You look lost."

I managed to blink. "Huh? Oh yea, I'm new here, I suppose..." I shifted my weight from one foot to another and glanced around uneasily. I didn't like being classified as new. I had lived in Windia for a while; I had just never been to the school before.

"Well, here, lemme help you out." The girl snatched the schedule from out of my hand and glanced at it. "Wow, you are like, totally on the wrong floor. You locker and first class are on the second floor." She grinned. "We have first period together. Come on, I'll get you to your locker." She grabbed a hold of my arm and began pulling me down the halls.

She dragged me up one hall and down the other. The school seemed to go on forever. Finally, we turned a corner and there was a set of stairs. As we walked up the stairs, I was suddenly aware that she had been talking the entire time.

"..and that's who Justin is. Then of course, there is Jason, and he's this guy that.." I figured that if I didn't know what she was talking about in the first place, it wouldn't help much to start listening to her now.

We finally stopped in front of a locker. "Here you go." She smiled again.

"Thanks..." I nodded and forced out an appreciative smile. Truthfully, I wished she would just go away.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Janet. And you are..."

"Kate."

She nodded. "Of course you are..." It was by then I decided that she was deliberatly making a fool of me. I did my best to ignore her, and she continued talking. "Say, since we have first period together, I'll take you to class. Now, don't forget where your locker is." She grinned again.

This girl is making me feel like a kinder-gardener...

"Come on," She pulled on my arm, "I'll give you the grand tour later."

I began to follow her once more. Tellka's voice broke my concentration as I glanced around the long hallways.

"So how is school so far?"

I hate it...

*****************************************************************

The piece of chalk screeched loudly as it slid across the black board. My ears pulled back in protest to the sound and my eyes squeezed shut. I groaned quietly to myself.

Mrs. Wireman

The short, rabbit-clans woman stepped away from the board and smiled. Her large, purple ears bounced as she moved. I studied her features while she began to talk. Wire-framed glasses, large, bluish-green eyes, thick, red hair that went down just below her neck. In my mind, she looked more like an art teacher then a science teacher. She was wearing a blue and while lab coat and white gloves. She carried herself proudly and spoke in a loud, strong voice.

"I'm Mrs. Wireman. I'll be your teacher. I have had five years of teaching experience, so I know most of the tricks." She gave a stern look over to my area of the room, and I heard a giggle behind me. I turned around and looked at Janet who was seated just behind me. She stuck her tounge out at Mrs. Wireman the minute she turned away. I faced forward again to keep from drawing attention to myself.

"She's really annoying," Janet whispered to me quietly over my shoulder. "But, you get used to her really quick. Sometimes she can be pretty cool. Like, once, we were going to dissect frogs, but we didn't have enough for everybody, so she gave us Twinkies instead. We even got to eat them after we were done." I heard her giggle quietly.

"Ms. Meyers," Mrs. Wireman lowered her head and peered out over the top rim of her glasses, fixing her stare on Janet and me. "Is there something you would like to address to the class?"

Janet had been chewing bubble gum quietly ever since class started. At this time, however, she decided to lean back casually in her chair and crack it loudly. "No, Mrs. Wireman." I turned and looked at her over my shoulder. A snicker came from the other side of the room.

"Geesh, she acts like she owns the world."

I've noticed. I turned back around in my seat. Mrs. Wireman gave Janet a stern look and click her tounge in distaste. As she went back to explaining the class rules, lab rules, and other things like that, Janet nudged me in the back and I could only guess that there must have been a large grin on her face.

Janet and I made our way out of the classroom as the dismissal bell rang. "So, what do you hvae next period?" She asked me casually. I pulled my schedule out of my skirt pocket and glanced down at it.

"Art."

"Ah, I guess I won't see you until lunch then." Janet sighed and clicker her teeth. "Well, I'll show you areound the school then, k?" She smiled widely at me. "You think you can make-do until then?"

I nodded.

"Great." She smiled again. "See ya 'round, Kate!" She waved as she headed down the stairs to the first floor of the school. I nodded and watcher her leave. Actually, I wasn't sure I would find my way around. I glanced at my schedule again.

Okay, if it starts with a 1, it's on the first floor. If it starts with a 2, it's on the second floor... the room number for my next class is 325. Tellka....

"Kate, you're holding it upside down."

Ah, sorry. Okay, room 253. I glanced around. I was standing beside the stairs that led to the first floor right now. I turned right and began to head down the hall, watching the numbers over the doors to make sure I was going to correct way. The odd thing about this school was that on one half of it was all of the even number rooms, and on the other half was all the odd numbered ones. This had a way of driving people insane unless you are told about it in advance or catch on quickly.

I managed to find my room before the tardy bll rang. I stepped in quietly and looked for a chair in the corner. As annoying as she was, I kind of missed not having Janet around. At least she was someone that I knew in class. It felt weird to be in a class where no one knew me and I didn't know anyone. I glanced around nervously as the bell sounded to announce the end of passing time. My ears twitched in protest. I hated that noise.

e-mail author, talonr@hotmail.com