Change (Is Good), chapter 3
Chapter 3
"DRIIIING!" came the sound of Carrie's alarm clock. It was totally unnecessary though as Carrie was wide awake ready for school. She had gone shopping for supplies the previous day and bought twenty notebooks, ten binders, a new supply of pencils and erasers (It seems everyone always looses theirs.), and some other small trinkets that she would occasionally need. She packed half her notebooks, her binders, a pencil case with her stuff in it, locker selves, a lock, etc. By the time it was 7:30, she was fully fed and ready to leave.
Her dad dropped her off before her sister and as she was about to leave the car, he gave the, "Have fun, make friends, I love you, and bye sweetie," speech before she left. She hugged him and closed the car door behind her as she laid her eyes on her new school. She was slightly early it seemed, classes started at 8:15. It was 8:00. She looked at some of the people sitting outside the school, waiting for a sign that it was time to go to class. Over to the very far end of the school, she spotted some tall guys in basketball jerseys and a boom box lying on the ground. On some picnic tables, sat a bunch of girls, most Asians with glasses. She heard some foreign language coming from her left where there sat some Indian students. Near some bushes, on the side of the entrance to the school there were a bunch of kids in tight black, some plaid pants. Their hair was brightly coloured, and they had enough metal on their clothing to be able to pull them around with a big magnet, Carrie thought. And some girls with shockingly high skirts and blouses were walking towards her, giggling and whispering behind their hands. Carrie tried to keep her focus and tried not to stare at anyone as she walked towards the door. She got some glances from people around her, but she kept on going. She went up to the doors and pushed on them. They didn't move. She pushed harder.
"Hey, you!" came a loud voice of a girl. "Need help?"
Carrie saw a girl with black hair with red streaks approaching her.
"You have to pull the doors, dumbass."
Carrie just stood there, shocked.
"Just kidding, don't have to get worked up," the girl said slightly rolling her eyes as she spoke. "You are new, unless I am very deeply mistaken. Either that or you are some old person in disguise."
"No...uh... I'm new," Carrie said, giggling slightly. She could see the girl was wearing a red shirt with the words "Bad Religion" on it. Her hair was down, the sunlight making her streaks shimmer, and a curl of bangs hung over her forehead. She was wearing eye makeup and she had quite a few earrings. Her jeans were rolled up, exposing a pair of rainbow striped socks and black boots.
Carrie didn't really like her appearance, but, At least she seems nice."
"Wow, this isn't 1940 is it?" the girls said after looking at Carrie's clothes. Carrie erased the previous thought that had entered her head. She saw nothing wrong with her pink blouse she was wearing and the grey pants she had on.
"At least people aren't going to be scared of me," Carrie thought.
"Huh?" the girl asked.
"Shoot. I did not say that out loud, did I?" Carrie said, bringing a hand up tot her mouth.
"Pfft. No, it's fine," the girl shrugged her off.
"Still, sorry," Carrie said.
"What for? It doesn't matter," the girl insisted. "So, do you have a name or do you go by new kid?" she asked as they walked down the corridor.
"I'm Carrie."
"OK. I'm Ivory. Yes as in elephant trunks. I hate it, call me Ivy instead."
"I like the name Ivory. It sounds exotic," Carrie said.
"Yeah, well, it's my name and I don't like it." Ivy said.
She came off to Carrie as a very out there, in-your-face type of person, who was brutally honest. She didn't care how you would react, she just spoke her mind. Carrie had no clue how to talk to Ivy without making her not be ticked off. Ivy didn't seem to mind though.
They found out which homerooms they were in and parted.
"Room 2.08. I'm in room 2.08," Carrie said to herself. "2.02, 2.04, 2.06, 2.08. Here."
She took a deep breath and opened the door. To her surprise, she saw a few other students sitting and standing around the room, talking to each other, with no sight of a teacher.
"Hey! New girl! We don't get many new people," one guy said.
"Yeah, I just moved here from San Francisco," Carrie replied, smiling nervously.
"You came to Ottawa from San Francisco? You moved from a nice city in California to a shithole? Well that's fucked up," another guy said laughing.
"It's nice here though." Carrie defended.
"Right," the guy said, with a hint of sarcasm.
"It really is, at least I think so," and with that, Carrie moved to a desk near the front, as far away from the two guys.
Right as she sat down. A man walked in with a bag slung over one shoulder and books in one hand. He walked over to the front desk and turned.
"Could everybody please sit down while I take attendance?"
Everyone sat down, some on the floor, some on desks, still talking to each other. But the teacher didn't seem to mind. He just went on taking attendance. Carrie realized she was the only person who wasn't talking to someone. She just sat there feeling a little out of everything.
"Carrie Morgan. Ah, I see you're new."
"Here, and yeah, I'm new."
"Welcome, I'm Mr. Hoftenjager. Called me Mr. H," said the teacher, his sparkling eyes as blue as his tie. "Lizze Mullmin," he carried on.
Finally, as he finished, and the class settled down, and a few stray kids returned, he began to do that whole "welcome back etcetera etcetera" announcement.
"And I want you all to meet Carrie Morgan, new to this school and to Ottawa, all the way from San Francisco."
Carrie looked around the class and gave everyone a nod of acknowledgement.
"I believe she is the only new student in this grade this year, so be nice, as you guys should always be." He seemed to glare at some kids sitting in the back of the room during this statement. "Help her out, show her around, get to know her, you know."
The next fifteen minutes passed with the handing out of schedules and telling everyone which courses they were talking this year. Soon however a bell rang signalling the end of homeroom and the beginning of French class.
With some help, Carrie managed to find her French class after about ten minutes. When she walked in, she noticed the class had started without her. A projection unit was one with some stuff about goals for the year.
"Sorry I'm late," Carrie said to the teacher, "I got lost."
"Oh, pas problem," the teacher said with a heavy French-Canadian accent. "Ave you ever learned French before?" she said, rolling her R's and leaving out her H's.
"A little," Carrie replied.
"OK. I am Madame Gervais. I am ere to elp you learn. Sit down," she motioned to the chair next to the girl she had met earlier.
She sat down and the teacher continued in her heavy, boring accent.
"Hey... Carrie. Right?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, Ivy." Carrie whispered back beaming.
"So how's life?"
Carrie thought it was an odd question so she just said a simple, "Good."
"Really?" Ivy said.
"Yeah," Carrie was quite cautious of the level of her voice and felt that she was about to be told off any second now by the teacher. Then she noticed others talking amongst themselves and the teacher didn't seem to mind.
"Really, huh? So you've got friends?"
"No, well, not yet." Carrie said blushing.
"Uh huh," Ivory said, raising an eyebrow, "And you've got money to spend?"
"Well, I'm hoping for a job soon." Carrie said.
"And you are having fun so far?"
"Not really, it's kinda boring."
"So what makes your life 'good'?" Ivy asked.
"Not much if you put it that way." Carrie realized. She hadn't had any friends or that much fun since she arrived.
"Tell you what," the girl said,"I'll take you for a little tour of the nicer parts of Ottawa. On Saturday maybe."
"Yeah, OK. Sounds good, I'll ask my parents." Carrie said, a little taken back at the offer from the girl she met not half an hour ago.
"And I'll introduce you to some of my friends. Don't worry, they're nice."
Carrie wasn't expecting anyone to willingly just make friends with her like that. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Ivy was actually a friend or not. It seemed she was as desperate for someone to hang out with as Carrie was. It seemed people here were a lot more different than in San Francisco.
"DRIIIING!" came the sound of Carrie's alarm clock. It was totally unnecessary though as Carrie was wide awake ready for school. She had gone shopping for supplies the previous day and bought twenty notebooks, ten binders, a new supply of pencils and erasers (It seems everyone always looses theirs.), and some other small trinkets that she would occasionally need. She packed half her notebooks, her binders, a pencil case with her stuff in it, locker selves, a lock, etc. By the time it was 7:30, she was fully fed and ready to leave.
Her dad dropped her off before her sister and as she was about to leave the car, he gave the, "Have fun, make friends, I love you, and bye sweetie," speech before she left. She hugged him and closed the car door behind her as she laid her eyes on her new school. She was slightly early it seemed, classes started at 8:15. It was 8:00. She looked at some of the people sitting outside the school, waiting for a sign that it was time to go to class. Over to the very far end of the school, she spotted some tall guys in basketball jerseys and a boom box lying on the ground. On some picnic tables, sat a bunch of girls, most Asians with glasses. She heard some foreign language coming from her left where there sat some Indian students. Near some bushes, on the side of the entrance to the school there were a bunch of kids in tight black, some plaid pants. Their hair was brightly coloured, and they had enough metal on their clothing to be able to pull them around with a big magnet, Carrie thought. And some girls with shockingly high skirts and blouses were walking towards her, giggling and whispering behind their hands. Carrie tried to keep her focus and tried not to stare at anyone as she walked towards the door. She got some glances from people around her, but she kept on going. She went up to the doors and pushed on them. They didn't move. She pushed harder.
"Hey, you!" came a loud voice of a girl. "Need help?"
Carrie saw a girl with black hair with red streaks approaching her.
"You have to pull the doors, dumbass."
Carrie just stood there, shocked.
"Just kidding, don't have to get worked up," the girl said slightly rolling her eyes as she spoke. "You are new, unless I am very deeply mistaken. Either that or you are some old person in disguise."
"No...uh... I'm new," Carrie said, giggling slightly. She could see the girl was wearing a red shirt with the words "Bad Religion" on it. Her hair was down, the sunlight making her streaks shimmer, and a curl of bangs hung over her forehead. She was wearing eye makeup and she had quite a few earrings. Her jeans were rolled up, exposing a pair of rainbow striped socks and black boots.
Carrie didn't really like her appearance, but, At least she seems nice."
"Wow, this isn't 1940 is it?" the girls said after looking at Carrie's clothes. Carrie erased the previous thought that had entered her head. She saw nothing wrong with her pink blouse she was wearing and the grey pants she had on.
"At least people aren't going to be scared of me," Carrie thought.
"Huh?" the girl asked.
"Shoot. I did not say that out loud, did I?" Carrie said, bringing a hand up tot her mouth.
"Pfft. No, it's fine," the girl shrugged her off.
"Still, sorry," Carrie said.
"What for? It doesn't matter," the girl insisted. "So, do you have a name or do you go by new kid?" she asked as they walked down the corridor.
"I'm Carrie."
"OK. I'm Ivory. Yes as in elephant trunks. I hate it, call me Ivy instead."
"I like the name Ivory. It sounds exotic," Carrie said.
"Yeah, well, it's my name and I don't like it." Ivy said.
She came off to Carrie as a very out there, in-your-face type of person, who was brutally honest. She didn't care how you would react, she just spoke her mind. Carrie had no clue how to talk to Ivy without making her not be ticked off. Ivy didn't seem to mind though.
They found out which homerooms they were in and parted.
"Room 2.08. I'm in room 2.08," Carrie said to herself. "2.02, 2.04, 2.06, 2.08. Here."
She took a deep breath and opened the door. To her surprise, she saw a few other students sitting and standing around the room, talking to each other, with no sight of a teacher.
"Hey! New girl! We don't get many new people," one guy said.
"Yeah, I just moved here from San Francisco," Carrie replied, smiling nervously.
"You came to Ottawa from San Francisco? You moved from a nice city in California to a shithole? Well that's fucked up," another guy said laughing.
"It's nice here though." Carrie defended.
"Right," the guy said, with a hint of sarcasm.
"It really is, at least I think so," and with that, Carrie moved to a desk near the front, as far away from the two guys.
Right as she sat down. A man walked in with a bag slung over one shoulder and books in one hand. He walked over to the front desk and turned.
"Could everybody please sit down while I take attendance?"
Everyone sat down, some on the floor, some on desks, still talking to each other. But the teacher didn't seem to mind. He just went on taking attendance. Carrie realized she was the only person who wasn't talking to someone. She just sat there feeling a little out of everything.
"Carrie Morgan. Ah, I see you're new."
"Here, and yeah, I'm new."
"Welcome, I'm Mr. Hoftenjager. Called me Mr. H," said the teacher, his sparkling eyes as blue as his tie. "Lizze Mullmin," he carried on.
Finally, as he finished, and the class settled down, and a few stray kids returned, he began to do that whole "welcome back etcetera etcetera" announcement.
"And I want you all to meet Carrie Morgan, new to this school and to Ottawa, all the way from San Francisco."
Carrie looked around the class and gave everyone a nod of acknowledgement.
"I believe she is the only new student in this grade this year, so be nice, as you guys should always be." He seemed to glare at some kids sitting in the back of the room during this statement. "Help her out, show her around, get to know her, you know."
The next fifteen minutes passed with the handing out of schedules and telling everyone which courses they were talking this year. Soon however a bell rang signalling the end of homeroom and the beginning of French class.
With some help, Carrie managed to find her French class after about ten minutes. When she walked in, she noticed the class had started without her. A projection unit was one with some stuff about goals for the year.
"Sorry I'm late," Carrie said to the teacher, "I got lost."
"Oh, pas problem," the teacher said with a heavy French-Canadian accent. "Ave you ever learned French before?" she said, rolling her R's and leaving out her H's.
"A little," Carrie replied.
"OK. I am Madame Gervais. I am ere to elp you learn. Sit down," she motioned to the chair next to the girl she had met earlier.
She sat down and the teacher continued in her heavy, boring accent.
"Hey... Carrie. Right?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, Ivy." Carrie whispered back beaming.
"So how's life?"
Carrie thought it was an odd question so she just said a simple, "Good."
"Really?" Ivy said.
"Yeah," Carrie was quite cautious of the level of her voice and felt that she was about to be told off any second now by the teacher. Then she noticed others talking amongst themselves and the teacher didn't seem to mind.
"Really, huh? So you've got friends?"
"No, well, not yet." Carrie said blushing.
"Uh huh," Ivory said, raising an eyebrow, "And you've got money to spend?"
"Well, I'm hoping for a job soon." Carrie said.
"And you are having fun so far?"
"Not really, it's kinda boring."
"So what makes your life 'good'?" Ivy asked.
"Not much if you put it that way." Carrie realized. She hadn't had any friends or that much fun since she arrived.
"Tell you what," the girl said,"I'll take you for a little tour of the nicer parts of Ottawa. On Saturday maybe."
"Yeah, OK. Sounds good, I'll ask my parents." Carrie said, a little taken back at the offer from the girl she met not half an hour ago.
"And I'll introduce you to some of my friends. Don't worry, they're nice."
Carrie wasn't expecting anyone to willingly just make friends with her like that. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Ivy was actually a friend or not. It seemed she was as desperate for someone to hang out with as Carrie was. It seemed people here were a lot more different than in San Francisco.
