Notes

mia gilbert

I sat in Mr. Nolan's, my homeroom teacher's, room. Everything was so exciting for me. I knew most of the staff and my way around school. I was a big help in starting GSE, too, really. Me and mom did everything we could to assist dad. And now it's finally the first day.

I arrived in the classroom 6:46. Dad and I got here at 5:50 before everyone else and I messed around his office and explored the school for the hundredth time until it was time for me to head to class. The rule is to be in your seat anytime between 6:45 and 7:30. So I guess I was early on some revelations. There were three other students in the classroom by now (6:52). I recognized two from NHHS; Kristen Morrison and Collin Flynn. They were- coincidentally- a couple. To my knowledge, they'd been dating since 8th grade. But the third person, I didn't recognize. A girl with wavy blonde hair wearing a red dress. I made a mental note to get her name. She looked nice.

Mr. Nolan sat at the front, focused on some papers. I'd met him a few times since Dad started on this project. He was okay.

I sat in a seat near the middle. Two seats were paired together in three rows of four. The empty seat next to me was currently being reserved for Jo.

Soon the class started filling up and filling up. Almost everyone was there, except Jo. I started to get worried, and just as I was about to text her at 7:10, she walked in. She saw me and smiled.

"So this is it," she said. "Our last year at high school. Wow."

"Yep. Can you believe my dad's running this? I mean, he got this school functioning and he's the principal. Talk about crazy. He's taught 7th grade math for as long as I can remember. Now look at the man."

We continued on talking, when Mr. Nolan, a nice young-ish man, started to take attendance. Jo was looking at her phone under the desk.

"Lauren Bennett?"

"Here," the girl with wavy hair and the red dress said, raising her hand. Lauren, I thought. Lauren Bennett... where had I heard that name before?

Mr. Nolan continued. "Philip Campbell?"

"Here," said the kid in front of us. Where had I seen him before? "And, call me Cook, by the way." he said. Cook! I met him while getting kids to sign up for this place! I tapped on his shoulder. He turned around. "What do you want from me, white chick?" he said.

"Rude. And I'm just saying hey. I'm Mia. Remember me?" I said.

"Oh yeah, Mia! You got me to start going here. Great talk." he said and turned back around. Well he was very friendly. Mr. Nolan kept going.

"Oh my God," Jo muttered, fear in her voice.

"Jo?" I whispered. "You okay?"
She didn't answer. Just stared at her phone.

"Claire Foster?" Mr. Nolan called. I looked around for Claire, another one of my best friends, although she's really closest with Jo. But I didn't see her. "Claire? Claire Foster?" He asked again. Jo, still looking at her phone, gasped and covered her mouth, grabbing a few people's attention.

"Ms. Newman?" he said. Jo looked up. "Are you on your phone?"

"Um- Mr. Nolan, sir, I know this is a bad first impression and all, but it's really important." she said and tried to explain herself, and not doing a very good job. She went on about some street and something, but she was rambling so fast no one could understand her.

"Jo," I said. She looked up at me with pain in her eyes. "We can't understand you." I said and let out a laugh. She didn't laugh back. Instead she looked up at Mr. Nolan.

"Mr. Nolan, it seems to be that Claire Foster has gotten in a car accident, and as her best friend, I am trying to figure out if that is correct." Lots of people knew Claire, causing some to start panicking. Claire was known as NHHS's queen. Everyone loved Claire. She was pretty and nice and all, but to me she always seemed a bit... melodramatic... and sometimes she came off too strong. Like, she had no personal space. At all. But Jo and her go way back. But then again, so do Jo and I. I was just never that close to Claire like Jo was.

"Well, that is a very serious matter, but it can wait until after class, maybe?" he said.

"Sir, I don't think you understand, Claire is my best friend."

"And she is to be one of my students." he said and sighed. "Look, Jo, I really do care, but please. Put the cell up and deal with it after class." She mumbled a "yes sir" and put her phone up. He nodded slightly and continued.

"Mia Gilbert?" Mr. Nolan continued. I smiled and raised me hand.

"Present," I said. He nodded and smiled back. He's a nice guy, really. "Anyways, Jo," I said and turned to her. "Do you think it's true?"

"About Claire? I don't know, I hope not. I don't know what I'd do if it was." she said. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. She's fine. She has to be. She's Claire Foster." I said and gave her a weak smile, hoping it'd give her something to hold onto. She smiled back.

"You're right. She's gotta be okay." I nodded and we turned our attention back to Mr. Nolan.

"Okay I know it's a new feeling adjusting to this school. Some of you may not know this, but our very own Mia, was a big part of this," he said and gestured to me. A few people turned and I was just really awkward. I smiled and he went on. "Her dad, Mason Gilbert, worked very hard over the past couple of months to get this started. Many of you are transfers from North Haven High School. And others are just starting here in this town. Now, I know it's a bit cheesy, but I feel like it's very necessary here, so right now we're all going to go around and introduce ourselves. I will also have you know that the seats you've chosen now will be your seats for the next nine weeks. I have to get that marked down anyways, so we're going to go in order of our seats. I want you to tell me your first name, last name, a random fact, and where you came from." Mr. Nolan said and put his clipboard under his arm and smiled. "Let's start with you, shall we?" he said and pointed to a boy sitting closest to the door. The seat next to him was vacant.

"Me?" the guy said. Mr. Nolan nodded. "Well my name's Reed Gray and my favorite color's green." he said. A few people snickered at his totally lame "random fact."

"And where'd you come from, Reed?"

"Used to live here long ago. Just moved back."

"Great, great. Nice having you here," Reed just nodded. Mr. Nolan wrote down a quick thing on his clipboard and looked back up. "Next, behind Reed, there," he said. Two girls sat next to each other.

"I'm, um, Alana Callahan. From NHHS. And I, uh, have played the cello since forth grade." she said. Alana was a sweet girl. A bit awkward. But she was nice, I guess. She had long, brown hair. And that's when I recognized the girl sitting next to her. One of her best friends, Beth.

"Wow, Alana, that's very impressive. Are you taking the orchestra program this year?" Mr. Nolan said and smiled. He smiled a lot.

"Um, yeah. I've been playing since forth grade, my family would freak out if I didn't keep it up. Then again, what does it matter to them? Totally my idea, the orchestra thing. My parents don't really mind. Well my dad doesn't. My mom's off in Australia. She obviously has no time to be concerned. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'm rambling," she said with a nervous laugh. Her face was red. Easily embarrassed. Alright.

"Oh.. Well then, thank you for sharing, Alana." Mr. Nolan said.

Her friend, Beth, threw her head back and let out a laugh. "Well, I guess it's my turn. My name is Beth McKnight. From NHHS. And I enjoy watching The Walking Dead."

"Good to know, Ms. McKnight..." Mr. Nolan said and gave her an unsteady smile. And he continued on. And on. And on.

"My name is Kristen Morrison, I am from NHHS, and over the summer me and my boyfriend, Collin-" Kristen said and smiled at Collin. "-road tripped to Portland together." Kristen and Collin were the best. They were genuine, unlike a lot of people at NHHS. They were a cute couple. Everyone knows them, and everyone loves them.

"My name is Lauren Bennett. People usually call me Laur. I'm from Annapolis and we moved here to be closer with my grandmother. But, my 'random fact' is that I like to act. And I do plays, sometimes. I recently did a play here over the summer, actually. Maybe some of you heard of Beauty and the Beast? Yeah, well I was Belle, so that's cool I guess." Lauren Bennet. That's where I knew her from. Mom and I had gone to see the play. Laur was brilliant.

"My name's Ashton. Ashton Glass. I am new here, to this town. I used to live in Georgia. But anyways, I don't know, I play guitar." This boy was cute. Wavy brown hair, that wouldn't look good on most dudes, but looked great on him. And he had an adorable smile. And his jawline was carved by God himself. Well I know I shouldn't crush on boys while I'm in a strong and happy relationship with my boyfriend, Mack, but it doesn't hurt to think things. Ashton isn't my type anyways.

"Vivian Stone. I'm from NHHS and I like my coffee black." She sat down as fast as she spoke (pretty fast). She was a gorgeous girl, really. Just took the right pair of eyes to see it.

"I'm Cook. Not 'Philip Campbell.' I'd like it if you called me Cook and not question it. I am from Massachusetts. And my interests include none of you so don't bother. Well maybe you can bother," Cook said and nodded his head at a girl in the back. Mr. Nolan shifted and dismissed Cook.

"I'm Anna Pennington. From NHHS. And my favorite flowers are roses." Anna Pennington was amazing. She truly was. She had this crazy amount of self confidence and she didn't care who got in her way. She was rude at times, but it's what made her Anna. She was also very gay, and very proud about it. Pretty sure she dates May Pruitt. They're cute together, really. Perfect match.

That went on for just about ever until Mr. Nolan finally got around to introducing us to some of the stuff we'd be doing in his class. History class. Perfect way to start out the day, hm?

After class me and Jo rushed to the side to see if the Claire ordeal was real. It would explain why she wasn't at school. Knowing Claire, she wouldn't miss the first day for anything.