8 Freshman Year

The summer came and went with very little to no incidents. I did not get the chance to speak to Richie at all the whole time. I was wondering, for the umpteenth time, if this was how a relationship was supposed to be like? Are we still boyfriend and girlfriend? Would we still be considered to be together? I don't even know anymore. All I know is, I was super anxious for my first day as a freshman in high school. During the tax free weekend, my parents took all 5 of us school going kids to Wally's World and we each got 2 sets of new modified uniform clothing as well as a pair of shoes and backpacks along with the usual mandatory supplies that teachers requested for but very rarely if ever make us make use of.

I begged my mom to buy me over large polo shirts and khakis again, as there wasn't really anyone I had to impress anyways, since Richie doesn't seem to care what I wear regardless of what it is and I prefer to be comfortable. I picked a pair of shoes that were basically Great Value Airwalk's, black and white with red accents and skulls around the side. The only good thing about this "modified dress code" or "uniform" they had placed in the 7th grade was that they didn't make us wear dress shoes or some ungodly thing like that.

The first day of school, I had my new backpack, my new uniform and my new shoes and supplies set up. I rushed my siblings and got them on the bus with me, barely on time. The bus took us to pick up some more kids and then dropped the two youngest off at the elementary school, the next two at the middle school, and finally me at the high school. I make a beeline to grab my breakfast and sat at an empty table, halfway scarfing my food down so I wouldn't be late for home room. I stopped many teachers on the way to ask which room I was supposed to meet my home room teacher in and get pointed in the correct direction, like a frigging treasure hunt until I found the room I was supposed to be in, right before the late bell rang. My eyes roamed the room and settled on a familiar stick of a figure with a mop of curly brown hair and big blue eyes set in a too small face. Richie. I had homeroom with Richie.