Chapter 12

*Beep Beep Beep*

Ben woke to the sound of his alarm going off at 5:30 a.m. He reached over and hit the button.

"Today is the day," Ben said to himself. He got out of bed, stretched his arms, and headed into the bathroom. He grabbed a towel from the bar and laid it on the counter. He reached into the shower and turned the knob. He tested the water several times until the temperature suited him. Ben stripped off his clothes and stepped under the shower head.

Ben stood with half-closed eyes and let the hot water run down his body. His pitch-black hair clung to his neck. He grabbed the bottle of body wash, opened it, and squirted a small amount into his hand. He took a step back from the running water and washed his naked body. Once done, he stepped into the water and rinsed off. He closed the lid of the body wash, put it back on the shelf, and grabbed the shampoo. He took a step back, squirted a generous amount into his hand, and lathered up his hair. He rinsed out the suds and repeated the steps a second time.

Ben turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and dried his body and hair. He wrapped the towel around his small waist and headed to the bedroom. From the closet, he grabbed his gray outfit. He sat down on his bed and got dressed. He put on his new sneakers, got up, and stood in front of his floor-length mirror. He grabbed a brush and brushed out the tangles in his hair. He pulled his bangs back with a shiny, silver headband. He took a quick look at himself, then grabbed his medication bottles from his nightstand and reached for his backpack.

With the bag on his shoulder and his medicine bottles in his pants pocket, he made his way to the kitchen. He sat his bag on the floor next to a chair and walked over to the counter. He grabbed a banana, peeled it, and sat down. He had just finished eating and poured himself a glass of orange juice when Alec walked in.

"Good morning," Alec said.

"Morning," Ben said, sitting down and opening his medicine bottles.

"Are you ready for your first day of school?" he asked, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

"Yeah, I was about to take my medication," Ben said, nodding his head.

It was 7:15 when they arrived at the high school. When they reached the rows of lockers, Kadin stood there waiting. "Hello, Ben, Principle McBride," Kadin said.

"Hello," Ben said, walking up to his locker and putting his jacket in it.

"Good morning," Alec said with a slight nod. "Don't be late for class," he said as he walked down the corridor.

Alec and Ben walked down the corridor and stopped at a door labeled 1-A. "This is our homeroom," Kadin said. The two found two chairs toward the front of the room that were side by side and sat down. Ben felt several eyes lock on him as the room filled up. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Ben came back to reality when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Kadin asked, looking at him with concerned eyes. He took another deep breath and said, "Yeah, I just feel like I'm a fish in a bowl," nodding his head. The stares disappeared when Kadin looked over his shoulder.

When a young woman with long, wavy hair tied back and deep, small blue eyes entered the room, there were murmurs. Ben and Kadin were the only ones who remained silent.

"Settle down," she said emphatically, striking a lightly used ruler on her desk. The room fell silent in an instant. "My name is Maggie Marrow, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year," she said. The teacher pulled out her laptop and said, "I'll call your name, and I need you to speak up." "If I don't get a response the second time I call your name, you'll be counted as absent," several students in the back of the room grumbled.

The teacher started calling the students' names. It took a couple of students a stern warning for them to respond properly. "Ben Johnson," she said, calling his name.

"Here," Ben called out loudly enough for her to hear. Behind him, a second-year student said, "Dumb foster kid,"

"That's enough, Mr. Andrews," Mrs. Marrow scolded. The redhead leaned back in his seat and huffed. "Kadin Salama," the teacher said, calling his name.

"Here," Kadin said, raising his hand.

The rest of the morning was spent with Ben receiving stares and murmurs in his classes.

"Ignore those idiots," Kadin said in a reassuring manner. "It's nice out, so why don't we eat our lunch on the benches?" Kadin suggested.

"Okay," Ben said, following his friend out the side doors. Ben opened his lunch bag after they sat down.

"What are you having?" Kadin asked.

"Ham and cheese, apple wedges, and juice," Ben said. "What about you?" he asked.

"Turkey sandwich, trail mix, and milk," Kadin said.

Ben and Kadin had finished their lunch when a soccer ball rolled up. "Hey, toss it here!" a blonde boy yelled.

"Heads up, Andre," Kadin yelled, tossing the ball.

"Hiya, bro," the blonde said, walking up to them and bouncing the ball on his knee. "Who is the newbie?" he asked.

"Andre, this is Ben, my friend," Kadin said. "He's a first-year student," he said. "Ben, this is Andre," Kadin said. "He's a second-year student also," he said. Both boys exchanged "Hellos," and "Nice to meet you,"

The next class was physical education, or PE, for short. Kadin noticed that Ben was deep in thought. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I never really liked this class," Ben admitted. "I've always been teased when I took it," he said.

"If anybody tries to hurt you in PE, I'll sock them one," Kadin said, showing Ben his right hook jab.

"I want to be able to defend myself because you can't stay by my side forever," he said. Kadin frowned but nodded in agreement.

"If you want to get stronger, I'll help you," Kadin said. Hearing that made Ben feel better.

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