Description: In which we learn about Laura’s experiences at high school and meet her new friend, Natalie.
Have I mentioned the fact that I’ve always been homeschooled, but for my junior year I enrolled as a brand new student at Ludlow Christian School? At first, it felt like a foreign planet. I’m not sure what I was expecting – perhaps a conglomeration of singing and dancing in the halls, inseparable cliques of perfectly dressed mean girls, and jocks that looked like they had just stepped out an Abercrombie ad – but the reality was very different. Ludlow Christian was small and a little outdated; founded in the seventies, the school had once only encompassed kindergarten to eighth grade, later adding a senior high. The average class had fifteen to twenty students in it, and the ratio of girls to guys stood around two thirds/one third. Needless to say, it wasn’t the school you attended to find a boyfriend. Nevertheless, I had a lot of excitement for my upcoming venture. When you’re home schooled as a child, there’s these first grader curiosities about school that never get explored. For example – what is it like to ride the bus, or eat in the cafeteria, or laugh about inside jokes with your classmates, or have a locker? So when my parents came to me and asked me if I would be interested in going to school for the next two years, it didn’t take too much thinking to tell them I would really like it.
Despite my unanswered questions about the real life of your average high school student, I had always been mostly content with my education. I enjoyed spending time with my family, and when you’re the only one in your grade, there’s no limit to how personalized your learning experience can be. For instance, I don’t think I officially learned to read until I was almost seven – I just wasn’t ready. So my mom didn’t push, letting me discover the joy of literary pursuits on my own time. The other thing I had always loved about being home all day was spending time with my siblings – although ever since eighth grade, my big brother and sister had been away at college, and then a year ago my little sister, Kate, had started going to Ludlow for second grade. All of my sophomore year, it had just been me and my mom at home. Now, I’m a pretty social person, so this presented a problem. High school seemed the natural solution. And so, I went.
I spent many a sleepless night in the weeks preceding my first day of school, wondering if I’d fit in or if I’d be able to keep up with the course work or if my teachers would like me. And here I had always thought I was confident. Not anymore – Laura Mason was just like every other insecure fifteen year old, who wants nothing more than for people to like and accept her. I walked into the tan, one storey, industrial-looking building that Wednesday in September, hoping that this day would end better than it had started – how can it possibly manage to be a good morning when you’re forced to get up before six o’clock? That’s just unhealthy. Finding the front office, I introduced myself to one of the helpful, maternal older women and asked for my schedule. I was almost embarrassed that at that moment, all I could think was how much my life reminded me of Twilight.
Really, Laura, I chided myself, I’m pretty sure there are no Edward Cullens in Ludlow, Kentucky. But still, a girl could hope, right? It wasn’t too complex for me to find my locker, since the school was pretty small and there was only one hallway that encompassed every single locker in the school.
I guess I’ll have to decorate the inside . . . I thought, wondering if people really did that or if it was just another high school myth. Placing my textbooks inside – Chemistry, Math Two, English, Social Studies, and Spanish – I pulled out my schedule and saw ‘Homeroom – Room 210 – 8:10.’ I have a theory that it’s sometimes worse to arrive somewhere too early than too late – I had five long minutes in my homeroom before any students appeared, which gave me a chance to speak a bit with Mrs. Bates, our extremely bored-looking teacher. Yes, I’m Laura. Yes, I’ve found everything pretty well. Yes, I’m excited. Yes, it’s different. Yes, it’s much too early for me to carry on an interesting conversation.
Finally, people started filing in – I’d say about twenty in all – and, to my pleased surprise, a girl pulled out the chair next to me, plopped down and gave me a quick smile that made me wonder if I had just imagined it. It didn’t help that I wasn’t sure when the last time was that I had been forced to lose this much sleep – people actually think at this time of day?
“Hi,” the girl said brightly, “I’m Natalie – people call me Nat. Are you the new student? We heard there was going to be somebody, but nobody knows who she is.”
“Um, yeah – hi, I’m Laura.” I couldn’t think of much else to say, but it turned out that I didn’t really have to. Nat was a morning person.
“Cool! I think you’ll like it here. At least, I hope you will. What classes do you have?”
I handed her my schedule.
“Oh, sweet – we have almost all the same classes. Bible’s first.”
“I’m just grateful I don’t have to Chemistry or Math in the morning – I don’t I could handle that.”
Nat agreed, “Yeah, so true. So, what school are you transferring from?”
I sighed inwardly, wondering how many stereotypical questions I would have to hear after I answered her.
“Um, actually, I’ve been homeschooled since I was a kid.”
“No way. That’s cool – I’ve always kinda wanted to know what that would be like. Because you get to like, wake up late and do school in your pajamas, right?”
There it is. I thought.
“No, actually, my mom would never allow us to wear anything slouchier than jeans, and we got up at a pretty normal time. We just didn’t get homework or snow days.”
“Oh. Okay.” She said, and I realized just because it was earlier than I usually liked to talk to people didn’t mean I shouldn’t try to be nice.
“So what should I expect from Bible?” I asked, because people usually enjoy knowing more than you do about anything, and I really was grateful for someone to talk to.
“Oh, it’s not really hard. We usually have a passage assigned to read and answer questions about, and then we discuss it in class. He’ll probably just talk about what the semester will be like today.”
I nodded. The only classes I expected to be a challenge were Chemistry and Math. I’ve always been an ‘English’ girl – like, you know, Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson and stuff. When it comes to getting one specific, right or wrong answer, I don’t always do marvelously. However, I was determined to do well at this school – I wanted to know without a doubt that I could conquer what the majority of American teenagers can – high school.
I spent the morning meeting the rest of my class mates, sticking mainly with Nat and company, feeling more and more that this whole thing wasn’t as scary as I had imagined. So far I had counted several unattached and very eligible young men – always a plus. Of course Gym had been just as lovely as I had expected; we’d played Frisbee, and of course, I had to hit someone. My terrible, terrible lack of skills with anything related to sports or physical activity never ceases to amaze me. The one thing I noticed the most that first month of school was probably the unspoken code of high school students. Apparently, in normal school, there’s a sort of unacknowledged but strictly followed set of rules that everyone just knows. For example, in most cases, teachers are supposed to be listened to and generally treated well, but most certainly not regarded as actual people, with whom you can carry on a conversation, and, heaven forbid, actually like. It just isn’t done. Unfortunately, in my case, I most definitely fall under the home educated stereotype that you feel rather more comfortable with adults than is regarded normal. I do like adults. I’m sorry. Even teachers. So, at points I got called a ‘suck-up’ because I would ask my teachers their day had been and really listen for the answer. You’re probably thinking I’m a suck-up, at this point, too, huh? I swear I’m not. I just really like people.
That being said, I don’t think even my odd behavior towards the teachers garnered me the same kind of disbelief from my classmates as my other misunderstanding of their unspoken policy. I came to learn something. I wanted to learn; not just to pass, or to get through to the end of the day, but to know something brand new. So, when our Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Hendricks, told us to study and mostly memorize the elements for a quiz coming up, I did so. And then came to class on the day of the quiz very prepared and ready to put the whole thing behind me. But apparently, that’s not how everyone does things – and just because you do, you’re not supposed to assume they have. So, when we had a few minutes extra at the end of class that day and we still hadn’t taken our quiz, Laura-the-obnoxious-overachiever spoke up, “Mrs. Hendricks, weren’t we supposed to have a quiz today?” There was a collective groan. Almost everyone did not spare me their annoyance at my completely unintentional betrayal. After that slip up, I tried to learn when to keep my mouth shut – but I still don’t pretend to understand the complete set of principles. Nevertheless, with every passing day, I began to feel more and more that I could handle high school – that I had friends, and that just maybe this year would be the best one yet.
Betwixt and Between 