The teacher walked in. She was a new teacher. Everyone rushed to a seat.

“Hello. I am Ms. Erica and I’m your adviser. I will also be your teacher for Economics.”

After she said so, two students who were visibly disheveled and had clearly rushed to get there entered.

“Who are you?” Ms. Erica asked.

“We’re students. New students,” the girl said.

“Oh? Well I wouldn’t have guessed two children in the school’s uniform were students!”

The students, except for our characters, laughed at the teacher’s comment.

The boy with crutches continued, “We were told to go to Section Two?”

“Well, here you are.”

The two new students went to go find a seat. They end up eyeing a seat in front of Andy and his friends. They’re the last two seats available, after all. Before they can sit down, however,

“You’re from Valley Six?” the boy sitting in front asked. Everyone began to giggle. Everyone except the group we had just talked about.

The new students looked at him then at Ms. Erica. Instead of stopping the boy, Ms. Erica said,

“What? Why are you looking at me? Answer the question.”

“Yes,” they both said.

“Well, we could all tell. Did you understand that? Or do I need to simplify?”

The boy looked down at the ground for a while. The girl didn’t. She stepped forward.

“Excuse me, are teachers in this school allowed to be mean to their students?”

Ms. Erica came closer to the brave girl.

“I’m not being mean at all. I’m just asking questions. But what we do not allow in this school are students who don’t know their place and the difference between right and wrong.”

Gabby did not cower or even flinch in fear. “I think I know my place well, Miss.”

“I could get you expelled on your first day, do you know that?”

Andy signaled Aria to help the girl. Aria was one step ahead of him.

Aria stood up. “And this could get you fired on yours! How funny!”

The boy whispered, “Gabby, don’t.”

The same boy who asked the question whispered, “Sit down, Aria.”

“No, no, I’m just saying. Imagine this. You apply for a job at a school. And you’re so bad with people, your students! So bad that you get fired on the first day!”

Greg chuckles. Or more accurately, he laughs almost hysterically.

“What’s so funny?”

Greg laughs some more. “I don’t know, ma’am. Maybe the fact that-...”

Before he could continue, Demiss appears at the scene.

“Excuse me? Shouldn’t orientation be starting?” he asked condescendingly.

It sounded condescending, but not towards the teacher, as you would expect.

Greg and Aria’s faces were beginning to bring victorious smirks. But Tony knew. Paul and Gabby knew as well. You could say that they could tell by the look on his face or by his patronizing demeanor. But it wasn’t that. It was like Paul had seen this happen in his head. It was like déjà vu. But he paid no attention to it. They were being reprimanded and brought to the principal’s office now.

They were separated. The boys, Paul and Greg, would be talked to first. As they entered the room, the two girls sat in the chairs placed across the secretary. Silence ensued for a while. Neither knew what to say. This was their first time getting into trouble on the first day. Even Gabby, who said things that upset people because they were true, never had to talk to a teacher in the means of getting reprimanded on the first day.

“Hey,” Gabby began, “I just wanted to thank you for that, you really didn’t have to.”

And now Gabby waited for the regret-filled ‘yes, I didn’t have to’ answer coming from her. She knew it was coming and it saddened her a little. She wanted a friend like her, whatever her name was.

“Don’t be silly, it’s no problem. That new teacher was being a elitist cow, anyway.”

The girl was smiling at her. Gabby was amazed and surprised.

“My guess is she’ll get into trouble today and she’ll get kicked out or get suspended. We win,” she said.

Gabby replied, “Well, it’s her or us.”

Both girls laugh. They had felt the same thing about each other. Both had been friends with boys all their lives. This was the first time they had met another girl who was like that, someone who wasn’t trying to be tough but was immensely strong. They both knew that they were going to be best friends. They almost immediately knew that they had to stick up for each other.

“What’s your name?” Aria asked.

“I’m Gabby. And you are?” Gabby asked the question in a jokingly arrogant tone.

“Aria. Your new best friend.”

And from that point on, they were.

Soon, the boys were released and the two girls stand up to walk in the room.

“No need. I’ve talked with the boys,” Demiss said.

Greg and Paul nodded, Greg clearly suppressing a laugh. They were then allowed to go back to the classroom. Meeting with them, Aria introduces Gabby and Paul to the others.

Greg smiled as he saw them talk. This was it, he thought. This was the perfect group. Seven was a lucky number, or, maybe not because Tony was slowly walking away to find another seat.

“Tony, hey, where are you going?” Greg asked.

“Nowhere, just yeah,” he said.

He could see right through them. Well, he thought he could. He thought that he was sure that they were only doing this to look nice for new students. Perhaps they were in the student council? Poor Paul and Gabby were too foolish to take the bait. Tony just knew that once they got what they wanted, they’d dump the pair like trash. Tony wasn’t going to fall for that one. He decided to just walk away and avoid them. This was the best idea.

“Where’s he going?” Lee asked.

“I don’t know. We should just maybe give him space. We’ve only just met him.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

They didn’t hear from him for a week.

They ate together. Well, six of them. This was the start of something good, something great. This friendship truly was something beautiful.

However, I feel I must warn you now. This is the most mundane our story can get. This tale is not of friendship and romance and high school drama. Well, that’s not all of it, anyway. This story involves pain and loss. So, if you dislike the touch of death in stories, turn back now. Or later, perhaps, for the mundaneness of it all will be present for a little more.

Just like what happened after school, the group offered to drive Paul and Gabby home.

“No, no, you don’t need to,” Paul declined.

Gabby shook her head and declined as well.

“Well, we insist,”

They ended up agreeing. The car ride was not silent. They were asking questions. Paul and Gabby didn’t feel bombarded. They felt appreciative, above all. They dropped them off at houses, which like I said before, were right beside each other.

They got off the car, thanked the group and walked into Paul’s house. Gabby’s parents wouldn’t get home until late.

“I think they’re really nice,” Paul said.

“Think they’ll be like that for the whole year?” Gabby asked.

Paul nods. “I know they will. I’m sure of it.”