East Side Academy

by K. E. Woodward

Teddy rolls his eyes. “Grade 12 - Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Advanced Math, Calculus, and Data Management. Three sciences and three maths.”

  “Wow. Impressive,” I say.

  “You’re probably able to go for it as well,” Diana says. “We can do it together.”

  I laugh. “That’s a no to Data Management,” I say. “I’m not taking any more math than I need to.”

  “Finally, a logical person,” Teddy says. Diana hits him again. “Ow!” Teddy rubs his arm.

  “We should get to class so we’re not late,” Diana says.

  ***

  Chemistry went fine. I got looks from all the students in the class but having Diana and Teddy with me almost acted as a shield. Ms. Lockhart seems like a decent teacher; she loves the subject she teaches so that generally is a good sign. I saw Lisa and the other girls that Diana had mentioned before. And yes, they did look like your classic barbies, with Lisa having blonde hair and the other two having brown. I saw Lisa glare at me initially but then diverted herself to talking to what looked like the popular guys in the class.

  At lunch, I looked for my sister and when I saw her in the middle of a group of people talking and laughing, I thought ‘maybe things would be okay here’.

  I sat with Teddy and Diana at lunch and they introduced me to their group of friends, George, Lincoln, Eleanor, and Sarah. They were all very nice and very welcoming to me, but then Eleanor and I just lock eyes. “You're the captain of the West Side soccer team,” she says flatly.

  “And you’re the best defender on the East Side soccer team," I say. Eleanor looks at me, it feels like she is sizing me up as everyone around the table looks at us. Eleanor is gorgeous. Caramel skin, curly hair almost the same colour as her skin, and hazel eyes.

  “Wasn’t able to stop you guys winning the past two years,” Eleanor says.

  “Well, now you'll be able to beat them now that I'm not there,” I say.

  Eleanor looks at me and slowly starts to smile. “I like the confidence. It’s about time East Side takes the title back. It’ll be nice to have a new central mid.” Soccer is a sport I love, I always looked forward to the season starting. This is the first time I was dreading it. Having to start over with a new team. A team that I had beaten before. And then to go up against my old school. Captaining West Side for its third straight victory was something to look forward to. Being a newbie on a different soccer team trying to take that third victory away from West Side was not something to look forward to.

  “I knew you looked familiar,” George, a fit, blondie with short hair and grey eyes, says. “I remember watching the final last year. I don’t know soccer, but you dominated that game.”

  "It was only 3-1," Eleanor says.

  “Should have been like 6-1 if you hadn’t slide tackled me so many times,” I say.

  “Couldn’t stop you every time apparently,” Eleanor says.

  “Eventually learned to keep as far away from you as possible,” I say. Eleanor laughs.

  “Enough soccer talk already!” Diana says. “We should all tell a little bit about ourselves for Arya.”

  “So, she can find out what she’s getting into and run,” Teddy says. Diana just glares at him as he sips his drink.

  “I'll go first,” Diana says.

  Chapter 3 – Thank You for Being a Friend

  “Thank you for being a friend / Traveled down a road and back again / Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant” – Thank You for Being a Friend, Andrew Gold

  Arya

  I learned about each of the different characters in this group of friends. Diana is an overachieving academic who wants to go to MIT and become a doctor and do research for a cure to diabetes but also loves biking, running, and hiking. Teddy is a musician that loves guitar and piano but is aspiring to become a marine biologist. George is a hockey player, hoping to get a scholarship, but is also a mechanic. Lincoln, a very attractive, pale blue-eyed guy with blonde spiked hair, is an academic like Diana, but his subjects are History and English. He wants to go on to become a professor one day. Eleanor is a firecracker, good at any sport you ask her to play, and a whiz when it comes to computers. And finally, Sarah, a striking girl with long wavy red hair and eyes to match, is an artist, watercolour painting being her favourite, with a love of everything that has to do with the outdoors, camping, climbing, hiking. Anything.

  “So why did you come to East Side?” Lincoln asks.

  This was the question I was dreading, but I knew would come up at some point. “I just had some issues at West Side and ended up transferring here,” I say. “My sister transferred with me, she’s in Grade 9.”

  “Don’t feel the need to go into detail with us,” Teddy says, and I am grateful.

  “Lincoln is taking Ancient History as well,” Diana says as the bell rings to signal lunch is over.

  “I can meet you at your locker and walk you over if you want?” Lincoln says.

  “That's nice of you,” I say, surprised by this immediate kindness from someone I’ve only just met.

  “No problem,” Lincoln says, “I’m just glad to finally be able to converse with someone that likes history as much as I do. None of these guys will take it with me.”

  “Because it’s boring, Lincoln,” Sarah says and then smiles at him. “It’s in the past.”

  “I'm not having this argument again,” Lincoln says and turns to me. ‘Your locker is next to Diana's?” I nod. “Kay, I'll just go grab my things and meet you there.”

  “Thank you, Lincoln, I appreciate it,” I say.

  “Just don’t bore her too much with all your history knowledge,” Sarah says, “We would like to keep her as a friend.”

  Lincoln rolls his eyes. “I’ll see you soon,” he says to me and walks away.

  ***

  “You have a great group of friends,” I say to Diana when we are at our lockers.

  “They are pretty great," Diana says. “We are kind of a mix of everything in the group; athletes, academics, and artists. No obsessiveness with looking perfect and being popular and no drugs either, a perfect balance. It'd be nice to add another girl to the group. We can finally outnumber them!”

  “Thank you for being so welcoming to me,” I say, “I was nervous about coming here, what with being from West Side Academy.”

  “People are definitely going to have some things to say about it, but it doesn’t matter to us,” Diana says, “As long as you are nice, we have room for you in our group.”

  “That means a lot to me, thank you again,” I say.

  And as promised, Lincoln is at our lockers with a kind smile on his face. “Ready?” he asks.

  “Yup!” I say. “Thank you again.”

  “No problem,” Lincoln says. “See you in English, Diana.”

  “So how do you like East Side so far?” Lincoln asks as we walk to class.

  “Definitely a change. But you guys have made the transition easier,” I say.

  “Glad to hear it," Lincoln says. “I watched you at the finals last year as well. I thought you were really good too. I watched you the year before as well and knew East Side would have its work cut out for them with you against them.”

  “Thanks,” I say.

  “Are you worried at all?” Lincoln asks, reading my mind.

  “West Side and East Side have always been rivals. And people know of me here,” I say. “I don’t think everyone will be as nice to me as you and your friends.”

  “Fuck ‘em,” Lincoln says.

  “Excuse me?” I say surprised. Isn’t this guy wanting to become a professor?

  “You seem nice and this whole West Side versus East Side rivalry is just about pitting the jocks against each other and putting them up on a pedestal. As if they didn’t have enough of a reason to think so highly of themselves,” Lincoln says. I raise an eyebrow at him. “Of course, I don’t mean anything against you, Arya. You are smart and kind and just so happen to be a very talented athlete. You are not one of these jock meathea
ds.”

  “They’re not all meatheads. And how can you make that observation of me, you barely know me,” I say.

  “I’m pretty good at reading people actually,” Lincoln says. “I’m the one everyone in the group comes to when they want to date someone to get my opinion.”

  “You provide approval?” I ask.

  “Something like that,” Lincoln says. “Here's the class. Mr. Lupin is great, you'll like him.”

  ***

  Ancient History goes over well with no conflict. Lincoln was right. Mr. Lupin is a great teacher. Lincoln was like another shield in that class, but I could still feel the stares and could hear the whispers. My first day finally ended in English class with Lincoln, Teddy, Diana, and George all there as well. And when the last bell rang, I was so grateful to go back to my locker and head home.

  “We do a board game night every Friday at my house, you should join us!” Diana says at our lockers.

  “I’d love to,” I say.

  “Great!” Diana says. “It's kind of hard for us all to hang out during the week with all our different schedules and getting homework done, but we always hang out on Friday night unless something major comes up. They have public skating at the rink Tuesday nights if you want to join Sarah, Eleanor, and me.”

  “I'll be there,” I say. I am in no position to deny any friendship and if I can stay in Diana’s group then I may just be able to enjoy my time at East Side. And stay out of the spotlight.

  “When the weather starts getting better, we can go biking and hiking as well,” Diana says while packing her bag. “Are you taking the bus?”

  “My mom is going to pick my sister and me up, just for today though, after that we'll be taking the bus,” I say.

  “Great!” Diana says. “Well I’ve got to run before I miss my bus, but I’ll see you tomorrow!” I wave as she leaves me.

  As I finish packing my bag, I head downstairs to try and find Mia. I made sure to take my time to ensure that at least most of the students had left. I was grateful that I found her easily. “Hey!” I call out.

  “Hey!” Mia says.

  “How was the first day?” I ask.

  “Pretty good actually,” Mia says. “Teachers are okay, and people have been nice so far.” Because you are the shiny new object, Mia. Something new for them to play with and you can be anyone you want to be. Not like me, you didn't have enough time at West Side to truly become one of them. They don't see you as a West Sider, and for that, I am truly grateful. Mia doesn't deserve the stares and whispers. She deserves a normal high school experience.

  “Glad to hear it,” I say.

  “What about you?” Mia asks.

  “I met some nice people. I think I might be able to survive this school if I can stay in their group,” I say.

  “Look at you! Making friends already,” Mia says. “I told you it would be fine.”

  “It’s only the first day,” I say. “I’m just glad everyone was nice to you. I saw you at lunch and you seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

  “Change is good sometimes,” Mia says. “Even if it’s not the change you want.”

  “Enough with the philosophical lesson. Let’s get out of here,” I say.

  As we head towards the doors to exit the building, we walk by the gym and the change rooms. I see several girls walk out, clearly on the volleyball team, heading to the gym for practice. I see Lisa, with her hair in a high and tight ponytail wearing booty shorts that look like underwear, lead the pack and she just walks straight by us without even giving us a second glance.

  Chapter 4 – A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

  “It don't mean a thing if I give you my heart / If you tear it apart, no, uh, uh, ah, oh / It don't mean a thing if I ain't in your eyes / Probably ain't gonna fly, no, uh, uh, ah, oh / Just one night's all we got” – A Little Party Never Killed Nobody, Fergie ft. GoonRock and Q-Tip

  No POV

  “Are you going to Lisa’s party this weekend?” Samson asks his friends, throwing his head back to get the black shaggy hair out of his eyes.

  “Hot girls, alcohol, and no parents?” Malcolm grins his sly smile, that in combination with his shaggy hair and brown eyes makes all the girls swoon. “Of course we’ll be there.”

  “Who’s all invited?” Richard asks.

  “Like pretty much the entire grade.” Samson says. “Well, everyone except the less popular people.”

  “You mean the band geeks and the goths?” Malcolm says.

  “Hey!” Richard says, slapping Malcolm on the arm. “I play trumpet!”

  “Exactly my point,” Malcolm says to Richard.

  “Why do you always let him get to you, Richard?” Samson says.

  Richard rolls his eyes, brushing his hand through his shoulder-length dark hair. “Is Bobbi coming, Samson?”

  “Yeah,” Samson says.

  “How are things going between you and her?” Richard asks.

  “Pretty good. Not serious yet, but I’d like us to be exclusive soon,” Samson says.

  “Why would you want to do that?” Malcolm asks.

  “Shut up, Malcolm,” Richard says. “Not all guys want to just hook up with different girls.”

  Malcolm rolls his eyes. “What about the mix of cultures?”

  “I’m fine with it,” Samson says. “My Asian parents might not be. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

  “Asian parents…” Richard says under his breath as a joke.

  “Mixed-race parents…” Samson says back as a joke.

  Malcolm laughs and then looks over at his friend, the spiked brown hair dipping down to look at his phone. “What about you, Fox?” Silence. “James!”

  James

  I look up from my phone. “Huh? What?”

  “Lisa’s party, are you going this weekend?” Malcolm asks.

  “I have to work Saturday,” I say.

  “Then come after,” Malcolm says.

  “I have to work Sunday as well,” I say.

  “So?” Malcolm says. “You always do this. You’re always working, and you never come out with us. You need to take a break every once in a while, and just hang out with us.”

  “Soccer is my break, Malcolm,” I reply, knowing that these guys will try their best to get me to come but it won’t work. “I don’t have time to go to parties and you know that.”

  “Hey, guys,” Lisa says as she comes up to the group of guys with two of her pretty friends.

  “Hey Lisa,” the other guys say.

  “Hey James,” Lisa says. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” I reply, not wanting to draw attention to myself. “How are you?”

  “Good,” Lisa says. “I was just hoping that you guys were coming to my party this Saturday.”

  “Well, we are,” Malcolm says, gesturing to Samson, Richard, and himself. “And James will be there too, right James?”

  I glare at Malcolm. “Unfortunately, I have to work this weekend, so I won’t be able to come out.”

  “You work every weekend, James,” Lisa says stepping closer to me. “You need to take a break.”

  “That’s what I told him!” Malcolm says.

  “Please James?” Lisa asks sweetly. “It’s the beginning of the term, barely any homework yet. Can’t you just do this one small favour for me? I promise if you come and you want to leave after 20 minutes that’s fine. But I’m positive you won’t want to.”

  “Come on, dude,” Malcolm says, hitting me on the arm. I glare at him. Why is he making things worse?

  “Please, James,” Lisa says again. “Just 20 minutes, that's all I'm asking.”

  I know I’m going to regret this, but I'm also sure that Lisa won’t leave until I agree to go. “Fine,” I say, giving in. “Just 20 minutes though.”

  “Perfect!” Lisa smiles. “I promise you won’t regret this!” And then she and her two friends leave, happy that they have accomplished their task.

  “Ah? Ah?!” Malcolm says smiling at me. />
  “I hate you,” I say, glaring at Malcolm.

  “Oh, come on, James,” Samson says. “You know I hate agreeing with Malcolm, but I do think it would be good for you to come out.”

  “See,” Malcolm says. “I even have the levelheaded one on my side. And Lisa wants you.”

  “I don’t care,” I say. “I’m not into her.”

  “Not into her?” Malcolm says. “So you are just not attracted to tall beach blond beauties?”

  “She’s on the volleyball team,” Richard says.

  “And she’s pretty smart too,” Samson says. “Good catch for you.”

  “Even if I was interested, I don’t have the time,” I say. I know these guys are just looking out for me and want the best for me, but I know what I need and what I want, and Lisa is neither of those things.

  “That’s fine, I’ll go for her then,” Malcolm says while showing off his muscles. “How could she resist?”

  “Very easily,” Richard says. “But while we are on the topic, did you check the new girl out? She is gorgeous.”

  “New girl?” Malcolm asks, intrigued by hearing of a new pretty girl to claim. “Since when?”

  “Just this week. She was sitting next to George and his friends in English,” Richard says. “Look, there he is now. George!”

  George walks over to the guys. “Hey!”

  “Hey man, how’s it going?” Richard asks.

  “Pretty good, you?” George says.

  “Not bad. Are you going to Lisa’s party on the weekend?” Richard asks.

  “Yeah, probably,” George says. “I’m going to see who from my friend group wants to come as well.”

  “Speaking of your friend group,” Richard says. “Who was the girl sitting next to you in English yesterday?”

  “Arya?” George says. “She’s new here. Her locker is next to Diana’s and she kind of brought her into our friend group. She seems nice.”

  “Well, make sure she comes to the party this weekend,” Malcolm says. “Not every day a new hot girl comes to East Side.”

  “I’d be careful with her,” George says.

  “Why?” Malcolm asks.