Mel, Mel! It”s already seven! You”re late! I tossed furiously on my bed, groaning in annoyance. I lay still for a moment then sprung up from my bed as I heard my fathers grumpy footsteps approaching to my door. I”m up, just give me five minutes. I rushed past my father and headed to the small bathroom. There I was, trying to wear my weird looking uniform while the toothbrush was still in my mouth. I stared at the mirror above the sink, practicing my friendly smile which I thought it would be useful on the first day at school. A few heavy knocks on the door interrupted my practice and I know the time had finally come.
I had to go to the new school. With a nervous grin on my face I shut the front door and waited for the elevator. Everything will be fine, Mel. You will survive, I reassured myself. Stepping out of the station I took a few deep breaths, hoping the coolness in the air would calm me down. I continued walking, amused by the way that people stared at my distinctive, bright green uniform and probably because the fact that I was an international school student. I sighed silently, why did I choose to enter an international school while I could go into a local Hong Kong school with all my friends?
Sometimes I hated to be different. I stopped in front of an old, small building. I looked down at my small, wrinkled sheet which had my new school address on it. I could not believe this building in front of me was my new school. I looked around; wishing someone would come to me and tell me I was wrong. But no, in fact I saw all these people, similar to my age, wearing the same bright green uniform as me walking into the building. I stood there motionlessly in front of the school gate. What I saw right now was a really small building.
The campus only had one basketball court and it was even smaller than the standard size, there was a little tuck shop next to it. The building was four storeys high and each floor was so small that you could easily count how many classrooms there were. The paint on this building was peeling off due to erosion and the remaining white paint was not white anyway. It was grey because of the pollution from the huge factories around it. I was knocked out of balance by some strangers, that reminded me that I should stop standing in the gate and better hurried up to my classroom.
It was not difficult to find my classroom since the campus was so small. I held down my head and walked into the classroom. I dare not to open my eyes to look at the fresh new faces of my classmates. Without opening my eyes I”d already knew the room was carpeted from the scent in the room, I heard loud chats echoed in the crowded classroom. Suddenly there was this sweet fragrance, a strong perfume I perhaps, rushed through my nostrils and into my lungs. It really soothed my nerves. Hi, you must be Melody. Welcome to the school,an angelic voice speaking behind me. I opened my eyes and turned around.
The woman was so tall. I looked up through my black bangs. A blonde haired woman with a shiny pair of glasses was standing with her arms crossed. Her face was full of warmth and kindness. All the anxiety and fear I had built up these few days had finally wore off when I saw her face. How are you? I am fine, thank you, I said softly A smile appeared on the teacher”s face. You must be shock how small this school is, but don”t worry, this is not our permanent campus. We are moving to a huge and beautiful campus early next year. Oh really? I said it with a great relief. Now let me assign you a buddy.
She was looking around the classroom, trying to find a student who was willing to help. She left me once she decided to put me with a short Chinese girl. The girl approached me with a smile on her face. I tried to use my friendly smile which I had been practiced for weeks but obviously I couldn”t do it. I was too nervous. She laughed again maybe at my nervousness. She had this boring conversation with me, asking me so many questions and exchanging information about ourselves. Neither of us seemed to be interest in this conversation. Finally she walked away and joined her group and continued to talk about the latest gossips.
Now here I was sitting on this wobbly chair, feeling isolated. I rolled my eyes in boredom; I was so bored that I noticed there were eleven stains on the ceiling. The school bell rang. It”s lunchtime! Someone shouted in the corridor. Everyone cheered apart from me. I was actually really worried. After four classes no one even seemed to recognize my presence. I held down my head and went into the locker area. I did not want to look at peoples eyes; all of them seemed to be cool and unfriendly. I grabbed my sandwich and wandered around the playground pointlessly. I sat beside the playground observing the people that walked pass me.
They were all happy and had friends around them. My heart went sore, tears started slowly to roll down my cheek. I tried hard to control my emotion and to hide my feelings but at this point I really could not. Someone patted me on the shoulder and I quickly wiped off my tears. My God, I finally found you. We were looking for you everywhere, said my buddy. I nodded, avoiding any eye contacts with her. There was no way that I could hide my red eyes. She knew I was crying but instead of offering me comfort she stood there as if nothing happened, then followed an awkward silence.
So, you want to join us and play basketball’said my buddy, trying to break the silence. No, thanks. Actually I am not really interested in sports. As I wanted to say that out, I hesitated. A voice in my mind was urging me to accept this girl¡¦s offer. Mel, you really need to make an effort to settle in this new environment I told myself. Then, with a smirk on my face I answered my buddy. The girl offered me her hand. Drawing strength from the hand, I pulled myself up from the ground and trusted to follow wherever that hand would lead me to. At that moment, I began my adventurous journey in this new school.
