Finally.
I walked towards Milo; it would be the first time today that I got to see him. The night before, we spoke on the phone and shared our excitement for high school. It was a new chapter of our lives in a new school, and the bad memories from the past can stay in the past.
…
“So, all honors class, huh?” Milo asked me. I sat on my bed with my legs crossed and headphones plugged into my phone. Milo and I would always call each other over the phone on the days we didn’t hang out. The past summer was one to truly remember! We spent most of our days riding our bikes in the park, or going to the movies to watch anything and everything. There were even times I hung out with Milo and his best friend, Mollie; she’s definitely a cool person once she gets to know you. Yes, she needs to get to know you first. I sometimes think she only tolerates me because of Milo, but–I mean– things could be worse.
“Yeah, I’m really nervous though,” I responded. “I heard that there are upperclassmen in those honors classes. What if I’m the only freshman in my classes?”
“You got this, Scout,” Milo reassured, calling me by the nickname he gave me the summer we first met. He says I remind him of Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. To my surprise, he actually read the book for his English class and not just see the movie.
“Yout think so?” I honestly asked. I was nervous to enter a school where the other people were older and more experienced. High school is the place where we spend most of our teenage lives and discover ourselves as people. I couldn’t imagine how I would ever get to be where most of those teenagers are. I will like a tiny guppie in a sea full of big and tough fish.
“Yeah! You never know if you’ll be the only freshman in those honors classes. And even if you are, that makes you cool as shit! Sophie Kim: the coolest freshman in Waverly because she takes classes with the older cool kids!” Milo excitedly said over the phone. I couldn’t help but laugh. Milo always knows the right things to say to cheer a friend up.
“Thanks, Milo. I needed that,” I replied. “It’s just a bummer that we don’t have many classes with each other.”
“We have band, which let’s be honest, it’s the most important class,” Milo stated. Milo and I are both band majors; he’s going to be in the percussion section of the band while I sit in the strings section.
“Really! I’m excited to play with everyone else and be a real ensemble!” I said with a smile on my face. I can hear Milo smile through the phone.
“It’s gonna be so much fun,” Milo finally said.
…
I was taken aback when Milo greeted me with a hug in the band room. After he let me go, he looked down at the guy that was sitting in the seat next to him. He quickly got up and walked away. I felt bad that Milo would make that guy leave his seat, but when he did, he insisted that I sit down next to him.
“How has your first day been so far?” Milo asked. I sighed loudly and then laughed to shake it off.
“Definitely not what I expected it to be,” I began. “I realized that ‘honors’ was just a fancy word for upperclassmen doing whatever they want to do.”
“Really? So they aren’t, like, super smart?”
“Oh no, they are, but I feel like they do their work but don’t like to participate? I was answering almost all of the questions in my Chemistry class, and one of the older classmates called like ‘the epitome of a band geek. I was so embarrassed.”
“Epitome?” Milo asked.
“It means a person or thing being the perfect example of something,” I answered. “Basically, I am a perfect example of a band geek. The violin case didn’t make things easier.” Milo scrunched his eyebrows; he was upset that someone would say that about me. I put a smile on my face and shook my head. “It’s okay though. It’s only the first day. How has your first day been so far?” Milo rolled his eyes before he answered.
“Okay for the most part, but every damn class they want us to do an introduction of ourselves. One guy was like ‘oh, are you related to Mr. Kamalani?!'” Milo recalled. Mr. Kamalani, Milo’s dad, works at Waverly High. I’m not sure what he does exactly, but I can only imagine how annoying it must be to get asked the same question over and over again.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. That could be annoying after a while,” I said.
“Not only is it annoying, but I don’t want people thinking I got into Waverly because of my dad,” Milo said, a little annoyed at the conversation. I looked away, not wanting to upset Milo even more. “Scout?” I turned my head around to face Milo again. His face didn’t look as angry as it did just before. “Things will get better for us.”
I smiled and then faced forward when the teacher closed the front door and began class. I took out my notebook from my bookbag, as well as a pencil. Here goes the first date of band class for the next four years.
Letters From Liz. 