Walking into the new elementary school, I could almost taste the fear in the air. I was starting 3rd grade in a new place and with new people. I’d been both dreading and welcoming this moment from the day I’d set foot in the new house.


I stood in front of the entrance looking at myself in the reflective sliding glass doors. I was summoning all my courage up to step into my new life. I then raised up the foot that would set me inside. The air conditioning whooshed into me as I stepped in, tossing my hair into knots.


Inside the school smelled vaguely of soap and cleanliness. I started off down the main hallway, looking for any sign to where I was. I reached the end of the hall; it branched of into 2 other hallways.


I decided to try the right hallway first. I got to the end, and I hadn’t found the correct number, marking my classroom. So I went back the way I’d come and then down the other hall.


I found the right room at the end of the hall. I found my self standing directly in front of the wooden door. I could hear the teacher lecturing the students, and pencils flying across the paper. I resisted the urge to peek ; I didn’t want anyone knowing I was there.


After minutes of standing like that I knew I couldn’t prolong much longer. I took a deep breath, put my hand on the metal door handle and, quietly as I could, opened the door. I meekly walked through the door.