I laid down on my bed and looked at the ceiling. Then, my phone buzzed. I was expecting it to be Sophie replying to the message I had sent earlier, but it wasn't her.
I felt it was rather strange for Sophie not to answer, but I supposed she was busy meeting people from her group and had her phone set on silent.
The message was an announcement from the school:
Good afternoon, Students.
We hope that the quizzes weren't too much for your first day, but it was necessary for us to know what kind of performance you'd be starting off the year with.
Please check your "Classes" app on your phones, as your classes, which has information about who your teachers and classmates are.
After reading that, I was excited to check it out as soon as I could.
Earlier today, the quizzes I had done belonged to 4 main subjects: Language, Mathematics, History and Sciences.
In the app however, I found that there were two additional subjects: Art and Sports.
There was a letter assigned to each of the four subjects I had taken a quiz on.
Mathematics: A, History: C, Sciences: B, Language and Literature: B
By tapping on the classes, it was possible to look at information related to them.
The first part was a "grades" section, which was already updated with my results on the tests:
Mathematics 15/20
History: 10/20
Sciences: 13/20
Language and Literature: 12/20
I had done much worse than in tests I had taken back in middle school.
In fact, I had barely managed to pass, but I heard everyone had a lot of trouble back in the classroom, so I didn't really think much of the results.
Suddenly, my doorbell rang repeatedly a few times.
"Coming!" I shouted, while getting to the main door.
I opened the door and Will, who looked pretty sweaty and tired, was standing in front of me.
"What classes are you in?!" he shouted excitedly.
We sat down in my room and I gave him my phone so he could look at the app on my phone himself.
He pulled out his own phone and started looking at both screens.
"We're in the same classes for History and Sciences!" He announced excitedly.
We looked like the group chat and everyone was sharing their classes, desperately asking if anyone would be in the same class as them.
Was it really that important to be in the same class as someone you just met?
I understood someone you knew well, but most of these people had only just met, so it didn't seem like much of a problem if they didn't end up in the same classes.
Meanwhile, Will was on his phone. "Oh! Hannah's in the same class as us in History, and she's with me in Language."
"Is that really that important? I mean, you just met her, you could probably meet other people that become your friends too?" I asked.
"It is! I mean, you'd prefer to be in the same classes as Sophie since you already know her, right?" He argumented.
That was true, I would've preferred that, since I already had gone through the trouble of befriending someone.
Speaking about Sophie, she had just responded to my messages I sent earlier.
"Hi! Sorry for not responding earlier, I was hanging out at the karaoke."
"Today was great, I've made so many new friends! You should meet them."
"By the way, everyone's so excited about it, here's my classes."
She sent a screenshot of the app with the classes she was in.
"Mathematics: B, History: B, Sciences: A, Language and Literature: C"
I answered her messages. "That's great! We're not in the same classes for any of the subjects unfortunately..."
Will was interested in who I was texting, so he peeked over my shoulder.
"Oh, looks like Sophie's in the same class as Hannah and I for Language!" He said.
"Yeah, unfortunately she's not in any of the classes I'm in…" I responded.
"Well, that's not too bad, you can still study with her, right?"
That was true, we could still help each other despite not being in the same classes - and that was true for Will and I too.
"By the way, I'm not sure if I told you but I made a friend who's a second-year student yesterday." Said Will.
"Did you ask him anything interesting?" I asked.
"Actually yes, he told me that the classes you were put in depended mostly on the quizzes." He started sharing.
That phrase really made me curious. "Mostly? Is there more criteria that determines that?"
"Apparently, the school staff know a lot about us somehow, and what we do and who we interact with changes what classes they sort us in." He explained.
That was really odd though, if the school knew I had become friends with Sophie, they should have put us in the same classes.
Or did they purposefully not do so knowing I was quite introverted? The school's actions still puzzled me.
I treated Will to some coffee and we talked about our memories in middle school. It hadn't been a long time; but it felt nice talking about the past.
Our phones received another announcement from the school. I read the message aloud to Will.
Dear students,
Exciting news! Halsey Academy offers a diverse range of clubs and extracurricular activities for you to explore and engage in. These clubs provide valuable opportunities to pursue your interests, develop new skills, and foster meaningful connections with fellow students.
To help you make informed choices, we have organized a special event tomorrow in the grand gymnasium. Different clubs will be present to showcase their offerings and address any inquiries you may have. A list of available clubs is attached for your convenience.
Active participation in these clubs is strongly encouraged, as they contribute to your personal growth and enrich the vibrant community spirit of Halsey Academy.
Join us at the grand gymnasium tomorrow from 15:00 onwards.
Best regards,
Jim Anderson
Head of Student Services