I hate attention. The stares, the gossip, people constantly in your business — it sucks. Unfortunately, transferring schools as a top 1% means all of the attention is placed on you for a good chunk of the school year. So as I walked into the halls leading to the massive Meadow Lake High School, every head snapped in my direction before returning back to gossip.
A loud, high-pitched microphone whine split through my ears, followed by an arguably, equally high-pitched voice.
"Gooood Morning, Meadow Lake High!" was all I heard before I tuned the rest out.
I pushed through what felt like thousands of people before finally reaching my locker, pulling it open.
"Everyone please welcome July Lopez to our school! He is an outstanding student…" the broadcast rang.
I froze, as the thousands of teenagers in the hall stopped to stare at me. It was so quiet, I was sure they could hear my heartbeat.
You can't be serious.
I awkwardly shoved my locker closed, the sound echoing, and began walking to my first period. The bell rang exceptionally loud, signaling all of the students to go about their day.
It wasn't until I sat in my seat, that I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
The school was huge. The room consisted of 25 chairs, each lined up in alphabetical order. I found the row of 'J's' and sat in the first seat. Pulling out my books, I noticed that I was the first one there, so I took this opportunity to scout around the space.
The walls were lined with maps upon maps, the shelves piled with textbooks. The teacher's desk was neat and held two things: a geography textbook and a magnifying glass.
I ran my hand along the maps, identifying different parts of the world. Geography had always been my favorite subject, and I promised myself one day, I'd be able to say I had visited every single country, at least once.
Except for North Korea.
And Israel.
The sound of the door creaking closed scared me a lot more than it should've, because now, I turned quickly to face an equally frightened girl. I plastered on a small smile and waved awkwardly, disregarding that I had just jumped like a deer in headlights.
"Hi, sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she muttered, clutching her bag and crossing the room. She walked over to the 'M' section of the seats and sat in the 3rd one. Where she sat made me wonder if the seats were assigned:
She was short – probably around 5 feet tall – yet her dark purple hair practically reached the floor. Her eyes were a tree trunk shade of brown, contrasting against her ivory skin perfectly. She was very pretty, but I stopped staring so as to not creep her out.
"It's cool. I just, uh, didn't expect anyone to come in," I rambled, clearing my throat.
"I'm Maisy Lin, but everyone calls me Mai," she smiled, picking up on the unease.
I reached over to shake her hand, "July Lopez, but I go by JJ."
An indescribable expression ran across her face as she broke eye contact. Still, she shook my hand and smiled wider, "Nice to meet you, JJ."
After Mai and I chatted for what felt like half an hour about our old schools, students finally started pouring in, followed by a middle-aged woman dressed in all blue.
"Good Morning, students. Everyone take your assigned seats and class will begin shortly," the woman recited, introducing herself as 'Mrs. Moore.'
I plopped down at the seat I had previously selected, but Mai tapped my shoulder before I could get comfortable.
"That's not your seat," she whisper-shouted, trying to avoid the teacher's gaze.
"What do you mean?" I turned to face her completely, unaware of the person standing over me.
Maisy motioned in front of me, taking out her textbooks.
I turned back to the center of the desk, finally noticing the girl hovering. If I thought Maisy was pretty, this girl was breathtaking. Her long, ginger braids draped across her shoulders, tangled with what looked like a very heavy backpack. Her eyes bore into mine, a mix of honey and amber, the feeling of warm sunshine surrounded by deep caramel skin. She was pretty tall, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little intimidated right now.
"Excuse me, this is my seat," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Pick another."
I didn't even bother arguing with her, I was too mesmerized. I stood up, gathered my things, and moved down to the third seat, purposely leaving a vacant one between us.
She turned around, mumbling something to Maisy as we waited for class to start. Mai glanced at me a few times with a pitiful look on her face. I had no clue what that was about.
"Okay, everyone, let's begin. This is the first lesson of the Standard Geography class for this semester. I'll start with a roll call," Mrs. Moore's dry-erase marker screeched as she wrote what she said.
The girl beside me shifted uncomfortably, muttering something to Mai.
Maisy shook her head and raised her hand. "Excuse me, Mrs. Moore, did you say this was the Standard Geography class?"
"Yes, this is."
The girl finally spoke up. "What if we'd like to switch to AP?"
Half of the room snickered and scoffed. "Of course, she wants to do AP." I heard a voice say. I turned in the direction of the sound, to reveal a guy who looked like his GPA was lower than his ego.
"Some of us actually want to get into college, Tayler," Mai snapped, reapplying her lip gloss.
Tayler mumbled something under his breath and slouched back in his seat.
"Well, anyone who is interested can switch to AP tomorrow," Moore said as she sat in her seat.
I made a mental note to switch classes, since Standard was too easy.
"Icebreaker. Can anyone name the capital of Zimbabwe?"
I raised my hand to remind the teacher about the roll call.
"The capital of Zimbabwe… July?" Okay, then.
"Harare. And it's just JJ, Miss." I said quickly.
I could've sworn she looked at me.
"Correct, JJ. Next, when did North Korea become a dictatorship?"
I was going to raise my hand, but I didn't, because she raised hers. This was my chance to learn her name.
"Yes, Miss Borders?"
Seriously?
"Shortly after World War II, 1947," she confidently sat up straighter and smiled widely.
"Yes, it was after WWII, but no, it was not 1947. JJ, do you mind helping?" the teacher smiled menacingly.
"Uh," I cleared my throat, "They became a dictatorship in 1948, after World War II."
"Correct! Great job, class. Let's move on to our role call, Aiyanna."
"Here."
"Alex."
"Here."
"Asia."
"Here."
After a lifetime, she finally reached 'J.'
"Jenna."
"Here."
"June."
"Here," she spoke up.
June.
What a coincidence, her name was June. The month of sunshine and happiness - my two favorite things. The time when all the pretty flowers blossom, a season where golden rays dance upon meadows, butterflies flutter and birds sing in harmony.
Followed by July, the month of beach resorts and cool waves. Barbecues to ice cream, it's a month of endless exploration and adventure, fireworks painting the sky in red, blue, and white strokes. She is June, and I am July.
"July?" the teacher calls on me. Judging by the way she was looking at me, it wasn't the first time.
"Here," I mumbled, shifting in my seat as the role call went on.
I couldn't help but stare at her, wondering how such a kind-looking girl could have such a tough exterior. She all but jumped me when I answered the Geography question.
As our eyes locked for a split second, I realized this semester would be extremely long - one that would challenge me in ways I never imagined.