'The first day is the worst' Sam reminded herself as she slid past the group of teens gathered in the hallway.
She didn’t have a break time at her last high school and wondered how she was going to kill 15 minutes.

A refreshments cart had been rolled into the hallway and the students gathered in a herd to purchase the best of the snacks. 
She slid past the crowd and made her way out the door where there were benches on either side of the doors. She slid down onto the bench and took in a deep breath of the crisp autumn air. 

A smile crept across her face for the first time that day as she watched the sun shining through the trees of the Kentucky mountains. The glistening streams could even be spotted from this corner of the school. It had at least these beauties to offer. 
"Quite a sight huh?"
Samantha turned and saw a beautiful smiling brunette seated next to her.
"I'm Madeline" She put out a confident hand.

Sam smiled and returned the gesture. 
"It's nice to meet you, Madeline. I'm Sam"
"I heard. You're from South Wood right?"
"Yes."
Madeline chuckled. "A lot different from here, I suppose."
Sam smiled. "I'll say. Over twice as big and twice as loud. Have you gone to school here long?" 

"My whole life." She tilted her head "Well, at least since kindergarten."
"Must be nice to stay somewhere so long."
She shrugged "It's school."

Sam watched Madeline slide a chip into her mouth and found herself wondering how someone could have attended only this school their whole life. This girl was unexposed to the excitement of high school life. Stuck in this rinky-dink place. She would fair so well at a public High School. With her looks she could easily be on the cheerleading squad or the dance team with no talent at all. But did she even know all she was missing out on? Sam felt bad that Madeline would never have the opportunity to shine like she could in a more visible place. 

"Well." Madeline took the final sip of her drink.

"Better get to class. Journalism."

"Journalism?"

"Yeah. I tested out of 9th Grade English. I love English" She smiled.
Sam smiled too but felt a little disappointed. Another class as the new girl.

"It was nice to meet you, Madeline."
She smiled "Nice to meet you too, Sam. And you can call me Maddie."
Sam nodded. "I'll remember that."

"See ya" 

Sam watched Maddie toss her bag over her shoulder and take the second door on the right to her classroom.
She took a deep breath and made her way to class as well.

Sam walked into the room and found the students searching the board. 

Assigned seating again. 

She could hear the grumbles as boys and girls and besties had to part ways. Sam had put names with faces now and had observed in one day the personalities that were cliché in high schools everywhere.
A blonde named Aliyah was definitely the attention getter of the class. 

She was the girl that always laughed even if the situation wasn't funny, and she always had to push herself into whatever group she thought my be getting the attention at the moment. Sam could smell the insecurity a mile away but she was beautiful and therefore very intimidating.
Jack was the goof ball. Surrounded by guys, he was eyed by every teacher as he came into each classroom and he was always assigned a seat on the front row.
James was the man of the hour. He wore his varsity jacket and Sam was pretty sure it wasn't to fight against the Kentucky mountain breeze. He was a little too proud.
There was a group of four or five guys who were just there. Hanging without a care in the world. Talking about the game last night or the newest video game they scored, and finally few groups of girls that had joined forces as a sheer matter of high school survival.
Lastly there were 'the settlers'. They had been here forever. They were secure and confident. They weren't seeking to establish themselves as anyone special. They were the school. Sam envied them.

The teacher stepped to the front of the room and gave her hands a clap. "Alrighty." 
Sam grabbed her seat. 
Sam was nestled in the back row. The seat on one side was empty and the chair on the other was occupied by a boy named Dean.
He glanced over at her through his thick glasses. "You're Sam right?"
Sam smiled "Yeah. You're Dean right?"
He nodded. "I just wanted to give you a heads up. Mrs. Marcham has her classes read Pilgrim's Progress every year. It is due at the end of the year. You might want to start it soon."
He smiled as he gave the warning and Sam found herself smiling back.
He was an over-achiever. One of those people who actually makes something of themselves after highschool. One of the students you were proud to have studied along side of. She was going to like this kid. "I'll keep that in mind."
He nodded then opened his English book. Samantha figured she better follow suit.

"Sorry I'm late." Sam glanced up and saw Mrs. Marcham glance at the door but couldn't see who had entered.
Mrs. Marcham smiled "Well good morning, Cole. The seating chart is on the desk."
Sam leaned over but couldn't make him out. She was pretty sure she hadn't heard that name today.
Finally she saw him step into her row. "In the back? That's surprising." He smiled and Sam felt her heart flip.
Mrs. Marcham didn't turn. "I'm sure you won't be there long."

He smiled as he passed the students. His smile was bright. He was tall and had a tan as though he had seen a lot of baseball and soccer fields. His hair was a nice brown shade and had a little wave to it and he walked with confidence- not pride, just confidence. It was obvious the girls swooned over him and that the guys especially James did not appreciate it.

She hadn't realized his assigned seat was next to hers until he was sliding into it.
She stared down at her book and began to flip through the pages. She could feel herself blushing and hated it. Yeah... she wasn't looking up until she absolutely had to. The curse of the needless blush, her mom called it.

"Alrighty" Mrs. Marcham began again.
"First thing is first who would care to open us in prayer?"
No one moved.
"Ok, I will" Mrs. Marcham began to pray.
She prayed for the students academic needs, she prayed for their behavior, and she prayed for their personal needs. Sam didn't understand why they prayed in every class. Once a day was plenty.

"Ok, everyone, you were given a journal this morning to work on in this class. I hope you still have it with you. Pop it out and let's get started. Cole, you have yours?"
"Yes, Ma’am."
"Good. I want to see every eye on a journal. Go ahead and begin."
Sam didn't need to be told twice. She wasn't taking her eyes off of the book.
It didn't take Sam long to become completely oblivious to the boy next to her- to the whole room for that matter.
This journal was intriguing...

    Sam tapped her pencil on the desk. She glanced at the clock. Did she really just pass a sanctuary in order to reach her school building? She scanned the classroom. Twenty-five kids, all swimming in a sea of hunter green and navy blue plaid. She was glad she found a cute navy cardigan to distinguish herself; but when she arrived, she spotted three other girls in the same shade. The polyester skirt was murder on her bare, dry knees. She tried to slide it up a smidge, but each time her teacher would shake her head and tap her eraser gently on the desk- a reminder to lower it again. Tomorrow she would have to remember to lotion.The bell rang and the teacher rose to greet the last of the students drifting inside then closed the door.

"Good morning everybody." She smiled and clapped- hoping the class would join in her enthusiasm.
"Welcome back!"
The students varied in reply.
"Most of you already know, but we are suppose to say it anyway. I am Mrs. Marcham. I am very excited about this school year. I hope you are too. 9th Grade is a big step for you. Not just because you jumped the 20 yards from the Jr. High building to this one." She smiled "But, because your high school years are a wonderful training ground for college...

    Sam looked around the room. It was quite obvious the students got to choose their own seats in homeroom. Aside from all of the kids being in 'modest apparel' and the lack of opportunity for many cliques to form, the feel was about the same. Some beautiful, some awkward, some immature, some cocky... it was really not that different. After all, a teenager is a teenager.

"So I have an assignment for you." Mrs. Marcham lifted a stack of journals-25.
  The kids moaned.
 "Not that kind of an assignment. In fact this one is going to take your whole high school career to complete."
Sam's brow lowered in curiosity.
 "Just as those before you, you are assigned to contribute your part of the 'The Lavalette Christian Academy Survivor's guide'". She began to count out the notebooks for each row.

 Sam took hers from the red head before her and passed the rest along.

"These are simply journals."

She pulled a fallen piece of blonde hair behind her ear as she flipped through the blank, cream colored pages.

"You would be amazed to find out how many people are-or have- passed through this school who are extremely similar to you. Some are scared, some worried, some too careful, and some too careless."

Sam listened to Mrs. Marcham, suddenly very intrigued.

"You need to think, really think about how much you will experience in these next few years- things that could be a help to someone coming behind you. No one is going to see these journals for a long time. Please be honest. Feel free to express yourself- fears, thrills, hopes, disappointments. Every human finds these emotions in life, especially in their teen years. There is a truth in God's Word to correspond with each human emotion we experience. We need to seek these truths out each time we have a loss or a victory. Many behind you will face what you are facing each day. Help them. "

She grabbed another stack of notebooks.

"Which brings me to the most enjoyable part of our assignment."

She lifted a book.

 "You will be reading a book that was completed by a senior this past year. Kind of like a give-take situation. They have no names so don't try to get one from the girl you had a crush on last year."

She pointed to a boy on the second row. He blushed as his friend whistled and gave him a shove.
Sam smiled.

"Alright. Take a book and quickly pass them down."

 As the books were shoved into their bags the bell rang.

"We will start these journals in our English class later. So keep them with you. You're dismissed."

Sam watched the students pile out before her- not comfortable with the idea of shoving herself through the door.

"Oh, and Sam..." Mrs. Marcham sent her a soft smile. "Welcome to Lavalette"

Sam smiled. "Thank you Mrs. Marcham."

    She gave her a nod and went back to her desk. Sam took a deep breath and left the room, reminding herself that the first day is always the most awkward.