Page 3 of The Story Of Us

I scan the room to see what the other students are doing as I wait for her to arrive. Some are perched on desks with their shoes on the chairs as they talk to the person next to them who is actually sitting on the chair. Some are leaning against the desks, not fully committing to claiming a seat yet as they wait for their friends to enter. A lot of the students all went to the same primary school that isn’t too far from here, so coming to Coates was a natural next step for schooling.

My eyes drift back to the door right as Avery enters, blue eyes meeting mine as she smiles at me and makes her way through the desks.

“First day, and I’m already waking up late.” She huffs out a breath of air as she sits down, blonde bangs flying upwards before she pats them back down. “I don’t know why I decided to cut my hair before I came here.”

“It looks cute! There’s some fun styles you can do with it, too. I can teach you if you want.”

“I would love that. I really like how you did it today.”

Avery reaches out to touch the two small braids decorated with butterfly clips that are tied like a crown at the back of my head.

“When your hair gets a bit longer, I’ll do it like this for you.”

She smiles, and we continue chatting until our attention is drawn to the door by a clapping sound.

“Hello, Year 7. My name is Mrs. Harper, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the next year.” The smile on her face is bright, her eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as she looks around the room at all of us and goes on to explain more about the school and the rules and expectations she has.

“Now that boring stuff is out of the way, we’re going to do a little icebreaker to get you all moving around and talking to each other. When I say so, I want you all to stand up and mingle with each other, and your goal is to find out each other’s birthdays.”

Avery nudges my arm and whispers hers to me, January 21, and I commit it to memory as I tell her mine.

“After you’ve spoken to a few people, I’d like you to start lining up at the front of the room in order of your birthdays from September to August. This is all just a bit of fun, so don’t be too nervous about talking to anyone! You’re all going to spend the next few years together, so it’s good to start getting to know each other.”

She finishes her explanation and then tells us all to stand up. I get up first, and Avery groans before placing her hands on the desk and pushing herself up. She grumbles under her breath about being tired and that she shouldn’t be expected to do physical activity this early in the day.

Avery links her arm through mine, and we both look around the classroom to figure out who we can talk to first. She points towards the corner opposite us, where a group of two boys and two girls are standing, and suggests we go to them first.

They’re all around the same height, and the two boys stand next to each other. One has fair skin, dark brown hair, and round glasses, while the other has dark blond hair. The two girls are in front of them. The shortest one has long light blonde hair, and the other has sleek black hair tied in a ponytail.

“Hi, I’m Avery,” she says as we approach them, all four of them stopping their conversation and turning to look at us. “And this is Violet.” I give them all a small wave, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward.

“Hi. When are your birthdays?” I ask, deciding to just get the conversation over and done with.

“We already know each other’s birthdays. We’re just waiting for everyone else to start lining up.” The blonde girl replies in a monotone voice. She doesn’t look too impressed that we’ve come over to talk to her and her friends, so I start nudging Avery so that we can move on to someone else, but she just unlinks our arms.

“Don’t mind Olivia.” The boy with dark hair and glasses steps forward, coming closer to us. He has a smile on his face that doesn’t match the rest of his group. “I think she’s just tired this morning.”

The blonde girl, Olivia, rolls her eyes at his words and stands with her arms crossed, and it seems she’s fully intent on not speaking to us any more than she has to. The boy gives me another quick smile before moving to stand beside me so he can face the rest of the group like we are.

“I’ll introduce us all. You’ve already met Olivia. She can be a bit rude sometimes when she hasn’t slept, but she’s usually okay.” He points to the girl standing next to her. “That’s Jinhee. She moved here from Korea in Year 4 and has been stuck with us ever since.”

She smiles at us, her hand coming up in a quick wave that we mirror.

“And next to her, we have Lucas.” He leans closer to me, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispers in my ear. “He’s my best friend, but don’t tell him I told you that. He already has a big head.” I stifle a laugh as I nod my head. Avery elbows me to find out what he said, but I just shake my head at her. The boy grins at me once more before he goes back to stand with his group, and I can’t help but smile back.

“And last, but most certainly not least, I’m Isaac. Lovely to meet you, Violet.”

The smile is still on his face, and now that he’s standing right in front of me, I realise he has dimples.

“Nice to meet you all. Thanks, Isaac.” He dips his head in a slight nod. “So when are your birthdays? Avery’s is January 21, and mine is July 9.”

“No way!” Isaac steps closer to me again, his eyebrows raised as he points a finger at me. “Mine is July 9, too. What a fun coincidence. You can just stay next to me then. Olivia is February 19, Jinhee is November 11, and Lucas is April 21.” He looks to the front of the classroom, and I follow his gaze, seeing that other students have already started lining up.

“Shall we go line up?” I ask, and we all start walking to the front of the room to join everyone else. Isaac comes to stand next to me as we make our way forward, and we watch as our friends find their places in line before finding ours.

“Wait, what time were you born?” he asks as soon as we get in line.

“What?”

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