The Last Day Before Junior High

It was the hottest day of the year, and I was stretched out in the lush green grass of our yard, soaking up every last drop of the glorious summer sun before school started the next day.

I grabbed my phone to refresh my email one more time. Our homeroom assignments were supposed to come out that day, and I was anxious to see who I'd end up with.

This year, we were starting Junior High, and my best friend Allie and I had been willing ourselves to be in the same homeroom as each other all summer long. The homeroom class you're in sets the tone for the entire school year. You start each day in homeroom and have all your flex periods with your homeroom group, so you end up spending a lot of time with these people.

Three different middle schools feed into our junior high, so there would be a whole sea of new people tomorrow. Allie and I needed to end up in the same homeroom so that we could start the year confidently together.

Finally, my email refreshes, and I see a new unclicked mail right at the top with the subject line:

7TH GRADE HOMEROOM ASSIGNMENTS

I hold my breath as I click open.

Student: Samantha Davis

Homeroom No.:Room 104

Homeroom Advisor: Ms. Green

I didn't recognise the teacher's name, she must be a new teacher. Allie and I were both hoping to get Mr. White because he's notorious for his pizza parties on the last Friday of every month, and apparently, he even lets you use your phones during your flex period if you finish all your work.

I quickly called Allie to see what room she ended up in. We've been best friends since Kindergarten, and I know we'll be best friends forever.

Allie picks up on the first ring.

"Whodidyougetforhomeroom?!" I ask all in one breath.

"Mr. White," she says. "How about you?"

I groan. "I got Ms. Green. I don't even know who she is. How are we supposed to conquer Junior High together if we aren't even in the same Homeroom?"

"Ugh, I can't believe we ended up in different rooms", Allie says. "Maybe we can find a way to sneak you into our Homeroom."

I pause for a second. What did she mean by our Homeroom?

"Oh yeah, Jenna also got Mr. White for Homeroom," she answers my silent question.

I squished my toes into the grass. I couldn't help but feel a little crushed. If Allie already knew that Jenna was in her Homeroom, that must have meant she called her first, which stung a little.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Jenna. We all used to be friends in grade school, but as we all started getting older, Jenna decided you were only cool enough to be a part of the group if you wore a bra and lipstick to school. I, of course, had zero interest in suffering through the pinch of underwire and sticky lips all day, so I was officially deemed not cool enough to hang out with them anymore. Allie, being my best friend, stuck by my side, but the next time we were changing for gym class, I noticed she had a bra on, and I wondered whether it was because she actually needed one or if it was just to impress Jenna.

"Oh, that's great," I say, trying to muster up some enthusiasm, but I hear my own voice fall completely flat.

"I know what you're thinking, Sam. I didn't call Jenna first. I was just picking up my phone to call you first, and her call came in right at the same time."

I was going to protest and say that she could've ignored Jenna and still called me first, but I decided to drop it. At least it was Jenna who called her first, and not Allie.

"Even though we aren't in the same homeroom, maybe you could at least come hang out with me and Jenna during Mr. White's pizza parties at the end of the month."

I bark out a laugh. The thought of Allie and Jenna laughing together over pizza was already making my stomach churn. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"You're not still mad at her, are you?" I can hear Allie rolling her eyes through the phone. "That was so long ago that she made up that dumb rumour about you, and she's changed since then."

It didn't seem so long ago to me. It was in 5th grade, and I was chosen to sing the solo for the big finale song in the spring musical over Jenna, and she was so mad that she started a rumour that I had a perpetual case of head lice. For awhile nobody would go near me for fear of catching lice until Allie marched right up to me at the front of the classroom, took the headband I was wearing off my head, and placed it right on hers. When she didn't come into school with a raging case of head lice the next day, the rumour was officially dispelled.

I sighed. It's easier for Allie to overlook these things because everyone loves her. Maybe it's because she had perfectly shiny blonde hair and freckles that looked more like sparkles dusted across her nose, or maybe it was because she was genuinely kind to everyone. Even when we were younger, the boys would never tease her, and the girls all wanted to be her friend.

I, on the other hand, had stick brown hair that, for whatever reason, always looked stringy even if I shampooed and conditioned twice. I'm happy with the way that I look, but I'm not girl-next-door cute the way Allie is.

Jenna and Allie had been hanging out together a lot recently because they both made it onto the junior high dance team and have been practising together all summer, and I was starting to feel a bit territorial of my best friend.

"Come on, let's go to Sweet Freeze," Allie says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "It's way too hot to just sit around. We'll get one last fro-yo in before summer is officially over, and we can talk about our outfits for the first day of school."

"I already have my outfit planned."

"Already? What are you wearing?"

"My Swim Nation t-shirt and blue jean shorts," I say. I pick up an electric blue bottle of nail polish and absentmindedly start painting my toenails. I thought it was a bold choice for junior high, and I was ready to make a statement.

"You CANNOT wear that ratty old thing on the first day of junior high," Allie says in disbelief.

"Why not?" I frown. That was my favourite shirt. It was my older sister Margot's shirt from when she was on the swim team, and she gave it to me when she was done with it. I loved it because it had that nice worn-in feeling that t-shirts get, and it was just the right amount of baggy. It also had a small heart at the bottom near the hemline where her boyfriend, James, doodled a heart, which I think is so romantic. They've been dating ever since junior high, and now they're seniors getting ready to apply to college. I love James, not just because he makes Margot happy, but because he doesn't leave me out just because I'm younger. If they go out for ice cream, he always brings me along too, despite Margot's protesting. He would even pick me up from school sometimes.

"Sam, this is the first day of junior high. You can't just wear whatever and not care about your appearance. This is when we establish who we are."

"You know I don't care about that stuff," I say, trying to clean up the globs of blue nail polish from where I painted it on too thick.

"Whatever, you can just help me pick mine then."

I didn't understand why we needed to plan outfits when you can just pick something from your closet in the morning, but I wouldn't say no to some fro-yo on a day like today.

I give up on trying to clean up the blue nail polish. I get up and brush the grass off my legs and say, "Okay, I'll meet you there in 10."

"Perfect, see you soon!"

Soon, Allie and I are at Sweet Freeze in our favourite booth, spooning delicious frozen goodness into our mouths. I chose cotton candy frozen yoghurt with pop rocks, marshmallows, and a chocolate drizzle to top it off. Allie chose strawberry and cream. She's wearing a cute floral sundress that matches the pale pink of her fro-yo. I look down and self-consciously tug at my t-shirt that's covered in paint stains from when we repainted Margot's bedroom earlier this summer. Maybe I should've changed before leaving the house.

I pull out a Milk Crunch bar and offer it to Allie, which she happily accepts.

"Maybe we'll have a lot of classes together, or maybe we'll even have the same lunch block", she says as she carefully breaks the bar down the centre.

Milk Crunch is our favourite chocolate bar. There are two sides to a Milk Crunch bar. One side is a buttery biscuit, and the other side is dipped in chocolate and hazelnuts. The chocolate-dipped side is the best, but the biscuit side is good too. Allie and I both prefer the chocolate side and we used to argue over who would get it, but then we figured out that if you're careful enough, you can break the bar in half lengthwise instead.

Allie passes me my half of the bar, which I pop straight into my mouth. I notice she has a freshly painted manicure in a soft ballerina pink, which makes her hands look elegant and mature. I curl my electric blue toenails into my sandals, and suddenly, I'm feeling they look a lot more like the messy blue goop that my cotton candy fro-yo was turning into rather than a bold statement.

"I just can't believe you and Jenna ended up together. That's so unfair."

Allie gives me a look which I don't like, because it seems to be an annoyance towards me rather than the situation. "Jenna isn't that bad, you know."

I snort out a laugh, which I immediately regret because it makes Allie look even more annoyed with me.

"I know you don't have the best history with her, but she's going through a hard time right now. Her parents are getting divorced, and there's a lot of tension in her house."

"Fine," I grumble. I was in no position to be pitying Jenna, but I also didn't want to be on Allie's bad side.

We hear the chime of the door to Sweet Freeze go off, and we glance up to see Dana Carter walk in with her dad. Dana is another girl who went to our middle school and will be attending the same junior high school. She was a little awkward and quiet, always laughing at jokes for a bit too long or hovering nearby without actually saying anything. Jenna loved picking on her because her clothes were always a bit wrinkled and about two cycles behind what was trendy today. I think it's unfair to judge people by their taste in clothes, but surely you could at least try to get the wrinkles out of them.

"Knowing my luck, I'll only be with Dana."

Allie rolled her eyes. "You worry too much."

"That's easy for you to say. You have Mr. White and Jenna, and you'll probably forget about me."

Before Allie can respond, her phone rings. "It's Jenna. I should probably get this," she says.

I started to protest, but she was already walking away.

By now, my frozen yoghurt was a bright blue soup that really did resemble my toenails. I'm debating whether to drink what was left of my fro-yo or just toss it when a shadow passes over me.

"Hey, can I sit here?"

It was Dana. I glance over her shoulder to try to see if Allie was almost done on the phone, but she must've stopped outside because I don't see her blonde head anywhere.

"Oh, I was just about to leave…" I start to say, and Dana's face falls. "But I suppose I can stay a bit longer."

She smiles and takes the seat next to me that Allie was sitting in.

"Where's your dad?" I ask her. "I thought I saw you walk in with him."

"Oh, he got a phone call, so he went out to take it in the car. He told me to go ahead without him."

At least I wasn't the only one ditched for a phone call.

We start making small talk about the summer, and she tells me all about how she spent a whole month at the beach with her dad, where she learned how to surf. I laugh at the thought of Dana surfing, because somehow the two just don't seem to mix. We talk about our favourite music and movies, and I find out that she's also watching Gossip Harbour, which is the hottest series on TV right now. The series' summer finale was tonight, and Allie and I had promised each other we'd watch it together.

Just then, Allie walks back up to the table. She seems surprised to see Dana in her seat.

"Oh, sorry, did I take your seat?" Dana blushes and clumsily tries to get up, overly embarrassed for something that doesn't really matter.

"Don't worry about it, I should probably get going anyway," Allie says.

"What? Why?" I ask. "We just got here."

"Jenna's parents are fighting again, and she needs to get out. I should probably go be there for her."

She must've seen my disappointment because her face softened a bit. "I'll call you when I get home later. We can still choose our first-day outfits."

I already have mine, I thought. But out loud, I just say, "Okay, sounds good." I'd rather have Allie in my life than not.

Allie leaves, and I can't help but feel that she was bailing on our last day of summer.

"Do you like Milk Crunch?" Dana asks me.

I'd almost forgotten that she was still sitting there. "Yeah," I say, "they're my favourite."

She pulls one out of her pocket and breaks it in half. "Do you want the chocolate part?"

"Are you sure? The chocolate half is the best part."

She shrugs. "My dad is allergic to hazelnuts, so at home we only eat the biscuit half, and I guess I've gotten so used to tossing the chocolate part that I don't even miss it anymore."

"You and your dad must be close," I observe.

She nods. "We are. Ever since my mom died, we have only each other. He does everything to support my sister and me. He cooks, brings us to school, buys us all our clothes, and just about everything else."

I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my mom. I love my dad, but he definitely could not take care of us alone. The only meal he knows how to cook is toast, and last time we left him to do laundry, he left a red sock in with the whites, and we all looked like pink marshmallows.

"So, have you chosen your first day of school yet?" I ask Dana. I didn't think I'd like Dana, but we have a lot in common, and surprisingly, I find myself really enjoying her company.

Dana shakes her head. "I'm not too bothered about that stuff. My mom used to go shopping for us when we were younger, but since she died, my dad does all the shopping now."

That explains the mismatched outfits that always seemed slightly out of style. I felt a pang of guilt for judging her clothes earlier.

Dana's dad walks back into the yoghurt shop and spots us over in our booth.

"Ready to go?" He asks Dana. Then, glancing at me, he says, "Unless you'd rather stay, I can pick you up later, no problem."

"Hey," Dana's face lights up. "Want to come back to mine and we can watch the finale of Gossip Harbour?"

I hesitate, and her smile falls. "Oh, unless you've already got plans", she says, blushing again.

Was I busy? I was supposed to watch the finale with Allie, but she already blew me off for Jenna, and who knows how long that would take, and I sure as heck was not going to miss the finale.

"Let's do it!" I smile.

"Awesome! I live just around the corner. My dad can drop you back home afterwards as well."

I get up and say goodbye to my sad, gloopy frozen yoghurt puddle and follow Dana and her dad out of Sweet Freeze and into their car parked out front.

Dana jumps into the front seat while I climb into the back. "Who do you have for homeroom, by the way? I have Ms. Greene," she says, turning around in the front seat to look back at me.

"I have Ms. Greene, too. Although I have no idea who she is."

Dana beams. "That's great, I was so nervous I wouldn't know anyone. Ms. Green is new, but I hear she's super nice and easygoing. I think she's going to be a really good advisor for the school year. Maybe we can grab desks next to each other."

I settle into the backseat of the car, feeling the last traces of the summer sun on my face as golden hour fades away.

I smile to myself. Maybe junior high won't be so bad after all.