First Day of School

First Day of School

         Charlie walked down the school hallways in his new green shoes. It was obvious that people were happy to see him because of their stunned reactions. He enjoyed being the center of attention, and right now the spotlight was on him. He was back.

         Easing into a desk near the front of the room, Charlie shivered at the coolness of the seat. The teacher walked into class, and didn't notice him at first. The students did however; they stared open-mouthed in surprise at his appearance. Once the teacher did see Charlie, he had trouble recovering. Charlie knew that his return would be surprising, but he was really flattered at how shocked everyone was when they saw him. That showed they knew who he was. The teacher was talking.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Charlie remembered to sit up straight, “It’s my first day.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Charlie. I used to come here, now I’m back.”

The teacher glanced at the attendance sheet. “You’re not on the roll.”

Charlie loved first days of school. “It is probably because I just came back.”

“Yes, but you are not even in uniform.”

“I apologize, sir. I didn’t know I would be coming back today”

         With this, the teacher left the room. The class was deathly silent. Everyone was looking Charlie up and down. He passed the uncomfortable silence by reading the chalkboard, running his fingers down the carved grooves on his desk, and pleasantly smiling at whoever made eye contact. Soon, the teacher returned with a very stern looking woman. She had beehive hair and a scrunched mouth.

“Just what the hell do you think you are doing?” she screeched.

“Waiting for class to begin” Charlie mumbled. He didn’t like being yelled at.

“Not dressed like that you aren’t!”

“Oh, I said I was sorry about not being in uniform, but it’s my first day. I promise to have my books and pencils and be in uniform tomorrow.” Charlie said.


         The woman and teacher looked at each other. The students looked at the adults, then back at each other. The woman looked Charlie in the eyes for a very long time. He didn’t want to be in trouble again. The woman looked around the class and at the students. Then she seemed ten years older. She was talking again.

“I said come with me” she said in a much calmer tone.

“Sure.”

         A naked man with green shoes walked out of an 8th grade classroom and into the hallway. He was led by the principal and flanked by the history teacher. He smiled.


Charles Garrett woke up in bed, scared out of his mind.