Hype

~Chapter 13~

             I saw the gaze in her eyes. "You liked it, didn't you?"

            Well let's see, I have no other option don't I? From what Hope showed me the school didn't look half bad. I thought since I'd seen a few mere hallways the school would look kind of bad as a whole. I thought I'd see garbage, graffiti, people smoking in bathrooms−I was so surprised how there was none of it. Newpoint High just seemed like a regular old school. Yes, not all of the students were here, but it still didn't seem like this horrible place Fran was making it out to be.

           Along with that, now as I think about all of Reverend Dave's sermons, maybe he was misleading us somehow? After all these years that I believed him, I trusted him, I thought every word that came out if his mouth was the one hundred percent truth. But maybe it wasn't. Why would he do that? To convince us to stay at Mercy? It's almost like he lied to us for all this time. Reverend Dave, a man of God, lied to us for years and years. He told us that around every corner, people would be offering us drugs. "They'll be trying to give you free samples, and say 'here, try this. It's free and it's great,'"

           There had to be over a hundred students still in the school when we went on our tour. Sorry, but nobody offered me any drugs Reverend. He told us that kids were being beat up everywhere, and that people would try to beat us up even. I didn't see anything.  Trust me; I was thorough in all of my observations. Every inch of that school, every teacher, and every student I watched like a hawk when they walked by. I'll admit, some students looked more suspicious than others. Some had on tighter, shorter clothes than others.

           I work in a mall.  I can’t even tell you the amount of crazy things that I’ve seen people wear, so what I saw in Newpoint didn't seem to anything more extreme than what I’ve witnessed.  Were their clothes shameful to God? In my opinion, yes. They were shameful, plain and simple. But, was everyone dressed like that? No. A lot of girls were wearing sweatshirts and regular denim jeans, like Hope−another thing I was told in chapel.

          Sorry Reverend, but it looks like you're wrong about everyone in public school walking through the halls half naked.  However, is Newpoint High scary to a sheltered, private school girl like myself?  Of course.  Was it as bad as I'd thought all these years? After school, no. I know that while classes are in session could be a whole different story, though. 

          I smiled and nodded. We were standing outside the main office, so we headed in. Time to get signed up for classes.  So we went back in, and thanked the lady behind the desk. She asked about Hope, how she did, and I said she did a great job. I think she knocked it out of the park. For not being prepared whatsoever, Hope did the tour like the guide on our Toronto vacation. I kept wishing that I could get some classes with her.  We both take French, so that’s a chance at least.  Other than that, it looks like I’ll be on my own.  Two months.  It’s only two months. 

           And, we sat down in the main office.  Signing up for classes seemed harder than I had imagined.  There are just so many different options.  For example, when signing up for your language at Mercy, they ask you if you want to take Spanish or French.  Here’s what they asked me at Newpoint:  “Do you want to take Spanish, French, German, Russian, or Latin?”  Then they started telling me how I could take a lower level of a second language, and how some students even take three of them, while they each have their own clubs…I was in an instant.  I finally just said “I’m in French Five.  Can you just put me in that?” 

          And yes, they signed me up for it.  History, English, and precalculus.  Again, something that wasn’t simple.  There were three different levels, which were regents, honors, and AP.  I didn’t know what any of them meant except for honors, since all of my classes at Mercy were considered “Honors level.”  Mom and I decided that I’ll just stick with the honors.  We moved onto gym next.  They listed, I’m not even joking, ten different gym classes.  I chose the class called Net Sports.  They said that all I had to do was show up and play tennis or badminton, and I’d get an A.  I’m just in to getting pummeled with dodge balls or most of the other classes.