"Today, you finish one of your many journey's in life... A stage if you will. Soon you will begin a new one. The next three years of your life will test your ability to be a person. As you move on from Bridgeport, a school where many of you have went to for ten years, and move on into a new envionment, with new people, and for the first time... New teachers... You will learn alot about yourselves. You will learn more about your stregnths and your weaknesses. You will learn what you want to do in life, if you don't already know already. The next three years, will be the best time in your life as you change paths. This summer may very well be your last 'free' summer that you will have until you finish up with your education, so my advice to you is to live life to it's fullest and you will have plenty of oportunities to, believe me. So let me leave you with these words, boys and girls. Live everyday like it is your last, and pray as if everything depended on god. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Bridgeport Junior High School's, Class of 2002!"

Those were what I thought were going to be the final words, that my favorite teacher ever said to me. They were from Mr. McCormick, the Vice principle of my old school and my phys-ed teacher for ten years. That mad had given me some guidance and advice that my family couldn't even give me. He taught me that I wasn't the only thing in the world, and to look out for my fellow human beings. I'm not saying that I always listened to that last piece of advice, well I did listen to it... I just didn't quite follow through with it. One thing he said in his speach really hit me, and that was the entire bit about praying as if blah, blah, blah... You read it, and you know what it says. Do you know what I have been praying for since I registered for High-School? I have been praying that I will not be stuck with sume stiffy's for teachers, for an entire year. Well i guess it would be two things. I also listenedto the part about living up the summer, and believe me... I did, well I tried to. This story, however isn't about my summer and what I did. This story is about what everybody fears... The first day in High School, for the first time in my life... I was the new kid, along with the rest of my friends. At this time, we were the most vulnerable I have ever been in my entire life. I was in a school of near one thousand people, with eight diferent classes a year, filled with thirty some different students and things as I knew it were going to get messy.

"Zero Tolerance..." This was a very popular word in the vocabulary of Principal Ettinger. His opening speach of the year in the gymnasium wasn;t filled with warm welcomes, rather it was filled with what not to do and the consequences that you will face if you do them. For example... If you wear anything with inappropriate slogans or logos on them, than you would be subject to a two day suspension... needless to say, the very next day... everybody was wearing somethin inappropriate... Me? It wasn't time for me yet, I was still in my shell, sleeping, lying dormant awaiting my turn.

The schedule that I recieved, was well... at the time I thought it was a pretty good schedule of classes. You see at the school we go by summesters. As I said before we have eight classes a year, and split down the middle is four classes per summester. My first four classes were, French, Advanced biology, Mi'kmaq Studies, and Drama. Like I said, it looks pretty good, right? Well before you jump to conclusions, do you remember when I said that I was praying that I wouldn't have stiff ass teachers... Well?

Welcome to the first day of school, Mr. Wilson!

The first day of school, all over again... The entire day started off like every other day of school, except i was never on a school bus before. I got off the school bus with my friends and began to walk around the school, you know checking out the new digs. Off hand, Brandon, one of my best friends noticed the first difference that hapened over the summer vacation. Everybody split up. All of the people that hung around in Junior high, were all hanging around with different people and if you were to pass somebody in the halls and said hi to them, they would shoot you the look... you know that "Who The Hell Are you" look? What am I saying, ofcoarse you, do. And than ofcoarse you would know the looks best friend that always follows afterwards... The infamous middle finger.

So as i was saying, Brandon pointed out that everyody was split up and as we took another lap around the round hallways of Glace Bay High School, i noticed that he was absolutely right. Half of the people that I went to school with for my entire life, I barely knew who they were anymore. Maybe going to High School wasn't jumping back to the bottom of the barrell, just a major boost in ego. Than again I could be wrong, it could be the exact same as everything else, and nothing changed. One thing is for sure and I would soon find out what that was.

At eight-fifty-five, exactly the first bell of the morning rang. "Brandon, what block is first? I can't make heads or tails of this scheduling system." I told my friend, and he laughed and said, "Welcome to the club bro, grab a jacket nd roast some marshmellows... You, Curtis, John, and myself are all in the same boat." brandon replied, as he stod up from his seat and walked towards the door. Just than, Brandon' brother walked into the room in which we were sitting in. "Tyler," Brandon began, "What class is first?" he asked, and his brother replied, "What block? I believe it is B-Block." I took out my trusty schedule filled with jiberish and found where it said 'B-Block' and looked up at what class I was in. "Where is room 018?" I asked, directing my question towards Tyler. "You know the stairs just outside of this room, behind the steel doors? Well at the bottom of those stairs is another door, and if you turn right past that door, than you will be at room 018. I take it you have Biology?" He asked, "Yea, Mr. Mozzacca." I told the tall senior. He looked at me and just laughed. At the time, I didn't know what he was laughing at but soon I was going to find out.

I followed the directions as they were given... Through the door, and down the stairs. At the bottom however, there were two doors. It just so happens that the one everybody was crowded around was the wrong one. At that door, everybody was lighting up for the first time this school year. Immediatley, I knew to take the other one. As I walked through and turned right, I seen a door with 018 etched into a black sign. Amazingly, I was the first person in the class. As I walked in, there was an older man, but not too old. He was about my size, so at the time it would have been, 6'1" or around there. He had a goatee and a head of hair which was just as grey as every strand.

I walked around the class, looking for a desk to call my own, when I heard a voice. "Don't sit down too soon, Mr. Wilson. first off, there is the national anthem so stand at attention, second of all come up here and talk to me for a second." as I turned around, i seen that it was the teacher, Mr. Mozzacca that had been talking to me. I listened to him and walked back to the front of the room.I had no clue how he put a name to my face and it aroused my curiosity. "Your Jonothan' brother right?" He asked, and i simply nodded my head in agreement. "Ah, I had him for this subject too... Ofcoarse that was five years ago, how is the old boy now? Is he still playing doctor?" the only thing I could do was let out a little chuckle, because I was just talking about that with my mother the other day. "How are your marks?" he asked me, but as I went to answer him, more people began to enter the room, followed by O' Canada... Saved by the bell.

After O' Canada finished playing, Mr. Mozzacca stepped up and spoak out to the class. "Good morn ladies, and welcome to Biology-11 advanced. before we get started lets get to know something about everybody. Look around for your friends, because chances are unless he or she has the same last name as you, you won't be chatting too much this class. Now, for the seating arrangements..." he began, and I am not going to continue to go through, Cameron to Wilson... because I am the main character, and I don't give a rats ass about anybody else. That is until I got my seat, or lack there of. "Mr. Dan, it would seem, that Mr. brian took the last seat, fortunatley for you there is a seat here next to Miss Vanessa." He told me pointing to an empty seat, I wasn't much paying attention to the sights around the class room at the time. The only thing i noticed was that almost everybody else seemed to look like a steven hawkings compared to me.

I sat down in my new desk, "Now look around you... The person to your right and left are going to be in your study groups. I didn't notice before but as i looked to my left, at who I only knew to be Miss Vanessa, I noticed that many things were going to 'arrouse' my curiosity. Now don't get me wrong, I was already taken but she lived really far away, none the less I loved my girlfriend very much, she meant every thing to me... Still means alot to me, even now two years after we have broken up. Sorry for the spoiler but that's just how I write. I guess that you could say I am like Shakespear with Romeo and Juliet. I am giving away part of my story and when it comes time for that part to come up in detail, I will still manage to with-hold your interests.

You see, I am not going to talk about anything else that day because as I said before... Stiff Ass. With that being said I am going to skip to the highlight of this introduction chapter where I go home after the first day of school and your parents are all excited to wonder about what happened. The only thing I had to say to the big question of, "So how did your first day of High School go?" was, "Well Mom... What can I say, It's the big high..." With that, I walked into my room and closed my door to begin what was going to end up being the only homework I probably did all year.