First Day Seventh Grade

Finally, seventh grade. The year we were prepared for all sixth grade that scared me. I remembered the high school from when I attended kindergarten, first and second grade classes in that building. Standing at the nurse's door entrance feeling very small as the high schoolers changed classes, a mass of teenagers threatening to flatten us if we stepped from Mrs. Hazelett's protection. Mr. Faddis staring in the window at our classes, making us giggle,calling him Santa Claus because of his white beard.
I was returning to the school, bigger, but no less scared, since every class we traveled to another classroom. What if I got lost? What if I forgot where I was supposed to go? Would I get trampled by bigger kids? Would I look cool?
I wore hunter green jeans and a mustard colored top, I believe with a hood. We still wore new clothes on the first day of school, but I didn't want to wear a dress this day. We crossed just past my house on the corner. The police women didn't see us as we were just on the other side of the dip of the hill. Then behind Jane and Bill Thompson's house, over the hill to the back door of the school. Simple. The junior high wing was on this side of the building, closest to my house. This year, even though we started earlier, proved to be easier to get to school. Except that I primped now, as I was allowed to wear make-up, I could almost literally fall out of bed and roll to school.
Within the week, changing classes was a breeze. All the classrooms were in the old second grade hall. Except for the gym and a study hall in the auditorium on the other side of the school. Gym had all grades in it up to seniors. We didn't have to take showers. Oh, I was so glad of that. The class was so large that Mrs. Palmer told my mother at the open house in October, since she didn't know my name, it meant I hadn't gotten into trouble. The boys exercised on the other half of the gym.
We wanted to be in every club offered us. Pep club the first active one due to football season. I went to every home game and Dad started taking us to away games. He and Mom joined us at the games, too.
I had science class after lunch and didn't do so well in that class. I got a few C's and that was unusual for me. I didn't try very hard, hence the C's. But the first day, I didn't know that. I didn't know what adventures awaited me as I kept changing.