Pewter Angels (20 page)

t
he night before school started
Henry had trouble sleeping. Every hour or two he would wake in a cold sweat. He was a little nervous and excited about starting high school, but he was especially concerned about Jenny and him. Since they’d stopped seeing each other every day, Mrs. Sarsky seemed a bit nicer, but still wasn’t nearly as friendly as when he’d first met her. And now, instead of seeing Jenny every second night, it was every third or more; Mrs. Sarsky seemed to always be able to find something for Jenny to do, as if she were purposely trying to keep them apart. Jenny had told him again not to worry about it, and that once school started and she made other friends, things would get better. His only consolation was the exchange of notes via the fence-post. It was the highlight of his day. The one Jenny had left for him the night before had said she would meet him at her gate at eight-thirty so they would walk to school together.

When morning finally arrived, Henry finished his breakfast by eight o’clock and stood by the front door, a new black leather case his mother had bought for him at Simpsons Sears slung over his shoulder. She thought it would be easier for Henry to carry his books since he now would be walking almost a mile to school instead of six blocks “Boy, you’re sure up early!” Mary smiled at her son.

“Yeah, I’m kinda anxious to get going; just waiting until I meet Jenny. We’re going to walk to school together.” Then he added, “Timmy will probably walk with us and maybe Gary, too, but he was really sick last night. I’m not sure if he’ll make it today. He said he would be here by twenty after and if he didn’t show up by then, he’d be staying home today.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. The first day is so important. You get to meet your new teachers and the students in your class and sort of get oriented to high school”

“Yeah. I told him if he didn’t come that I would try to see what class he is in and who his form teacher is.”

“Well, that is good of you, son.” She handed him a bag lunch.

“You’ll have to buy a soda pop or milk at the confectionary. Do you have enough money with you?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out over a dollar in change. “Yeah, I have more than enough.”

By twenty-five after, Gary still hadn’t shown up so Henry decided to go ahead without him.

At his farewell, his mother emerged from the kitchen and kissed his cheek. He felt a little embarrassed—wasn’t he too old for her to do that? But he still liked it. She was sending out her love, hoping it would guide, protect and comfort him as he faced a new day full of unknowns.

“Have a nice day, Henry.”

“Yeah, thanks, Mom. You, too. I’ll sure miss your lunch at noon.” Henry caught her smile just before the storm door shut behind him.

Henry was glad to see Jenny already waiting for him at her gate. He hoped her mother wasn’t peering out the front window.

He was uneasy enough about school and didn’t want to add to it by getting another stern look of disapproval from her.

Jenny beamed as he approached her.

“Hi, Henry. Am I ever excited about school—I can hardly wait to get there!”

“Yeah, me, too,” Henry tried to match her enthusiasm. Jenny was always so adventurous, ready and eager to start new things, almost the opposite of his insecurity and tendency to hesitate. Once he got started, he usually adjusted pretty quickly, but he was anxious for the next few days to pass so he could feel surer about everything.

“I thought Gary was coming with us this morning?”

“He was pretty sick last night. He told me he might not be able to make it today.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Hope he’s feeling better by tomorrow. It’ll be harder to start and fit in the longer he leaves it.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Henry was already feeling that way himself.

As they passed Jenny’s house, Henry noticed the curtain in the front window move. He didn’t dare look or hold Jenny’s hand, at least not until they were out of sight. Henry was also sure his mom was looking out their front window but he wasn’t so worried about what she might be thinking.

“So, what about Timmy? Is he coming this morning?”

“I think so,” Henry replied. He had hoped that Timmy wouldn’t come until later so he and Jenny would have some time alone. “I really liked your note last night, Jenny. ‘If you were a star in the heavens, I’d always know which one was you by its brightness!’”

“That has a double meaning you know,” Jenny said. “Your personality just shines, and you’re so clever and smart.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he teased.

“Oh, it’s not flattery,” she countered, shifting her carrying case to her other hand and freeing up the one next to his. “I mean it with all my heart.”

Henry had been waiting for her to do that and his hand found hers. She squeezed and he squeezed back before they relaxed into a more tender hold.

“I liked your last note, too, Henry—”

“Good morning, lovebirds,” Timmy sing-songed, having snuck up behind them on his bike. “Holding hands again, I see.”

“Hi, Timmy,” Jenny greeted him.

“And, what about you, Hank? Not glad to see me?”

“Oh no, Timmy, just a little nervous about school.”

“Nothing to be nervous about. At least I won’t have that shit-head math teacher anymore, and besides, I hear some of the teachers are really young, and most of them are girls.”

“They’re too old for you, Timmy.”

“Never too old for me, Hank. I’ll have them eating out of my hand in no time.”

“Yeah sure. They’ll all wish you had enrolled at another school.”

“Oh, I’m so excited!” Jenny exclaimed again, her eyes wide and sparkly, trying to take it all in.

“Yeah, I’m getting excited, too.” Henry said, and this time he meant it. “I think the letter we received last week said to meet in the auditorium at nine to find out who our form teacher is.”

Chaos reigned inside the school and out. The huge hall was packed with students. Three tones sounded over the PA system to get everyone’s attention.

“Would all Grade 9 and 10 students please proceed to the auditorium directly across from the administration office.”

The auditorium was already over half full when they entered. There were rows upon rows of seats, set on an incline so everyone could easily see the stage at the end of the huge room. Deep purple curtains hung across the back of the stage. Two long tables sat in front of the curtains, surrounded by several people.

“There are two empty seats over there,” Jenny said, interrupting his thoughts. “Quickly, hold my hand.”

With only a slight hesitation, Henry thrust his hand into hers as they rushed for the seats, hoping to beat whoever else might have had the same idea.

No sooner had they sat down than Principal Mitchell approached the podium. “Everyone please take a seat. We have to get started right away.” Within a few minutes all the students were seated and the principal continued. “Good morning and welcome to Balfour. For many of you this is the start of high school and a totally new experience. We wish you well. For all the Grade 10 students returning this year, we wish you well, too, and ask that you help new students find their way to classrooms and answer any questions they may have.”

A murmur rose from the crowd, and a couple of tenth graders said they’d be happy to show any newcomers to the furnace room or bathroom for their first class.

“Please, please,” said Mr. Mitchell, raising his voice above their giggles and laughter. Once relative quiet had been restored, he swept a hand towards the table and introduced the vice-principal, the president of the student representative council and six teachers.

The vice-principal said a few words and welcomed them to the school. Then the president of the SRC came to the microphone and basically said the same thing. He talked about getting involved. They could expect to get out of high school what they put into it.

The principal got up again. “You received a letter in the mail about two weeks ago, telling you what form room you are in. We have asked the form room teachers to be up here to help you out. As I introduce them and the form to which they have been assigned, they will leave the auditorium. As they do so, all students of that form will follow their teacher to the classroom. Please, do this as quickly and quietly as possible.”

Henry’s homeroom teacher was the third one introduced, Mr. Dornan. He was also one of the science teachers. As Mr. Dornan walked down the aisle, Henry rose and squeezed Jenny’s hand with a whispered, “I’ll see you in the cafeteria at lunchtime.”

Henry and about twenty-five other students followed Mr. Dornan to their homeroom on the second floor. Just before they entered the classroom, Mr. Dornan pointed out their lockers. As soon as the students were seated, Mr. Dornan took attendance. Some of the names were difficult and they laughed at his pronunciation, much to the embarrassment of those students. Henry didn’t pay much attention to roll call—his mind was on Jenny—but that was immediately shattered when Mr. Dornan called, “Zeigler, Eddy.”

Henry’s heart skipped a beat. He slowly turned and scanned the classroom. There he was, glowering in the very back corner of the room.

Their gazes locked. Eddy made no attempt to look away. Rather, he tried to stare Henry down. He even purposely sat up and leaned forward in Henry’s direction, lifting his chin in challenge. Henry had never realized how long and pointed Eddy’s nose was, and, skinny as he was, with that big wave in his hair held in place by a ton of grease, Eddy gave Henry the willies.

Well, Henry sure wasn’t going to be the one to crack. He twisted in his seat to position himself directly in line with Eddy’s gaze. Although anyone could have beaten Eddy up, they didn’t because most people were afraid of him. He exuded reckless bravado as if he could beat the crap out of anyone and never backed down from a fight. In fact, he often went out of his way to start one, proving that his size in no way prevented him from taking on the world.

“Let’s see, did I forget anyone? Ah, yes, Pederson.” The sound of his name broke Henry’s concentration. He turned to see Mr. Dornan staring at him. “Well, do you want your lock or not?”

“Y-yes, sir.” Henry rose from his desk to get his locker number and lock from Mr. Dornan’s outstretched arm.

With the preliminaries finished, Mr. Dornan explained that their classes would be shortened just for the day so students could meet all their teachers and find their way around. He passed out blank timetable cards and instructed the students to copy out the schedule on the blackboard. He also reminded them to memorize the combination of their lock, and to destroy the slip of paper with the combination on it. “I don’t want to see anyone coming up to me and complaining that someone got into his or her locker.”

Just as Mr. Dornan showed them a floor plan of the first and second level of the school, the bell rang. Before he dismissed them, he reminded them that they were to return to homeroom every morning and afternoon for attendance before proceeding to their classes.

Henry’s locker was two down on the right from his homeroom. He put his lunch and carrying case in and took out a notebook for his next class. As he was about to close his locker, Eddy appeared. His locker was right next to Henry’s. He bumped Henry out of the way.

“Don’t hog the whole hallway.”

Henry’s blood boiled. He retaliated by thrusting a hip against Eddy’s, almost knocking him over.

Henry slammed his locker door shut.

Once again, Eddy stepped forward and tried to bump Henry. As Henry turned to hit him back, Mr. Dornan emerged from the classroom, putting an end to their shoving match.

Henry glared at Eddy and shook the notebook at him. Eddy jerked his head back, not wanting his pompadour ruffled.

“I’m warning you, Eddy, next time I’ll …” Henry couldn’t think of anything foul enough. He turned and walked away.

The hallway was very crowded. Henry looked around for Jenny and Timmy but couldn’t see them. Behind him, Eddy booted the locker shut. Henry hoped Mr. Dornan would see him and kick him out of school. Two girls from Henry’s homeroom introduced themselves to him as Betty and Arlene and asked if he would help Betty with her lock.

The bell rang and like a herd of cattle students shuffled along to their next class. For Henry, that was art.

The art room on the main floor was spacious, with windows all along the north wall. The twenty or so tables were higher than regular desks and had tops that tilted up at an angle. Each had a stool with rollers. The tables were arranged in a circle around the perimeter of the room.

A male teacher who was working at his desk stood as they came in.

“Good morning, I’m Mr. Victor, your art teacher this year.”

He gave the students a little of his background. Not only did he have an art degree but he had also worked for an advertising company at one time. Henry wondered if Mr. Victor might be able to help him advertise Mr. Engelmann’s store. Henry liked the art teacher right away. He showed them where all the art supplies were stored, and what their first project would be. He had a still life set up in the centre of the room, positioned so they could all see it. They would learn some of the fundamentals of drawing using charcoal sticks.