Chapter 2: School time

It’s been two months since I’ve become Paula. The cheerleading camp I went to really opened my eyes about this body. Nimble, athletic, and two hollow legs when it comes to food. I guess all that cheerleading needs energy somehow. I’ve decided to stay on the cheer squad for the fall football games.

I met most of the squad at cheer camp. Mindy and Cindy, twins, are Paula’s best friends. Laura, Ashley, and Daniel are kind of friends of Paula, enough to be friendly to each other. Then there was Beth, picked to be head cheerleader this year. Turns out Beth is a total bitch to anyone but the cheerleaders and Football team even though we are just middle schoolers.

School has started up again, and I’m in 8th grade I will probably be bored out of my mind, but then again the social studies and history classes will be an eye-opener for me, I’m gonna have to pay attention in those classes for changes to this Earth’s timeline. I was given Algebra, should be easy enough, English was a composition class for 8th graders. I apparently wound up in a tech elective which is great, and of course gym class.

In homeroom, there was a new student introduced by the teacher named Danny Smith. He was a little taller than me, jet black hair and the prettiest hazel blue eyes. Prettiest? Not a word I used as my old self. Paula’s influence no doubt and that’s alright with me, I was always bisexual in my old life.

But here was Danny, nervous as I was about the first day, yet I noticed a necklace he was wearing. It was of Freya, the same one I was wearing, I found one at cheer camp in the woods behind the cabin we slept in. Then Lady Freya’s words rang in my mind, ‘ ... you will be called upon to aid another... ‘ I would have to be careful about how I approach Danny about this.

Turns out we have all the same classes, even gym. I soon found out that 8th graders and up have co-ed gym classes, as well as a co-ed locker room along with a boys’ and girls’ locker room, another drastic change from my Earth.

I caught up with Danny on the way to first period. “Hi, I’m Paula.” Walking beside him now.

“Hi. I’m Danny.” he said with a smile.

“I take it you just moved in over the summer?”

“Yeah, my parents suddenly had this urge to sell the house and move here, specifically to Sun City West. I miss my friends back in Georgia, fortunately, there is email and cams.”

“Well I can be your friend, we have the same classes all day long. Should make it easy.” smiling and a hint of a giggle as he smiled at me.

“I’d like that, I don’t know anyone here. Well besides you now Paula.” and with that we went to our first class.

The first day of school was as boring as it always is, syllabuses, things to sign, apparently at 13 you can sign for yourself here on this Earth without parents needing to. Then there was the assembly about signing up for the High school and specialty schools, there were plenty, some were what I’d consider normal and some that took me by surprise, like an online streaming school, concentrating on all the aspects a streamer might be involved with. There was also a cheerleading school as well, but very limited on admittance, my squad was so excited about that, me not so much as my (as well as Paula’s before the swap) eye on the streamers school. Turns out Danny was also eyeing the streamers school, but more along the lines of behind the camera stuff, lighting, cameras, photography. Which this school offered, which could also lead to other bigger jobs.

We went around to the different school booths learning about what they primarily teach and what classes are mandatory. From the sound of things Civics class is a major role in every school as it’s a full year class, I make a note on looking up government on this earth later. I strolled around the cheer school as I met up with the squad there.

“You are planning on signing up for the cheer school right Paula?” I turned around at the voice, it was Beth.