Last class of the day: Economics

You walk to your final class of today and take a seat in the middle row again. You go through the routine of your teacher greeting the class and then asking the transfer student, you, to do the same. The teacher is up there in years, so compared to your other classes, you don't think you will be distracted during her lessons.

As she is going over the material that will be covered during the first semester, you notice the girl sitting to your right has her head turned slightly in your direction and is looking at you. Others have been doing the same, but she doesn't try to hide it when you turn to look back. She smiles at you and lifts her hand off her desk just enough to give you a subtle wave. It's the first time today that someone has actually interacted with you. You return the gesture happily. Her smile widens a little before she turns back to the teacher, seemingly satisfied that you acknowledged her. The rest of the class passes by uneventfully.

The bell rings and people start leaving to go home. It feels kind of weird having only three classes in a day. Apparently it's called a "block schedule", and it gives more time for each class, just less often. As you're a few feet out the door, you hear someone say your name.

"Hey, Alex?" You turn around to see a girl in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt looking at you. It's the one that was sat to your right in class.

"Yeah?" you respond.

"My name's Lucy. It's nice to meet you." A few groups of people are watching your conversation with interest, but you're able to ignore them now.

"Nice to meet you too." You think she's trying to make friends with you, but you aren't really sure how to go about it. Your previous friend group had consisted of all guys. The two of you stand there for a moment before she tries to break the awkward silence.

"So... you moved here recently, right? Where are you from?" You answer her, which prompts her to start asking more questions about you, like what the city was like, if you liked it there, whether you're keeping in touch with friends, etc. The two of you are walking toward the front gate while speaking, but it's far enough away that you aren't worried about running out of time for your conversation.

"Alright, so now I know a bit about you. Do you want to ask me anything?" You proceed to ask her some questions about this town, starting with how long she's lived here.

"Several years. My mom and I moved here pretty much as soon as she heard it existed." After your conversation with your mom, you know why that would be.

"Is it nice? I haven't really had time to explore yet."

"Yeah, there's some cool stuff here. You should definitely take a look around when you can." The two of you have reached the front gate, and it looks like she has to head in the opposite direction from your house. She stops and turns to you.

"If you want, I could probably show you around a bit one day on the weekend." She's looking at you expectantly. She's about as tall as you, maybe a little taller. You think about taking a day to see the town with her and decide that it would be good to learn more about where you live now, as well as make a friend in the process.

"Sure, sounds good."

"Great! I'll think of some places to show you and tell you more after our next Econ class." With that, she heads off in the direction of what you assume is her home. You're feeling pretty good. You made it through the day without embarrassing yourself and managed to make your first friend here. With a bounce in your step, you start walking back home yourself.