1st day at school by marie helene fasquel

2016 My first day of schoolâ&#x20AC;Ś

LycĂŠe International Nelson Mandela. Nantes. American OIB 10th graders 11/12/2016

Describe your first day of school in a specific genre... Nelson Mandela American OIB literature class. 2016-2017. Choose one genre for each of the following texts! Stream of consciousness, fantasy, science fiction, autobiography, gothic, poetry, horror, fairy tale, bildungsroman, young adult fiction, thriller, realistic fiction, magical realism, mystery, â&#x20AC;Ś

Gabriel From the very moment I woke up that day, a feeling of positive energy enveloped me as I prepared to get to school. When I got off the bus and opened the school doors an aura of hopefulness and magic enveloped me, I had barely walked a few steps when I inadvertently stepped upon a dwarf walking by with what looked like an enormous platter of foods and cakes which looked amazing! I apologized and moved along trying to find out where I was supposed to go, when suddenly a few students appeared out of thin air and continued walking along as if nothing extraordinary had happened at all. You can imagine my surprise! When I finally encountered a centaur enjoying mushroom nectar who was nice enough to point me to my new class I thanked him gladly and made my way towards the room while keeping an eye out for the poltergeist on the second floor and being careful not to run into a moving wall. After a half an hour of chasing, opening doors, escaping ghosts, falling through walls and tripping on gnomes, I finally walked through the door where my classmates were all waiting for me, at first I thought I was very late, so I looked for the teacher while trying to find a believable excuse because obviously walking on an invisible stool couldn't possibly excuse my lack of punctuality. But the teacher was nowhere to be found, after a bit of looking and a lot more giggling

from my comrades, they pointed to the whiteboard and to my astonishment, two smart and quick eyes seemed to draw themselves onto the board along with a mouth that invited me to sit down, with my mouth still wide open in incredulity, I sat. And so began my school year.

ThĂŠo. G My first day at school started pretty early for I had to wake up at five o'clock in order to pack my bags and get ready for my new boarding school. I met my roommate who seemed quite cool and nice. Then we hung out together until one p.m. when we went to our different classes. I met the head teacher and headed back to my room. The evening went past really fast and I went in my bed to go to sleep. But during the night something very odd happened: my roommate was apparently sleepwalking and he slept walked during the first night. What is more there was something very strange about his face when I woke up at around 3pm. I immediately turned on the light and I could see a shade undulating around his body, it was a dark manly-shaped shade and it started to go up and up and to gather around itself. The shape looked as if all the darkest thoughts in the world were tormenting it, and that it could only relieve itself of this darkness by haunting someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and feed on their happiness. Then all of a sudden it peeked down at my roommate and he swallowed him. But it seemed to be hurting him: he kneeled down as if weakened by the shade. Then he let out a huge high-pitched scream so loud and deafening that I screamed myself because I could no longer bear the pain any more. All of a sudden my roommate stopped yelling and fell down on the floor. I then heard a dim snore: the guy had been asleep the whole time!! But the smile he had always borne on his face during the day had disappeared and was now replaced by a look of disdain.

Emile As I paced down my new school's hallway, the old shoes on my feet screeching against the cold white marble floor, hands in my pockets, clutching my jeans. Stress

was slowly overwhelming me as I inspected all these new faces and cultures. Suddenly I became aware of the ominous electronic buzz in the hallways, turned my head slightly towards the sound only to find myself standing under an inexplicable metal structure. Multi colored lights came out of this extraordinary machine and into my eyes enabling me to see the details, I could see rough metal tubes coming out of the heap of metal and calm blue flames dancing below them. Amazed, I looked around myself only to find that no one else was looking at this structure, not one single soul in this hallway seemed interested. As I looked back up to further inspect the machine I realized a smooth metallic ball that had drifted down to my level, it seemed to be floating in thin air. It also seemed to have a glowing eye in its center observing my every move. I reached out to touch the intriguing device and as soon as my shaking hand made contact with the cold surface, my heart skipped a beat. It was as if time had stopped, but I could see reality slowly disintegrating around me. My vision darkened, my eyes closed. I was unable to open them again. Lost in total darkness. But eventually a small white light appeared slowly growing, I felt my eyes slowly open. To my regret, I see a room familiar to me. A bed familiar to me. I slowly inhale then exhale, and drift back into the darkness.

Noah This was my first day of school. It was the most glowing school I had ever seen. I was really enthusiastic about this first day. The school was enormous, it laid on an enormous cloud, in the sky of the third star in our solar system. I went there by coconut shell jetpack, it was quite cool, although it was quite long. There was such a nice view, I could see all the volcanos, dragons, flying chickens. It was a wonderful moment, I loved it. So you can see that it started quite well. So it was my first day as a middle-aged unicorn high school student, I met my class and my head teacher, I was really frightened about him. He was a vampire, he was dreadful and mean. He only was drinking blood and eating horse lasagna. So we presented ourselves, and when it came to me it seemed like all the noise had

stopped, and all my classmates were glaring at me. I was so stressed that I started crying. But there were no tears running down my cheeks, my skin was as dry as a desert. It felt as if I had cried internally, I felt so scared, so frightened. But I was brave, brave enough not to fall into tears. So that was my first class. In the afternoon, we visited the school, it was really huge, it had titanic statues, an ample garden and nice fluffy benches. We had lots of activities such as dragon riding in the sky, a quite normal sky with a few clouds, quite normal clouds with a nice sugar taste, quite normal sugar, either it was normal sugar or brown sugar. Moreover, my class played rugby, which was really violent, I lay in the grass, waiting for the game to stop. It was more for the lions and vampires really. OH well, only three died that day. Let’s go back to the point, so I finished the day and I was really tired, went to my marshmallow bed and tried to sleep, but my head teacher was haunting me in my dreams. So my nice colorful dream became a horrible nightmare. And before he drank me like a blood fountain, I woke up, 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, on my first day of school.

Macha The school door opens in front of me, but I don’t want to get in. I see all these people I do not know, walking around, looking for their friends, for someone they might know. I know it is stupid, I know this is new for everyone, but still, my legs just won’t bring me inside the school. I sit down on the stairs, just looking around, trying to convince myself that I am going to have a great day. I finally manage to stand up and step inside the hallway. I wander in the hallway, looking for my class. At first, when I hear my name behind me, I think I’m dreaming. I keep on walking without turning around, before hearing footsteps catching up with me. I can feel a familiar hand on my shoulder. I turn around, but behind me, I can only see the now empty corridor. All the students have joined their class, but I cannot find mine. Suddenly, the school seems huge. I walk past a class, and realize I have already walked past it. I hear my name again. The corridors are dark, and quiet. I hear the footsteps again,

and this time, I run. But the footsteps always seem to catch up with me, and I feel the hand on my shoulder, and I find the corridor empty again. Finally I see an opened door, and without thinking, I get into the room. My class is here, but the teacher is not. I hear the footsteps again, and my heart stops beating for one second. I turn around, but this time I see the teacher, smiling broadly. I sit down, and the teacher says: “Everyone, say hi!” They all turn around, and all I can see is their creepy faces: their eyes are all black, and their teeth are pointy. They have horns, which make them look like demons. I let out a scream, a terrible one. But when I look in the window, I realize with horror I look just like them.

Bassma Nothing this morning could have prepared me for this day. It was exactly like any other day. The same thoughts as usual even if I was a little bit anxious and troubled, the same habits, a familiar room around me. After breakfast, I went to school. An Enormous, gorgeous and modern building: more than what I had expected. I had the impression I was completely lost. But that is how we learn and how we grow. Getting lost and being alone can sometimes be a good thing. New faces, new places, new ways of living, and especially new experiences. Time went rapidly, my mind got lost. I felt lots of emotions, going from surprise, sadness to happiness and I met a lot of people… The experience was better than I had expected! I was ready to begin a new year. I felt strong and brave, more confident. That day showed me that we can be alone at dawn and end up surrounded at twilight. Thus, my first day at school came to an end. Before leaving, I felt a change in the air… Anyway, my mama was waiting for me. Well, I think it is time to come back to the present. I am in front of the doors. I am coming out of the high school… But, wait. I cannot see neither the cigarettes nor the cake wrappings which normally cover the floor. Instead, I see well-dressed women with long dresses and sunshades who speak old English. No fashionable jeans, no Iphone 6 and no Eastpak bags. I cannot smell the pollution and cannot hear any conversations about any celebrities. The sun seems brighter and people’s smiles

larger. The world is more colorful. Indeed, on the other side of the street, I can see a florist who sells a bunch of superb, large roses freshly picked and handed to a lovely couple. Next to them, 3 little girls are playing with what could have been the older version of marbles. Further away, a coachman is waiting for potential customers. I can hear exclamations which seem to come from a bustling tavern at the end of the street. Other people come from every corner of the street. Shouts, laughter blend in a pleasant and dulcet harmony, coming to my ears as the warbling of birds. More than any moments in my life, I feel alive. Indeed, I feel alive but… Even if meeting Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet could be the best thing that will ever happen to me… How could I live here without my music, without the Internet and without my favorite books?! And of course, how could I erase hamburgers from my memories…?

Louise A feeling of loneliness. A deep, deep fear of being abandoned. My dear friends are at my side, and I know, or rather thought that they would stay there, with me. I was wrong, oblivious to the harsh reality of things. They left. Not both at once, but gradually, abandoning me to a new class, a new environment, an unknown world. I am now alone, following my teacher as a sheep would, the knowledge that my classmates are doing the same is of little consolation in my state of utmost apprehension, even so, I stick up a facade, a small smile graces my lips, and a confident look hides the fear from showing in my eyes. It is a facade. It is fake. But I cannot help but hope that a little piece of the relaxed demeanor I show would also appear in my heart. I don't like the sun. Could it not disappear? Could the weather not, for once, match my internal turmoil, my black thoughts? All these questions fly through my mind as the teacher calls us, one by one, to come and sit in the classroom. The two hours in the stuffy room are slowly coming to an end, and, at last, the beautiful sound of the bell flows around the corridors, and into the classroom. I get

up, as if in a dream, and I start shuffling towards the door, only stopping for a second, so as to utter a few parting words to my teacher. As I make my way home, I think, and I feel that, little by little, my dark thoughts disappear. They fly away, as if held prisoners by the building. They stay there, encased inside those walls, where I hope they will stay and even die for all I care. Leontine The automatic doors open in front of me, and I step in. I think of the friends I’m leaving behind, my heart cracks, of the people I will never see again, confusion in my mind, of the loneliness I will have to face, a shiver goes down my spine. I try to convince myself that I'm just being paranoid, that everything will be fine, I'll make new friends anyway, it's just a new school! People walk past me, their faces look so hostile. I walk, I hurry. Wait, where am I going? I realize that I'm walking but I don't know where I'm going nor where I am. The hallway is dark and it looks so long, I can't even see the end, it looks like a tunnel. A scary one. An empty one, like my heart. Why isn't anyone in this corridor? I suddenly see a man's figure, he comes closer and looks at me, he seems to be about twenty-five years old. His skin is pale, as white as milk, his hair brown and curly. His hair... It's so fluffy, I fight the urge to run my hands through it. I ask him where I am, he smiles, revealing the most charismatic smile I have ever seen. He doesn't look like someone who would work at a school, his leather jacket, his black boots and his messy hair make him look like a rock star of some sorts. “You really are in the deep part of the school, how did you end up here, love?” He answers me with a London accent. “I, I...” He cuts me off It really is the hardest part to get to in the school and these rooms are so secret that even the principal doesn't know about them. Come to think of it, nobody knows about this part of the school apart from my friends and I. “I don't really...” I ponder in confusion. “How old are you?”

“I'm fifteen,” I utter. “What are you doing here...?” “I have no id...” “It was rhetorical!” He cuts me off again. “Are you here to go to school or for something else?” “I just want to attend my first class!” I moan. “You shouldn't be able to see this place if you are what you claim. How are you here?” If I am what I claim? I'm so confused, nothing in my mind is making any sense and my thoughts are rushing up to the surface just to disappear again. I'm scared, scared of missing school, scared of this tunnel, scared of this person but above all, he intrigues me. He is so charismatic yet I can tell that he is bad news. “I... I don't... I don't know!” “You don't know... That's convenient...” He opens a small but thick book and looks at me. “You're dead, love.” “”What are you talking about?! I'm alive, I'm going to school, this is my first day at high-school and I'm late!” I panic, what does he mean? Is he joking? Is this some sort of initiation prank? Is he going to kill me? Am I dead? I can't be! My palms start to sweat, my breath shortens, this is starting to really scare me. I run down the tunnel but it's so long, I still can't see the end of it and I'm so tired, my heart rate is going through the roof. I keep running until I trip, I graze my knees, I pick myself up off the floor with an extreme sense of urgency, my knees screaming with pain but I keep going. I sprint past doors, room 200, 210, 300, at this point, I've lost count. The corridor still won't end! As I'm running I hear a voice echoing "You can run all you want, you're never getting out!" it’s that man's voice, where is he? I fall, I can't go on, my muscles won't allow me to. My knees hurt so much. He walks up to me, lights flicker and I see him. His eyes! Black! His eyes are completely black! He sits down in front of my shaking self.

“You're not at school, love. You're dead!” He hands me a mirror and what I see makes me drop it, it shatters but I can still see it, my eyes are like his, pitch black! “Welcome to hell! I'll be your host!”

Théo S. The first day I went to school, I took the tram. The tram station, flooded by hundreds of impatient and fidgety people was made of glass. The transparent walls let the feeble first light of the day penetrate. I waited for half an hour, and then entered the car. Going to Nantes, I admired the gorgeous landscapes from my seat, one or two kilometers above the ground. This marvel did not last long; I was really nervous since I was about to meet the person with whom I would spend the whole year. Indeed, being a boarder, I had to share my bedroom with him. To fill my stomach, I ate the extraordinary breakfast I had bought in the most expensive bakery of the town -something that I was not used to doing-. I tried to savor, but could not: I swallowed it up; I could not understand people who said that this food was to be appreciated. This “exceptional” breakfast was composed of synthetic milk, a piece of brown bread. I did not desire to eat any longer: this vile meal had disgusted me to such a point that I could not have eaten anything else even if it had been tasty. Some minutes later, I arrived at Nantes’ station, and took the bus to my new school: Nelson Mandela high school. “Why was it called Nelson Mandela?” I had always wondered. Perhaps the architect’s name… I arrived after seven stops at the huge building that was my high school. In front of the impressive entrance, I was asking myself whether it was a dream, or if I was really living it. I was about to enter the school where I had always wanted to study. To enter, I passed my “chipped” hand onto an electronic case. Afterwards, all happened very well, and quickly: I went to my bedroom and met my nice roommate. Then, I joined my class.

Later, at seven o’clock, I joined my friends to eat, and noticed that hither and yon were placed thousands of cameras as if we were in a jail... Therefore, every faux-pas would be punished; such as talking when the bell rang, or any sign of disagreement against anything. To satisfy my curiosity, I asked an adult: “Why is this school called Nelson Mandela, was it the architect’s name?” The woman replied to me “It is just a person that today’s heretics would love. Do not worry, this stupid name will soon be replaced. No one ought to remember this kind of people nowadays, in 2034.”

Lucie I went to bed at eleven, making sure that everything was ready for the day which would be the strangest of my life. I hoped that I would sleep a little, but my alarm clock rang about an hour after I fell asleep. I spent the whole morning thinking of what would be my future class.

I took the bus AT half past twelve, but I felt something strange in the atmosphere. In the bus, I jumped when the doors closed, and felt trapped. I knew I was very anxious, dreadfully anxious. I felt oppressed. When I arrived at my high school, the oppression sensation increased. So far, high school looked friendly and welcoming. I thought of my friends that I had left behind and felt something like regrets but it didn't last long. I was sure that I would meet new ones very soon. So why was I feeling so frightened?

I arrived at Mandela high school and entered. When the automatic door closed after me, a weight came down on my shoulders. It wasn't my backpack. What was it? I took one step backward, hoping that the doors, detecting my presence, would open again. But they didn’t. On the contrary, I just had the feeling that they were locked. The atmosphere was icy. I took a breath. "Everything is normal", I told myself. "It's just your imagination fooling you".

I looked at the other students. They all seemed strange. They all smiled, but there was something insane in their expressions; they looked sleepy. I stared at a girl, who might have been my age, and she looked very creepy. She saw me and sneered at me. At this moment, I started feeling dizzy, and I staggered. I banged into a guy. Surprised, I screamed. Everyone looked at me. They started making a circle around me. I felt a cold sweat on my back, and my hands started to tremble. I prepared to run. To run away? No, not yet. I had fought to be here, I would stay! I kept walking.

But as I was moving on, the other faces became dreadful. I was more and more scared, more than I had ever been. Where they should have had eyes, they had only black holes. A deep black that seemed endless. Their grins were not natural. They had something...their teeth! There was blood on their teeth! Not on all of their teeth, but in the corners, as if they wanted to hide it! Two endless black wells instead of the eyes and a bloody smile. I heard my heart beating so hard that I thought my rib cage would explode. It hurt. I saw their faces coming closer and closer. I shut my mind out.

I was going to black out. I heard their breath. They would kill me. They would kill me. They wouldâ&#x20AC;Ś Suddenly I felt a huge heat in my whole body. I do not remember precisely what happened, but I heard an explosion, and when I opened my eyes, most of my aggressors were on the floor. Immediately, I realized. I was the one who had provoked this explosion with my mind. The people closer to me literally exploded. There was blood on my clothes. There was blood on the floor. I was a murderer. I had killed them. How could I have done that?

But those who had not been affected by the explosion already got up. I panicked, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if I would be able to do it again to protect myself. I closed my eyes again and tried to think of another explosion. But nothing happened. I

really panicked, and at this moment, an enormous wave flew in the hall, killing the last one, who tried to resist. I suddenly felt very weak, and fell on the floor. When I came Back, I was in the center of a group, looking at me strangely. Their eyes were entirely black...

Kylian 7 p.m. I need to wake up even if I do not want to. I am having breakfast: freeze-dried milk and synthetic cereals. Actually, I must hurry, I really don’t want to be late, especially on the first day in my new High School. I get up in the first tram towards the school. I really love the tram: we have got a great view of Nantes from it, we can see all the city’s highest skyscrapers. I also like watching the flying cars. Once, someone told me that before, people drove in cars with wheels, I don’t believe it, I think it’s a lie: I can’t imagine how it looked what it looked like. Finally, the tram arrived at the Nelson Mandela High School station. I get off the train and walk through the crowd of students. And then I see the High School. Wow! What a disillusion… This is a very old building. I heard some students next to me saying that it was built in the beginning of the 21st century. I couldn’t believe it! This building was about 250 years old and still stands. I was really disappointed. I was looking for my class. Several robots indicated the way to go to their classroom (to the students). Everything was automatic: no stairs but escalators, at the cafeteria robots served us lunch directly at our table. Finally I found it: room 251. I thought I was late. I saw the other students, but the teacher was not here yet. I sat next to a group of mates and started to talk to them. We talked about everything and nothing, about school, our hobbies, new technologies (they were fond of them). And then the teacher’s face appears through the partially open door. He looked stressed, anxious, but that was not the point. We all stared at him. We were shocked, astounded. I told the student next to me: “Really? The teacher is a human (being)!?”

Ines 9th school but motivated. I had the feeling that in this school, there was a very special atmosphere, not realistic at all, nearly magic. I was getting sadly used to letting my friends behind with time but I still miss them a lot. I didn't feel like making new friends anymore, I just hoped people would not be mad at me. On this first day of school, I felt a little stressed out, like everyone of course! I started talking to several people to meet different personalities. Each of them had a special gift, some could read people's minds and others could guess the future. It was quite easy to make new friends because everyone was new so there were no groups for the moment and everyone was mixing up. It was the first time I had really enjoyed school, all the students were quite nice. The high school was amazing, the structure was modern and we had classes dedicated only to students. We were way freer than before, we were now treated like adults because we had more responsibilities as students. For the first time of my life I felt small facing older students!!!! The first days of school are so funny because people keep staring each other, because as I said we are all new. I also made new friends, for example Bassma whose particular talent is her capacity to learn fast or Manon who is incredibly strong. I hope that the rest of the year will be as enjoyable as this first day of school.

TaĂŻs It was 11H3O P.M. when I decided to go to sleep. I was already regretting my holidays spent on the beach, playing volleyball and swimming in the sea. But unfortunately everything has an end...

So, I woke up after this long and terrible night and I tried to stay positive. I really did my best to stay confident about this first day of school, but something strange in the air, made me doubtful. My mum insisted to drive me to school and I thought that the other pupils would laugh at me, but it was strangely worseâ&#x20AC;Ś

On the way to my high school I was thinking about my future friends and future teachers that I would meet soon. I was now facing the front door and it was time for me to enter. I was very anxious because I felt an insane atmosphere around this high school. Despite this strange feeling, I took some steps forwards and entered the school, anxiously...

It was sinister and I felt terribly oppressed at that moment, I can remember it now. It was dark and gloomy, very unpleasant and lifeless... Everybody was looking at me. I saw these awful faces staring at the human that I was. This place was full of Zombies and these sorts of unfriendly creatures. They were all gathering around me. I was so terrified that I could not even move or run away from this horrible place. Fear took control of my body. One of the creatures stepped forward, and whispered near my left ear something that I will never forget: 'Welcome to Hell my Dear!' Benoît Nobody loves the first day of school, right? Especially when this is your first day in a new school where you know no one. It's a day full of stress and anxiety, before you get to meet your new friends and all the stress is gone.

I dislike the first day of school for a different reason, though. You see… I have a sort of power. When I look at people, I can…"see" a sort of aura around them. A colored outline based on how long that person has to live. Most people I meet around my age are surrounded by a bright green hue, which means they have plenty of time to live.

A fair amount of them have a yellow-orange tinge to their aura, which means that a car crash or some other tragedy is going to kill them. Basically anything that takes them « before their time » as they say.

The most horrible is when the auras venture into the red end of the spectrum, though. Every year I see someone who’s basically a walking stoplight. Those are the ones who get murdered or kill themselves. It’s so atrocious to see them and know their days are numbered.

When I first discovered my power I tried to keep an eye on them and save them but I always failed. Now I understand it is their destiny and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Knowing that, I always get to class very early to scout my classmate’s fates. This year, the first kid to enter the classroom was radiating red. I sighed desperately, poor boy, no one deserves to die like that! But as the other students kept walking in, I choked, how was that possible? They all had the same bright red glow; finally I caught a glimpse of my rose tinted reflection in the window but I was too stunned to move. Our Math teacher entered the class and locked the door behind her, a sinister look on her face, her aura a sickening shade of green…

Hector “Be strong.” That’s what I said myself when I entered the bus. This high school was a new thing for me, I was scared and sad to abandon all my friends. When the bus arrived in front of the high school, as I walked to it, I saw a big hole, a crater “Where is the high school?” I asked myself. It looked as if it had disappeared. After looking at this mysterious and gargantuan crater, I saw a little cabin, it was as at the entrance of a parking lot or a park. I came to it and showed my id card. The entrance lady told me that I must take the elevator and wait for the 6th floor. I counted figures one by one and was more and more frightened. When the elevator reached the 6th floor, I left it. My first reaction was “Wow!” I was impressed by this monumental and huge entrance and did not realize that this was my high school. After 10 minutes, I arrived in front of my classroom. I entered and sat alone. I turned around and saw a weird

person. His skin was green and he had 3 eyes. “Where does he come from?” I asked my neighbor. He answered me that the high school was interspatial and that some students were from a foreign planet. I was shocked, and tried to talk with him. He did not understand my language and said that he is called “Borg”. After the class presentation, I took the bus to go back home, I was looking forward to telling my parents about my school….

Zack As I entered my new school, I needed to explore this titanic ship and find my greatest enemy: Dark Joseph. He was a horrible person, his eyes seemed to want to make everyone appear someone poor and defenseless. My duty was to eliminate him. As we met our new teachers, I could perceive him, I became infuriated knowing that he was several feet away from me. At lunch I went to the vending machine and bought a bag of chicken powder, my favorite. When I sat down at the table I could sense him again. He was right behind me, I raised my hand and forced his head to the ground. He was in serious agony and begged me to stop. I vanished leaving him alone, suffering. The following day I heard that he had been expelled for bullying, it was a great release for me and the others.

Camille It was the time to do it. I had to jump. I had to be courageous. I was anxious as I had ever been but I knew there was no other solution, I had to make the big jump. There was a massive black hole in front of me and they were expecting me to jump in it. They were insane!!! I knew that I would come out alive but still, I didn’t know what kind of new adventure I was literally jumping into. Like every other kid in the line, I had to wait for my turn but I was watching them falling into the black hole one by one and I that is when I realized I was afraid. My turn came very fast, the clock started to dance and called out my name and I knew it was time. I tightened

my fists, shut my eyes, took a deep breath and jumped. The descent seemed to have lasted for ever but when I finally landed … I was astonished. I had been sent to Nelson Mandela, the building was magnificent, there were canvas floating around in the main hall and all the students going to their assigned rooms by enormous tubes that dew them up. I then met my class which seemed lovely and just not what I had expected. I was overly delighted. My first day didn’t end up as I thought it would have at all, there was no need to be worried, I thought back to myself!

Mathilde The night before the first day of school I felt quite relaxed and confident. I had accumulated a huge lack of sleep because of my holidays’ schedule, thus I needed to get a good night sleep in order to be ready for the day. ——————— This morning, the awakening was extremely hard; all night long I kept having nightmares which were so morbid that I had to wake up about every hour of the night struggling to breathe I had to quickly get ready so I took a shower, put my clothes on, put some mascara on and jumped into my shoes all cleaned and fresh to go to school. As I was sitting in the bus I could not help myself and stared at all those people who seemed to know each other so well; that is when I started to become anxious. Was I ever going to find people who interest me? When the bus finally arrived, I abruptly stepped out of it. I could feel the hot wind gently caressing my cheeks as I was walking towards this immense building full of teenagers. ——————— Here I was standing alone in front of the doors. I slowly entered the high school while moving my eyes from side to side in search of faces I knew. Unfortunately no familiar faces appeared to me. I inspected every places of the high school but there

was no way I could find them... Why were they not present on the first day of school? After checking in which class I was going to be, I directed myself towards the classroom: the corridors seemed endless, the roof seemed ready to fall off. The people which I had followed before appeared to be extremely far away. The horizon was as blurry as fog; I rapidly blinked to come back to reality but in vain. The air surrounding me felt so heavy that I could feel an electric force pushing me onto the ground. I tried to fight that evil strength by standing up. I was dizzy and weak; my mind was confused from all those strange things occurring, what was happening, it felt like dying!

I focused and gathered my last forces, took a deep breath and screamed!

“Hey sweetheart, stay with us please?” I laid down in an unknown room: it was all white and smelled of sanitizer. I turned my head and saw the head of my friend popping out of a group of people all dressed in white. I could hear electric shots like those I felt in the school. What was happening to my friend? Is she enduring what I just did? “Darling, your parents are arriving to the hospital, do not worry. You and your friend have had an accident, a really violent accident, your friend there got ejected of the windshield and a truck hit you.”

Kostia This year was different. I did not stress as I had the previous years, instead I really enjoyed telling myself that I was beginning high school and that everything that had happened before in my middle school years could be forgotten. It was for me the opportunity to erase everything and to start a new life. The ride to school was long enough for me to imagine how great the year would be. I was really looking forward to building new friendships with new persons. Besides, I was enthusiastic about being in the OIB section. I saw it as a tool that would help me build a different

mindset in a multicultural environment which I believed would be extremely helpful for my future. Once the car stopped, I knew this was it, we had arrived. My mother looked kindly at me, and with her gentle voice she said to me “that’s it, here we are”. I was still sort of asleep when I got dropped off. I was not fully realizing what was happening. Anyway, I was slowly marching towards the enormous doors of the school. My feet felt very heavy and dragging my titanic suitcase was not helping. I finally arrived in front of the school. I went in the queue waiting for my parents to arrive. Once they got there, we entered the school and went to register for boarders. The woman we had to deal with seemed nice. The morning was dedicated to the boarding school. I discovered my room which was very nice as well as my roommate who was a handball player. It got me fired up because he seemed like a sporty guy. Once the morning over, my parents left and I knew that my new life had started.

Martin Once upon a time, a little boy, whom everyone called Martin, because of the city he lived in, MartLand, “Martin, Martin, my child, now you are old. Martin, now take the bag I have prepared for you, and leave”. Because Martin was surprised, she started crying and added: “You have reached the age of sixteen, and with your fairy diploma, you need to go Magical School”. Martin thought of its situation, in the middle of the country of Nantes, and realized that he would need half an hour to go there riding his unicorn. He took his bag, kissed his mother, said goodbye to his previous life and left. When he arrived, Martin was impressed by the school, there were killer whales training playing the piano, centaurs were doing sports, and elves were holding socks for no reason. But the spectacle was shortened by the chief of warlocks, which looked terribly wicked because of the gigantic furuncle on his nose, his malicious eyes and his long, grey hair on which a long black hat was standing, which stared at him and shouted to his face to go into his class. When Martin arrived in his classroom, his

magic teacher told him magic spells with a stick rod. His class ended, then he took his unicorn (which was grazing near flying cars, expensive ones) and got back home. He found his mother ill, about to die. With the spell he had learned, and by shouting “SO-RA-KA!” while moving his rod, he healed his mother. All MartLand was proud of its new hero. The END. Abdoulah When I woke up that morning, I was so ecstatic about the fact that I was going to begin my high school years, that I was going to be able to make new friends and that I was going to be able to study Literature, History & Geography in English! But the thing that I was looking forward to the most was that I was going to be able to start afresh, just…. start from scratch. I jumped out of bed, attacked my bowl of cereals savagely with no time to lose, brushed my teeth and rushed into the car, ready to face whatever awaited me. At least, that was how I felt for the first 20 minutes in the car. I don’t know why, but I felt something bad was going to happen. I can’t explain what this darkness haunting me was, but I could feel it…

When we parked the car, the twist in my stomach was still present and when I grabbed my suitcase and walked down the path towards my new high school, I started feeling so nauseous that I had to stop walking halfway down the path. My mother, curious to know why I had decided to sit down, queried: “Are you alright, son?” Clenching my stomach, I replied, “Yeah, I’m alr…” but I never finished my sentence because at that exact same moment, there was an enormous BOOM. I saw pieces of my new high school flying everywhere and flames rising through what used to be the roof. And I was only 50 meters away. Had I continued walking, I would have been caught in the explosion. It didn’t take me long to realize it was a terrorist attack. I could see horrible scenes everywhere: dead or injured pupils and teachers being helped by others, people crying, calling the authorities… Suddenly, I saw a mother holding her dead BABY. That was the last straw. The sight of this made me feel sorry for the dead baby’s mother, but also made me...enraged. I could

feel something like lava wanting to flow out of me and release it onto the people responsible for causing all this destruction. I had this sudden urge that was telling me that I had to do something, ANYTHING to aid those in need. Abruptly, I saw a mysterious-looking man walking away from the disaster. Intrigued, I decided to follow the shifty man. And I continued walking and I didn’t stop. Thomas This morning was the most exciting day of the year. I had been looking forward to this day for a while. I was so enthusiastic about all the new things I was going to learn. Every single year when I go back to school I always laugh when I remember the History lesson we learnt a few years ago. It said that during the twenty first century students were stressed and anxious about going back to school. They were scared about how the other teenagers would judge them during the whole year. Yes, because believe it or not, they had to go to school every day for the whole year! Imagine how horrible it was! Nowadays, two centuries later we are so lucky because school is just a yearly update on our Operating Systems. For today’s students education has nothing to do with boring lessons or annoying homework, it is just an exciting nap which lasts four hours during which we learn everything on our syllabus of the year. This year in History class, I am going to learn about the twentysecond century and how our ancestors managed to leave the planet before the apocalypse, I feel really ecstatic about that but now the “teachers” are coming we are about to fall asleep. OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATING PLEASE DO NOT TURN THE DEVICE OFF...

Zoé SOU. Does anyone like the “first day”? I am, obviously, talking about the first day of school. If you don’t, you are quite normal. Actually, nobody does. Even I do not like the first day. And I am not usual, I would say.

This is my first day as a freshman in Nelson Mandela High School. I am not prepared at all, and I have to be. I do not want to let people know who I am, what I can do.

I was putting the finishing touches to my makeup, verifying my outfit and my hairstyle. Everything was under control for once. I took my bag and went to school. Arriving at my new school, the only word which came was: huge. Just 1 millisecond after, another word came to my mind: astounding. The school was an ample hive. A kind of enormous hive of activity. There were a lot of people in, walking everywhere, doing what they had to. And, me, I had to follow my new class in my new school. But, before, every student has to listen to the Headmistress’s speech. “Here, in Nelson Mandela High School, you have an opportunity …” I skipped all the rubbish which made me angry. And when you make me angry… “Vlam”

Oops… A glass exploded in someone’s hand. It was a man. A nice guy with blue eyes. He looked surprised. And a bit shocked too. After the “astounding” speech of the Headmistress, my class went into a room. We did annoying things.

When the bell rang, I left the classroom as fast as possible, hoping that no one would ask me questions. Because… I had already too many questions in my head. Actually, I was overthinking. Overthinking is one of my… Um… Peculiarities. When I overthink, I analyze everything: no one can lie to me, and I (have) got a special gift about numbers and magic… That’s why I saw a little doe in the middle of the hall. She was walking through the hall, and I tried to follow her but she was too fast.

“Hey! The doe! Wait (for) me!” I screamed. “Hi!” Screamed a girl. She looked confident and pretty hideous. You seemed strange, she started. The girls around her said:

“Yeah! Freak!”

It was enough. I ran to follow the doe which was not far from the exit. And I fell down. I was whirling… Whirling… Whirling…

I awoke in a forest. The doe was here, looking at me fixedly. Behind the doe, I could see a nice castle shining in the forest. The doe said: “Welcome to your new school. So, how is gonna be your first day?”

The end. Solenn From the day I knew I had been admitted into the American International Section, I could not contain my excitement. All summer, I was ecstatic and overjoyed each time someone brought up the subject. But when the day finally came, stress took control over my previous emotions. I started feeling very anxious, and when I arrived in front of the new school, I was almost petrified. I was with a couple of friends, but nobody was in my class. The day went by slowly, and after meeting a few teachers, the time for my first English class had finally come. By then, I had made some new friends who also were in my Section, so we all walked together in the corridors searching for the right room. When we arrived, my heart started pounding as if it would burst. The anxiety that had left my mind was flooding back. I entered the class, with a half-a-smile and quickly took a seat in the back of the classroom. After calming myself, I looked up to see how the others were reacting. And surprisingly, it was very mixed: some pupils were chatting, some were just staring ahead, and others seemed even more stressed than I was! After a few minutes, the teacher asked us to be quiet and started presenting the section. The entire room was silent: everybody was hanging on each word she was saying. After that, we did a game which allowed us to interact and learn a bit more about each other. All of a sudden, I felt at ease. The atmosphere was

relaxed and I immediately felt reassured. At this moment, I knew that this was the beginning of what would be an extraordinary year.

Anne I have never been more impatient than for my first day of school. As soon as I knew that I would go to Nelson Mandela High School, I couldn’t wait for this day. That morning when I woke up, I felt so special: I was attending the most prestigious school of my town. I got ready to go. As I arrived at the school, I had the feeling that the building spread a special radiance. It was a huge building made of glass, it was very modern and architectural. I was amazed at the beauty of my school. There were high-tech computers, a wonderful garden, a cafeteria. I was so glad I chose this place to study. Many other students were already looking at their classes’ list. I looked for my name, I was in “Seconde 6” I did not see any familiar name(s) in (on) the list. I would have to make new friends. A tall brown-haired girl came to me, she seemed to be kind, her name was Zoé. We talked together until we had to go to our classrooms. She was in “Seconde 3” so she left before me. When I got to my classroom. I felt weird, it looked like the other pupils were different but I did not know why. I went to my seat and listened to my teacher. I felt I was the only one thinking that the fact that she had wings was strange. When I look back I think that it should have given me a hint of where I was. She gave us our timetables: we had “necromancy”, I did not know what it meant. The bell rang and we went out. I was kind of lost, people were looking at me as if I was a mysterious creature. I had a hard time making friends. After a while I recognized the girl I told you about. I thought I saw her somewhere before but could not remember where. I went to her and we started talking. As we spoke, she questioned me about my life. At some point she said “What are you?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I mean, why are you here?” she responded as if it was obvious.

“Because this high school provides a good education, I guess” “This high school… What high school?” My heart skipped a beat. Was she saying that I was not in a school? Then, where was I? I remembered the building, the radiance. I felt like the place had an aura, that the building seemed somewhat occult. My friend saw that I was lost in my thought(s), she said “You really don’t know what I mean?” I said no. (I didn’t) “You are here because obviously, you are not human” she said, “so WHAT are 25

you?” Memories came back to my mind I knew Zoé, I saw her in the newspaper because she put fire (set her primary school in fire) to her primary school because her teacher had punished her when she was 6. Moreover I remembered. I remembered that night when I had a fight with this girl I couldn’t bear. We became mad and she hit me. I entered in a fury, I cannot even describe how I felt, that time. I could not think clearly and I was extremely angry and I wished she was dead. Suddenly she collapsed on the floor, her eyes were closed and she did not breathe anymore. I killed her with my mind. Then I think that somebody tried to erase that moment from my memory but I remembered. I remembered that I was a witch and that, therefore, my school was in fact a supernatural institution. Zoé M. Nothing could have prepared me to what was going to happen to me. I woke up feeling incredible, I had been looking forward to this day for a long time and i couldn’t contain my excitement. I managed to go out of my bed and took the bus. I walked through the long alley that was separating me from my school. When I looked at the person that was in front of me, I easily noticed that something was wrong with her. I stared at her and saw something unusual. She seemed to be literally glowing, her skin was dazzling. It was almost impossible to stop looking at her. Her beauty was astounding and captivating.

I turned around and noticed that everyone was sparkling under the rays from the sun, except me. And what totally surprised me was that nobody was walking normally. They were walking faster than normal persons and I felt different. Really different. I felt I was invisible, people were walking, no one noticed me. My extraordinary day was turning into a nightmare and that was an abominable sensation to feel that lonely. It took me a while to enter to the gigantic building. Everything was colossal. I entered my classroom and sat next to a girl. She was incredibly stunning. I inspected her face and noticed that her teeth looked like vampire teeth. And that is when I really began to realize that something was really wrong. All the clues were in front of me, the glow of their skin, their astonishing beauty, the speed, the ease they had to move and above all their teeth. How could I not have realized realize before that they obviously were vampires. It was so obvious. I ran to the nearest bathroom and locked myself into a cubicle. My hands were shaking. I had vampire teeth. I was a vampire. ZoĂŠ Sang. What an exquisite feeling it was. An authentic moment of delight. Even though summer was coming to its end, I still could enjoy a delicious shaft of sunlight under a splendid bright blue sky. I was in high spirits. That was why I was quietly cooing. I was contemplating a considerably dynamic city, in which everywhere intimidating bipeds were walking, running or even run walking. It seemed as if the city was waking up after a two month long sleep. It was early in the morning, yet waves of bipeds were sweeping across and between the buildings of the city. There must have been an important event that day for all the bipeds. I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly, I felt irresistibly attracted by something. This attraction led me to (a) female biped, that, despite my natural diffidence towards bipeds, I just needed to follow. She was carrying a navy blue leather pouch and was walking towards a

gargantuan wooden structure. As strange as it may sound, I could see the aura emanating from her, I could sense her moods and capture the vibes coming out from her body. I think I was connected to her, even though it did not seem mutual. This unexpected flow of new feelings, however, was a very disturbing phenomena. I had never experienced such feelings. I was so confused at what had happened; that I did not realize that by following the biped, I was starting a perilous trip, and I abruptly found myself entering the same wooden structure as the female biped. Unfortunately for me, the colossal building was filled with bipeds! Tall, enormous, colorful, hairy or small bipeds. Bipeds here, bipeds there, too noisy and too close bipeds! For the first since I had been connected to my â&#x20AC;&#x153;comradeâ&#x20AC;?, our feelings were similar; we both were feeling oppressed and stressed. However, this similitude very soon disappeared once my entwined partner had read what appeared to be a list. She then seemed to be overjoyed. When she met other similar bipeds and hugged them, her sparkling aura informed me on the solemnity of her soul. I, anyway, was not that thrilled about the situation, it would be truthful to say I was terrorized. I thought I had reached the apogee of all my fears when a terrific sound resounded in the wooden structure. I was simply petrified at that musical Machiavellian melody. I had once heard a similar melody one day while I was in front of a marble building, I think the bipeds called it a theater. Yet in this oppressing hall, the sound was much more frightening. Thanks god, the music was obviously a signal, because all of a sudden, all the bipeds disappeared into rooms and narrow corridors. My connection with the female biped broke at the same time as she disappeared in the corridors. Now, here I was, alone in the vast empty hall, desperately trying to get out of this building by bumping into windows in order to find an exit, to get out of this horrible place. I am not sure of what happened today, but I am sure of ONE thing: High School is definitively not a place for a pigeon!

Dara I was so impatient to get to my new school. It was getting more and more intense. I felt as if I absolutely needed the thrill of the unknown, I felt as if it was my first

longboard slope or someone’s first jump in the void as a bungee-jumper. It was starting to get scary, I felt as if it was an infection taking parts of my body faster and faster as time passed. I was becoming a thrill-eating beast. From the moment I got to school until the minute I went to sleep, I was discovering new things which were all cooler than the other. It was probably one of the most intense days of my year, I needed to meet new people from students to my teachers. I was running from one place to another as if I was followed by this huge monster which probably was my mind, it was filling me up with scare. At first it was fun but when I started to get over the thrill I felt like a psychopath serial killer which needed to kill. My body was taking control over my mind, I couldn’t control my exterior feelings. The moment I got to my new bedroom I couldn’t believe who I had become, I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. My mind was confused, that moment of loneliness was probably the best thing that could happen. I tried to calm down in bed but that feeling was haunting me. I was hoping it would never happen again. I finally got to sleep, still asking myself how my second day (would) get on… Allan This is the story of our brave and courageous great great grandfather, I will tell you kids today the first day of his glorious quest in mastering the English language. It all started at dawn, your great great grandfather had a long journey ahead of him, he had to cross the great river and get past the concrete jungle to get to the Mandela temple for the first time. But any great quest is not straight forward, when he got to the great river he had no way of crossing it and he had to swim across not knowing what was in it. Luckily there were no aquatic predators in it, but when he came out of the river he was covered in leeches! There was nothing around him to get rid of them so he had no choice but to continue with the leeches… Further down the road he met a magical bear who had salt! But to get the salt he needed to beat the bear 3 times in a row and miraculously he did! It was almost as if it was destiny, the bear could not believe it. But Allan did not waste any time because he feared he would

get lost in the concrete jungle which sadly he did. At one point he did not believe he would ever make it out of that jungle until a majestic eagle soared out of the sky and picked him up and dropped him of right in front of the temple! It was unbelievable your great great grandfather thought he was hallucinating but it really happened and Allan went on to master the language. That is why he always told his descendants never to give up. 29

Iulia My first day of school was one of the most regretful days of my life. It started badly enough as a normal day, but it was not destined to be one. After having stayed up all night because of the stress, I was completely tired entering the building, so it was only after having entered the classroom that I noticed that the people around me seemed to know nothing of my presence, but even worse, they seemed to be programmed to do so. Scary? It was terrifying. But even if I had the most terrific feeling, in the matter of a few seconds I decided to continue as if everything was normal. What a regretful decision! Looking out the window, seeing people walking by, smiling and talking, I was thinking that it must have been my imagination, but looking at the teacher and then turning my eyes towards the girl sitting by my side, I was slowly realizing that â&#x20AC;&#x153;somethingâ&#x20AC;? must have happened. It was happening, everyone but me was being manipulated. Minute after minute passed by. It was tiring. The class had two more hours. My first day was to be forever tainted with that atrocious feeling of myself being manipulated. What you think is right. The hypnosis had started, but I still canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell you why it occurred, or when it stopped, if it ever did so. Elisa There is always a first time There is always a first time. The first time you breathe,

The first time you speak. The first time you fall, The first time you read, And the first day of school. Walking through the corridors Passing through the doors. My emotions overwhelm me. What is going to happen? What if they do not like me? My mind repeats as an anthem. It is like turning a new leaf It feels like stepping into the unknown. And at the end I am not sure if This unexperienced world is my own.

Esha The Second day of September of 2016, half past the13th hour, 10th grade, third “generation” of the International American section of the brand new Nelson Mandela high school.

After three years of worries and wonder, pressure and panic, I finally passed the revolving doors knowing that it would be for more than a sneak-peak at my brother’s parent-teachers’ meeting; or for the open house. It was a day I had been longing for ever since I had been certain that I could be able to enjoy an education in

my mother tongue while living in this foreign land.

As I set foot into its spacious hall, I stood in sight of a multitude of unknown faces whom I looked forward to meeting, shortly. We were all apprentices of our own destiny, fighting failure, to serve the finest universities within our reach later on. After meeting my new friends, I met our mentor. A friendly yet serious figure who seemed to have won our complete respect. She then showed us around the arches of the tower's astounding architecture which I was already very fond of thanks to my past meddling. All in all, everything was quite what I had expected: a multinational class, unlike last year; a sympathetic class teacher.

Lila First day of school entry

Clock strikes 8 I groan, I turn and wake Pamper my face and dress up my skin Make my way and let the day begin.

Unearth all of your names and dig up all of your faces, Notice your tics and your quirks, Your postures and dazes.

Your see-through nervousness engulf you in a timorous murk.

But you, sitting there in the back of the room Dressed in black loose jeans and perfectly serene, Remind me of someone I once met in a dream, Remind me of the adrenaline forming in my bloodstream.

Clock strikes 8, I groan, I turn and wake. Lightly cake my face and cover my limbs, I cannot stop wondering about him.

An arrogance that lures me in, A breath that tickles my spine, Cologne of the tang of summer warmth under the pines, And idioms of a husky teasing voice.

Clock strikes 8, I am eager and cannot wait

To find out if that is indeed my fate?

Joe My first day at school was a great blur and to be honest I can’t remember much... really I wish I could but it just feels like a cloud of smoke slowly disappearing from my mind. Don’t ask me why it’s just what the importance of it is. Why remember every single day when we know that one day those days will disappear. I just wonder what the importance of that is and it makes me sick and I want to remember but then I think again and wonder. Obviously the further you go in your life the more it changes and I’m stuck in this school for three years so it must have some importance in life. To remember what I felt at that time and I just remember just getting up and going to take another step, another step into the darkness of the present. That day belongs to the past and the past is a necessity to think about the future so that day is probably far more important than I judge it. But to remember what you felt on that exact day is impossible you can have a thousand emotions flood through you and therefore to think of one in particular is like tearing an atom in two well also I know this seems out of context but for me it seems all related and the hard thing about writing stuff like this is to describe your point of view and for people with different brains different emotions to understand it also one day is not more important than another in a general context they all last 24 hours but what changes everything is the emotions you felt that day and the way you describe it. And although here I’m writing something that is probably out of context and a great blur for you that is how I remember my first day and I can only write it to make no sense at all yet it makes perfect sense at the same time. I’m not too sure what to say I’m just staring at the paper trying to remember and I think about the struggle to remember. I guess that day was like any first day the shyness filling the air with a bit of excitement but also walking into the unknown. If you know people it’s alright but if you’re alone you’re like a hermit crab without its shell. It’s hard to transcribe your feelings onto the paper or even to answer a simple question but we always seek the

complicated path. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Writing is the painting of the voiceâ&#x20AC;? but for me both tools are naturally flawed for you cannot explain anything better but to yourself.