Notes on the First Day of School

I’ve always liked the first day of school. New year, new beginnings. Of course it’s only a matter of time before the novelty of the new year wears off, but until then… it’s a time for everyone to start over, to make changes in their lives, to be someone new.

Everyone has new school supplies. New clothes. New hairstyles. New plans for who they’re going to be.

As for who really will change… Well, who can say?

There are a few things you will always see on the first day of school. The first thing I always notice is the shoes. So many people have new shoes; the laces spotlessly white, the heels and toes still stiff and unworn. New shoes making their first appearance in the world, on the first day of school. I counted eleven pairs in first period alone. It's odd, but universal—People like to start out a new year in a new pair of shoes. I don’t know why that is, but I feel it, too—Wearing new shoes has a satisfyingly different feel to it, and people are willing to suffer a few blisters for that feeling.

The second thing is hair. Everyone is so careful with their hair on the first day of school—boys and girls alike. It’s all been meticulously curled, straightened, dyed, or mohawked, to perfection. Trying to give off exactly the right image for the new year.

The third thing is how dead silent the classrooms are.

In almost every class, on the first day, the teacher just rambles on and on about what this class is going to be like, while the students just sit there in silence. On the first day of school, it's their job to listen to the teacher, give a good impression, and get a feel for what the year will be like.

The teachers hate this.

It's understandable. It must be frustrating to have a dead classroom. So they always try to wheedle some kind of response out of their class. Try to get the kids to open up, laugh a little, take part in the conversation. It’s rare that this tactic ever works. All the kids will continue to sit and stare.

Except for one.

He's a strange fellow. Everyone knows a few things about him—He's one of those kids that other kids hear about from their mommies. He hasn't had a very stable upbringing. He's been through several parole officers. He’s had some therapy, but you can tell that he’s still not quite where society wants him to be. He’s not exactly what you’d call a great student, or what most people would consider a likable human being.

In middle school, most teachers hated him. But he’s developed a strategy, over the past several years. It never fails.

During the first few days of school, when the rest of the class is silent and timid, Parole Kid speaks up. He asks the teacher questions—“Where’d you get that poster? What’d you do over the summer? How old are your kids?” And the teachers are just so grateful for that sort of activity from anyone, they look past the rest of him, and like having him in class. Often, that liking lasts all year.

You’ve got to give Parole Kid some credit. He’s smarter than he acts. That first impression… It really makes a difference.