The New Kid

A short story by Daniel Verastiqui

© Daniel Verastiqui. All Rights Reserved.

The Montgomery Center for Teens was decorated in early Christmas garb. White lights were strung along the roof and doors; they blinked on and off in time with nothing in particular. A dark green wreath with three pinecones and a small red bow hung on the door under a logo that read MCT. Just off the porch of the building, buried a carpenter's foot into the snow, was a plastic fir tree. It was adorned with blinking, colored lights from head to toe, creating an explosive splash of color on the snow-covered world. The first thing Leon thought about it, however, was that it was dangerous to use indoor lights outdoors, especially in the snow.

It was lunchtime at St. Terrence Middle School and Leon Quinn was following the rest of his class to eat. It was Leon's first day at the school and the start of his 8^th grade year. After 4^th period, he fell in line behind his class as they headed out the door and into a mild snowstorm. At one point, the group split and headed in different directions. About half of the kids headed to a large gray building, barely visible in the snow, which had been identified to Leon as the cafeteria. The other group was heading towards a different building that was home to a watercolor nightmare of a Christmas tree. It was the teen center that the guidance counselor had told him about that morning. Leon made his choice to head to the teen center; at any rate, there would be fewer teachers there, if any. He wasn't really hungry for lunch and figured the teen center may have a few places where he could sit and relax for a while. His boots crunched in the icy snow as the Christmas tree loomed ever closer.