The Social Misfit

Chapter Ten

Jersoy High School was unlike anywhere Mina had ever been.

Because of the transitional system used in Senior High Schools, not all students were on campus at the same time. The school operated in phases, with only certain year groups present during different periods.

When Mina arrived, it was the third day after reopening for the Form Ones.

The entire campus belonged to them.

At least, that was how it felt.

As the car drove through the school gates, Mina stared out the window.

The school was huge.

Much bigger than she had imagined.

There were buildings everywhere. Some looked modern and well-maintained, while others carried the marks of many years of students passing through them.

It felt like a place with history.

A place where thousands of students had walked the same paths before her.

Mina took everything in quietly.

This was going to be her new home.

A thought that was both exciting and terrifying.

One decision she had made before coming was that she would not wear a mask in SHS.

The mask had protected her for years.

It had hidden her insecurities.

It had made her feel safe.

But she wanted this to be different.

A fresh start meant leaving some things behind.

So she walked through the school gates with her face uncovered.

At the administrative block, Mina and her parents completed all the necessary procedures.

Forms.

Documents.

Instructions.

Everything that came with becoming a new student.

While waiting, Mina noticed another girl nearby wearing a nose mask.

For a moment, she froze.

It was strange.

Seeing someone else hiding behind a mask reminded her of an older version of herself.

The girl who had once believed that being unseen was safer.

Mina looked away.

She wasn’t that girl anymore.

Or at least, she hoped she wasn’t.

After everything was completed, Mina was taken to her assigned house.

Abbot House.

Her new home for the next few years.

Her parents helped her settle in, made sure she had everything she needed, and eventually it was time for them to leave.

Mina watched as they walked away.

And then reality hit.

She was alone.

Not alone like sitting by herself during lunch.

Not alone like having a quiet day at home.

This was different.

She was going to live here.

With people she had never met.

People who had their own friends, their own stories, and their own lives.

Mina looked around the compound.

It was strangely quiet.

There were no students walking around.

No conversations.

No laughter.

She wondered where everyone was.

Then a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Hi, sister. Why aren’t you gone for supper? Did you come today?”

Mina turned around.

A girl was standing there, looking at her.

“Yh,” Mina replied naturally.

The girl paused.

Then she looked at her with a slightly surprised expression.

“In this school, we don’t say ‘yh.’ We respond with ‘yes please.’”

Mina blinked.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

She had never expected a simple word to matter so much.

“Yes please,” she corrected herself.

The girl smiled and continued talking to her.

Later, Mina would learn that this was the First Assistant Senior Prefect.

Someone who represented everything Jersoy stood for.

Discipline.

Respect.

Order.

And as Mina followed her through the unfamiliar school grounds, she realized something.

Jersoy was going to be very different.

And she had only been there for a few hours.