Mrs. Carter waited until the last chair had scraped against the floor before clasping her hands together.
"Now that everyone's finally settled, welcome to your first full week of classes."
A few tired voices greeted her back. Daniel yawned loudly near the middle of the room, earning a couple of chuckles from his classmates.
Mrs. Carter smiled before her gaze drifted toward the back of the classroom.
"Before we begin, there's something we didn't get a chance to do yesterday."
Several students turned toward Andrew.
"As most of you already know, we have a new student joining our class this term." She gestured toward him. "Andrew, would you mind standing for a moment?"
Andrew rose from his seat.
"This is Andrew. He transferred to Westbrook Academy yesterday and will be studying with us from now on. I'd like everyone to make him feel welcome."
A few students nodded politely. Someone near the front muttered a quiet, "Welcome," while Marcus lifted a hand and gave Andrew an overly enthusiastic wave.
Mrs. Carter smiled. "Would you like to tell everyone a little about yourself?"
Every pair of eyes settled on him.
"My name's Andrew." He paused briefly. "I like football." Another short pause followed. "...Nice to meet you."
He sat back down.
Silence hung over the room for exactly one second.
Marcus slowly turned toward Chris.
"I've had longer conversations ordering fries."
The classroom erupted into laughter.
Andrew looked at him without changing his expression.
"You asked for an introduction."
"I was expecting at least one interesting fact."
"I already gave you one."
Chris laughed under his breath.
"He's got you there."
Even Mrs. Carter couldn't help smiling.
"One last question, Andrew, if you don't mind."
He looked up.
"What made you transfer here?"
"My mom."
"Your mother's work?"
"...Something like that."
It wasn't exactly an answer, but it was enough for Mrs. Carter to understand she wasn't getting anything more.
"Well," she said warmly, "we're happy to have you here."
Andrew nodded once. "Thank you."
Mrs. Carter uncapped a marker and turned toward the whiteboard. In large, neat letters, she wrote:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Setting the marker down, she faced the class again.
"Today's lesson is simple. I want to know whether first impressions are actually accurate. Who'd like to start?"
Maya's hand shot into the air almost immediately.
"They're useful," she answered, "but they're not always reliable. People act differently depending on where they are."
"A good point," Mrs. Carter replied. "Anyone else?"
Marcus raised his hand with far more confidence than certainty.
"They're usually right."
Mrs. Carter folded her arms.
"Really?"
"Most of the time."
"So you've never judged someone too quickly?"
Marcus hesitated.
"...Maybe once."
A voice came from the other side of the room.
"More than once."
Laughter rippled across the classroom.
Marcus pointed accusingly.
"Liam, mind your business."
"I am. You're my business."
Mrs. Carter shook her head, hiding a smile.
"Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Hayes."
She looked toward the girls' side of the room.
"Zoe?"
Zoe looked up from her notebook.
"I think first impressions are just guesses."
Mrs. Carter tilted her head. "Go on."
"You don't actually know someone after five minutes," Zoe said with a shrug. "You just think you do."
"Interesting."
Mrs. Carter nodded thoughtfully before scanning the room once more.
"Anyone disagree?"
The room fell silent.
Then her eyes landed on Andrew.
"Andrew?"
Several students turned to look at him.
Marcus leaned over just enough to whisper, "Go for four sentences this time."
Andrew ignored him.
Mrs. Carter smiled patiently.
"What do you think? Do first impressions tell the truth?"
Andrew looked at the words on the board for a moment before answering.
"Sometimes."
"And when they don't?"
"They become expectations."
The classroom grew unexpectedly quiet.
Even Marcus stopped tapping his pen against the desk.
Mrs. Carter regarded Andrew thoughtfully before giving a small nod.
"That's an interesting way of putting it."
Andrew simply lowered his gaze to the open textbook in front of him.
The discussion continued, but Zoe found herself glancing toward the back of the classroom once again.
Yesterday she'd decided he was intimidating.
This morning she'd noticed the oversized square glasses that somehow made his long eyelashes stand out even more.
Now...
She wasn't entirely sure what to think.