Growing into my own skin

“Alec Touchstone?” He registered the words in the back of his brain, but he was too busy pouting to answer the teacher when she called his name. His mom had tried to get him excited for sixth grade, but all he could think about was the fact that he’d been separated from most of his friends. Whoever said middle school would be fun was just stupid!

“Alec Touchstone?” the teacher called again.

He huffed. “Here,” he said. “Call me Touchstone.”

The giggles and whispers that followed didn’t help his mood at all. Touchstone huffed back the hurt that bubbled up in his chest. He missed his friends, and these new kids were being brats. And Touchstone did not suffer brats easily. With an easy shimmy of his shoulders, he shook off the hurt. He couldn’t wait until lunch when he’d get to see Orlando and the others.

~~

The rest of the day didn’t go much more smoothly, but at least Touchstone had gotten to hang out with Orlando and Ben. Orlando had been a bit of a mess, and Touchstone wished more than anything that he could have switched classes to be with his best friend that year. The rest of their friend group had rallied hard around Orlando after his father had died the year before, but Touchstone knew he was still having a really hard time at home.

He’d even seen Audrey, who he’d missed a lot last year when Audrey had moved up to the middle school and left the rest of them behind at Montessori. The thought of Audrey put a smile on his face. He hadn’t changed at all. Still a tiny wisp of a boy who never stopped chattering. When he’d seen Touchstone, he’d come flying over and practically leapt in Touchstone’s arms. The hoots and jeers they’d gotten had been totally worth the ache in his back from the unexpected weight of Audrey clinging to him like a dark-haired koala. In fact, what Touchstone had discovered was that the taunting he and Audrey got had fired him up.

He was buzzing with energy by the time he arrived at school again the next morning, his backpack full of things unrelated to social studies or math or even language arts.

In the new chaos of learning to switch classrooms during the school day and memorizing locker combinations, Touchstone found lots of opportunities to turn those hurtful moments into moments of opportunity.

He rushed into his science class thirty seconds after the bell rang on the fifth day of school, hoping the teacher wouldn’t notice but definitely not counting on it.

“Mr. Touchstone,” the teacher, Ms. Andrews, snapped. “You are late.”

He tsked. “It’s just Touchstone, Ms. Andrews.”

The frosty glare she shot his way sent giggles through the classroom. “I don’t give a monkey’s behind. You’ve had five days to learn your way around the Green team corridor. Your classmates have all managed to get here on time. I expect you to be here and seated before the bell rings tomorrow. Get your act together, Touchstone.” More titters followed.

Face flaming, Touchstone blinked innocently at her. “Oooh, we’re having a talent show?” he asked with a grin. “I’m learning to juggle. Hold on while I pull out my balls.”

The classroom erupted in laughter.

“MR. Touchstone! That is enough of that. Settle down everyone. Please open your textbooks to page 12. Today we’ll be talking about plate tectonics.”