Chapter 3:

First day of school (Part One)

The Overthinker


It was a bright September morning.
Claus woke up imagining that new school year.
"This is my senior year in high school, I can't believe that I'm going to miss my classmates. I mean, they are annoying, but I feel sad when I think that all these years that we spent together will be over."
He woke up his little sister and after that, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After all, he never brushed his teeth during summer break.

He was lost in thoughts, imagining how his friends might have changed during the summer. "I hope they say I've changed as well, I really love it when people tell me that I'm not the same physically. I wish I had changed my mentality too during these 3 months, but I'll try again on winter break, haha." Claus got his dark green toothbrush, and smelled it for no reason. It didn't smell like fresh mint at all, since he didn't bother brushing his teeth during the summer. Then he reached for the soap, but immediately left it on its place.
"Wow, sometimes I'm amazed by my stupidity! I can't believe I was going to brush my teeth with a soap. Just what is wrong with me? Am I that exhilarated?" thought Claus.

His sister shouted that she was ready and that the parents should accompany her to school. When Claus got out of the bathroom, he asked her 'You're ready? But how? Did you even brush your teeth?'
'Ain't nobody got time for dat' she said smiling.
'That's not even funny!' Claus told her. 'At least wash your hands. Or maybe don't. I don't want you to develop OCD. Being too clean is a mental problem.'
'I'll wash them tomorrow, okay? It doesn't matter today anyway, there won't be any lessons. We will just discuss how summer vacation was and school will be over in just 2 hours.'

'And what will you tell your classmates?' questioned Claus.
'That I went to a tropical island.'
'Good job. You're a genius. You must never ever tell your friends that you stayed home the whole summer. They will think that we're a poor family.'
His sister giggled. There was a short silence before Claus told her 'You know what? Wash your hands and brush your teeth. You have to make a good impression. Today is the day you show people that you have changed.'
'But I haven't.'
'Nobody has to know that.'
"I'm such an awesome big brother" he thought as his sister entered the bathroom.

Claus wore a clean striped shirt and his favourite jeans. He took a few deep breaths. "Okay, I am so ready for this year. I hope I don't fail miserably from the first day. I am going to be fine. I mean, a lot of bad things could happen, but I'm not going to focus on them."
'Mom, Dad! I'm off!' he screamed.
'Good luck!' they both told him.

Claus closed the door and it seemed like all that positivity that he felt in the house stayed in the house and he started overthinking again.
"Damn, why are they wishing me good luck? Does that mean they're calling me a loser? Cause in my opinion losers need luck, and successful people don't. But if I think too much about it, they also wish my sister good luck. They're either just trying to be nice, or just calling both me and my sister losers. I'll go with the former."