I lay perched up against the bedroom door, as I watched Pramod enjoy his sleep on his soft, comfy bed. How I yearned to have a cozy bed like that, instead of this torturous hardwood floor. But no, I'm just a stupid old backpack, and nobody cares about me. Oh well, I thought to myself. At least it's better than that dirty old closet that I spent my whole summer in. The memory of being secluded in that small, dark room for two and a half months made me nauseous, so I decided to direct my thoughts to a more pleasant topic; after all, it was the first day of school.

All of a sudden, Pramod's alarm clock sounded its annoying buzzer. After twenty seconds of agonizing pain, the clock finally shut up. I glanced over at Pramod and noticed that he was still sleeping. That's impossible, I thought to myself. How can anyone sleep through that blaring buzzer? But sure enough, Pramod was still fast asleep. Suddenly, the door flung open and I was sent flying through the air. Fortunately, I landed on the soft rug adjacent to Pramod's bed.

"Wake up!" Pramod's father whooped as he entered the room. "You're going to be late for school!"

Pramod slowly crawled out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. I could hear him mumbling it was way too early.

After about an hour, I found myself entering the high school for the very first time. I felt a burst of exhilaration as Pramod found his way through the crowd to his homeroom. Pramod, on the other hand, wasn't as elated. In fact, I had to give him a little kick every five minutes to keep him from falling asleep. About thirty minutes later, Pramod and I headed downstairs for first period, gym.

"If you want, you can leave your backpacks in my office," Pramod's gym teacher yelled once we had reached the large gymnasium.

Oh no, I thought to myself. I want to be out here where the action is, not in some stupid office. I began kicking and screaming in order to get Pramod's attention; but, despite my efforts, Pramod picked me up and headed toward the office. When we reached it, Pramod suddenly hurled me toward one of the comers of the room. Ow! I cried as I hit the wall with a crash. The walls at the high school sure are a lot harder than at the middle school. All of a sudden, the door flung open again and two other boys launched their backpacks in my direction. One of them hit me square on the noggin and I was knocked out cold.

I must have been out for at least twenty minutes, because when I woke up, the boys had already finished running the mile and were now engrossed in a game of basketball. I carefully examined the small office, since I had nothing better to do. Suddenly, I noticed something horrible. There was a malodorous stench coming from the locker room next door. It reeked so much that I began to feel a bit dizzy. Suddenly, the room began spinning! It's a good thing that Pramod arrived a few minutes later, because I probably would have disgorged my breakfast all over the office floor!

The rest of the morning went pretty well. However, just as I began feeling a little better, I had another stroke of bad luck. The bell signifying the end of fourth period had just rung, and Pramod was walking out of English class. As we walked down the hall, I began perusing the schedule that Pramod had so thoughtfully shoved into my mouth during homeroom.

I was in luck; lunch was next.

Unfortunately, I never actually made my way to the cafeteria, because Pramod had suddenly decided to drop me off in his locker. Just my luck, I thought as Pramod slammed the door closed. "Oh #@*%!," I suddenly wailed. Pramod had slammed the door shut on my back! I hollered and cried, but no one could hear me. Kids these days have no respect, I grumbled to myself in disgust. I tried moving to extricate myself, but all attempts were futile. My head was stuck inside the small, dark locker, while my bare posterior hung out the door. I tried thinking happy thoughts, hoping that it might help me forget about the excruciating pain, but it was no use. A few minutes later, my whole body went numb, and I eventually passed out.

The next thing I knew, I was on the bus on my way home. Pramod was talking with his friend, who was sitting in the seat across from us. I listened in:

"The first day of high school wasn't so bad after all," Pramod stated. "In fact, I think high school is even better than middle school."

I'm glad someone enjoyed the first day of school, because I sure didn't. Luckily for me, the next two weeks were a lot better, and definitely a lot less painful! 1