Mikaela looked carefully around the large empty classroom that was supposed to be the 6th grade.
Unlike the flat rows of tables and chairs in Boston Public, St. Ignatius used an amphitheater layout with raised tiers of seats that faced the white board and teacher's desk.
Feeling a little self-conscious, she made her way to a corner seat in the front row, and sat down, setting her backpack beside her.
She had arrived much earlier than necessary, having been too excited to start her first day at St. Ignatius.
Students slowly started to trickle in, most were already in clumps of friend groups.
"It's OK. I've got Yue, Yasmin and Adelaide," thought Mikaela, starting to feel a little left-out as the rest of the 6th grade class milled around the room.
"Hi, are you new here?" asked a voice, making Mikaela start a bit.
"Y-yes, I'm new here," said Mikaela, looking around to see that a boy had taken the seat next to hers.
