We got to school about a half hour before homeroom and Mom, Carson, and I went to the admissions office. Mrs. Elliott was ready for us.

“Good morning, Carson and Mrs. Dempsey. And hello, David. I haven’t seen you in a while.” She smiled when she said that, so I knew I wasn’t in any kind of trouble. Let’s just say sometimes I was a bit of a cutup in class, but I don’t want to talk about that.

We all said good morning to her and she and Mom got started on registering Carson.

“Mrs. Elliott, this folder has Carson’s records from Riverview High School. Carson was given personal letters by each of his teachers yesterday, his last day there, and here are copies of them for you. This is a copy of a class schedule that works for Carson that David and Carson put together yesterday. It has all of the same classes Carson was taking at Riverview. Here’s a copy of his birth certificate and social security card. He had a physical examination by Dr. Brier to be eligible for the Riverview High tennis team.

“Finally, Mr. Overholdt at Riverview High, I assume you know him?” Mrs. Elliott nodded, “He promised that detailed records of Carson’s status in each of his classes, copies of all of his exams, a detailed list of all homework assignments and Carson’s grades on each assignment, and a letter from each of his teachers detailing where they were in the textbook used in the class and any ancillary books, all of that will be mailed on Friday so each of his teachers here will know how he’ll fit into their class.”

Mrs. Elliott smiled. “I only wish everyone would bring in absolutely everything I need the way you did, Mrs. Dempsey. We have two things to do. First, you need to complete his registration forms. You can sit at that desk over there. While you do that, I’ll have Carson, with David’s help, work with me to put together his schedule, starting with what he and David developed. So, Carson and David, let’s sit together at my desk where I can access the current class enrollment information.”

We sat down, and she took the class schedule Carson and I had put together for him. She opened up what looked like the Course Catalog but including the classes that are scheduled and the enrollment in each, and compared the class schedule we worked out with the class enrollment information for each course.

“It looks like you two did a good job coming up with Carson’s class schedule. The only problem I see is Biology. Sixth period Biology is full. Hmm… in fact, the only Biology class that’s open is the one seventh period. The problem is… we’d have to switch your PE class to third period, but we can’t do that because you’re going out for the tennis team, is that correct?”

“Yes, ma’am. I have to have seventh period PE with the Tennis option.”

“Then I’m afraid… let’s see just how crowded that sixth period Biology is. There are twenty eight lab stations, there are twenty six filled. Hmm… why is that? Why aren’t we able to schedule all twenty eight lab stations?”

“Uh, I can tell you, Mrs. Elliott.”

She looked at me. “Alright, David. What’s the problem in the Biology lab?”

“I took Biology last year and one of the stations is right by the door to the Biology storeroom, and the Tech Assistant uses that seat when he’s not doing lab tech stuff. The other has some sort of problem with the water, and Ms. Larencor had said she’d asked to have it fixed. It’s been a problem since the beginning of last year. I assume it hasn’t been fixed yet otherwise there’d be an open lab station.”

Mrs. Elliott looked at a different webpage, and filled out an online form.

“Well, that should take care of the water problem in the Biology lab. It will be fixed by the end of the day tomorrow.” She made some more entries. “You’re all scheduled, Carson. Exactly the schedule that you and David designed. Now all I need are the registration forms your mother is filling out, and we can get you officially registered.”

She walked over to the desk where Mom was sitting. They spoke for a bit and Mom handed Mrs. Elliott a couple of forms. Mrs. Elliott sat down at her computer and entered some information from the forms Mom had filled out, and then we heard the printer in the back of the room. She got up and in a few minutes took a stack of papers to where Mom was sitting.

“Mrs. Dempsey, if you’d look over this class registration form and sign it, and then sign these standard forms, please. You’ll see that I’ve entered Carson’s student ID number.”

As Mom did that, Mrs. Elliott came back to her desk and handed Carson a page with his class schedule on one side and a map of the campus on the back with the period of each class printed inside a circle next to the classroom, and a card with his hall locker location and combination. His was in building C, very convenient because that’s the same building as our homeroom.

“Now let’s take your picture for your student ID card.”

She walked Carson to where he had to stand to have his picture taken, entered his information, adjusted the camera, and took his picture. His student ID card was printed and she handed it to him.

“Carson, every student at Hillcrest High School is required to carry their student ID card on their person at all times except when inappropriate like during PE classes. If you’re asked by a teacher or administrator to show your student ID card you must do so, and unless there’s a good reason that you don’t have it you will be sent to the office where you will spend the rest of the day and it will be counted as an unexcused absence. If you lose your student ID card there’s a ten dollar replacement fee. The most important things to remember are always have your student ID card when you come to school, and don’t lose your student ID card. Some boys wear it on a lanyard around their necks and leave it inside their T-shirt or undershirt. I can give you a lanyard if you’d like one.”

“I would like one, please,” Carson said.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well then, welcome to Hillcrest High School, Carson.”

“Thank you.”

We got up, said goodbye to Mom, and walked out of the office.

“Let’s go to our homeroom. We can sit there and we’ll look at the map of the campus and I’ll show you the fastest ways to get to your classes.”

“Okay.”

Our homeroom was in room C121, one of the large lecture rooms that held one hundred students. I pointed out the office, which is Building A, and Building C on the campus map. Building C is three buildings over. The buildings went A, B, C, D, and E going north from the offices. Classroom 121 is on the first floor near the back end of the building. Hillcrest High is, like most high schools in California, in a bunch of separate one and two story buildings with walkways and grass and plants in between. In my opinion, it is a very nice campus.

Judith Cooke, Bethany Eller, and Lynn were sitting in homeroom talking when we got there. I introduced Carson to Judith and Bethany, and noticed that they gave him the once-over and smiled.

He said “Hi” to Lynn, then asked me, “You didn’t mention any classes you have or that I’d have with Lynn.”

“She’s taking some of the same classes, like CalHag, Algebra 2, and English 2A, and others like Physics 1A and French 2A. But her schedule is totally different. The only periods we have with Lynn are Homeroom and lunch. I haven’t seen her schedule for next semester; maybe we’ll have some of the same classes during the same periods.”

We took two seats near the three girls and started to look at what classrooms he had for each period, and how to get from one class to the next. It’s pretty simple. The longest he’d walk would be from Biology in building D to the gym and the boys’ locker room for PE.

Homeroom started and Mrs. Huynh introduced Carson to the class.

“We have a new student joining us today, please welcome Carson Evans.”

There was the typical round of “Hi!” and “Hola” and “Welcome” and so on. The kids sitting near us shook hands with him and introduced themselves. Homeroom at Hillcrest is a laid back affair. After a couple of minutes Mrs. Huynh took roll, made a few announcements, and then we were free to do homework, read, or even talk as long as we weren’t loud. Some kids sat trying to finish homework they should have done last night, but most came over and introduced themselves to Carson. Several looked at Carson’s schedule, including Bethany.

“Hey, Carson. I have the same first period Spanish class as you. I’ll walk you there so you don’t get lost.” She grinned.

Carson seemed confused for a few seconds, then he started to laugh.

“First period Spanish 2 is in C122. I’m glad you’re going to walk me there. I would probably get lost trying to find my way across the hall from here.” He grinned to show he was kidding, and Bethany giggled. Oh my god! She likes him! That made me grin. She turned and looked at me.

“I like your friend, David. He’s cute, just like you.”

I blushed, and so did Carson. That made Bethany giggle again.

“One thing, Beth, Carson’s my brother.”

“You’re kidding!” She looked at Carson. “Where have you been hiding, Carson?”

“I’ve been going to Riverview High. Actually, I’m being adopted by David’s folks. I’m sort of his brother already, and I’ll officially be his brother when the adoption is finalized.”

“What happened to your folks?” Judith asked. Typical Judith, she’s very outspoken.

“My dad was a soldier and was killed in Afghanistan, and my mom was killed in a traffic accident.”

“Cool. You’ve got a great brother in David.”

“I agree, Judith,” Carson said.

The bell rang. “Time for me to head to Chemistry, Carson. You’re in good hands with Bethany. I’ll see you in Algebra 2.”

“Right. See you then.”

I could see that Carson was happy about having Bethany and Judith lead him to his Spanish class. I shook my head and headed out to Chemistry with Mr. Benjamin and this week’s not-snap snap quiz.

The entire day went same as, same as for me. Each time I saw Carson, at morning break, in Algebra 2, during lunch, and finally in California History and Government, he seemed to be very happy. After fifth period we talked for a couple of minutes.

“Everything is going great, David. Hillcrest is a much friendlier school than Riverview. I don’t get why it should be that way, and that’s a good thing. So I’m glad I transferred here.” He grinned, and his eyes sort of sparkled.

“I’m glad you like it here. Otherwise the next two and a half years wouldn’t be very enjoyable for you. I saw you talking to Mrs. Layton. Is she going to assign you a project to do, like what I’m doing about the how redistricting in California is changing?”

“Yes, and she wanted to know if I needed more time to finish it. I said I didn’t know yet. She wants me to think about a topic and talk to her before class tomorrow. I said I would.”

“Have you thought about a topic?”

“No. Maybe we could talk about it tonight. Will you have time to do that?”

“Sure. But now I’d better get moving. I want to put the books I won’t need in my locker and take the books I’ll need tonight for homework. My locker isn’t close to either my Spanish 3 or AmLit classes, so this way I won’t have to come all the way back here to building E. You have Biology next, then PE, right?” Carson nodded. “Okay, see you after PE. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the boys’ locker room and we’ll walk home from there, okay?”

“Got it. See you then.”

He took off for his Biology class, and I headed to my Spanish 3 class.

In Spanish 3 Mr. Rodriquez had us read Ricardo Palma’s short story ‘El alacran de Fray Gomez,’ (in English it’s ‘The Scorpion of Friar Gomez’). It’s the tale of the Friar who aided a poor peddler by turning a scorpion into a gem which the peddler used as collateral to borrow 500 pesos from a money lender, just enough to become successful. He was able to pay back the loan well ahead of time and when he returned the gem to Friar Gomez it turned back into a scorpion. The Friar released the scorpion and it scampered away. The narrator of the story explains that as a boy he heard an old wives’ tale that when they saw a jewel they would exclaim ‘This is worth as much as the scorpion of Friar Gomez,’ and that as a result he gave the pet name ‘little scorpion of Friar Gomez’ to his daughter Angelica. We had a lot of fun discussing the story and whether the Friar blessed the scorpion or used magic to turn it into a gem, and why he gave that pet name to Angelica and what it really meant about her personality. All of this discussion was in Spanish, of course.

In AmLit we read and then discussed Maya Angelou’s short story ‘My Name is Margaret.’ Mr. Gibbs asked each of us to think about the idea of how closely we identify ourself with our name, and how important that is. We argued about why 12-year-old Margaret is angered when her employer insists on calling her Mary, and whether what she does in revenge is justified or not. Then we talked about how reactions to race have changed from the time of the story compared to today, and for homework we have to write a one page essay about our individual reactions to race. Talk about something so heavy duty from reading a short story!

When AmLit ended I headed for the gym. I saw Carson standing outside the entrance to the boys’ locker room talking to a couple of guys I didn’t recognize, and I walked up and joined them.

Carson smiled. “David, this is Todd Willingham and this is Gavin Douglas. They’re on the JV tennis team. I was just telling them that you and I are going out for JV next semester.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” I said.

“Same here,” Todd replied.

“I watched some of your intramural matches last year, David,” Gavin declared. “You’re a very good strategist on the court.”

“Yeah, but that’s intramural. It’s not the same level as what you guys play on the JV team.”

“You’re too modest, David,” Todd told me. “I’ve also watched you play. You’re going to do well on JV’s. There are things you’ll learn from Coach Kim and his staff and you’ll become an even better player. I’m looking forward to having you and Carson on the team.”

“Me too,” Gavin added. “Besides, we’ve never had twins on our tennis teams in the entire school history.”

“Twins?” I looked at Carson, who shrugged and raised his eyebrows. “We’re not twins.”

“Really? You sure look like twins. Maybe not absolutely identical, but twins anyway.”

I shook my head. “Nope, we’re not twins. We’re not even related. Yet.”

“Yet? What’s that mean?” Todd asked.

“My folks are adopting Carson. Then we’ll officially be brothers.”

Carson replied. “As soon as my adoption is finalized my last name will be Dempsey, the same as David’s, so we’ll be brothers.”

“Oh. Sorry, I just thought…” Gavin’s expression showed that he was sorry for saying we were twins without asking.

“Hey, no problem. I guess we do look something alike. Besides, our birthdates are the same.”

“See, Todd! I told you they’re twins!” He grinned. “Just kidding. But you guys were really born on the same day? And you look alike? Amazing. That’s going to cause a lot of confusion, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think there’ll be that much confusion,” I replied.

“Except,” Gavin continued, “because you look alike, and you have the same last name, and you’re the same age and were born on the same date, everyone is going to expect that you’re twins until you explain it to them. And that includes students and teachers. Wouldn’t it just be easier to say you’re twins? That would stop all of the confusion.”

“Yes, it would,” I said. “However, it’d be a lie, and when people found out we’d be known as liars. That’s what my mom says, and as she always tells us, what she says is always correct.”

“Ah. Now I understand. So I withdraw my suggestion. No twins. Just brothers, one of whom is adopted.”

“Um… Gavin, I was also adopted.”

He looked at me and just shook his head. “Your family is too much.” Gavin took a couple of seconds and looked back and forth at me and Carson. “Actually your family is wonderful. Now you both have the same ‘rents who adopted you,” and he pointed to me, “and are going to adopt you,” and he pointed to Carson. “That’s real love, guys.”

Carson smiled at Gavin. “Wow. That’s deep, man. Thanks. I’m going to tell our folks what you said. That’s really nice.”

I looked at my watch. “Speaking of our folks, we gotta truck outta here. Nice meeting both of you. I’ll see you around. I’ll be practicing with you guys after school the rest of this semester, and during seventh period starting next semester.”

Gavin and Todd waved at us, saying “Later” and “See you” as they walked toward the front of the campus.

Carson and I walked to the exit at the back side of the campus to the pedestrian bridge, and across Broadway and up the hill on the way to our house.

I started to laugh. “I can’t wait to tell Mom what Gavin said about how we must be twins. She’s going to have kittens.”

“I think he’s got a good point. So we’re going to be explaining ourselves for a long time, aren’t we.”

“I suppose so. Speaking of ‘so’, so how was your first day at Hillcrest High School, bro?”

“You’re silly sometimes, but that’s one of the reasons why I love you. Well, my…”

I interrupted Carson. “You love me?” I grinned.

“Yes, David Dempsey. I love you. Because of you I’m going to be your brother.”

“Okay, cool. And I love you too. Even if I did break your arm.”

Carson stopped walking. I stopped, turned around, and looked at him. “How. Many. Times. Do I have to say it? You didn’t break my arm! It was my fault.”

I started giggling. “I know, I know. I’m just pulling your arm. Your good arm.”

Carson laughed too. “Another example of why I love you.”

“Ah-ha! A mutual admiration society. That’s ‘cause I love me too. So, how was your first day at Hillcrest High?”

Carson burst out laughing. I just grinned.