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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

In Four Years - 1. Freshman Year Part I

I set out to write a story based on a prompt, but the short story went above and beyond. I plan to honor that prompt with a poem later on.
 

My heart is pounding and my breath is short. As I fidget in my seat, I brush my black hair into my eyes and hunker down further into my seat. I am being way too obvious with my attempt at staying hidden. Someone had to have seen me, which completely terrifies me. So, I look around discreetly, phew! I remain invisible.

I am both surprised and pleased that no one has noticed me, I am such a nervous wreck that I expected someone to see- Oh no! That boy just looked at me, hide! I immediately re-brush my hair into my eyes, I draw up my hoodie and hunker further into my seat.

One would expect that my behavior only happens when I am nervous. Sadly, this is my usual behavior. I am deathly shy and with any attention thrown my way I just want to curl into the fetal position whimpering for mommy. Now, when it comes to my family or a close friend I ‘come out of my shell” so to speak. But with strangers, that shell is my home. So, here I am in a building with teachers I have never met, students that seem to tower over me, and in a place often described as hell on earth: High school. So on the first day of the school year as a freshman, I am not looking forward to the next four years.

Now, here I am, in this room with many unfamiliar faces, and a smattering of a few friends. Everything is going to be okay…. Right? I need to take deep breathes: breathe in… breathe out…. Breathe- Ooh! That guy across the room is cute! I would- Ah!!! He looked my way! Good God, hiding is pointless! I need to run away! As I get ready to run out of the room, the door slams shut. My fate is sealed.

With bated breath I slowly turn around in my seat and see my teacher for the first time. My eyes fall upon a portly man with gray-going-on-white hair. With a confidence that I have never seen before, he walks towards his desk, and faced with his presence, I begin to calm down and soon relax in my seat. Maybe, everything will be okay.

As soon as he reaches his desk, he turns around and speaks. “Good Afternoon class! My name is Mr. Davis, but you can call me Mr. D!”

With that one sentence, he has my attention. His voice is so deep and soothing. I am now the most relaxed since my day began. So when he speaks again, I feel utterly calm.

“Now, it is time for roll call,” with that he gets the clipboard and begins.

Well, there went my sense of calm! He’ll be calling my name soon, this is not okay. People are going to notice me!

“…Escobar?”

Some random girl responds, “Here!”

“Andrew Espinosa?”

I gulp and slowly raise my hand, “H-here sir.”

It was barely a whisper but I was a flaming red mess. With that done, I just pulled into myself as Mr. Davis continued the roll call.

When that was done, he got right down to business.

“Alright everyone! Welcome to Debate! In this class, you will be taught how to speak and argue persuasively. It is my hope that by the end of the year all of you will be able to see both sides on a given issue…”

Again, that voice! I am becoming more relaxed, but I now have a nagging feeling after Mr. Davis mentioned speaking. As a shy person, speaking in front of people is out of the question. I need to calm down, maybe he doesn’t mean it that way. Yeah, that must be it!

“… A requirement of this class is that you must speak in front of the class.”

Well shit.

Feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank You.
Copyright © 2015 Drew Espinosa; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 09:14 AM, RomanRomaan said:

First person POV, I like it--bold move! ;):P

Thanks for the review Roman! Yeah, First Person POV just felt right in this case :D

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LitLover

I'm out of likes right now, but I'll be sure to go back and like it later. The first person point of view works well in this story. I feel the nerves rolling off of the young you....hoping you fly under the radar. I was pretty shy and introverted in high school and the thought of speaking in public would have been enough to make me want to throw up so I feel your pain :o Good first chapter Drew :) I look forward to seeing where you take this story.

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Carlos Hazday

I'm impressed. You got me hooked and interested in reading the next paragraph. The simple grammatical/writing erros are easy to cerrect. but the story looks interesting and your writing hints at good things to come!
Felicidades, autor.

 

Daddy

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 09:38 AM, Carlos Hazday said:

I'm impressed. You got me hooked and interested in reading the next paragraph. The simple grammatical/writing erros are easy to cerrect. but the story looks interesting and your writing hints at good things to come!

Felicidades, autor.

 

Daddy

Aw! Thanks Daddy! :hug: I am glad it got you interested :D

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EagleIsaac

Really good beginning. Some minor grammar and sentence flow issues but the story itself is compelling. Everyone remembers the first day of high school and for most of us it was a day filled with anxiety. Good job Drew.

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Headstall

Yay, Drew. You did it. You're on your way now, and you did good. I'm interested in this Andrew kid. I liked being inside his mind. You POV is an interesting one, and I'm looking forward to how you handle it... whether you stick with it or switch back and forth. A great start, young Skywalker. I'm going to be sticking around. Congrats... and cheers... Gary

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Cynus

I'm definitely looking forward to this. Fantastic start and I can't wait to see how it progresses from here. Nearly everyone I've ever loved has taken debate (My family and people I've dated, lol) But I never had the chance. :) Must be exciting though.

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 09:37 AM, LitLover said:

I'm out of likes right now, but I'll be sure to go back and like it later. The first person point of view works well in this story. I feel the nerves rolling off of the young you....hoping you fly under the radar. I was pretty shy and introverted in high school and the thought of speaking in public would have been enough to make me want to throw up so I feel your pain :o Good first chapter Drew :) I look forward to seeing where you take this story.

Thanks LL :D It is really fun expressing a character's emotions, especially though First Person. I definitely know that feeling on speaking in public :) It took a long time for me to get to where I am today. Again, Thanks LL :hug:

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Reader1810
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I like the writing style you have chosen. It leaves me interested in reading more about your protagonist and his thoughts regarding the new people and situations he encounters.
Good start. More please

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jaejordon

An interesting beginning, the sense of anxiety is evident and the angst of every shy young person is well demonstrated. A good start :D well done. Looking forward to reading more. So keep it coming :)
Jae :read:

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Daddydavek

The shy angst is readily apparent. Poor Andrew, in a class called debate and didn't realize he'd have to get up in front of the class until his teacher spelled it out. Interesting start, but kind of short if you are going to cover your high school years in only three more chapters.

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ColumbusGuy

Excellent beginning Drew--can't see anything that needs to be improved except the length. :) Longer is better in literature too. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment...
My shyness and anxiety over public speaking has abated over the years, but it hasn't gone away. Sophomore year of college, I took a public speaking course for the credits, and I nearly wanted to throw up every time I went up before the class of about 20 kids.
Sad to say, I dropped a course in Chaucer because I would have to give a speech in front of the class...I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Now why didn't I opt for autobiography rather than write a long involved fiction piece like Jay & Miles? :P

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dughlas

I like the choice of first person POV for a shy kid living inside his head. Chapter seems a bit short but since you started this as a prompt story the length is understandable. Curious about how the remander of the story unfolds.

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Defiance19

I'm just going to pile on.. Very good start, felt that crippling anxiety... I liked this beginning, and can't wait to see where it goes!

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 10:32 AM, EagleIsaac said:

Really good beginning. Some minor grammar and sentence flow issues but the story itself is compelling. Everyone remembers the first day of high school and for most of us it was a day filled with anxiety. Good job Drew.

Thanks Isaac! :D I'll edit the chapter as soon as I can!

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 10:36 AM, Headstall said:

Yay, Drew. You did it. You're on your way now, and you did good. I'm interested in this Andrew kid. I liked being inside his mind. You POV is an interesting one, and I'm looking forward to how you handle it... whether you stick with it or switch back and forth. A great start, young Skywalker. I'm going to be sticking around. Congrats... and cheers... Gary

Thanks Gary! :hug: I am actually going to stick with First Person POV, it seems right to maintain it throughout the story :D

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 10:43 AM, Cynus said:

I'm definitely looking forward to this. Fantastic start and I can't wait to see how it progresses from here. Nearly everyone I've ever loved has taken debate (My family and people I've dated, lol) But I never had the chance. :) Must be exciting though.

Thanks Cynus! :hug: I was a member of my school's Speech and Debate team. To be honest, I was more of a Speaker than a Debater, nonetheless I met really terrific people in my own school and across the region due to tournaments :D

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 10:45 AM, Reader1810 said:

I like the writing style you have chosen. It leaves me interested in reading more about your protagonist and his thoughts regarding the new people and situations he encounters.

Good start. More please

Thanks Reader! :D I am glad that you like the writing style!

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 10:47 AM, jaejordon said:

An interesting beginning, the sense of anxiety is evident and the angst of every shy young person is well demonstrated. A good start :D well done. Looking forward to reading more. So keep it coming :)

Jae :read:

Thanks Jae! :hug: I'll make sure that the next chapters come as soon as possible :)

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 11:36 AM, Daddydavek said:

The shy angst is readily apparent. Poor Andrew, in a class called debate and didn't realize he'd have to get up in front of the class until his teacher spelled it out. Interesting start, but kind of short if you are going to cover your high school years in only three more chapters.

Thanks Dave :D Originally this was supposed to be a quick response to a Prompt, but it soon took on a life of its own. :) Plus, I am nowhere near ready to write longer chapter/stories, hopefully that will change with future stories. :)

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 11:51 AM, ColumbusGuy said:

Excellent beginning Drew--can't see anything that needs to be improved except the length. :) Longer is better in literature too. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment...

My shyness and anxiety over public speaking has abated over the years, but it hasn't gone away. Sophomore year of college, I took a public speaking course for the credits, and I nearly wanted to throw up every time I went up before the class of about 20 kids.

Sad to say, I dropped a course in Chaucer because I would have to give a speech in front of the class...I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Now why didn't I opt for autobiography rather than write a long involved fiction piece like Jay & Miles? :P

Thanks CG! :hug: Longer is good in literature, but I must take baby steps before I begin running, I am really new to this. It is my wish that I can write novel length stories one day... I guess I need to practice :)

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Drew Espinosa
On 07/04/2015 12:15 PM, dughlas said:

I like the choice of first person POV for a shy kid living inside his head. Chapter seems a bit short but since you started this as a prompt story the length is understandable. Curious about how the remander of the story unfolds.

Thanks Dugh! :D I wish this chapter could be longer, but I don't think I am at that place to write one of a thousand or more words. I just need to practice and hopefully do a chapter justice :)

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Victor Gutte

I would say that the beginning is quite engaging, and made me want to know what happened during the debate :lol: . I could totally relate to Andrew as I have been the same way during my high school as well :). looking forward to next chapters :2thumbs: .

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