Once an outsider, he found his way in

SALEM -- When Nick Charlton entered Salem High School last fall, he could count on one hand how many friends he had.

Three fingers, to be exact.

The lanky 15-year-old had a plan for surviving one of the toughest transitions in school -- going from eighth to ninth grade.

"I just wanted to be myself and see how it went," Nick said.

That's easier said than done when it comes to high school. The switch can be stressful, as 14- and 15-year-olds set foot into an unfamiliar school with tougher courses, older students, and a feeling of being at the school's bottom rung. Fitting in -- even doing something as simple as finding someone to sit next to at lunch on the first day of school -- can be trying.

Nick came in with the odds against him in the popularity race. Because he attended a parochial school through eighth grade, he had not formed friendships in elementary and middle school with other Salem public school students.

The size of the freshman class he would join -- more than 400 students -- was daunting. At St. Joseph's, he was one of just 30 students in each grade.

"We were very concerned," said his mother, Janice Charlton. "He wouldn't know many children, and coming from a private school would be different. Would he be challenged enough? He's also very big into athletics, and would he be accepted?"

Nick shared similar fears. He eased some of his first-day jitters by attending a freshman orientation the day before school started and spending a day in April shadowing a ninth-grader. He knew the size and layout of the 1,400-student high school.

Still, he admitted to being a "little nervous." He even picked out his first-day outfit two days ahead of time.

In the opening days of school, Nick plotted his moves strategically. He struck up conversations with teammates he met at the school's football camp and with peers he recognized from other classes. A domino effect ensued.

"My 'A period' class had one kid who played football. I started talking to him," Nick said.

Another girl was in a few of his classes.

"Just being who I am, I walked up to her and said, 'How about that class yesterday?', and we started talking. She had other friends in class, and they joined in the conversation.

"It worked in every class like that -- the people who were easiest to talk to and the people who you had connections with, like the football player, people who sat in other classes, people who sat near you. I went after people who I knew would talk to me. And everyone has friends, so their friends would join in," Nick said.

Other than making friends, the major adjustment was homework. At St. Joseph's, Nick recalled getting less than an hour of work a night. At Salem High, he got two to three hours nightly.

Because of athletic practice after school, Nick was pigeonholed into a routine: home by 6 p.m., dinner, homework at 7 p.m., bedtime. The rigid schedule kept him on track.

By November, between meeting people in class and playing football, Nick made the leap into school politics. He won the election for freshman class president. He also joined the basketball team and made even more friends.

But his social life remained frustrating. Nick had plenty of people to talk to in school, but after the last bell rang, students scattered, and he felt friendless. He wanted after-school friends.

By February, he was asking friends to hang out after school. Gradually, he invited people to his house or out to a movie, and others asked him to do the same.

At the end of April, Nick threw a party, expecting 10 people. Instead, 35 showed up. Surprisingly, Nick did not enjoy the evening. As the host, he found himself catering to everyone and with no time to relax.

By 11 p.m., with his parents upset at the crowd in their basement, Nick started kicking people out -- not exactly a way to endear himself to his new friends. A group of his closest friends remained.

"I was picking stuff up and I thought, 'You know what? I don't need to be everyone's friend,' " Nick said. "I might be president and stuff, but I really just need . . . a few people who really are my friends, and I found them."

He ended up losing his bid for sophomore class president, but gave high marks to his freshman year overall. He earned all A's, played three sports, won a leadership award from the local Rotary Club, and accomplished his key goal of finding friends.

"It really had to be the best year of my life, probably," Nick said.