NATCHEZ &8212; The past is the past, and the future is better for two Morgantown Elementary sixth-graders displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Veranec Francis and Tevin Williams have new Natchez homes, and they aren&8217;t going back to New Orleans, something they couldn&8217;t be happier about.

&8220;That&8217;s the life behind us,&8221; Veranec said. &8220;We wanted to start a new life.&8221;

So Veranec, her mom and her two little brothers have moved into a new house &8212; &8220;it&8217;s big but affordable,&8221; the 12-year-old described. Her mother is working as a security guard for a local company and part-time at a gas station.

Tevin is living with his dad and step mom in a house across the street from Natchez-native grandma. His mother was a Natchez resident before the hurricane.

A former New Orleans Superdome security guard, Tevin&8217;s dad is looking for work in Natchez.

And Morgantown Elementary is the place to be, the students said.

&8220;I love it,&8221; Tevin said. &8220;I love the classes. I have friends to call so I can study with them on the phone. I like it better than New Orleans.&8221;

Morgantown allows boys to wear belt buckles, too, he said, something that wasn&8217;t allowed at his old school.

Tevin and his dad didn&8217;t leave New Orleans until after the hurricane.

&8220;We were walking in the water,&8221; he said. &8220;It was going to be too deep for me. My dad&8217;s friends had a boat, and they took us to a shelter.&8221;

After three days in a shelter, walking past a dead body and giving up his dog Smokey, Tevin&8217;s mom was able to reach them and bring them to Natchez.

Tevin tells his story matter-of-factly, saying some things were nasty, others sad, but he doesn&8217;t dwell on any of it.

He&8217;d rather talk about Natchez and Morgantown.

&8220;I know everybody down here,&8221; he said of the school. &8220;We are staying her forever. They have all these fun things to do, like school parties. And you can go outside down here, in New Orleans, you can&8217;t. And they have balloon races.&8221;

Veranec spent a month on a cot at the Steckler Multipurpose Center&8217;s shelter, and she liked it.

&8220;I didn&8217;t want to leave,&8221; she said. &8220;Everybody just had fun and got along.&8221;

That attitude is one Veranec applies to just about everything in life.

&8220;If the hurricane didn&8217;t come, I wouldn&8217;t be here,&8221; she said. &8220;I&8217;m glad it came.&8221;

Veranec is always smiling, her teachers say, but that&8217;s just because everything is fun, she said.

&8220;They don&8217;t complain here,&8221; she said. &8220;Anywhere I go in school, in PE or in the office, everyone is friendly and always cracking jokes.&8221;

Veranec started school in Natchez mid-semester, when the local schools opened after the hurricane.

&8220;When I first started I was a little scared and I thought I wouldn&8217;t ever get comfortable,&8221; she said.

&8220;But the teachers make it so easy. They just started explaining things.&8221;

There are a few friends from New Orleans Veranec misses, she said, but she has plenty of new ones.

Veranec and Tevin are two of 22 evacuees still at Morgantown. The school maxed out at about 100 evacuees.

School Counselor Peggy June said counselors have worked with evacuees in small groups since they came.

The counselors are there if needed, but June said the biggest role they&8217;ve played with evacuees is just checking in.

&8220;We ask them how they are doing, check on them in passing, keep in contact or drop by rooms,&8221; she said. &8220;Sometimes all they need is talking through in-depth what they&8217;ve been through.&8221;