I quickly wrapped the clay coils I made with a wet paper towel and shoved them in a plastic bag. I bounced impatiently when my shaky hands wouldn't allow me to properly seal the bag. After the third attempt, I finally succeeded. Letting out a squeal of triumph, I carefully put the perfectly sealed clay into my plastic box, then put the box in the teacher's storage closet. Once they were in a safe place, I rushed across the art room. Ceramics is very enjoyable, just not during the last period. I jumped at the sound of a student dropping a fiddling knife, the noise resembling a bell. I really hoped that I was able to make it. Why didn't I have a simple class during the last period? One where I only had to put a binder in my backpack and leave would have been nice. I finally reached the table with my now finished vase on it, sitting on the table completely covered in dry and wet clay. I picked up the vase with much care and admired it, forgetting about my task for a moment.

This project is going really well! I thought as I made sure that the inside was knitted together correctly, now I have to do is leave it on the window sill so that it can dry. Then tomorrow I will have to sponge it to smooth out the edges, they look a little sharp, and will only get more pointy in the kilm. I slowly made my way to the window, watching my every step to make sure that I didn't trip over any backpacks. Even in a rush, there is no way that I would risk dropping an art project. The clay is still soft and it would just be a worthless pile of smushed clay if I dropped it. Once I approached the window sill, I proudly sat my clay vase under the shining sun.

Oh no! The bell will ring any minute! I ran back to my table, no longer keeping watch if I would trip or not. I snatched the bowl of water that I used and dumped it in the sink. I then wet a sponge and started to scrub the clay off of my table viciously. The wet pieces attached to the sponge as I ran the sponge over the dry clay that stuck to the black tiled furniture continuously. I rushed to the sink to clean the sponge again once I noticed that I was practically cleaning the table with wet clay.

I jumped at the sound of a loud and continuous ringing that came from the speaker on the wall, as the rest of the students cheered in joy. I stumbled clumsily back to the table and went over it once again with the sponge the speed of lightning. From where I stood, I tossed the sponge into the sink and strapped my backpack over my shoulder.

I'm going to miss the bus again! I just know it!

"Have a good afternoon Feliciano," Mr. Marv said as I neared the front of the room. "Good job with that vase, most of my students don't know how to make a coil, while you didn't need my help once while making the whole project." Mr. Marv was a very jolly man. He was slightly chubby, and the wrinkles on his face accented his friendly smile. If he wasn't bald and if he had a white beard, I would mistake him for santa clause. He was quick with a joke, and would give you a passing grade with even the worst of finished sculptures.

"Thank you Mr. Marv, I even have coils left for the next project. It's not finished yet though, I still have to sponge it, then it would be ready for the kilm."

"I know, try to clean up earlier by the way. I see you running across the room like a wild goose every day near the end of the period. You better get going, you don't want to miss your bus."

"Oh right, my bus!" Without saying goodbye, I sprinted out of the art room and down the halls. My breath quickened and my heart was beating faster. I am no athlete, and I get tired easily, but I can run really fast when I need to. Adrenalin took control of my body as I burst out of the school and hurried to my bus.

Please don't make me miss it, please don't make me miss it! I have to catch my bus!

My heart almost stopped when I heard a roar from the buses that were ready to take off. I saw a flash of yellow as I opened my eyes to scan the bus numbers. My eyes lit up as I saw that I was almost to mine. Just as the bus door was about to close, I slipped through and entered the large vehicle. "Damn, you are lucky boy," said the elder bus driver. "I was just about to drive off too." I ran my hand through my hair and sighed with relief. My bus driver shows no mercy for those who are late, you could be an inch away from the bus, and he will take off on you.

I nodded as I scanned the bus, that's weird, Lovino usually saves a spot for me at the front of the bus. I shyly searched for an empty bus seat to find out that I will have to sit with somebody. "C-Can I sit with you?" I asked a tall intimidating man with blonde hair.

"Ja," He said. I sat down thankfully and avoided eye contact with the scary man. I then felt a buz in my pocket, I flipped open my cell phone to read a text from my brother.

My bastard of a teacher is making me stay after since I didn't turn in my lab. Who the hell cares about fucking physics anyways? -Lovino

I smiled at the text, it sounded so much like him that I could practically hear his voice. I was about to reply when I noticed something on my hands, wet clay. Only then did I realize that I had never washed my hands. I stared blankly at my phone that was now covered in the grey mud, along with my backpack, and my clothes, and my hair. I let out a whine and allowed tears to form in my eyes when I finally came to terms that everything was ruined.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asked.

I shook my head and buried my head in my hands, which didn't help the situation since I now felt the clay stick to my face. "Everything is a mess!" I cried.

"No it is not, we just have to clean you up," He responded. The man pulled out a handkerchief and started to wipe the clay off of my face. I tried to stay still, but my body was still trembling from the sadness I felt.

"There's no point, it will never come off!"

"Just calm down and give me a minute, no moving!" He said sternly. I let out a squeak in fear and was ready to pull out a white flag, but that would require moving. You cannot disobey a command while you're surrendering! That will only make them angrier! I stood still and let him wipe the clay off with the soft fabric. "What is your name?" He asked trying to kill the awkward silence between us.

"Feliciano Vargas," I answered.

"That's an interesting name, do you have anything to do with that Italian restaurant down town? The name of it is Vargas."

"Si! My family owns it, I actually work in the kitchen as a chef." I said with a smile.

The blonde stopped wiping my face, and moved to my hair. "You're a great chef then, I love the food there. Even though there are not a lot dishes with potatoes on the menu. It's a nice restaurant."

"Grazi! Sorry about the potatoes, it's an Italian restaurant so tomatoes are the main ingredient for most of the dishes." I paused when I realized that I never got his name. "What is your name?"

"Ludwig," He stated as he scrubbed my backpack.

"I like your accent, are you German?"

Ludwig nodded, "My bruder and I moved here from Germany a couple of years ago."

"Cool!"

"So how is it that I have never seen you on this bus before?" He asked.

"I usually sit with my brother in the front so I don't really talk to anybody else on this bus."

The german nodded thoughtfully, "Let me see your phone now, I'm almost done." I handed the phone to him and he wiped the now dry clay off of the electronic. "There, you see? You are not a complete mess, you're all clean again."

"Thank you so much Ludwig!"

Before I could say anything else, the bus came to a stop and Ludwig stood up. "I have to get off now, I will see you around I guess." I nodded enthusiastically and he exited the large yellow bus. I took out my phone to finally reply to my brother.

Alright Lovino! Good luck with your lab! I met a new friend today, you should meet him! He's very friendly, and I think that you two would get along great together. I'll tell Antonio that you will be late to work, he can cover you until you get to the restaurant. Hasta la pasta! -Feliciano

XXX

Author's note: I'm pretty sure we can all agree that Romano will not like Italy's new friend...

Alright so Italy is listed as the main character, but many other characters are focused on. Italy is listed as the main character because he is the poster boy of Hetalia. Unlike most hetalia highschool fanfictions, romance is not the main focus. There will be pairings though, I have not planned the pairings yet. So leave a suggestion about who you think should be a pairing for this story! Future chapters will be longer. For some reason the first chapter for every one of my stories is very short.

XXXxxxXXX Every Hetalia character is a highschool student, parents and teachers will be my OCs that I make up XXXxxxXXX

For those who do not take ceramics:

Coil: clay rolled into long tubes (like a snake)

Kilm: oven to bake the clay in

Fiddling knife: a very dull knife just sharp enough to cut clay

Knitting: Clay doesn't just stuck together. You have to scratch the sides that you want to attach, add water to act a glue, then knit it. This is when you put each piece of clay over each other. Much like knitting only with clay.

What the sponge is for: Once the clay is dried, before you put it in the Kilm, you should wet a sponge, and rub the clay with it. This will smooth out sharp edges.