Shaw stared up at the school. It was her fourth high school in 2 years. She'd gone to 3 different high schools her freshman year, and now she was standing in front of her fourth. Not because she was a troublemaker or anything, she could cover her tracks, but because she'd been bouncing around the foster care system.
Her parents had died a few years ago and she'd been in the system since. She'd had good luck with families, but they always ended up giving her back. Most people, it seemed, didn't know how to deal with her. Shaw looked around the grounds in front of the school and saw everyone looking as normal as possible. She doubted these kids would know how to deal with her either.
She couldn't complain too much, though. Her current family was fantastic. They were an older couple with no other kids, and seemed to accept her as she was. They lived in a different town than her previous families, though, and that's how she'd ended up in this mess.
She was repeating freshman year. There was some bullshit about non-transferable credits. So not only was she a foster kid with terrible social skills and no friends, she was also a year older than the other kids in her class.
Shaw sighed and rolled her eyes. It was the first day of school in a new town and she might as well not make enemies before she had to. Shaw headed up the front steps to the school tried to avoid eye contact with everyone around her.
Once she was inside, she took a look around. It was a nice school. High ceiling and clean, tile floors. The walls were lined with display cases. Shaw strode over to the nearest one and peered inside. There were several trophies and a group picture. It looked like a girls' soccer team.
Shaw pushed up onto her tiptoes and read the plaque. Blair High School Bears. Shaw scoffed and lowered herself. Of course, this small suburb in buttfuck nowhere, Connecticut would have the bears as their mascot. The only mascot more cliché would be the Deer or the Pine Trees, or something similarly folksy.
Shaw hitched her bag and turned, trying to remember where the front office was. She had a map in her bag, but she'd rather be shot that look like she was lost. She opted for just wandering down the hall. Luckily, the front office was just around the first corner. Shaw peered into the window before pulling the door open.
Standing behind the counter was a small, skinny boy with glasses. He smiled at her as she entered and barely flinched when she slammed her backpack onto the counter.
"Hello," He started, politely, watching her pull out a manila folder, "My name is Harold Finch. I've been expecting you."
Shaw scowled and handed him her files. "Sorry, I was later than I'd hoped." She looked away from him, taking in the room. "The walk from home looked shorter than it was."
Harold raised his eyebrows placing the folder under the counter and pulling out a similar one. "You're still 20 minutes early. I'll walk you to class."
Shaw nodded, still not looking at him. "Thanks." She finally looked at him and snatched the folder from his hands.
Harold looked a little taken aback, but kept smiling. He started moving out from behind the counter. Shaw watched him hobble along awkwardly. When we came out onto her side, she saw that he had a pronounced limp.
Harold followed her gaze, used to the attention. "It was a robotics accident."
Shaw rolled her eyes, uncaring, but she opened the door for him and held it as he passed.
She followed him into the hallway, noticed more kids wandering around than before. The noise in the hallway was almost deafening; the sound bouncing off the high ceilings and metal lockers. Shaw fell into stride with Harold and they started down the hall.
"So," Harold began, "I took the liberty of looking over your schedule. Very impressive. Did you take high school math and science in middle school?"
Shaw nodded and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Yeah. I took Earth/Space and Algebra I. Those credits transferred, but the ones from my previous high school didn't. I actually already did my freshman year."
Harold looked surprised. "May I ask why you transferred?"
"No." Shaw looked away, trying to understand the social dynamics of the kids around her. There didn't seem to be any definite cliques, just friends.
Harold sighed, starting to see Shaw a little bit better. "Well, you and I are opposites."
Shaw swung her head to stare at him.
"I'm just saying," Harold said, holding his hands up in front of him. "I skipped 7th grade, so I'm a year younger than our class. You're a year older."
Shaw nodded. Harold slowed to a stop and gestured to an open door. "This is your classroom. First Period English. I've heard good things about Mrs. Russell."
Shaw nodded again and took Harold's proffered hand. She was surprised by the formal farewell, but took it inside. "I'll see you around."
Harold smiled, dropping her hand. "I'll see you for Biology next period. I'll meet you back here."
Shaw's face dropped and she stepped into Harold's space. She was eye level with him and tried not to be too angry that he was 2 years younger and almost taller than her. She glowered at him until he took a step back. "I don't need to be babysat. Harold. I'm a big girl."
Harold swallowed and nodded. "Um, I'm actually in that class with you, though, and have to walk this way anyway, so it's just convenience, really. The class is in a weird corner."
Shaw searched his eyes and decided he was telling the truth. "Fine. Whatever. If you're not here quickly, I'm going ahead."
Harold nodded and turned around. He quickly headed back for the front office. Shaw watched as a taller boy moved to walk with him. When the boy glanced back at her, she rolled her eyes and walked into the classroom. So much for not making enemies before she needed to.
Shaw walked into the classroom and looked around. The entrance was at the back of the class and Shaw couldn't decide if that'd make it easier to sneak in or harder. There were more desks than she was expecting, but it was a classroom like any other. Shaw was pleased to a chalkboard at the front of the classroom and not a dry-erase board. She liked the clack of the chalk against the slate.
There were already kids in the classroom, catching up and talking about their summer break. Shaw wondered if they knew each other from middle school. It was a small suburb, there couldn't be too many schools around. She threw her bag on a desk in the middle. It'd be even harder to infiltrate a friend group than just make a single friend.
She was about to sit, resigned, but was stopped by the sound of a throat clearing. She straightened up and looked behind her.
A lanky girl was standing there, clutching her bookbag in one hand. Shaw took her in. Skinny, with long hair, half blonde and half brunette, like her hair had changed colors in the past few years. She was dressed similarly to Shaw, dark jeans and a dark sweatshirt. Shaw decided she could take her in a fight.
Shaw stared at the girl, expectantly. "What?"
The girl blinked and pointed at Shaw's desk. "The seats are assigned. Alphabetically. That one's mine."
Shaw drew her bag off the desk and looked down. In the corner, was an index card taped down that read 'Period One: Samantha Groves.' Shaw scowled and stomped away. Great, now she looked like an idiot.
Shaw moved to the far side of the room, figuring if "Groves" was in the middle, "Shaw" would be towards the end. She walked up and down the last row a couple times, but didn't see her name. Shaw felt her mood darken. If Harold had brought her to the wrong classroom, she was going to murder him.
"Sameen?"
Shaw heard her name and turned, finding the girl from earlier looking at her. She grit her teeth. "Yes?"
The girl smiled, looking pleased. "You're right behind me. Mrs. Russell sorts alphabetically by first name. Samantha. Sameen."
Shaw stalked back to the entrance and slammed her back onto the desk, smirking when the girl jumped. "What kind of names do you people have if "Samantha" is in the middle?"
Samantha shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'd prefer it if you called me Root."
Shaw slid into her chair and unzipped her bag, pulling out a notebook and her pencil case. "Whatever," She shrugged. "I doubt I'll be calling you anything."
The girls face drew up into a smirk and Shaw was dismayed to see Root's eyes twinkle. Shaw squinted at her, suspicious. "What?"
The girl just shrugged and turned around, giggling to herself. Shaw rolled her eyes. Great, the girl had made her look like an idiot and now it seemed that she was unstable.
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Root listened as the girl behind her grumbled. She wanted to turn around and tell her to be quiet, but she wasn't sure if she should. She'd never seen Sameen before and she'd lived in this town her whole life. She knew everyone, either because she'd met them or because she'd researched them. It was only a town of a few thousand people, no one was hard to find.
Root tried to rack her brain and think of who this girl could be. Maybe she was Angela and Nathan's new foster daughter. If Root remembered correctly, the girl would be close to her age. Actually, Root thought, the girl was a year older than her. It was strange that she'd be in her class.
Sameen didn't seem to be paying too much attention to Mrs. Russell. Root would admit that Mrs. Russell could be gruff, especially after her husband had died, but she was going over the syllabus. There were several projects scheduled for the year and Sameen would need to be prepared.
Root looked over her shoulder. The new girl had her head down on the desk. The only thing Root could see written in her notebook was 'Snooze Fest.' Root sighed and looked forward again. Poor girl, she needed to get her act together.
The bell rang, startling Root. She started packing up her things. She stood and turned to ask Sameen what her next class was, but she was already walking out the door.
Root hurried out of the classroom to see Harold and Sameen walking together, towards their next class.
"Harold!" Root called out, hurrying to catch up to them. Harold turned around, surprised someone was calling his name. Root watched Sameen turn and smiled when Sameen glowered at her. Root stopped in front of them. "Hey, where are you headed?"
"Biology," Harold replied, happy to see her. "I assume you a good summer. I was jealous to hear you went to Robotics camp."
Root shrugged and started walking, Harold and Sameen following her. "It was fun. I wish you were there, though." She sighed and looked at Harold, sadly. "It was the first summer without Hanna."
Harold nodded solemnly. "I know. I had my internship."
"You're already doing internships?" Sameen asked, annoyed. "Let me guess, you've got to have a good resume for Harvard."
Harold laughed. "MIT, actually."
Sameen rolled her eyes. "Same difference."
"What did you do with your summer, Sameen?" Root smiled at her from the other side of Harold.
Sameen scowled at her, apparently still upset she'd needed her help to find a desk. "Nothing. Why are you following us anyway? Don't you need to get to class?"
Root laughed. "I have Biology, too." She grinned at Sameen. "We're going to be together for 2 hours a day, Sameen! Maybe more, who knows."
Sameen crossed her arms. "Don't call me Sameen." Harold and Root looked at her curiously. "Call me Shaw. Only my friends can call me Sameen."
Root and Harold turned to enter the Biology class. Root laughed as Shaw had to pivot quickly to avoid walking past the room. "Do you have many friends, Shaw?"
Sameen looked away and Root was surprised by how vulnerable she seemed. "No."
They walked further into the classroom and looked around. It didn't seem like there were any assigned seats. Root picked a table towards the center of the room and sat on a stool. She liked science classrooms. The black lab tables, the tall stools; it was all so comforting.
The tables were arranged so four people could sit, two on either side. Harold took the seat opposite Root. Root watched Shaw try to decide if she wanted to sit next to Root or Harold. Just when Root thought Shaw was going to pick Harold, Reese arrived and took the stool.
Shaw glared at Reese, who just stared at her blankly, placing his bag on the table. Finally, Shaw rolled her eyes and slammed her bag on the table next to Root.
Harold jumped. "Ms. Shaw, I do hope you don't have anything breakable in there. You slam your bag around a lot."
Shaw just unzipped her back and pulled out a notebook. A different one from first period, Root noted. "Whatever." She jerked her chin at Reese. "Who's the thug?"
Reese smirked and held his hand out. "John Reese. I'm friends with Harold and Root."
Shaw shook his hand and went back to digging around in her bag.
Root turned to Reese. "So, did you finally pick a sport?"
Reese shrugged. "I'm still torn between soccer and lacrosse."
"You are good at both," Harold rested his arms on the table in front of him. "Is there any way to play on both teams?"
Root and Shaw snorted simultaneously. Root looked at Shaw, but Shaw was ignoring her, still digging around in her bag. Root did notice that Shaw's face was a little red.
Root crossed her arms on the table. "And what are you into, Shaw?"
Shaw froze, her face slowly turning towards Root. "Excuse me?"
Root's mouth perked up into a half-smile and she slid her arms towards Shaw. "What sort of extracurriculars are you into?"
Shaw's eyes narrowed, like she was trying to figure out what Root was doing. Root just smiled back at her patiently.
"I play soccer." Shaw answered, still seeming like she was unsure of herself.
Root nodded. "I can see that."
She really could see Shaw enjoying a sport like soccer. Shaw was small, but muscular. Root suspected that she worked out several times a week, if not every day. Root considered telling her that too much exercise could actually stunt her growth. They were at an important stage of their growth.
She decided against it. Instead, she pulled out her own notebook and turned to the front of the class. The bell rung and their teacher wandered inside.
Root was surprised to see that their science teacher was Nathan Ingram. He wasn't usually the Biology teacher, but maybe something had happened to Mr. Greer. Root snuck a peek at Shaw and almost laughed.
Shaw was white as a sheet. She obviously hadn't expected her new foster father to be teaching her Biology class. Shaw noticed Root looking and schooled her face into a neutral expression.
Mr. Ingram smiled at the class. "Good morning! I know it's our first day and all of you are probably shaking in your boots. Don't worry, freshman year isn't as bad as people make it out to be." He glanced at Shaw and winked. "You'll be sophomores before you know it and then seniors and then adults!"
The class groaned. Root laughed, lightly. She was looking forward to adulthood. No rules, no school. No parents to disappear for weeks at a time, only to turn back up and be terrible people. Root felt her eyes shutter and start to tear up.
She quickly looked down at her notebook. This was no time to be upset about her home life. This was a new year, a new school, a new chance to just be normal.
She looked up and saw Shaw staring at her in her peripheral vision. She turned her head, expecting Shaw to look away, but they stared at each other for a moment. Root noticed her pretty Shaw was. Her dark eyes, strong cheekbones, and full lips. She felt her face heat up and looked away.
This was also not the time to let her hormones take control of her. Root sighed and dropped her head onto her arms. She hated first days.
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Shaw thought her first day had gone well so far. She'd made casual acquaintances with Harold, Root, and Reese. She wouldn't call them friends yet, but they had sat together in the cafeteria at lunch time and that was the closest thing to friendship she'd ever had.
It was their final period of the day, now, and she was looking forward to it. She had PhysEd for her last class. Shaw was pumped. She planned to just stay in her gym clothes when class was over and jog home. She could do that whenever the weather permitted.
Shaw walked into the locker room and groaned. Of course, Root was in her class. She and Root had every single class together. English, Biology, World History, Geometry, German, and now PhysEd. She walked over to the bench Root was sitting on and swung her leg over, sitting heavily.
"Well, it looks like you're stuck with me." Root said, smiling at her. "All day, Every day."
Shaw shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head. She'd worn her gym clothes under her normal clothes. The uniform was just an A-frame and boy shorts.
"It could be worse. I could have PE with Reese." She looked around, trying to pick out a locker.
Root laughed and pushed herself off the bench. "Reese has PE fourth period." She opened her locker and pushed her backpack in, piling her street clothes on top. "You shouldn't be too competitive."
Shaw rolled her eyes and moved to yank open the locker next to Root's. "Whatever. I'm not that competitive."
Root rolled her eyes, disbelieving. "Sure. I'm just saying that he's really good at sports. He's the best."
Shaw's nostrils flared. She stepped up to Root's face, their bodies almost touching. Shaw looked up an inch into Root's eyes. "I am the best. I will crush him." She turned and marched out of the locker room, on the war path.
Root sighed and followed her. "At least you aren't competitive."
Shaw ignored her, bursting through the doors into the gym. She slowed her pace. This gymnasium was huge. The shiny wooden floors stretched in all directions. Shaw could see the paint lines for a basketball court, a tennis court, and a volleyball court. The bleachers stacked against the way, not taking up any space. There were pull up bars in the far corner and weights across the room from them.
Shaw's mouth dropped open. "What the fuck kind of public school is this?"
Root shrugged. "It's the only high school in the area, so it's pretty well funded." She looked at Shaw and smiled. "How much can you bench?"
Shaw rolled her eyes and refused to respond, leading the way where the coach was gathering kids. They listened to the coach blather on for a while. Shaw was impatient to get started. It was PhysEd! Why were they just standing around?
Finally, the coach announced they were going to play dodgeball and split the teams into two. Shaw saw that Root was on her team and sighed. She wasn't really an advantage for their team. Shaw just hoped the other team didn't realize that, too.
Shaw positioned herself at the front of the group, a few step backs from the center line. She was extremely confident in her abilities to either dodge the ball or catch it. Her team would win if she had to do everything herself.
Luckily, her team wasn't half bad. They took out a fair number for the other team before their numbers started dwindling down. There was some girl on the other team who seemed to be as intense as Shaw.
After about 20 minutes, Shaw realized that she was the only one left standing against 10 members of the other team. She scowled, regretting the praise she'd given her team mates. They were weak. A ball came at Shaw, but she weaved to the side and it sailed past her. She was tempted to just get hit and let the game end, but she heard to whimper behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Root still in the playing field. Apparently, the girl had just hidden behind people until there were no people left. Shaw looked back at the opposite team and saw them whispering amongst themselves, glancing occasionally at Root.
Shaw took to break as an opportunity to move to Root.
"Hey, you ok?"
Root shook her head. "I'm not really a sports person. I mean, I'm good at tennis and decent at volleyball, but I am not a dodgeball person."
Shaw smirked. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
Shaw glanced over her shoulder at the other team. They'd started to spread out again. Shaw looked back at Root, who was almost shaking. "Why not just let them hit us and get it over with?"
Root nodded. "Ok."
"Hey, dykes!"
Shaw stiffened, her face scrunching in anger. She looked over her shoulder. A tall boy, with curly hair, was standing close to the center line, a dodgeball tucked under his arm.
"I said 'Hey, dykes!'" The boy laughed, prompting other team members to laugh. "I thought you were done with your lezzie phase, Groves."
Shaw looked back at Root, whose face had turned a dark red. Root couldn't meet Shaw's eyes, but Shaw saw a tear fall. Shaw felt her body turn cold, the way it always did when she was full of rage.
Shaw turned around, placing herself firmly in front of Root. She drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't terribly high, but it made her look stronger.
"Hey, asshole," Shaw called, "Don't be jerkoff just because you can't get any girls yourself."
Shaw watched the boy's face flush. He leaned back and threw the dodgeball as hard as he could.
Shaw caught it inches from her face. The loud slap of hands against rubber echoed in the large gymnasium. She lowered the ball, smiling smugly at the boy she'd just kicked out of the game. The opposing team was stunned, wondering who this new girl was.
Shaw lunged forward throwing the ball and hitting another boy in the face.
The game resumed and Shaw felt a thrill run through her. She tried to hold her position in front of Root, but the girl on the other team was smart. Eventually, it was just her, Shaw, and Root left in the game. Shaw had moved to the other side of the court, leaving Root somewhat exposed.
Shaw watched the girl decide who to throw the ball at. She chose Root and Shaw raced across the court to get the ball. She was too far, she realized and jumped forward to try and close the remaining distance.
Her fingers brushed against the ball, inches from Root's face. Shaw tightened her grip and came to a sliding stop. She'd caught it. The girl was out and Shaw's team had won the game. Shaw heard her teammates cheering, but she just turned to see if Root was ok.
Root was gone, though. Shaw looked around, panting slightly, but didn't see her. The girl from the other team walked over.
"Hey, that was a good game. Sorry about the boys." The girl looked apologetic. Sweaty, but apologetic.
Shaw nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. You're good." She held her hand out. "I'm Shaw."
"Joss." The girl replied. "Are you going to try out for any sports? I'm vice-captain of the soccer team. I'd love for you to join us. You've got good footwork."
Shaw smiled, nodding. "Yeah, uh, I was thinking about joining the soccer team."
Joss nodded. "Great. I'll see you around."
Shaw threw the dodgeball she was still holding onto the ground and headed for the locker rooms. The last bell was going to ring any minute and she wanted to find Root.
She heard the showers running and walked into the adjoining room. There were rows of showers, each one with a curtain across the entry. Shaw saw a towel sitting on the end of the long bench in the center of the room and figured Root must be that way.
"Hey, Root?" Shaw called, feeling awkward. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," was the terse reply. "Go away."
Shaw felt like she should say something else, but she didn't know what. "Alright. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow." She turned and walked out of the room.
The bell rang, making Shaw jump. Shaw shook her head and went to her locker, gathering her things. She was glad she'd thought of jogging home. The run would help clear her head.
Shaw gave on last look towards the showers and walked out of the locker room. Her first day hadn't gone as terribly as she had feared, but she didn't know if she'd call it a success. She might have made some friends and she might have lost some friends.
Shaw sighed as she walked down the hallway. Being 15 was really hard.
