A/N: So this was a request by a person to make a "dramatic high school AU featuring Shep and Miri". There are a lot of those around though, so I wanted this to be something different, not just the same old story with a different title and writing style. Anywho, even though it's not your exact request, my friend, they are technically in high school. That's good, right? Haha I probably messed this up so bad I won't be getting another request from you anytime soon :p. I suuuuck at drama. Oh well, I'm invested now so we'll all have to suffer through.
Anywho, to the rest of you. This is modern day AU. No aliens, I'm afraid. It's going to feel rather implausible at times, but that's kind of the style I'm going for? You know, like a nineties tv show haha. Hopefully you enjoy it.
WARNING PLEASE READ: The are mentions of physical abuse in this story. There will be no graphic descriptions by any means, but the topic will be touched upon in multiple chapters. I know what it is like to be triggered so please, take good care of yourself and make sure you aren't reading anything that will upset you. I want everyone to be happy :)
Jane Shepard took a heavy breath before passing through the doorway. She had gotten turned around in the hallway and had been searching for her class on the other side of the building for about three minutes before realizing her mistake. That, coupled with the time it took her to ask for the proper location and make her way there, meant she was a whopping six minutes late on her first day.
Already things had not been going her way and it was only fifth period. Sure, the people were friendly enough, but it was already six months into the school year, cliques were established and friendships formed long ago. She had been having to settle for the seats in the front of the class and answering 'getting to know you' questions in front of her new peers all morning.
It was funny how the teachers thought they were helping to break the ice by making her stand up in front of the whiteboard and give a quick rundown of her backstory, when really they were only succeeding in making her feel even more uncomfortable. She would have been fine with a curt nod of acknowledgement and a seat in the far back corner. It wasn't that she was particularly shy or self-conscious, but she had never been the type to draw unnecessary attention to herself.
She was pleasantly surprised to step into the class and find that it was rather small, there had to be less than twenty kids in attendance. That was certainly a relief, as thus far she had been stuck in classes averaging around twenty five or more. She chalked it up to the fact that this was a higher level course. Perhaps science wasn't everyone's forte in this new city of hers.
Shepard didn't consider herself particularly smart. She wasn't one of those 'gifted' children where everything came naturally. She was however dedicated and a hard worker, taking the time to understand any task presented before her.
The teacher at the head of the room turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He didn't give her time to explain before he spoke. "I would assume you're Jane?"
She nodded, hugging the binder in her arms close to her chest. "Yes sir. I'm sorry I'm late. I got a bit turned around."
He smiled at her kindly, and her shoulders sagged in relief. A teacher really could make or break any subject for the year. "It's no problem at all. We're actually getting ready to start a test, so this is a bit of a free period for you. Go wait over by my desk, we need to discuss what you have and haven't gone over already."
She beamed at him, nodding before doing as she was bid. This Mr. Anderson looked to be the prime candidate for favorite teacher of the year. She waited patiently as he passed out the exams, scanning the classroom over for any familiar faces from her previous classes. There were a few, but she found herself unable to recall any names.
While the students worked, Mr. Anderson dragged a chair behind his desk for Shepard to take a seat in. They conversed quietly as the period passed, going over what Shepard had been covering in her previous school and comparing it to the schedule he had his class set on. She had missed a few of the lessons, as her teacher had set them up to be covered closer to the end of the year, but she assured the man she was a fast leaner. He had smiled at that, and had suggested they set just a few days to meet up after school to catch her up just in case.
It was a relief, to be honest. The class testing meant that they were just finishing up a unit. She would be able to start off on the same track with her peers the next day. It was a far better situation than the math class she had just come out of. The class was right in the middle of a unit she had not even been close to covering in her old school. Shepard had a lot of catching up to do, which was concerning considering math was one of her weaker subjects.
Time passed quickly as she spoke with Anderson, as she found his conversation rather pleasant. He seemed like he would be a fair teacher, one that expected respect, but earned it rather than demanded it. When the students had all turned in their exam, there was about five minutes left in the period. He allowed them to converse amongst themselves for the remainder of the time, and directed Shepard towards an empty seat in the second row.
The girl who sat just to the left of the desk smiled up at her shyly as she approached. "Hey, I'm Samantha Traynor." Shepard warmed to her instantly, offering a cheerful grin in return. The girl all but radiated kindness, and Shepard found herself grateful for her luck in seatmate. "Jane, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," She replied, and glanced down sheepishly, "you can just call me Shepard though. I'm not a huge fan of Jane."
Before Samantha could respond, the boy seated just in front of her spun around in his chair. "Oh," he mocked, "the new girl's mysterious and edgy."
Though his words were less than welcoming, the mischievous twinkle in his eye revealed he was nothing more than a harmless wiseass. His face was too kind for that of a bully's, and the cap lodged firmly on his head despite the no hat policy of the school hinted that perhaps the nuances of social graces merely weren't his forte. Shepard decided quickly that she wasn't offended.
"Lay off, Joker," The girl to his left chastised him disinterestedly as though keeping him in line was an everyday occurrence. Her long dark hair rolled off of her shoulders as she tilted her head back almost comically to get a look at her newest classmate. "Just ignore him," she said smoothly, "he never shuts up."
Shepard nodded her understanding before shooting the boy a smirk. "Joker, huh? Big Batman fan?"
His eyes narrowed, and he lowered his voice menacingly in response. "I'm an agent of chaos."
She chuckled good-naturedly at the imitation. "That wasn't half bad," she admitted truthfully, glad she didn't have to lie to stay on his good side.
He beamed, and the girl beside him spun around in her chair as well, brown eyes flashing with warning. "Don't encourage him. Trust me, you'll regret it later."
"You wound me, Ash," He said with mock sorrow, clutching at his chest dramatically.
She rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored his antics. "I'm Ashley," she offered then with a curt nod.
Shepard returned the gesture, feeling more at ease in the class already. So far, the people she had sat next to had either seemed disinterested, or too shy to really offer much in way of conversation, which she honestly couldn't blame them for. Luckily, these three seemed pretty willing to accept an outsider into their group without kicking up much of a fuss.
Samatha leaned in closer, holding out her hand, "You have your schedule?"
"Uh, yeah. Hold on," Shepard mumbled as she opened her binder and shuffled through the haphazard stack of papers within. The day wasn't over, but due to the amount of catching up she had to do in her classes she had had an unreasonable amount of packets and syllabi thrown at her thus far. "Aha," she exclaimed triumphantly when she finally procured the correct document. She slid it across the tabletop into Samantha's eagerly awaiting hands.
"Oh," she exclaimed happily after a moment, "she has lunch with us next, Jeff." He mumbled something unintelligible in response and Samantha looked up at Shepard a bit shyly. "You can sit with us, if you want. I mean, if you hadn't already talked about it with anybody." She glanced away. "It's fine if you don't want to."
"That would be great," Shepard cut in politely, saving the girl from her own rambling. "Thanks."
Joker glanced between the two girls, wearing a wry smile while Ashley craned her neck to take a look at the schedule for herself. "We're in the same gym period," she mused quietly. "Not the same teacher though, so that won't really matter."
"How does that work?" Shepard asked curiously.
"There's four different teachers to cover all of the years. They have two classes running at once and just split the gym in half." She gave an impartial shrug. "Sometimes we'll play a game against each other, but not often."
Shepard was going to respond, but the bell rang and suddenly the class was filled with the sounds of binders slamming shut and bags zipping closed. Samantha returned Shepard's schedule and then stood, collecting her own belongings as she did so. "Jeff and I will show you the cafeteria."
"Sure," Joker grumbled as he too stood, "just offer my services without consent."
Just like it had been back home, the defining trait of the large cafeteria was that it was obnoxiously loud. Four years of students intermingled to create a swirling storm of shouting and laughter. The sheer number of people was more than a little overwhelming, and Shepard found herself immensely glad she had been seated next to Samantha because she had no clue what she would have done if she had been faced with having to find her own seat in the already overcrowded tables. She probably would have panicked and hid in the bathrooms if she were being totally honest.
Hadn't she seen that in a movie somewhere?
"This is Kaidan," Samantha informed her as they took a seat with Joker at a mostly empty table. "Kaidan, this is-"
"Jane," he supplied, offering a welcoming smile. "I know, we're in the same math class."
Shepard grimaced, paling slightly as she tried to place him. If he hadn't said anything she would have sworn before court that she had never met the kid in her life. Apparently sensing her panic, he offered a kind smile. "Don't worry about it, I sit way behind you."
Grateful for the out, she returned the smile. "Sorry about that. It's been a long day."
"I can imagine," He replied. "Lots of new faces I'm sure."
She was going to respond in the affirmative when they were interrupted. "You're new here, aren't you?" The voice was smooth and sickly sweet, almost velvety.
Shepard glanced up to find a girl she hadn't met before standing over her with a wide smile. Objectively, she was gorgeous, but Shepard didn't miss the almost menacing glint in her gaze. She was being appraised, her worth was getting evaluated.
"Get lost, Maya. There's no one here for you to brainwash," Joker replied before Shepard had even formed a response. Samantha shot him a warning look, keen to tamper down any beginning signs of potential altercations.
"I wasn't talking to you," She spat back as though even acknowledging his presence was beneath her.
"Come on guys," Kaidan said with a tired sigh, "grow up." Samantha gave him a grateful smile as he too seemed reluctant to start a fight.
Clearly bored with their passive attitudes, the girl Shepard now knew as Maya clucked her tongue and crinkled her nose in disgust. "If you ever get bored of hanging out with these losers, you should come find me."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Shepard replied dryly.
Obviously the sarcasm in her tone was missed as the girl flashed Joker a triumphant smirk and spun on her heels to make for a table across the lunchroom with purpose. Kids stepped out of her path with haste as soon as they saw her approach. It would have been unsettling, if Shepard weren't so overcome with annoyance.
"Wow," she drawled as she watched Maya take a seat at a table absolutely overflowing with obviously gussied up girls, "charming."
Joker snorted as he rustled through his bag, pulling out a brown paper sack. "And that was the queen bee of our school. As you can imagine, the word 'bee' can easily be interchanged with "bitc-"
"Joker," Kaiden interrupted warningly. He gave Shepard a strained smile as he pulled out his own lunch. "Just stay out of her way and she'll leave you alone. We're high enough on the totem pole that she just ignores us."
"Usually," Samantha muttered bitterly before taking a bite out of the sandwich she had brought. There was obviously a history there, and Shepard felt a pang of anger strike through her. The girl was nothing but kind, there was no call for being cruel to her.
"She's awful," Joker griped. "All of freshman year she was totally cool and then she got an ounce of power and it went straight to her head. She's gets off on torturing people now. Manipulates everyone into doing her bidding."
"What made her change?" Shepard found herself genuinely curious. If her mom had been there, she would be laughing. She was forever teasing Shepard for her inquisitive side and penchant for getting mixed up in her friend's personal problems both quickly and frequently.
"Moved up the line of succession. Since middle school this girl Miranda was like the empress of the Stuck Up Girls Club. Seriously, typical rich bitch. And then I dunno," he shrugged, "she just kinda disappeared and Maya took over."
"She moved away?" Shepard questioned interestedly.
It was Kaidan who answered that time. "Nope, just sort of faded into the background. She still goes here, but she's never around her old group anymore. Everyone just sort of figures they must have had a falling out and every one of their friends took Maya's side."
"Wow, this place is pretty dramatic," Shepard replied with a laugh.
Joker scoffed. "Trust me, you'll be bored out of your skull by the end of the week."
Samantha was kind enough to show her to the gym before hastily running off to her own class after lunch was let out. Shepard called out her thanks before passing through the doors in search of her teacher. It was a bit of a relief after all of her previous professors had been stressing about how much catch up work she would be having to do, meeting the grizzled man who would be conducting the class.
He went by Hackett, and Kaidan had informed her earlier through mouthfuls of bagel that he was forcibly retired from being a cop after taking a bullet to the leg and now needed a hobby to see him through his golden years. She was pleased to find he was approachable, perhaps not as affable as Mr. Anderson, but certainly fair as long as he wasn't crossed.
It was also nice to see that in her new school gym was treated as a total joke. The two classes separated on opposite sides of the gymnasium and their teachers told them what sport they would be playing. From there, they were given whatever equipment they needed, divided into teams, and the rest was pretty much a free for all. Today, they were given a basketball and set loose.
Most of the boys took to the game with gusto, and though quite a few of the girls joined in, many stood in an out of the way corner of the court in a circle chatting animatedly with one another. Shepard peered over at the other class that occupied the second court on the opposite side of the gym, and watched with a grin as she noticed Ashley giving the boys in her group a run for their money. Happy to be able to relieve some of the day's stress, Shepard followed her lead.
After catching the ball on a rebound and effortlessly tipping it into the hoop to make her fourth consecutive basket, Shepard heard a low whistle. She turned to find a boy standing behind her, carrying a surprising bulk of muscles for one so young. He was a couple inches taller than her so she was forced to look up at him, but she couldn't find him intimidating in the least despite his stature. There was too much honesty in his smile, and warmth in his gaze.
"Wow, Lola. That was quite a shot," he offered sincerely. "You're pretty good at this."
She smiled politely. "Thanks, but it's uh, Jane, actually."
He grinned. "I'll stick with Lola. It suits you."
An eyebrow was raised at the comment, but Shepard didn't protest. Honestly, as long as he didn't turn out to be an asshole any name was fine by her. "And you are?"
"James," another boy suddenly called out, "move your ass or get off the court." Their attention both snapped to their classmate as they realized they had been conversing in the middle of the court while the others had been trying to play around them. They both laughed, and got back down to business.
At the end of class, after she had changed and collected her belongings, he approached her once more. "Good game, Lola," he praised her, offering a hand.
She took it happily, giving it a hearty shake. They had been on opposite sides and his team had lost by a good couple of points. She was pleased to see he was a gracious loser and far from the hotheaded bodybuilder his appearance suggested.
"So where you off to now?" He asked conversationally.
She fumbled with the binder in her hands for a moment, searching for the piece of paper that seemed chronically misplaced. After a few moments she managed to track it down. "Uh," she drawled out as she glanced over the sheet, "political science with Udina."
He grimaced. "Yikes, that's a bummer."
Her face fell at the comment. "Bad class?"
"Bad teacher," he corrected her sympathetically. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Just keep your head down, you'll be alright. Speak when spoken to and all that." He visibly brightened as a thought struck him. "Hey, you should meet up with a buddy of mine, Cortez. Steve's in that class, star pupil because he's such a suck up," he said with a laugh. "Stick with him, he'll take care of ya."
She beamed up at him. "Thanks, James."
"No problem, Lola."
As it turned out, James was able to walk with her to class, and they bumped into his friend Steve along the way. Shepard thanked James for his help and trailed Steve into the class. She felt a bit bad for practically dumping herself on the kid, but he didn't seem bothered in the least.
He waited up front for her while she approached the teacher and the rest of the kids trailed slowly into the room. Udina seemed less than enthused about the new addition to his class. She was ordered to get the notes she had missed from another student and catch up on her own time. Clearly dismissed, Shepard awkwardly shuffled back to Steve's side.
"Wow," she mouthed.
He chuckled, and nodded his head towards a few empty desks on the left side of the room. "Come on, you can sit next to me."
She gave him a curious look. "There's no assigned seating?"
Steve merely rolled his eyes. "Udina would have to remember our names for that."
They sat down side by side and Shepard copied Steve as he pulled out a notebook and opened to a fresh page. "Basically," he said with a soft sigh, "he talks at us for forty five minutes and we write it down. Every once in awhile there's a test."
"Riveting," Shepard replied with a groan.
Steve smiled knowingly, but Shepard was distracted by the two girls who had just entered. People had been trailing in constantly since she had come in but one of the girls certainly was an attention grabber. She wore baggy cargo pants and an extremely oversized black sweater. The part that had caught Shepard's notice however was the fact that her head was completely shaven. The girl next to her was her complete opposite. She possessed a wild mop of red hair and a blinding smile. They seemed so out of place together, and yet took two seats side by side.
Focused as she was on them, Shepard hardly noticed a third party come in. Another girl had entered, though she immediately distinguished herself from the other two. Unlike most of the other students in the school who slinked and slouched about the halls, she stood straight and tall, head held high as she moved with purpose to the back of the room.
"Here comes the queen," the bald headed girl sneered as the newest entry passed by her desk, and jutted out a leg to trip her up. The girl didn't respond however, gracefully stepping over the appendage without a backwards look before taking a seat along the back wall. Her nonchalance about the personal attack was probably due to experience, as her antagonist appeared the type who enjoyed inflicting misery on others, but Shepard found she wouldn't be surprised to discover that the girl sitting alone in the back of the room was the kind of person that was always two steps ahead of the game. She just appeared so disinterested in the whole situation, so disconnected from the students around her and so unreasonably calm for a hormone riddled teenager.
"Lay off, Jack," the redhead who had entered with the clear troublemaker admonished quietly. "Don't be such an ass."
Shepard was surprised when who she could now identify as Jack merely scowled at the reprimand and didn't lash out either verbally of physically. She seemed the type who would be inclined to do either, or on a bad day, both. Instead, she crossed her arms and slouched low in her seat while grumbling out childishly, "she started it."
"Three years ago," the other girl returned easily as if they had had the conversation a thousand times.
Steve had by then noticed Shepard's clear interest in the development and leaned over her desk, whispering conspiratorially so as not to be overheard. "Kelly is the only one who can keep Jack in line," he supplied. "Her parents took Jack in as a foster sometime during middle school, ended up adopting her. I'd keep my distance if I were you. I've never talked to her personally but I've heard some pretty crazy rumors. She's got a mean temper, and apparently Kelly's her only soft spot. I heard she once threw a kid into a wall in the eighth grade just for touching her."
Shepard ignored the crude gossip of what could have very likely been an imaginary fight as her heart softened at the information. "She was an orphan?" she questioned, sympathy pooling through her.
He looked hesitant to continue for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "Look, I won't pretend I know much, but I guess it was an abuse case or something. I don't know the details, but I hear those big sweatshirts she wears hide some messed up scars."
"Wow," Shepard sighed out sadly in disbelief, "that's terrible."
Steve gave her a serious look. "Don't go spreading the news though. I like being alive."
She grimaced, understanding the implication. "Yeah, no worries, buddy." Shepard glanced back over at the pair, wondering how many people in the school feared Jack, and how many of those fears were justified, before her eyes travelled over to the girl Jack had been targeting. Her head was bent as she leant over a notebook, scribbling furiously. The class hadn't even started yet, Shepard couldn't imagine what she was possibly writing. Curiosity thoroughly peeked, she consulted Steve once more. "Do you, uh, know what Jack's issue with her is?"
Steve followed her line of sight, and he surprised her by chuckling. "Well, Jack has an issue with everyone. She just targets her frustrations on Miranda." He shrugged, although Shepard's attention didn't rest on him at the moment and the action was lost on her. "Maybe the girl just looked at her funny one day. I dunno, but if I were you I wouldn't pry. Seriously, just stay out of Jack's way."
"Fair enough," Shepard mumbled without turning away. As if she had belatedly heard Steve whispering her name, Miranda glanced up. Her vibrant blue eyes narrowed as her gaze connected with Shepard's, and Shepard flushed in embarrassment at being caught staring before quickly spinning around in her seat to face front.
Steve chuckled knowingly beside her. "I'd steer clear of her too. She might not be as violent as Jack, but it seems like she's got a few issues of her own."
Shepard nodded her understanding, but was a bit too distracted to fully absorb her new friend's warnings. She was too busy wondering if that Miranda was the very same one Joker and Kaidan had been discussing over lunch. Curiosity overwhelming her, Shepard risked a sly peek over her shoulder. Miranda had her head bent over the paper once more, pen moving obscenely quickly. Not wanting to be caught snooping twice in one class, Shepard forced herself to face forward again.
Luckily, the bell rang and the students who had been loitering around the aisles took their seats, which served as a nice distraction. Unluckily, as soon as Udina stood before the class and started droning on in a slow drawling tone, Shepard realized the man would do little to hold her interest. She forced herself to jot down as much information as she could tolerate, but soon found her mind wandering to other topics.
Between Miranda's falling out with Maya's gang and her apparent ongoing war with Jack, there was a lot to ponder. Still, she had to try to focus on her work.
After all, it really was none of her business.
A/N: I hope that wasn't too boring. I know starting chapters can sometimes be a drag. Anywho, I am having fun with this, so I hope it will be entertaining for you guys. I'm trying to make both the dialogue and narration feel age appropriate for the kids so hopefully they sound natural. Also, haha, I basically just wrote about my old gym class. Good god my school was a hot mess with that. My gym teachers did not care at all.