Okay, this is a new fic I'm working on... feedback, danke!

"Gilbert! We have to leave!"

I snorted, yanking on my shirt and pants. My pajamas were of course thrown in a heap on the floor, along with a bunch of other junk. I grabbed my backpack. I had bought new crayons and I couldn't wait to try them out. But there was no way in heck I was looking forward to my first day of second grade. Nobody was as cool as me anyway. I glanced in the mirror quickly, running a hand through my silver hair so that it stuck up. My red eyes looked really great against my pale skin. What was it called again? Oh yeah. Albinism, or something.

"Gilbert! NOW!"

My mom sounded impatient. I glanced over at where my pet canary was sleeping in its cage, which was surrounded by all my comics.

"Bye, Gilbird." I mumbled. The yellow bird fluttered off its perch, pecking at the newspaper. I smirked, not looking away as I backed out of the room. "Whoa!" I yelled, my skateboard sliding underneath me. I quickly flipped myself, pushing the wheels to go faster as I sped down the hallway. At the stairs, I kicked it behind me and ran down them as fast as I could. The carpet burned my feet as I dashed towards the front door.

My mother was standing there, arms folded. A frown was definitely visible on her pale face. My little brother Ludwig looked up from where he was trying – and failing – to tie his shoes. I snickered and he looked reproachfully back at me. As I opened my mouth to say something, my mother cleared her throat. I gulped.

"Hi, mom." I tried a smile. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Gilbert, it's your first day. We have to be there on time." She said. I could tell she was angry at me. I shuffled my feet, staring at the floor. She looked down. "Gilbert Beilschmidt, where are your socks?!"

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up at the elementary school. Ludwig, who was normally pretty quiet, was absolutely silent as was drove. He was starting kindergarten though, so I guess I couldn't blame him. "Now, boys, I want you both to try hard and have a good time." I sighed, slumping in my seat. Ludwig nodded. I could tell how nervous he was. Mom turned around in her seat to look at both of us. "Be good. Especially you, Gilbert." She said. I shrugged, but Ludwig looked like he was about to cry. I breathed in deeply. "Okay, mom. We will try." Her smile widened, and she got out.

As soon as we were both out of the car, my mom grabbed our hands. "Mommm!" I groaned, but she only smiled at me. Ludwig peeked around her legs to look up at me anxiously. "You'll be fine," I grinned, reaching over and poking his cheek. "C'mon, smile." I said. He did, and I grinned back. Mom tugged on our hands. "Time to go, boys."

Once we were inside the entranceway, my mom gave us both a hug and a kiss. "Ew, mom!" I yelled, but Ludwig just clung around her neck. "I'll miss you, mommy." He mumbled. She gave him one last kiss, then let us both go. Ludwig stared after her, but I turned around to look for my friends. Namely, a couple of guys who were heading towards us. "Gil!" I grinned widely. Matthias and Antonio and I had known each other since kindergarten, and they were great.

They stopped short beside me. Matthias was almost a foot taller than me, but Antonio was even shorter. We all bro-fisted and Matthias laughed. "Lookin' good, Gil!" He pointed to my t-shirt. To my horror, I realized I was wearing a shirt my grandma had got me, the one with the words "Cutie pie!" scrawled across the front on pink writing. "Why would you wear that?" Antonio asked, tilting his head to the side. His dark brown hair just brushed his shoulders. "Because – because it's cool!" I told him, crossing my arms over my front.

Matthias grinned, then looked beside me. "Who's this?" He asked. I had completely forgotten about Ludwig, and his class started in two minutes. "Poop!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and sprinting with him down the hall. I could hear my best friends cracking up behind me. "His name's poop?" Matthias yelled.

We burst into his classroom with one minute to spare. I felt huge next to the tiny chairs of the little kids, but Ludwig shrank behind me. "I am not sure about this," He said in a measured voice. I looked down at his blond head and blue eyes. "You'll be fine." I told him again. He shook his head. "Really?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, really really." He smiled his sweet shy smile, and I grinned and shook my head. "Have fun!"

Now I really needed to get to class. I sprinted back down the hall, groaning when I realized my friends were nowhere in sight. I had forgotten to ask anyone where class 2B was and it was five minutes to go until the start of the day. I looked around helplessly, ready to yell. Suddenly, the door to the office opened and I heard an unfamiliar woman's voice.

"Sorry we registered so late. Glad we know where Eli's going! Right, Ells?" I peeked in through the door. A woman with long, red hair was holding the handle. She was talking to the secretary, but she had just asked a question to the tall kid beside her. He had shortish brown hair and green eyes, kind of like Antonio's, and he stuck his tongue out when he saw me. I blanched, pulling back and hiding behind the door again.

"Eli?" The woman, who I now guessed to be the guy's mom, asked. He turned away from me, answering with a short nod. The secretary beamed, shuffling his papers. "Great! You're in 2B, right? I show you the room." My eyes widened. Thank god! That was my class! Now if I could just follow them…