Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot.
A/N: I hope to be updating at least once a week, and the first chapter is quite slow, just trying to introduce the story, I think. This is my first fan fiction so enjoy!
Norman Babcock wasn't exactly the normal teenager that he led on to be. The introverted boy rarely told anybody that he could see, as well as talk to the dead. Although he saved his small town of Blithe Hollow three years ago, people still were not so accepting of his gift. So he figured he should just keep to himself to spare him of the negative attention. Today was his first day at Blithe Hollow High as a freshman, but he didn't feel anymore nervous than he normally would on any other school day. As isolated as he seems, Norman is more of an observer, and likes the company of himself better than with an actual person. With the acception of Neil. They were still friends, and they have only gotten closer since the events from the sixth grade.
Norman pulled his bag over his shoulder and left his house to walk to school, engaging in a few conversations with people who used to live and breathe, like he did. Though they are dead, Norman felt comfortable in their presence. Needless to say, he was better at connecting with the dead than with the living, and even though Norman seemed lonely and depressed, he was never actually alone, there was almost always someone to talk to be it dead or alive.
"Hey Norman!" A voice came from the crowd of people in front of the school, and Norman turned his head in the direction it came from. He was slightly confused, wondering who was calling his name, but it wasnt long before Neil came stumbling out of the crowd with a huge smile on his face. "We're high schoolers now!" The red head beamed at Norman, if anything, Neil was excited enough for the both of them.
"I guess so." Was all he could think to say. Norman obviously didn't reciprocate the excitedness, but tried to hide it.
"What's your homeroom?" Neil asked, pulling out his own schedule so the two could compare what classes they had.
"Room 203, whats yours?" Norman asked as they walked into the building to go to their homeroom, probably for some introduction on the transition from middle to high school.
Blithe Hollow was a small town, and being an observer, Norman has seen everyone's face at least once, and most of the people knew eachother or were at least aquainted. That made walking through the halls less intimidating, well for Norman that is. Neil was walking like an excited puppy, and he couldnt help but smile.
"We should meet here after this class to help eachother find our classes!" Neil pointed to the ground. They stood in front of the door to Neil's homeroom, Norman thought it would be polite to walk him to his room since he didnt know the building well. Neither did Norman, but he had a grasp of the door numbers.
Norman nodded, agreeing to meet up. "Okay. See ya." He waved as he turned to walk and find his own room. He saw the room number when they were walking, so he only had to walk where needed.
He entered the room, seeing that people were already sitting at tables with their friends from middle school. Then there was a new face that Norman hadnt seen before. The guy was sitting alone at a table in the middle of the classroom, with both earbuds in and he was doodling on a piece of paper in front of him. Norman was curious, but not enough to walk up to the new guy and talk to him. Instead he walked to the back of the class and sat at an empty table, not taking anything out, but setting his arms on the table and laying his head on them.
Norman started to drift to sleep when the bell rang, waking him up. He sat up and looked to the front of the classroom, seeing a male teacher get up from their desk to stand at the front of the room. The teacher began introducing himself. Mr. Thomas. From what the teacher sounded like, Norman was glad he only had this teacher for homeroom, he sounded like a prick that wouldnt listen to anyones opinion but his own. As the man continued talking, Norman noticed that the new kid had put away the earbuds.
"Alright, now, if you're in your homeroom class, congradulations, you're in the right room. If you're here for first period, you're in the wrong room." Mr. Thomas said, pacing back and forth in front of the room.
"Shit." Norman was probably the only one to hear this, but after the teacher explained, the unfamiliar boy muttered and shrugged his backpack on, leaving the classroom without another word. Norman felt a bit bummed out, there was a new person in Blithe Hollow, and he didnt even get his name, but surely he would come across it sometime later.
The rest of the period was uneventful, the topic was based soley around the fact that if you failed any class in your freshman year you might as well drop out. Probably not that direct, but it was hinting at something like that.
"Did you know theres a new kid?" Norman asked once Neil came out of his classroom.
"Yeah, his name is DJ!" Norman was appaled that he was probably the last to figure this out. "From what I heared hes pretty cool." Neil started walking, not stopping to wait for Norman to catch up the few steps he'd taken.
After Neil said that, Norman thought instantly that the new kid would form with the 'cool kids'. Which didnt bother him, just made him more curious about this guy.
The day went by pretty quickly, and by the end of fifth period, Norman was thinking about how he would have to get used to the stairs that were on the routes of his classes. During passing period, Norman found himself walking alone this time. It wasnt that hard to find his classroom, so it didnt really bother him. Sixth period was Algebra II, which was advanced so he figured not many other freshmen would be in there. He saw the door and headed in that direction, but turned his head when someone walking faster than him passed and entered the door. Norman recognized the red black and white stripped shirt, and he smiled. DJ walked into the room, and Norman entered not long after that.
There was a seating chart on the projector, and Norman sat in his assigned seat, waiting for a student named 'Zack' to come and sit next to him. While he waited, he took out a notebook and a pencil from his backpack and sat quietly.
The bell had rung, and the seat next to Norman was still empty. The teacher had begun talking, this teacher was female, and adressed herself as Mrs. Peterson. While she was explaining the learning targets, a student walked in.
"Finally decided to show up, Zack?" The teacher teased. In response, Zack put his hand up and walked to the seat next to Norman. Mrs. Peterson just continued her lecture on the rules.
"Hey, I've never seen you around, you new here or something?" Zack nudged Norman with his elbow, and he looked at the blonde haired man.
"Uh, no. I'm just a freshman." Norman whispered, not wanting to get caught talking while the teacher was talking. Zack had blonde hair and blue eyes, and was quite the ladies man from what Norman heared. He was also the quarterback of the football team, which in retrospect wasnt a high position because they were just the small town team that occasionally won, but never made it to state.
"Are you like a brainyack or something?" Obviously not the brightest crayon in the box, but Norman didnt know how to reply to that, thinking a 'yes' would be too arrogant, whereas a 'no' would put himself down. Replying wasnt a problem when Zack kept talking. "Nothing wrong with that, we'll just pass this class together." Norman chuckled and smiled, wondering if he had just signed a verbal contract to let him copy during tests. Most likely, but that wasnt a big issue, helping a lost cause, he thought.
Mrs. Peterson dragged out the intro lesson, and assigned a worksheet, giving the students an extra fifteen minutes to work on it until the last bell rang. The room was filled with inside voices, and Norman found the problems quite easy. The boy sitting next to him was quiet, but it didnt last long before he started talking.
"So, whats your name?" The man asked, making Norman look up and engage in conversation.
"I'm Norman." He felt it would be pointless to ask what his name was.
"I have a proposition." Norman tried to hide his confusion, but failed. To be honest, he didnt think that Zack knew a word that big, let alone the meaning, but Norman continued to listen. "Well, since you seem quiet, I'm thinking you've never been to a party, and probably because it's the first day of your freshman year, whatever." That was true. In middle school there were parties, but they would be nothing like a high school one, not that he's been to any in the past, he just assumed. "But I'll bring you around to some in exchange for you letting me copy your homework, or any quizzes or whatever." Norman would've just accepted to do it without anything in exchange, but it was a normal thing for teenagers to party right? After a few seconds of silence, Zack stuck his hand out to shake on it. "We gotta deal?"
Norman thought for a quick second before reaching out and shaking hands with Zack. "Yeah, sure." Though he was internally scared of what he had got himself into, he just returned to his worksheet and finished it, then he slid it onto Zacks desk politely.
"Thanks man." Which sounded more genuine than Norman expected. Zack was a senior, and by the looks of it, he was ready to be out and graduate into the real world, but he wasnt as stoked about the work. Norman was glad he could help, he was even getting something in return, which was still questionable.
