Connor

Connor´s life has been always easy. Easy to making friends. Easy to playing sports. Easy to studying through High School, even with science as a tough enemy. But in the end what Connor feels is a emptiness. A meaningless life who barely allows him to wake up every morning and jump through his day.

His routine has been so boring that he didn´t even need to get a schedule.

7:00 am. He wakes up.

7:05 am. He brush his teeth.

7:10 am. He has a shower

7:25 am. He has breakfast.

7:35 am. He leaves the empty house, as his father is always early left in the morning to work.

As he walk through the usually road to Anchor Beach High School, he didn´t even pay attention to the road. He didn´t needed anyway. Could make the way with his eyes closed. Every day thinking that anything new would happen. Anything that would change his world. Anything that would make him alive.

But that would change. Since the day that new kid arrive at his class.

Was first period, English class, as he arrived at his class he gets some conversation between his classmates. As he enter and go to his seat, at the end row of the class he gets pieces of conversations.

"Have you heard it? There´s going to be a new kid in class".

"Really? A new kid is moving only two months from the start of the year?"

"Yeah, I heard he is a foster kid".

Now Connor was paying more attention to the boys talking two front rows from his seat. Without looking suspicios he gives all his attention to the boys talking. Jeremy and Blake, the jerks of the class, thought Connor. Usually picking up at the most weak boys at their grade and giving them a hard time. Connor was safe, as he is, like he thought always he was an easy person. Don´t get into trouble and the trouble doesn´t get to you.

Connor was already sorry for that new kid. That foster kid, he thought, even as he never heard those words. Remembering to ask his father what does that mean. He could ask the new kid but it would be that he was giving him a hard time at the new kid.

As his thoughts flew over his head he heard the bell that brings the time of many kids running through his spots along the class and the noise of chairs and tables to be in the place that has to be.

One minute after the ring bell the teacher enters the classroom. Behind her enters a kid Connor has never seen. Even at lunch, or the gym or any classes before. "That´s the new kid, the foster kid, whatever that means" Connor thought.

As the new kid enters the classroom a overwhelming silence covers the classroom. Seconds before the arriving with the voice of multiple and loud boys and girls chatting about anything from the homework to the last film or the last DVD that his father bought him the day after.

Connor sees the new kid as he stays in the front of the class. Knowing that he has make a whole class silence.

Connor saw a mix of feelings in the face of the new kid, from fear to the unknown, to the embarrassment of a full class staring at him all at once, until his face was hardened and his eyes seem more confident. Connor was thinking that in 5 seconds saw an unbeliaveable reaction to a new class from a new kid. There has always been a new kid in almost every class. But this boy was different. Connor knew that. Not because he was a foster kid, even without knowing what was that, because the boy has proved that he is not scared of the crowd of classmates fixing his eyes at him.

When the new kid had make his glance hardened and looking all over the new class, looking at his new classmates, Connor was seeing a strength, something he never seen in any kid, even from the upper grades. All he saw is a pair of eyes, full of ice and fire scouting through the class, until the new kid meet the gaze at Connor. At this moment Connor was hipnotized as the new kid stared at him. Only to last a few more seconds as Connor can swear as he give to the rest of the class. The only thing that breaks that moment was the teacher starts to speak. Breaking the moment Connor has thinking about the new kid and even forgetting that he is in a classroom, and her teacher is already at class.

"Ok everybody" she says, "this is your new classmate, his name is Jude Jacob and today is his first day at Anchor Beach. So give him a little space and you can get to know him better at the end of the class, ok?"

As she finish Connor was only thinking how could he gets to start a conversation with Jude. Feeling for the first time something he has never feel. Shyness. He feels something strange, thinking as the new kid already breaks a little of his easy world. Connor was shy to start a conversation with him, and Jude only been in the classroom for 3 minutes.

The classroom was quiet even when she finish her speech, only to break the silence again, speaking to Jude now. "Ok, Jude, please take a seat and we can start the class, ok"

Jude nodded her way and start to scout over his glance through the room again. Looking for an available spot. As the teacher gives her attention to Jude again, she says "You can seat in the last row, there is a empty seat next to Mr Stevens, if you need anything you just need to ask me, ok?"

In that moment Connor almost knock out of the chair, thinking how lucky he is to be able to be near the new kid. As the words of their teacher repeats again in his head, he thought "empty seat?, there is an empty seat next to me?. Looking to his right he could see a bored kid, playing with his phone behind the desk. Connor frowns at him as he didn´t even pay any attention to the new kid. Only to look to his left he saw what the teacher has already taught him. An empty seat. He breaks into a soft smile thinking how fortunate he is about that empty seat, empty until Jude comes and seat next to him.

Connor move again his attention at Jude and get all the attention as Jude is already looking at him. Narrowed eyes, thought Connor as he has been caught. Has Jude seen the smile that Connor glanced to the empty chair? But that look Jude gives him only last a few seconds as his glance gets cold again and move his head to her teacher.

Jude gives her another nod and makes his way through the isle of chairs and tables and glances of his new classmates.

Connor always following all his movements sees more of the new kid as he gets closer. He is short, and too skinny, even filling the clothes he is wearing, a little too big for him but not too much too look strange. He has to be his age but he is at least one head smaller than him, Connor thought.

Connor gaves him a little smile as the new boy arrives but he does not give him attention, Connor feels a little hurt, but being new in a class full of people he doesn´t take it seriously. He has plenty of time to know this new kid. He has plenty of time to know Jude. Thinks until the boy slide on the chair without making any noise.