Something about the air was warmer than Thomas had anticipated, yet he still hugged his coat closely around his body in the Autumn setting, waiting for the bus to roll at his stop.
Anxiety filled him to the brim, it always did on days like this when he was thrown back to the 'new kid' scenario, especially in high schools, other children were rough, especially towards Thomas, who seemed to be some sort of magnet for trouble wherever he went.
But this had to be different, it had to be.
He had yet to walk into his new home for the first time, but he pushed that aside as soon as the slightest hint of it slipped into his mind, he would worry about that later, but for now, he could hear the tyres of the bus coming towards him, so he held out his arm, and waited a few stomach wrenching seconds as the bus creaked to a halt.
The doors swooshed open, and the bus driver nodded at Thomas in little acknowledgement, so Thomas did the same as he walked past and looked upon the full seats that were placed before him, all full of other students, some watching him like vultures, others completely ignoring his existence.
As he walked down, he noticed an empty space near the back beside another boy, so he took it without so much of a glance, it was no use, the boy was looking out the window and didn't seem to even realize Thomas was there, it was that or either he just didn't care. The boy had his headphones on and his chin was rested on his palm as he looked out the window like everything was uninteresting to him, he had olive coloured skin and dark brown hair, Thomas assumed he was Asian, though he didn't think much about the boy as the bus started rolling once more, every second taking him closer to his new school.
Thomas was almost happy when the bus stopped outside of the towering school that looked like it had been pulled from the nineteenth century. The boys and girls behind him at the back of the bus were loud and obnoxious, and Thomas was sure they heard them making fun of him already, though he pretended not to hear them as he walked off the bus, unsure if the Asian boy was behind him or not, he didn't really care, he just wanted to get the day over and done with.
The school looked almost as old inside as it did on the outside, though there were some modern changes, like computers and technology and large art on the walls that had been done by looked down at the crumpled map in his hand and followed the halls to the English unit, where he would have his very first lesson of the day.
When he arrived, he took a seat at the back of the class next to the window, he pulled out his books and pens and waited as the other students flooded in, most of them talking to their groups of friends making Thomas feel isolated and lonely.
"Quiet, now!" A very posh English tone rang out from the front of a class, a man in his late sixties, he wore a suit and his hair was graying, though he looked wise, as wise as the tone he expressed in his voice.
Everyone silenced at his presence and took their seats.
A boy with blonde hair slumped in the seat beside Thomas, a strong looking boy with blonde hair and electric blue eyes, he was attractive, no doubt, but Thomas didn't think much else of him, just kept his eyes on the teacher who was pacing around the front of the class and talking about poems that they would have to learn over the term for their exams.
After what felt like minutes, the class was over. Thomas couldn't work out if it was because the class was so fascinating, or if it was because he was so nervous for the school day to end. His mind was lost in thought to the extent that he didn't even notice the boy from beside him trying to talk to him until he patted his shoulder.
"Huh?" Thomas grunted as he looked to the side of him to see the boy smirking at him.
"You should pay more attention to what's around you, Tommy. Come on, we have a free period, best come with me so you don't like alone and pathetic"
"It's Thomas, and how do you know I have a free next?"
"You left your timetable on the desk" Thomas looked down, was in fact, still on the desk, he quickly stuffed it in his backpack, then looked at the boy with a slightly pink face, the boy was still smirking, but there was something kind about it, more gentle, the way he spoke seemed nice too, articulate and English with some slang that Thomas was sure he put on to seem cooler, well, it worked.
"Come on, Tommy, let's get the last of the sunshine"
"Thomas" Thomas grumbled, following the boy like a lost puppy.
The sun beamed on Thomas' back as he and the boy, who he now knew to be called Newt, walked along the grass by the track outside. Newt seemed to know a lot of people, mostly everyone he passed he would smile at or wave, it was surreal for Thomas, he had never really involved himself with other people, especially people who were social and open.
"So what's this place like usually?what are the other kids like?" Thomas asked and Newt shrugged.
"Some are here because they have to be, some are here because they want to be, there's nice and not so nice people, but at the end of the day it's a school like any other, really. There's clubs and stuff, track running, sports and other things, there's a writing club and so on, anything like that interest you, Tommy?"
Thomas had given up trying to correct Newt on the new given nickname, so he simply shrugged it off. "I like running" He admitted, and he did, he used it as a stress relief most of the time.
"Yeah there's a track team, they do try outs every now and again, you're best talking to Mr Parry, he's the coach for the track team, a friend of mine is in the team actually"
"What about you?" Thomas asked,
"Nah, I work after school so I don't have much time, but there's a party next week for our year, you should come, might meet some new people, maybe even a girl, or a guy, whatever you're into" Newt said smirking at Thomas teasingly, making Thomas blush and look down, he had never considered liking anyone before, it was childish really, the thought of kissing or dating scared him.
"I'm not really a social kind of person" Thomas responded awkwardly.
Newt laughed, and it was a beautiful sound, something rare and pure, Thomas was barely surrounded by laughter and smiles, so seeing Newt's face light up was made Thomas smile a little, it made him feel like everything was good, not great yet, but good.