Although Nea Karlsson appears standoffish, she does care about others in her own way. She feels the faintest of empathy for the junior boy that's being shoved between two of the school's athletes. He looks like their own personal rag doll as his glasses crash onto the tile floor. Nea's jaw clenches when passing students snicker childishly at the scene. Her grip tightens on the worn straps of her backpack, stopping herself from lashing out.
"Couldn't make the football or basketball team," One of the jocks taunted. "That's okay screw up, maybe next year." Lightly tapping his fingers on the flinching boy's cheek, the school athlete left along with his sidekick.
Nea cautiously walked over to the boy who began searching for his missing glasses. She could tell he was blind without them as he knelt on the ground with panic. She forged a light cough when holding out his glasses to him, after plucking them from the floor. He squinted at her, trying to decipher who it was handing him his glasses back. He stumbled to his feet again; with haste he grabbed the glasses from Nea's hand. His eyes grew wide when his vision became clear, causing Nea to raise an eyebrow at the frantic boy.
He swallowed loudly, "Uh... Dwight-I mean I'm uh Dwight. Th-thank you."
Nea shook his sweaty hand that he'd offered with an eye roll. "Nea and you're welcome."
Dwight nodded nervously, his entire form shaking to Nea who watched him suspiciously. He was weird to her, but in a good way, she guessed. Silence took over the hallway they stood in, but neither of them acknowledged it, the situation awkward enough.
"Sorry." They blurted simultaneously.
The dark haired boy's face became flushed as he jerked his hand from Nea's hold. He began fidgeting with the thick rim of his glasses while Nea tugged at her right arm out of nervous habit. The punk girl inhales impatiently, internally hoping for something to cut through the uncomfortable silence. She watches Dwight's shifting posture as if he's debating with himself.
"You're new here, right?" Dwight asked, unsure if she was the recent freshman girl he had seen given a tour of the high school.
Nea shrugged thoughtlessly. "Yeah... my parents moved here from Sweden."
Her features falter as she remembers home, her expression changing with her thoughts, sorrow to resentment. She misses her friends and the cramped, but warm home her father decorated with random trinkets. She wanted to go back to before her parents were haunted by their work or their financial drawbacks. Tears began to blur her view as she angrily stares at the stained tiles.
"Did I do something?" Dwight questioned worriedly, alarmed he had done something to upset her. "I'm sorry if I-"
She interrupts his sympathy speech by shoving past him hurriedly, leaving the teenage boy confused. She runs to the girls' restroom, pushing past the door with fever and hides in the nearest stall. She locks the door behind her, angrily wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her plaid shirt. Annoyed with herself for being so pathetic, she squeezes her eyes shut and tries to forget.
The echo of the school's bell rings, signalling for next class. Nea stills for a moment before opening her eyes again and unlocking the stall door. She studies the empty restroom and spots the small window top of a wall. Dragging one of the empty trashcans underneath the window, she flips it over and stands on top to open the window. She searches her bag and finds her cigarette pack before tossing it on the floor. Nea sticks one of the smokes between her lips while shoving the pack into her pocket. Pulling a lighter from her other pocket, she lights the cigarette allowing herself to relax.
After a few minutes, Nea closes the window and jumps from the bin. She flicks the cigarette into one of the toilets before flushing it and flipping the trashcan back over again. Splashing her face with water over one of the bathroom's sinks, Nea studies her reflection in the mirror smeared with fingerprints and dried soap. She looked miserable, exhausted. With a tired groan she turns the sink's faucet and waits until the bell rings for lunch.
Nea grabs her bag from the floor and pushes the bathroom door open to reveal a mass of frenzied students. A pair of girls mindlessly push past her into the restroom, making her roll her eyes at their ignorance, but realized how hypocritical she was. She steels herself and walks to the cafeteria prepared for more trauma.
When searching the lunch room she finds a table in the far back, away from everyone else. The punk girl thoughtlessly throws her backpack onto the table and sits in one of the many plastic chairs circling it. She rests her head on top of her worn bag and wills herself to ignore the chaotic cafeteria.
"Hi." A familiar voice interrupts her and she looks up to see a frightened Dwight.
"Uh hi?" Nea watches in confusion as he sits to the seat in front of her.
A second later a girl with blue rimmed glasses and dark skin sits beside him. She smiles warmly at Nea who groans internally at the unwanted company. Nea tugs at her grey beanie to mask her frustration as best as she could.
"I'm Claudette," the dark skinned girl introduces herself oblivious to Nea's annoyance. "Dwight wanted to say he was sorry if he upset you earlier." Claudette looked to her friend expectantly.
Dwight nervously toys with his fingers before looking to Nea. "Yeah, I just wanted to apologize for whatever I had said or done."
He watches Nea pleadingly as if she held his life in the palm of her hands or something. It made her feel even more horrible and stupid for being such an asshole to him. She guessed he had begged Claudette to accompany him for moral support, which just made the situation even more awkward. Why couldn't he just had let it all go, forgotten about her like everyone else.
"It's okay, I'm sorry for being an asshole." She muttered uncomfortably, trying to avoid eye contact with either of them.
Dwight looks surprised and smiles at Nea who blushes discreetly at his reaction. "Mind if we stay with you the rest of lunch?" He excitedly points between himself and Claudette as he asks.
"If that's alright with you?" Claudette questions, worried that they'd upset their new friend.
Nea sinks lower into her chair, placing her chin onto the palm of her hand defiantly. "Sure, whatever." She sighs defeated by the universe's stupidity.
The two immediately search their bags for classwork and their homemade lunches. Nea watched in curiosity at how in sync the two were with one another, it was kind of weird, but sweet. How Claudette would some how know when one of the problems became difficult for Dwight, without even looking at him. Tutoring him on how to set up the equations or to fix an answer. It made Nea miss her old friends.
Unzipping one of the pouches of her own bag she pulls out a pair of earbuds and plugs them into her phone. She begins listening to the most brooding and angstiest playlist she had saved, wishing this annoying day would just end already.