It was a quiet and misty day in the busy town of Gotham City. The skies were grey; birds hurriedly flew in different directions and various cars drove up and down the semi-empty streets. The morning bell for the city's private school, Gotham Academy, rung loudly. Typical as always, the loud obnoxious teenagers were reporting their weekend gossip and experiences as if they were separated for years. One particular thing this high school was esteemed proud of was the distinct uniforms the students were obligated to use. It was something regarded as belonging to the school, even though every uniform looked uncomfortable and tacky. The students all walked to their own classrooms, looking like a sad herd of sheep in the hallways.
"Children…" An old woman spoke, her voice oozing with a threatening demeanor.
"Its eight in the morning and I must take role! Be considerate of others and be quiet!" She said, her frail voice almost giving up on her, hesitating to look at her students. She was a cranky old woman and definitely did not want to be there.
The classroom soon became silent after her pleas; short whispers were exchanged in between the sounds of backpack zippers and rustling papers. As if on cue; the golden tinted doorknob twisted to the right, cracking the door open. The small clacking of shoes replaced the silence, the click of the door soon following afterwards.
"What is it?" The old teacher hissed, not looking at the person next to her. The teacher's thin wrinkly fingers were searching for a document, creating a mess of papers all around her desk; not bothering to look up at least once.
"I-I'm a new student, ma'am. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your valuable class time." The girl meekly said, fingers twiddling with a small yellow paper on her hand identifying her existence in the school. Her pale cheeks were brushed with a light red hue as her dull green eyes were pasted on the unswept floor.
"Oh dear, I am terribly sorry. Are you the exchange student the faculty has told me about?" The old woman asked, her eyebrows relaxing, wise brown eyes widening slightly with excitement.
"Yes." The new girl simply said. She smiled nicely at the teacher, shuffling her weight between one foot and the other.
"Children, we have a new student—"She spoke loudly, she then turned to the female, "What is your name, dear?" She whispered, her eyes crinkling while chuckling at her own mistake.
"My name is Vivienne Holt." She whispered back, using her hand as a curtain as she spoke. The students looked at her impatiently and whispered to one another being completely curious about her being.
"You may sit next to the young lady right over there in that empty seat." She pointed her bony finger to the back seat. Vivienne's eyes followed the direction her finger was pointing at and realized her seat was next to a scary looking girl. She quietly walked down the row and sat down with a bit of hesitation.
"Hey there." The blonde greeted, her dark gray eyes analyzing every last bit of the feminine features the new girl had.
"Hello…" Vivienne greeted, looking at the girl timidly. She smiled lightly and turned her head towards the window next to her desk, instinctually loving the feel of the warm rays of the sun on her exposed neck.
"I'm Artemis Crock." She stated, smiling while her graceful fingers combed the knots out of her long blonde hair. She then pointed at her new neighbor's wrist with big curious eyes.
"They're really cute, where'd you get them?" Artemis asked, trying to make a decent conversation. It normally wasn't like her to be so girly, but the bracelets she wore were indeed very fashionable.
"My father made them for me.." Soft red lips parted as she spoke, curving into a delighted smile at the thought of her only living relative while she closed her eyes in joy.
The blonde haired girl smiled at the expression on the new girl's face, her fingers tapping a rhythm on the wooden desk. Smoky gray eyes looked at the teacher and back at the pale girl next to her, hoping neither of them would get in trouble for yapping away. Vivienne looked forward and sighed, slumping into her chair. Sadly the one thing cheering her up was the warm sunlight and the brief talk she's having with the blonde next to her.
"We should be friends." Artemis boldly stated, a small grin forming on her plump lips. Vivienne looked at Artemis with confused, yet happy eyes as she nodded timidly, receiving a quiet giggle from Artemis.
"Let's hang out after this, I'm new here too.." She whispered, in hopes of a positive reply from the girl. The pale skinned girl nodded and held her pinky out, looking at her new friend. Artemis grinned while she interlocked her pinky with the other.
The bell rang an hour afterwards. The students piled up their work on the teacher's desk, and rampaged out of the classroom; one of them was in such a hurry they even dropped their chair. Even the teacher had abandoned her sanctuary, most likely for breakfast. Cassidy patiently stayed in her seat, one leg crossed over the other and waited for everyone to evacuate the room. She noted that her blonde friend was missing. Frowning slightly, Vivienne grabbed her bag and walked out of the empty classroom.
The outside of the Gotham Academy was quite impressive. The landscape was very beautiful and was greatly appreciated by the artsy mind. Trees, shrubs and flowers surrounded the outside area. Vivienne spotted a non-occupied metal bench across the large yard; it was empty and seemed to be calling her name.
Making her way to the bench, she looked around at the different faces filling the schoolyard. None recognized her and she recognized none, letting that thought sink in, she realized: it sucked being the new girl. They all wore the same clothing, girls in specific, a blue blazer with a matching blue skirt. A white dressed shirt with a tie to compliment it and a pair of white socks. Not liking the idea of being identical to the rest of the bunch, she pulled her navy blue skirt down as she walked. The skirt felt too short by her standards and by the looks of all other girls, her skirt was indeed too short.
After walking by herself for a few seconds, Vivienne heard a second pair of footsteps behind her. Slowing down her pace and focusing on every footstep she took, she realized… was someone following her? Quickly turning around, Vivianne found herself face to face with a blue eyed boy. His beautiful black hair was neatly combed back and his face was a peachy paled color. He grinned at the surprised look he received from the girl, as she jumped back once realizing how close she was to him, accidentally tripping over her own feet.
"We're clumsy, aren't we?" He said, laughing at her. He lowered himself to meet her height, holding his hand out in order to help her up. Feeling as if her ears and face grow hotter by the second, she gingerly took ahold of his hand.
"I-I'm not… you just startled me!" Vivienne yelped, her pale green eyes looking away from his captivating blue hues. She found herself embarrassed, feeling it was very difficult to forgive the boy who made her weak at the knees— it wasn't because she thought he was cute, it was because he was just surprising, that was all.
"I didn't catch your name." He stated smiling as he let go of her thin hand.
"Its Vivienne." She said, bringing her hand to her chest. Her rosy lips slightly parted, finally finding her voice and courage to ask him for his na—
"Hmm, I'll see you next time, Viv!" He hollered while he dashed off into the depths of the school. Vivienne looked at his form disappear in bewilderment. That was a strange encounter and she desperately needed to consult Artemis about it. She was in this school longer, she must know of this guy.