A/N: Welcome to my fanfiction, I sincerely hope you enjoy my trash!

Warnings: I think there's like one curse word? Awkward main character? Is self-insert a warning?

1. The Room Where It Happened

I'm exhausted. It's halfway through class and I can feel my eyelids growing heavier by the moment. I'd most likely have drifted off into my own little world by now if it wasn't for the loud, heated debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. This is a daily battle, one that amuses Mr. G to no end, most of the time he doesn't even say anything except for the occasional encouraging comment- and I don't mean, 'yeah, that's right!', more like, 'If he stops listening to you, throw your shoe at him!' (though he now has to remind us not literally, after Alexander took the words all too seriously and ended up landing himself in the office). It doesn't help that the two are a good distance away from each other in the classroom, causing them to need to yell.

Recently, we've been discussing the 1700's- a period all too close to their hearts. Their names aren't just out of convenience, they are actually descendants of the founding fathers, and they refuse to let anyone forget it (not that I mind, I think it's pretty cool and Mr. G sure gets a kick out of it). Mr. G can hardly get through one bullet of notes before the two are at each other's throats. At this point, their yelling is so jumbled together that I can't really understand- though I know I'm on Alexander's side- I tend to agree with him on most things- even if I don't necessarily agree with the way he executes his argument. Even if I can't understand, at this point, it doesn't matter. In a few moments G will stop them and move on to the next bullet point. I'm a little excited to speak about it- we're briefly covering John Laurens' proposed plan of emancipating the slaves in exchange for them joining in the Revolutionary War. It's a short window, considering Mr. G spends roughly ten minutes on each war, he always telling us that the wars never matter (which royally pisses off Alexander, who's a big believer in a war being significant to change).

I examine the class for a moment, most of them completely ignore the debate, focusing on writing notes. My eyes wander to G for a moment, he's sitting on top of the desk in front of me, feet up, without a care in the world. I almost want to laugh, his casualness is part of what makes him so intimidating. Just recognizing his proximity makes me nervous, as if he can sense my stupid.

Aaron speaks, up surprisingly, he usually keeps his thought to himself, so the words don't fail to grab my attention, "Thomas, Alexander, can we agree that this debate is dumb and immature? Can't we just leave this argument at 'wars don't matter anyway'." I'm no longer surprised after hearing his words, Aaron hates debates and he makes no secret of it. He believes that you get nowhere by constantly expressing your opinion and instead, you should bite your tongue and rough through everything else. He sits beside me and I can always hear his annoyed murmurs to himself while the two have each other by the throats.

"Aaron, if you aren't here to debate and interpret, why are you in my class?" G asks with a sigh, crossing his arms and leaning against the white board- when did he move from the desk?, eying Aaron. Jefferson and Alexander laugh hard, waving goodbye to Aaron with smug smiles on their faces. Jefferson and Alexander fight, sure, but they always seem to hate Aaron more- or, at least, his opinions . I can see Aaron's face redden slightly, he grumbles to himself, continuing writing in his notebook. I feel bad, there's really no room to defy the two of them in this class. G continues to speak, his attention now on the duo, "Neither one of you is right, anyway," he says, before explaining to them why no side is more important than the other.

Alexander and Jefferson both cross their arms, seeming unconvinced by G's argument. G seems to not care as he goes back to reading the bullet points, I'm always amazed by how G's voice on it's own stops the chatter completely, "Can anyone tell me why the plan of manumission was so significant?"

I shoot up my hand, and immediately regret it, feeling the eyes of the class glue themselves to me. When I don't speak right away, G raises an eyebrow, gesturing for me to speak. I take a deep breath, "Well, if we consider the context, this is a time of great change… America hasn't even been created yet, it's all just a notion of a nation, but the county is already starting to be formed. Proposing such a big change during this time of change means a lot... And it was a great opportunity to address something this big..." I answer softly. I must sound like an idiot, the words always sound better in my head…

Thomas snickers, "Yeah, but it didn't happen-"

"No, no." G interrupts him immediately, tossing a marker in his direction that barely misses his head. Mr. G does this all the time, it's his way of telling whoever is speaking to shut up. Alexander snorts behind the hand covering his mouth. "Thomas, it isn't always about what happened. Sometimes it's deeper than that. Every document matters or else it wouldn't have been written. This was a plan, whether it was passed or not doesn't matter. What matters is that there are differing ideologies."

I almost smile at G's words, but I know that Thomas would try and fight with me if I made such a move and that's the last thing that I want.

Thomas continues, seemingly unfazed by the marker throwing incident, "Well, slaves weren't considered people at the time, anyway." he says flatly, "So, the document doesn't matter, it doesn't change anything."

I know I said moments ago that I wasn't going to argue with Thomas, but his comment set me off, "Except that black people have always been people, whether white people chose to acknowledge it or not. And another thing, you said that statement as if no one consider them to be people- obviously, abolitionists did or they wouldn't have suggested it in the first place."

I hear one of my friends, Hercules Mulligan, whistle and then break into a laugh, totally amused by my words. "I feel like we should applaud." he says jokingly and he actually does clap his hands together, my cheeks heating up. Normally, G would stop him immediately, but this time around, he just smirks slightly.

After the single applause dies down, Jefferson shoots a glare at Hercules which Hercules returns with a wide, unforgiving grin. The look that Jefferson then directs at me makes my heart to stop, and I once again go back to thinking arguing with him is a bad idea. Even if he was wrong, he's known for getting what he wants- I'm certain he could destroy me with a couple of words if he wanted to. And I'd been doing such a good job of staying under the radar. Sure, I spoke in class, but nothing to provoke outrage.

Mr. G looks between Jefferson and I a few times, "Nothing more to say? It's a shame, it was getting interesting." he snickers, before turning back to the board and walking through the rest of the notes.

For the rest of the class period, it's rather quiet, a few people make comments. Lafayette, my friend and a French exchange student, makes some comments on how American history is presented differently there. Thomas and Alexander make the occasional snide comment. Most notably, John Laurens, another close friend of mine, speaks out, making comments on slavery that make me smile to myself as I write my notes.

At the tail end of the period, Mr. G steps a little past the board, pinning up a paper that leads us all to bounce in our seats a bit. We know what it is before he even says, "Your grades for the quarter are up." in his casual tone. Once he's finished, the class jumps up, rushing over to the list to look it over. Thomas and Alexander are front and center, both screaming out.

"I'm third in class?" Jefferson cries, running his fingers through his hair and making a far too overly dramatic pose of defeat.

"I'm second," Alexander laughs, but it sounds rather fake, "At least I beat you."

"By a hundredth of a percent, Hamilton, you aren't that great." he replies with an eyeroll.

"It's still more than you and I bet that kills you, that's all I need to know." Alexander hisses back.

"You wouldn't have the better grade if you weren't such a kiss ass- you have G behind you, without him you're nothing."

"You don't know what you're talking about, honestly, jealousy is a bad color-"

The rest of the class is chatting among themelves, trying to find out who's name is at the top of the list. The bell rings in the midst of it, and the class trickles out. John, Hecules, and Lafayette look over to me, "Are you coming?" they ask.

"I'll be right there!" I call, pointing at the grade sheet, "I just want to check my grade real quick."

They leave with the rest of the class, and it's just Thomas, Alexander, and I. Thomas and Alexander rush to G's desk, their voices mixing together in all their yelling and fits of anger. They sound more upset than when they're arguing with each other.

"Who has the highest grade!?" they both shout together.

At the same time G answers, my body freezes as I see my student ID number on the list. I check the number three times before I can actually register it, "Lyra."

The air gets chilly, or at least it feels like it, the two boys turn from Mr. G, their eyes on me.

"You? Seriously?" Thomas' words sound like poison in his mouth.

"She hardly talks!" Alexander exclaims, sounding horrified.

Mr. G shrugs, "It's not all about talking, boys. Lyra works hard. Her quiz scores are great, she's good at writing, she comes in for study sessions often..." he lists off each thing, not once looking up from the paperwork on his desk. He sounds a little proud, which makes my heart fill with joy and pound at the same time.

"Whatever." Alexander groans, heading out of the classroom "I'll beat her next time."

"Don't get cocky." Jefferson whispers, strutting past me with a subtle shoulder bump.

All the blood must be drained from my face by the time that they're gone, I numbly walk to my backpack, carefully collecting my stuff. Normally, I'd be excited, but all I can feel is horror and guilt. Those two work so hard, how can I be the one at the top...?

"Lyra." I jump when I hear my name, quickly turning my head toward G. He seems to notice my lack of color, he speaks gently, "You're in that spot for a reason, alright? Don't let the founding idiots scare you off."

I hesitate before nodding, "Yeah, of course- and thank you, so much, I wouldn't be in the spot if I didn't have your help." I say with a shaky smile, I genuinely do appreciate him, he's always so patient with me, "I'm going to go talk to them, though, try and apologize."

"You shouldn't," he warns, "Those two have enough of an ego."

"I want to." I assure, slinging my bag over my shoulder, "Bye, Mr. G, I'll see you tomorrow."

I step out of the classroom, Lafayette, Hercules, and John waiting outside in the hall for me. I smile at them, and John rushes over, grabbing my shoulders, "Is it true?" he asks quickly.

"Is what...?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Are you the one at the top of the list?"

"Oh, yeah-"

Hercules booms with laughter, slapping me on the back, "Good job, kid, those two could use a blow. Maybe now they won't think they're so great."

Lafayette snorts, "I doubt it."

"Guys-" the three boys stop, looking to me, "I feel really bad about this, I'm going to go find them and apologize for the inconvience."

Hercules groans, "You're ruining the moment with this kindness thing, you're at the top, we should celebrate."

Lafayette nods with a huge smile, "We are going to a, how you say, Pizza Factory- I am excited to try American pizza."

"I would totally join you guys, and you'll have to tell me all about it, but I really have to do this."

Lafayette and Hercules sigh deeply, but John gives me a reassuring smile, "Alright, we understand. Good luck, we'll see you after school. You're still coming with us, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." I pull out my wallet, handing them a ten dollar bill, "Do me a favor and get me a drink?"

"Of course. Bye, Lyra!" John takes the bill, turning away with the boys while waving.

I feel my heart warm up watching them go, it erases some of the dread I have at the thought of approaching Alexander and Jefferson.