Author's note: Edwina Patelli (E.D) is my O.C and this is the first story she's making an appearance in, so I guess I'll let you discover what she's like and what she's been through throughout the story. If there's anything you would like to know about her that I don't put in, I'm more than happy to answer any questions (preferably on Tumblr - see next sentence). If you would like to see what I imagined her as, feel free to go to my Tumblr - (just a bit of casual self-promotion, because I can). If you're reading this I already adore you, so thank you, thank you, thank you and please tell me what you think. I'll shut up now. Enjoy!
"Ah Mrs Imangi, how nice to meet you, I'm…" Edwina drowned out the sound of the principal's voice with her music, leaving the polite small talk and technicalities for her aunt to deal with. It was her first day at a new high school in a new town, and she wanted nothing more than to get through the day event-free and collapse in bed. She could just see it now; her bed, already made up with her favourite black blanket and voodoo teddy waiting for her to cuddle until its eyes burst… Her aunt pulling the buds from her ears interrupted her daydreaming, a small smile gracing her aged features.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own, sweet? I can always stay a few nights if you want?" Edwina rolled her eyes, but her mouth twitched at the corners a little.
"I'm fine, really. Thank you." Her aunt still looked a little skeptical, so she forced herself to smile properly.
"Really, I'm fine. You have your own family to look after." Her aunt sighed, pulling her in for a hug.
"You are my family, silly minx;" she muttered into her niece's unruly hair. Holding her at arms length, she sighed again, this time with a hint of amusement "but if you're sure…"
"I am."
"Then I'll leave you to it." She hugged her once more "But be sure to call me if you ever need anything." She let go, and with a last encouraging smile, turned and walked off, leaving Edwina with the principal.
"Well miss Patelli, if you could get your class schedule from Mrs Johnson over there and be on your way, thank you. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. Good day." With that he retreated into his office and Edwina wandered over to where the receptionist sat typing away.
After a few wrong turns and much back-tracking Edwina found herself standing at the door of her first class: chemistry.
"Okay, come on E.D, let's go; it's no biggie." Inhaling deeply she raised a scarred fist and knocked. A balding old man opened the door, took one look at her and smiled gently.
"You must be new." Edwina nodded, desperate to find a seat and put her head down.
"Come in, come in. Class? Class, we have a new student."
'Oh no,' Edwina cringed internally 'they always have to do the introduction thing, don't they? Why can't they just –'
"What's your name, dear?" She was jolted from her internal monologue by the kind voice of the teacher. Slowly, she glanced at the class 'bad idea' she thought: every pair of eyes was fixed on her. She felt her hand drifting to her arm, but subtly redirected her fingers to grasp her wrist instead of scratching over her just-healed scabs.
"My dear?" Her eyes flew back to the old teacher "Your name?" He asked again. 'Be cool, fool.' She swallowed thickly.
"Edwina Patelli." His smile grew encouraging.
"Anything else you would like to add, dear?" She looked at him quizzically "Any hobbies?" He offered. She shrugged.
"Art and poetry." She let her eyes wander again, this time searching out a seat for the quickest escape possible from the ridiculously uncomfortable situation she was in. Luckily, the teacher seemed to take the hint.
"Thank you very much, Edwina; please take a seat and we shall continue our lesson." Without hesitation Edwina sped towards an empty table at the back of the room and slid into her chair.
A few minutes later she felt something bounce off the back of her head, accompanied by light snickering. She ignored it, but not long after there came another, and another. By the sixth she had closed her eyes and was clenching and un-clenching her fist to the count of five.
When it didn't stop at ten she finally whirled around to hiss at the culprit.
"Could you stop?" It wasn't much, but Edwina's glare was notoriously terrifying in her last two schools. She had developed it after changing school for the first time as protection from bullies - that, and learning how to beat people to a bloody pulp.
This time, however, it did not appear to work. The offender: a menacing looking boy with a black sock beanie pulled down just above his eyes, just smirked and replied with a taunting:
"It is rude to ignore, miss Edwina Patelli." He drew her name out, letting the 'I' in her last name hang in the air between them for a moment before flashing her a shark-like grin. She noticed he had a rather substantial gap in his front teeth.
'That's an unexpected feature; perhaps I'll draw him when I get home…' Shaking the thought from her mind Edwina rolled her eyes and turned back around to focus on her work. Behind her, Edd let the smirk fall from his face and leaned back, staring at the mess of dark brown hair in front of him.
