Matthew sat next to one of the marble pillars, leaning his head against it. He had a bag of glazed donuts next to him, not that they were of much help. What caused the Canadian to act this way? Well, mostly it was just in his personality, as he was usually quiet and reserved. But today was different: he was starting Gakuen Academy. It was way bigger than his previous high school. Matthew was the best student there, and luckily enough for him, Gakuen, one of the top schools in Europe, was accepting applications. The school was located in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. He applied only because of his parents, and was more than surprised when he got an acceptance letter. Gakuen was a ticket straight to the best universities of Europe, and later on, a well-paying job. As happy as Matthew was about this, he was not so ecstatic to leave behind his friends back at his own school. He had entered the school grounds only half an hour ago, and he was convinced that he would be alone for the rest of his school life.
Matthew glanced at his phone, which showed the time 9:25. Gakuen started at 10, but the Canadian decided to get there early. His first class, International Studies, was in the far right side of the school. Not surprising for such a prestigious school, his class, as well as others', was located in a park. It wasn't too big, but it was enough. Matthew decided to head into the classroom, so he got up, threw the empty bag away, and walked Ito the building.
He showed a badge to a security guard, something he had gotten used to as they were all around the campus. The building consisted of two classrooms, a wardrobe, and a waiting area. There were groups of people in the said waiting area, laughing and talking. Matthew decided to ignore them and waited outside his classroom, which was surprisingly locked. Just as he was ready to take out his phone, he heard someone clear their throat. Matthew turned to the source of the sound, to find it coming from a white-haired boy leaning against the wall across from him.
"Has it started yet?" He asked.
"No, at least I don't think so." The Canadian replied, glancing at his Samsung.
"Funny, I've been at this school for an hour, and everything is already behind schedule." The other continued. Matthew's eyes lit up: he wasn't the only new kid now.
"It's my first year here too." The blond calmly stated, easing his anxiety.
"Nice, I thought I would be the only one." His conversation partner scoffed.
Just as he said this, the door opened to reveal a cheery brunette woman in her mid-twenties.
"Class is starting, come in." She declared with a smile on her face. The students sitting in the waiting area piled into the large room and took their seat in a circle of chairs.
Matthew decided to sit next to his white-haired acquaintance, considering that he was the only person he more or less knew.
"You got a spare pen? I think I left mine in the head office." The boy whispered to Matthew, and the Canadian handed him a clear plastic pen.
"It's with black ink, if anything." He warned, but the other just dismissed the fact with a smile.
"What's your name, since we're going to be friends anyway?" He asked, tapping the pen softly on his notebook.
"Matthew Williams." The Canadian replied with the same soft smile from earlier.
"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt." He winked at Matthew and turned to the teacher who was explaining the plan of today's lesson. She seemed rather nice and open minded.
"We're going to get to know each other better, as some of you are new to the school. We can start on the actual lesson next time." She stated, and the whole class lit up, "We're going to play a game, since we're sitting in a circle. One person says their name and the country they're from. Then the next person says their own name and country, and repeats everyone who was before them. Any questions?" The teacher explained. Obviously, the rules were clear to everyone, so the game began.
"I'm Irina Strelova and I'm from Russia." The teacher stated and the turn moved on to a brown haired girl.
"I'm Elizaveta Hedevary and I'm from Hungary." The girl introduced herself to the class, "and you're Irina Strelova from Russia."
The game went on for a while, with some students messing up but laughing about it. Most kids were from different European countries, so it was fun finding out from what places people came from. Soon, it was Gilbert's turn to introduce himself.
"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt and I'm from Prussia." He declared, getting a few side glances.
"Prussia isn't a country anymore, get with the times." An Austrian boy named Roderich called out.
"Now, now. If Gilbert wants to be Prussian, he can be such." Ms. Irina silenced the classroom, "We can talk about nationalities on our next lesson."
With that, the game continued.
"I'm Matthew Williams and I'm from Canada." Matthew stated, and proceeded to name all people before him. He was rather good at memorizing things, especially names.
There were a few people after him, and after the game finished, all eyes were once again on Ms. Irina. She was of not large size, nor dud she have a loud voice, but she was immediately able to get te attention of her students. She was definetely the nicest teacher Matthew has seen so far.
"Now, we have about an hour left, so what do you guys want to do?" She asked and some students were calling out activities.
"We can start learning the material for the next lesson." A French boy suggested.
"Are you serious? We can do something entertaining, don't fuck this up for all of us, you frog!" A British boy argued, and the French boy responded with more insults.
"We can watch a movie." Antonio, a Spaniard suggested.
"I agree." A Japanese boy named Kiku agreed.
"What kind of movie? Be specific, stop agreeing to everything!" Vash, a Swiss yelled, causing Kiku to raise his hands in defense.
Ms. Irina only watched the scene with a smile.
"I think I'll allow you guys to do anything you want, just don't be loud." She stated.
"So we have the rest of the year with this class, right?" Matthew asked, not being used to European school standards.
"Guess so." Gilbert glance to the side, before looking back at the Canadian, "Hey, are you free today after school? I can show you around Geneva if you want."
"Sure, I'm up for it." Matthew replied, hiding a smile.
Maybe this school year won't be so bad after all.