Chapter 2: The Eleventh First Day

Finn awoke to a blaring alarm clock. As a conditioned response, he slammed the snooze button and turned over in his bed.

"Waking up at five is almost worse than those assholes at school," Finn grumbled as he kicked off his sheets. He stretched with a yawn, grabbed a towel, and headed for the bathroom. He turned the shower to hot and began brushing his teeth while he waited for the water to heat up. He rinsed with mouthwash and smiled at himself in the mirror in an attempt to boost his self-confidence; even he had to admit that he was not bad looking. Finn had striking blonde hair that stopped halfway down his neck. It was parted messily to the right. His eyes were an icy blue, and his skin flawless. He was about average height for his age, but with feet that were too big. He was always tripping over them. The biggest problem was that he was scrawny due to meager meals, and had no build.

"Maybe I can turn things around this year," the boy murmured as he slipped into the shower. He quickly bathed and left the bathroom, the idea of change still bouncing wildly against the walls of his mind.

"Maybe," he said as he pulled on a white hoodie and pale blue cargo shorts, "I could get a girlfriend. Could be Bonnibel— No, she'd never. But maybe Susan or Jaime or Taylor..."

"And then," Finn went on excitedly as he laced up his black and white Chuck's, "Once I get a girlfriend, maybe the other guys'll respect me more. I won't get made fun of or beat up or—!"

The boy was grinning broadly now.

"I can do it!" he whispered to himself. "I can make this year good!"

Finn grabbed his green backpack and sprinted out the door, bidding goodbye to his mother, who was sipping coffee on the couch, and to Jake, who was lounging lazily on the porch.

The blonde boy jogged the four blocks to the high school, grabbed a schedule from the front office, and headed to his first period; chemistry, with the ever-so-awkward Dr. Simon Petrikov. Once the bell had rung, Mr. Petrikov rose from his chair and adjusted his bow tie before standing before his class.

"Welcome to chemistry, Sophmores. I'm Mr. Simon Petrikov. Today, we'll be going over classroom procedures and the AKS for this year."

Finn was playing with his fingers out of boredom when something flew into the back of his head. He heard sniggers from behind and pulled a paper plane out of his hair. The boy rolled his eyes, ripped the plane in half, and laid his head on his desk. When the bell rang, Finn's neck was met with a series of slaps as the guys behind him made their way to the door.

"You ripped up my note, Finny!" Ash blubbered mockingly. "I think I'm gonna cry."

"Dick," Finn mumbled under his breath as he grabbed his bag and quickly left the room.

The blonde was to get relief in his second period as it was a small class, free of his tormentors.

"Welcome to Sophomore Literature," the teacher, Ms. Trutle, greeted after the bell rang. "Today, we'll be—,"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. The teacher glanced at Finn, who was closest to the door.

"I'm sorry, dear, but could you please get that?"

"Yes ma'am," Finn answered as he rose and made his way over to the door. He stepped aside as a portly woman in an olive suit entered. Her name tag read 'Dr. Tina Trunks: Principal,' and she was followed by a girl Finn had never seen before. One look left him breathless.

She was about his age but a little shorter. Her hair was dyed red velvet, her skin was tanned to a near golden color, and her eyes were a stunning reddish-brown. Her facial features were sharp and her body was thin but perfectly curved. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a red shirt, and red converse. Finn would likely never forget what she was wearing that day.

As she passed him, she smiled shyly, and Finn had to tear his eyes away and sit back down to avoid grinning back stupidly.

"Morning, students! This is your new peer. She just moved her from Canada. Introduce yourself, hun," Dr. Trunks gestured for the girl to come forward. She nervously obeyed.

"I'm Kindle," she murmured shyly, looking first at the class and then at her feet.

"And your last name, Kindle?" the principal pressed.

"Aidan."

Kindle Aidan, Finn thought. I think I have a crush.

"Welcome to our class, Kindle. Could you take the empty seat next to Finn? Yes, the boy by the door," Ms. Trutle pointed at Finn.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat, rested his chin on his fist, and glanced at the door. Kindle slid into the desk next to him.

"Let me know if you need anything, hun," Dr. Trunks said to Kindle as she left the room. The girl nodded back.

"Alright. Now, class, I'll be reading to you from 'Oedipus,' one of the first stories we'll be reading this semester," Ms. Trutle announced as she cracked open a Lit textbook. She flipped through the book and ran her finger down a page until she found the passage. She began reading monotonously and soon most of the students were asleep.

"Um, hey," Finn heard a voice whisper. He looked to his left to see the new girl leaning over her desk, staring back at him. He blushed and murmured a hello.

"You don't like to talk much, do you?"

Finn gave a small smile and shook his head.

"Oh. Why not?"

"I just... I don't really have a reason to most of the time."

Kindle laughed quietly.

"That's not a good reason. Anyway, I wanted to know if we had anymore of the same classes. It's really hard for me to get used to new people, but you seem... Could I see your schedule?"

Finn's heart was skipping beats as he pulled the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to her, electricity shooting through his body when their hands touched. Kindle looked it over, grinning at what she saw.

"We have next period, lunch, and seventh together."

"That's cool," the boy whispered with a smile.

The two were silent for a few minutes.

"Finn?" the red-headed girl asked. The blond boy turned in her direction.

"Tell me about yourself."

Finn paused. Never, not once in his fifteen years, had he been asked that question by another student. It took him a minute to formulate an answer.

"Uh... I'm Finn Mertens. I live with my mom, dad, older sister, and my dog, Jake. I'm sorry, I don't really know how to answer that." Finn chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's okay, I'll tell you about me as an example. My mom died a few years back, so I live with my dad. His work is... frowned upon. My favorite color is red and I love music. Oh, and I have a weird thing for fire— bonfires are my favorite type of get-together. I also have a thing for blonde guys."

Kindle threw Finn a flirty glance, causing the boy to flush red madly. I garbled out an unimpressive "oh," before composing himself.

"Um, I don't have many friends. My favorite color is blue and music is cool too. I love to write and spend time with my dog, Jake— he's pretty much my best friend. I'm not too great with people and I get picked on a lot 'cause I'm weird and awkward, I guess. And I have a thing for girls with unnatural-colored hair."

Finn grinned, proud of himself. Kindle smiled back.

Maybe Finn really could turn his life around this year.

A/N: Sorry for such short chapter. I promise that future chapters will be longer and a bit more frequent. I know the bullying seems trivial now, but it WILL get worse. And thank all of you for such positive feedback! You guys are great. Keep reviewing.