Happy belated Easter!
Claire and Jack managed to arrive on time- minutes after the conclusion of the assembly.
"Trust me," Jack had muttered to Claire as they went in search of her home-room, "We didn't miss anything. The principal just rambles endlessly about stuff that everyone already knows, and never actually tells us anything important."
"Why do the girls have to wear ties?" Claire asked in reply, scowling down at the article as she yanked at it.
Jack gave her an irritated look, "I was talking about the assembly."
"And I," Claire said, "Was talking about my tie."
Jack let out an indignant huff before grounding his feet, "We're here."
Claire stopped and glanced up and down the hall. All she saw were doors and lockers, "Which were?"
Jack nodded to the closest door, "My home-room."
"I thought we were looking for my home-room."
Jack shrugged, "I figured my home-room teacher would know. Plus I didn't want to go to the office. We might see the principal there."
"What's so bad about the principal?" Claire asked.
Jack glowered at her, "Weren't you listening when I described his speeches?"
"I thought you knew I wasn't."
Jack rolled his eyes at her and pushed open his home-room door. From the doorway, Claire could see a blonde man standing by a desk. Jack walked up to him.
"Hello, Jack." the man said, smiling warmly, "How was your summer?"
"Good, Mr. Carter." Jack replied, then jerking his head towards the door, "That's my cousin Claire. She just transferred and we're looking for her home-room."
"Oh!" Carter glanced from Jack to Claire, and gave her the same warm smile, "Welcome to our humble school, Claire. Did you just move here?"
Claire- who had been in the middle of playing with her tie- dropped it and blinked up at the teacher, "Uh, yeah. Over the summer."
"How are you liking our town, may I ask?"
Claire scuffed her shoes on the ground, "I like it, I guess."
"I suppose you'll need time to adjust." Carter said decidedly, "You moved here from the city?"
"Sir," Jack pressed, "We need to find her home-room."
"Right!" Carter said, smiling apologetically- yet warmly, as he headed for his desk, "It should be on my computer. I'll check for you."
"Thanks, sir." Jack said, looking more fed up than thankful.
While Carter tapped away at his computer, Claire took the chance to look around Jack's home-room. There were already students there, sitting on or standing by desks, talking with one another. There was an orange haired girl, chattering to a tired looking boy with a brown ponytail. A tanned boy wearing a purple bandana stood next to them, but seemed more engrossed with his phone than the conversation. Beside him was another boy wearing a hat that read 'UMA'. He didn't look particularly interested in anything. There was also a dark blue haired girl wearing a yellow headband speaking shyly with the light blue haired girl next to her, who looked even shier.
"Hm..." Carter observed, frowning at his computer, "Your home-room isn't listed here." he spun on his chair to face the class, "Ann, would you please go to the office and find out about Claire's home-room?"
The orange haired girl detached herself from the small group. "Sure sir." she said to Carter. Before leaving, Ann sent Jack a grin and glanced curiously at Claire.
"You can wait here until Ann gets back." Carter said to Claire, before turning back to his computer.
Jack sent his cousin a look and gestured for her to follow him. He led her to the small- now smaller- group.
"Hi Jack." the boy with the pony-tail said, looking nervously at Claire and back. The guy in the hat just cast them a glance from under the rim and went back to ignoring everything.
"Hey Cliff." Jack replied, then with a lame gesture at Claire, "I guess I should introduce you guys."
The boy that was texting glanced up at Jack's voice, then, spotting Claire, did a double-take, and slid his phone shut.
"Hey," he said, smoothly slipping his phone in his pocket and flashing a charming smile, "My name's Kai. And you are?"
"That's a little obvious, isn't it?" the guy in the hat muttered. Kai shot him a look then turned back to Claire expectantly.
"Claire." she said unsurely. She couldn't help but agree. It was kind of obvious.
"Claire." Kai echoed, "That's a nice name."
"Um, thanks..."
"So you're Jack's cousin?" Kai went on.
"Clearly." the boy in the hat said under his breath, earning another glare from Kai.
"Sorry Gray, was I talking to you?"
"I don't know." Gray replied flatly, he then glanced down at himself and said, "No, I guess not. It doesn't look like I'm wearing a skirt."
Kai glowered at him and made a grab for his hat. Gray ducked out of the way and stepped back, gripping the rim of his cap protectively.
"He does have a point." Cliff mumbled.
"More than a point." Jack agreed.
Kai tugged at his bandana irritably, "I hate guys!"
"And that's the point." Jack added, grinning at Kai which seemed to frustrate him even more.
"This is your fault!" Kai accused, jabbing a finger at Gray, who only scowled at him.
Claire, meanwhile, had lost interest in the conversation and was instead toying with the hem of her skirt, frowning, "God, this thing is itchy."
Jack, the only one to hear her grumbling, glanced at her, "Is it?"
"Yeah." Claire said, "Aren't your pants itchy?"
Jack inspected his pants and shrugged, "Not particularly."
"Want to switch?" Claire asked hopefully.
"No!" Jack exclaimed, looking appalled. This drew the other boys attention.
"'No' to what?" Kai asked.
"'No' to exchanging my skirt for his pants." Claire replied idly, still more focussed on her clothing.
"In that case." Kai said, speaking to Jack but looking at Claire's unadorned legs, "I'd have to agree with your answer."
Gray, looking mildly disgusted about Kai, said to him, "Can you at least not be so obvious?"
"Obvious about what?" Claire asked before Kai could make a response, looking up from her skirt at the other boys for the first real time.
"See," Kai said, smirking at Gray, "Not obvious."
Gray rolled his eyes.
"Is it really that bad?" Cliff asked shyly, "Wearing a skirt, I mean."
"No," Jack said to his friend, waving a hand flippantly, "She just likes to whine."
Claire glared at her cousin, "You can tell him that after we've switched. Then you'll really know what wearing a skirt is like."
"What's it like?" Cliff asked, to which he received unimpressed looks from both Kai and Gray, "What?" he asked them, "I'm genuinely curious."
"It's itchy." Claire told him, staring moodily at her skirt again, "Really itchy."
That was when they heard the classroom door open. Claire glanced over to find the girl, Ann, speaking to Carter. A moment later, she came over to the group, thought she didn't mention anything about Claire's home-room.
"So what's going on?" Ann asked, squeezing in-between Cliff and Jack. Though her cousin didn't seem to care, the other boy didn't look comfortable with their proximity.
"Ann," Jack said, addressing her in a business like manner, "Is your skirt itchy?"
Ann gave him a surprised look, "No. Why?"
Jack grinned at his cousin, "See. You just like to whine."
Claire glared at him.
"I am wearing shorts underneath, though." Ann added, then tugging up her skirt a bit to reveal biker shorts, "See?"
"Why do you wear those?" Claire asked.
Ann scrunched up her nose in distaste, "Skirt flippers."
Claire stared at her a moment. Then she slowly shifted her gaze to her skirt again.
"It's no big deal." Ann said with a shrug, "All the girls wear them. It's basically a part of the uniform."
"Unfortunately." Kai mumbled. Ann and Gray sent him dirty looks. Claire wasn't paying attention though. She was too intent on her skirt or, rather, the shorts she wasn't wearing underneath.
"What about Claire's home-room?" Claire heard Jack ask in a distant voice.
"Oh," Ann replied, "The principal is on his way to sort it out."
Jack groaned, "Not the principal."
"Principal!"
This call came from Carter, who was opening the classroom door and smiling at a short, round man, decked out in a red suit and top-hat. His brown mustache curled inwards as he beamed at Carter.
"Mr. Carter!" he said happily, "I hear there's a new student we need to sort out!"
While Carter and the principal continued talking, Jack leaned in towards Claire.
"That," Jack hissed, "Is Principal Thomas."
...
"Alright." Tony said, "You can go in now."
Tina shifted from foot to foot, biting her lip and staring at her new home-room door. She didn't go in.
Tony let out a long, irate sigh, "You're acting like a preschooler."
"I'm not!" Tina protested, with one of her signature pouts. It did nothing to enforce her words.
Tony racked a hand through his hair. Why had Pony gone with Tito? She was much better with handling Tina. Not that Tony could handle his youngest male cousin all that well either, but at least he could just drop Tito off without having to deal with any of... this.
Ugh. Girls.
No, that wasn't fair. Pony was annoying, but she didn't make a fuss like Tina. And as his sister had said earlier, Tony had been the nervous one. So...
Ugh. Tina.
"Look," Tony said, trying to keep his tone even, "I have to get to class too, Tina. It's no big deal anyways. Just go in and tell your teacher your name and sit down. That's it. I bet some of your friends will even be in there."
"Yeah." Tina mumbled, staring at her feet. A beat later she shook herself and looked at Tony, offering a weak smile, "You can go. I'll... I'll go in too in a sec."
Tony considered this a moment, then groaned and stepped forward, looping an arm around Tina's shoulders. He gave the surprised girl a quick hug, then leaned towards the door and knocked before starting down the hall.
"I'll see you after-school." Tony called, waving at Tina without turning around. Before the baffled girl could say or do anything, Tony heard the door open.
Smiling to himself, Tony headed upstairs.
He was still a hall away from his room when he ran into someone. A familiar someone.
"Hi, Tony." Celia said, giving him one of her sweet smiles.
Celia was a year younger than Tony, but the two got along well, and had spent a lot of time together last year. Pony never stopped teasing him about his 'girlfriend'.
"Hey Celia." Tony said, glancing at the books she was carrying, "Have you been to your home-room yet?"
Celia nodded, "I'm going to sort out my locker now. I got my lock from last year back." she showed him the object in her hands with a relieved smile, "I'm glad I don't need to memorise a new combination."
Tony ran a hand through his hair, "I couldn't even remember mine last year. Mr. Takakura just shouldn't give me a locker at all. Did you see the state mine was in before summer?"
Celia giggled, "I helped you clean it!"
"Oh, right." Tony mumbled sheepishly, "Thanks again for that. If I do get a locker, you should be prepared to help me clean that again this year."
Celia smiled at him, "Of course."
...
Marlin, hands dug deep in his pockets, watched from his home-room door as Celia smiled and laughed with the twin.
He bristled. Why did they get along so well? What, exactly, was so good about Tony? He and Celia had known each other longer. Celia was even living at his house, with him and his older sister Vesta. It was because she didn't do well in the city, he knew, and her parents couldn't afford to move and find new jobs, but still. He and Celia... They were just closer.
Weren't they?
Marlin had been in love with Celia for years, but she'd never realized his feelings, nor had she ever spoken of her own. If she had any. But despite Marlin's doubts that she reciprocated his feelings, he couldn't bear thinking his love was unrequited.
He couldn't bear that anymore than he could the thought of Celia and Tony together.
"Hey Marlin!"
Marlin jumped as someone hit his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he felt his scowl deepen when he saw Tony's sister.
"What are you doing over here on your own?" Pony demanded, wearing a crooked smile, "You should come in and join the conversation. We're talking about prom."
"Prom?" Marlin's eyebrows knit, "But that's not until the end of the year."
Pony shrugged, still grinning, "Half the fun is the anticipation. 'Sides, it's our last year. We might as well enjoy it."
With a grunt, Marlin turned back to the hall, only to find Celia and Tony were now walking away. Together.
"So are you coming in or not?"
Marlin shut his eyes, seething quietly. One twin in front of him, one behind him. He couldn't get away.
"Not." Marlin finally replied, "I'm not coming in."
Pony was quiet a moment, then she said, "Alright, it's up to you. We've got plenty of time till the end of the year anyways. We'll hook you into the excitement eventually."
Marlin heard her walk away, but didn't call out or turn around. Plenty of time till the end of the year, she said.
Marlin watched Celia and Tony disappear around the corner.
In his opinion, the sooner this year ended and Tony went off to college, the better.
...
When Thomas came to stand in front of Claire, all she could think was that he was so short.
And so, so round.
"Now, Claire." Thomas said, his eyes twinkling merrily. Claire wondered if his hair was white whether he would resemble the jolly red fat man at all. Probably. "You're in need of a home-room, aren't you."
"Um," Claire said, "Yeah."
So round.
Thomas beamed at her, then turned to Jack, "Claire's your cousin, isn't that right Jack?"
"Yes." Jack grumbled, not in the least bit pleased with the principal's presence.
"Well," Thomas declared, "I don't see the point in separating family, so why don't you just stay here in Jack's room, Claire?"
So incredibly round.
"Um," Claire repeated, "Yeah."
"Excellent!" Thomas exclaimed, "And while I'm here, do you have any questions."
"Um," Claire started yet again, only to have Jack jump in with: "She doesn't, sir! I've told her everything!"
Thomas frowned, "I'm sure she doesn't know everything." he turned to Claire, "So do you have any questions, miss?"
Claire, back in the real world, shook her head, "Nope. I'm good."
"I see..." Thomas said, looking disheartened. Then he suddenly perked up, "I could give you a tour-"
"I've given her a tour!" Jack hurried to interject.
Thomas was back to being crestfallen. "Oh." he mumbled, "I guess I'll leave then. But don't hesitate to come see me anytime! And that goes for all of you!"
The students were silent.
Thomas, looking quite deflated, went to speak to Carter before disappearing. Once he was gone, the conversation started up again.
"Let me see your schedule." Jack said to Cliff.
"Um, ok." Cliff mumbled, extracting a piece of neatly folded paper from his pocket and handing it to Jack, "But why..."
"To see what you have before lunch." Jack replied, "I'm wondering where would be best to meet up..."
Cliff shrugged, then said, "Well Gray and I are going to the store..."
Jack looked up at him, "Really? Why?"
Cliff shrugged again, "It's the first day, so..."
When he trailed off, Gray added, "You guys can still come. If you want."
He said it in a tone that Claire thought insinuated he'd rather they didn't 'want'. Or, at least, not both of them.
"Nah." Jack sighed after a pause, "Claire wanted to see the cafeteria, so..."
"When did I say that?" Claire demanded.
Jack gave her a 'shut up' scowl, which she returned.
"I'll come with you guys!" Ann said brightly to Cliff and Gray, when the cousins failed to input anything else.
"Sorry, but I can't." Kai said with a grin, "I already have plans."
"We weren't inviting you." Gray told him bitterly.
Kai glared at him, then feigned indifference with a shrug, "Not like I'd want to hang out with a bunch of guys anyways."
"Um, I'm going too." Ann reminded him.
Kai glanced at her, "No offence Ann, but you're not exactly what I'd consider... feminine."
Ann planted her hands on her hips and gave Kai an indigent look, "And what's wrong with that?"
Kai shrugged again, "Not my type."
Ann bristled, "Well it's not like you're my type either. You're too obnoxious. I prefer quieter, sweet boys."
"To balance out your masculinity." Kai said with a smirk.
"Like Cliff." Ann went on, ignoring Kai and grabbing Cliff's sleeve, tugging him forward a bit. Cliff flushed, looking extremely uncomfortable. Noticing his reaction, Ann blushed herself and hurried to tell him, "I'm only using you as an example. Relax."
"Yeah..." Cliff mumbled.
"Are you two dating?" Claire asked. Having finished her scowling match with Jack, she'd just tuned back into the conversation.
Both Ann and Cliff went red, though their embarrassment, to Claire, appeared to be for different reasons. What those reasons were, she couldn't tell.
"N-no!" Ann stuttered, waving her hands in front of her, "Me and C-C-Cliff? No way! We're not d-dating!"
Cliff, who appeared unable to speak, only nodded in dumb agreement.
"Oh." Claire said unsurely, "Sorry then."
Ann shook her head quickly, making her braid whip around, "Th- that's ok!"
Claire looked from Ann to Cliff and, as silence descended on the group, quickly realized she'd made the situation awkward.
She frowned inwardly. This was Jack's fault. He should have introduced her to his friends over the summer. Then, maybe, she wouldn't have put her foot in her mouth. Or if she had it wouldn't have been this awkward.
Gray sighed, breaking the silence, "I'm getting my lock." he said, to no one in particular, and headed for Carter's desk.
"Me too!" Cliff said, hurrying to follow.
After the boys had spoken to Carter and left the room, Jack turned to Claire and said matter-of-factly, "Ann's liked Cliff since eighth grade."
Ann flushed, "Jack!"
"Why?" Claire asked, "What did he do in grade eight."
"He moved here." Jack replied.
"Oh." Claire said, and almost remarked on how stupid it was of Ann to use Cliff as an example of her type if she actually liked him. Luckily, she bit her tongue.
"You should try asking him out." Kai said to Ann, "Guys like girls who take initiative."
Ann stared down at her feet, "But he doesn't like me."
Kai shrugged, "I tried my best. I'm off." he gave Claire a wink, "See ya."
Claire watched Kai leave over her shoulder, then turned to ask Jack, "Where's he going?"
Jack shrugged, "Probably on a date."
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Claire asked.
"Several." Jack replied flippantly, turning around, "Let's get your locker. It's almost lunch."
At hearing this, Ann checked her watch. "Oh! You're right! I should get my lock too and catch up with Gray and... and Cliff."
Claire glanced over at the girl as she faltered. Under her gaze, Ann blushed.
"I won't say anything." Claire told her.
Ann, realizing what she meant, chewed on her lip and mumbled, "Thanks." before heading past them to Carter's desk.
Watching her, Jack dropped his voice and said to Claire, "You won't say anything because you don't really care, do you?"
"Not particularly." Claire conceded, "Now can we go get our locks, or whatever we have to do? This skirt is itchy and I want to sit down."
Jack raised an eyebrow at her, "How is sitting down going to help, exactly?"
"It will."
"I wasn't asking if it would," Jack reminded her, "I was asking how."
"If we switched," Claire said, "Then you would know."
Jack sighed, "Never mind. Let's get your locker."
...
Luckily for Tina, Tony had been right. She did have friends in her class. Two specifically: Nina and Ellen.
Nina was a bubbly pink haired girl, while Ellen was a quiet but sweet girl with cropped, brown hair. Ellen worked part-time at her father's shop, and Nina had gone on vacation over the summer, so this was the first time the three girls had really seen each other since their junior high graduation.
Nina was in the middle of describing her vacation, when their home-room teacher called out, "Jamie? Is Jamie here?"
Tina glanced at their home-room teacher, who had been calling the attendance, and then around the room. There hadn't been any Jamie's in her old school, so it had to be a new student. Tina was curious as to what Jamie looked like. But none of the girls raised their hands.
That's when Tina realized Jamie could be a boys name too. But none of the guys came forward either.
Their home-room teacher made an irritated noise and scribbled something on his clip-board.
"Do you guys know anyone named Jamie?" Tina asked, turning back to her friends.
Nina broke off her description to shake her head. Ellen didn't know either.
"Jamie?"
It was a guys voice. Tina glanced up to find a boy with dark hair and a red headband leaning against her desk. It was Dan.
"I've heard about that guy." he went on to say, scratching his chin, "Apparently he got kicked out of his old school."
Tina widened her eyes. A delinquit in their home-room?
"What did he do?" Nina asked, looking both excited and worried.
Dan shrugged, "I'm not sure. The guy I heard it from didn't want to go into detail." he gave the girls a mysterious grin, "Maybe this Jamie was threatening him to keep his mouth shut."
Nina shivered, but Ellen just frowned, "I don't think someone like that would be allowed into our school."
"Why not?" Dan asked, "Just because we have uniforms doesn't mean we're prestigious or anything. And they've gotta put the delinquits somewhere."
"What about a detention centre?" Nina asked, her eyes sparkling, "Or did he get kicked out of a detention centre."
"Dunno." Dan said casually, "It could be anything."
Ellen didn't look impressed by this, but Nina had fallen hook, line and sinker. Tina wasn't sure. The stories sounded a bit silly, but they couldn't all be wrong, could they?
She'd have to ask one of her cousins later. Normally she'd ask Jack, but Pony had said he was taking Claire home.
Tina didn't see why they couldn't walk together. Claire lived next door to them, after all. But she liked spending time with her oldest cousins, so she didn't feel too abandoned by her brother...
The bell rang, cutting into her thoughts, and the tales Dan had been continuing to spin for Nina. Their home-room teacher dismissed them and the kids started collecting their things and heading for the door.
"Let's go to the cafeteria!" Nina exclaimed, picking up her purse, "I want to see how much bigger it is than our old one!"
"Sure." Tina said, swinging her knapsack over her shoulder. She wasn't sure why, but it felt lighter than it had that morning.
"Come on!" Nina chimed excitedly, grabbing her friends by the hands and dragging them towards the door. Tina smiled to herself.
Maybe she did know why it felt lighter. Why everything felt lighter.
Tony had been right. She'd been nervous for nothing.
...
"Did you read any good books over the summer, Mary?"
Mary glanced up from her lunch-bag to Maria.
Technically, it was against the rules to eat in the library, but Maria's father owned the building, so she and her friends were an exception. But Mary didn't like to eat in there anyways. She was worried of making a mess, or ruining one of the books. That's why she and Maria saved their reading for after they ate.
"I did." Mary said, smiling at Maria. Though Mary was reclusive around most kids her age, she felt comfortable with Maria. Maybe it was because of their similar interests, but they'd hit it off when they'd met the year before.
"What were they about?" Maria asked, uncapping the plastic box that held her sandwich.
Mary thought a moment, wondering where to begin.
"Sorry." Maria said sheepishly, "That was a rather broad question."
"That's okay." Mary said. She glanced around at the bookshelves thoughtfully, "I think we have a few of them here. I can show you after we eat, if you like?"
Maria nodded, "That would be lovely. I'll show you some of the books I read too."
Maria, like most others, had been vacationing over the summer as well. Except Maria didn't consider it much of a vacation, as she'd told Mary, since it had been a family reunion in the countryside.
"There was only one library." Maria had sighed upon her return, "It was only half the size of this one! I was appreciative of it, of course, but they had a rather mundane selection."
Thinking back on this now, Mary decided not to bring up the summer again. Instead, she let the comradely silence settle in and reached for her thermos. Laying it on the table, she dug through her lunch-bag for a spoon.
After a moment Mary pulled back her hands, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked, seconds away from biting into her sandwich.
"I forgot to pack a spoon." Mary explained, poking through her lunch-bag again. But it was futile. There was no spoon in sight.
"Why don't you get one at the cafeteria?" Maria suggested.
Mary stared at Maria from behind her glasses, frozen. The cafeteria? Where other people- who didn't come to the library- spent lunch? Where they chatted and laughed noisily amongst themselves? Where popular people and unpopular people- all of whom could find some humour in her hermit like existence- gathered?
"The cafeteria?" Mary echoed.
Maria, who had yet to pick up on her friend's horror, smiled, "Yes."
"Um." Mary murmured, "Well... I..."
"Don't worry." Maria said warmly, placing her sandwich aside, "I'll wait for you."
"Ok..." Mary mumbled, pushing back her chair clumsily. Maria didn't seem to notice this either, "I'll be back in a minute."
In the halls, Mary's legs felt like jelly. Somehow she managed to make them move, one slow, languid step at a time. There were very few people around, which helped.
Mary rounded the corner and almost ran into someone. Blinking in surprise at the person in front of her, she immediately lost all the composure she had managed to acquire.
"S-sorry!" Mary spluttered, blushing despite her best efforts not to.
"It's fine." Gray said, waving off her apology.
Ann and Cliff were behind him. Spotting Mary, Ann smiled.
"How was your summer, Mary?"
Mary twisted her hands in front of her nervously. She'd known Ann and Gray since kindergarten, but that didn't make it any easier to talk to them now, "I-it was good..."
Ann beamed, "Did you go anywhere?"
Mary shook her head.
"Come on," Gray said to Ann, "We won't be back for the bell."
Ann puffed out her cheeks in irritation, "Geez, Gray, you could be a bit friendlier."
Gray didn't say anything, just turned and started down the hall again. Cliff, hesitant a moment, followed after him.
"See ya, Mary." Ann said, clapping the girl on the shoulder before taking off.
"Y-yeah." Mary said, even though Ann was gone, "S-see you."
It just felt rude not to say anything.
Mary's mouth felt dry, and her legs rickety as she forced herself forward. At least she hadn't run into Gray. That would have been embarrassing.
Well, more embarrassing.
For whatever reason, just seeing Gray made her feel embarrassed.
Doing her best to shake the thoughts, Mary started for the cafeteria.
Thanks for reading and please review! (And thanks to those of you who already have!)
