Author's Note: Next chapter! I'm really surprised that I was able to come up with this story, its not really my style- last chapter seemed really stereotypical to me, and I really hope the rest of the story doesn't turn out that way. Enjoy!
I fumble with the books in my locker. These things are so tiny- I can't even fit my old backpack into one of them. You know those old movies about high school, where the nerds get shoved into lockers and their clothes stolen…that doesn't happen here.
Here, people's minds are the battleground, and words and whispers of gossip are the weapons. Every little thing you say about someone haunts them.
I shake my head and hurry down the hall to my next class. The bell sounds as soon as I spot the door. Biology.
I enter the classroom, where kids are already seated in alphabetical order, their syllabuses out and highlighting.
The teacher is an older woman with her graying hair pulled back into a tight, shiny bun. She has on one of those old-fashioned dresses that women wore, concealing every part of her body. The turtleneck looks like its choking her. She has on gray stockings and tight, shiny black shoes.
"You're late." She says. Yep, one of those kinds of teachers- the drill sergeants. The kind of teachers that make you sick to your stomach with nervousness enough that you'll need a pass to go to the nurse.
"I'm sorry." I quickly say, and slide into the only vacant seat. The teacher sniffs and pulls out her seating chart, putting on tortoise-shell glasses. "Miss Akiza Izinski?"
I inwardly scowl at the way she says my name- like its bitter and sour all at the same time on her tongue. "Yes, that's me." She looks over her glasses that have now slipped down to the bridge of her nose at me. "You moved here a few weeks ago, before school started?" I nod. "Don't expect any special treatment because you're new. Everyone arrives to my class on time or you get a detention. Is that understood?"
The class answers with a collective "yes" and she snaps, "Raise your hand to talk."
The hour long class drags on with rules and procedures and the passing out of textbooks and the assignment of lab partners.
I may hate this teacher already, but its not going to stop me from trying my best in her class. Biology is my forte, you could say. When my mom failed at getting a degree in it, exhausted with dealing with school, me and my father, she just gave up. I hated seeing her like that, so down and defeated. I decided then, even though I didn't tell her, that I would complete her dream for her. I was going to be her childhood dream, and I'm going to let her know that she's the only reason why I found a cure for cancer, complete the most successful heart transplants, the reason why I became a doctor.
The kid who sits in front of me is my lab partner. He turns around and grins at me from behind thick frames. "I'm Sayer, Akiza. Welcome to the school." His voice is high-pitched and a little squeaky, like he had yet to hit puberty, as he holds out his hand. I take it and shake lightly.
"You have really soft skin," he tells me, "and really pretty hair. Did you dye it?" I shake my head no and reply, "This is my natural color- my mom has the same."
Then he starts asking me a bunch of questions about me, if I like biology, if I want one of the peanut butter cookies his mom made him for lunch. He follows me out of the classroom when the bell rings and waits at my locker while I get my lunch when he finally says- "I'm sorry, but you're really pretty, and I keep getting distracted by your eyes. What color are they?"
I sigh but he doesn't seem to notice, just grins at me with a toothy smile. "They're ember."
"Do you want to sit with me today, Akiza? I usually sit alone but I'll make an exception." He attempts to wink at me but fails miserably. I sigh as I realize I had been dreading this all day- finding a place to sit at lunch. From the bits and pieces of the conversation I had heard from the girls on the bus through my music was that they hoped to get close to some guy's lunch table. I hadn't heard a name- just turned the volume up.
It was pathetic, hoping above all else that some guy will notice you. Some popular guy that was probably so stuck-up he didn't know where the ground was.
I nod at Sayer and let him lead me to the cafeteria. He spots a secluded lunch table and points. As we walk by, I notice a table with the guy in the football jersey I saw out front before. He was sitting at the table with other guys, and a few girls in tight clothing. Everyone is laughing like they're at a party and not under the watchful eyes of teachers.
In the center of the group, I notice a guy and a girl. She was draped all over him, trying to sit in his lap. He said something to her in a low, hushed tone, and it occurred to me that he was trying to "let her down easy."
He was a boy anyone would find hot, I'll give him that. His skin was smooth and tan, his hair thick and glossy. But it was his eyes that were the prime feature- like a bright sapphire sparkling in the evening light.
Sayer appeared next to me and said- "Stay away from them. They're the kind of people who think they're so cool. They think everyone else is stupid and they're perfect."
He sits down heavily on the bench and I slide in across from him. I notice that he's rubbing his knees, which are cut up and bruised.
I think about the football guy, and what he had done that morning. It dawns upon me that it was Sayer that he had pushed- and he had done it so the gorgeous looking guy could get by without having to wait a single minute.
Sayer notices me looking at his knees and he sighs. "Just be careful and don't get on Yusei's bad side, okay? Or you'll end up alone like me."
